Sunday - 08-29-10 - continued....the attack on Mount McKinley

The jet boat ride was pleasant but I would have passed had I known what lay ahead.  A couple we met on the first day, Robert and Ann, were discussing their upcoming activity, flying around Mt. McKinley.  They are both pilots and had already researched the local aviation company and said that they were very reliable with No Fatalities.  Well, viewing that as a positive omen, Ron and I made a quick decision to take the flight.  We went up in a 1961 DeHavilland 10 seater plane.  The day was cloudy and we had only had a peak at a little of Mt. McKinley OVER the clouds prior to the flight.  That is how huge it is....the break in the clouds showed the top of the mountain which was striking.  I had no idea what it would be like to fly to the mountain. 

As we climbed through the clouds, McKinley's top was visible.  In the pictures, you have to remember that you are seeing only the top of the mountain.  It was one of the most spetacular sights I have ever expereinced.  It took our breath away.  The pilot took us between the other mountains and peaks of the Alaskan range.  Then, our plane went through the "747 pass."  This means that the pass is only large enough for the wing span of a 747.  It felt like we were going to scrape the mountain walls.  I really can't describe the beauty of the glaciers below.  I knew, even as I took pictures, that they were not going to capture the magnificence of what I was seeing.  I felt that way in Denali National Park but even more as we were flying to the summit of the largest mountain in North America.