Only one day in three is storm-free at Denali, according to Alaska Geographic.
The massif has been described by some as the coldest mountain in the world, often battered by wind gusts reaching 100 mph, and temperatures that can plunge to -60° F.
That’s decidedly NOT the Denali we encountered on (and around) June 25 during our recent trip to Alaska. Elusive at first, hiding behind smoke and haze and clouds during our early days at the park, Denali presented an entirely different aspect on the day we’d scheduled (many weeks before) to explore it by plane.
Denali…’The High One’
Brilliant blue skies framed the peak and its neighbors…accented by wispy puffs of cumulus when we set out in the four o’clock hour aboard a De Havilland DHC Beaver, the best plane in the K2 Aviation fleet according to our pilot Josh.
We were not alone in the skies – far from it. Perhaps six or eight other small planes (flown by several different outfitters) jockeyed for position on the southerly approach to the peak, before then touching down for a landing on one of the National Park Service-approved glaciers nearby. “Kind of a rat’s nest down there,” Josh averred, as he skillfully maneuvered his burly turbo-prop aircraft onto the bustling ice-field-turned-runway that lay just ahead.
With the plane engines momentarily silenced, it became a mystical and surreal experience – to be surrounded by all these day-trippers…enjoying spectacular views while traipsing gingerly atop the Ruth Glacier. (Or was it the Tokositna Glacier? Or the Traleika? In any event, I was surely glad to be able to trust that Josh knew where he was going!)
Awed and humbled by the encounter.
Then too soon it was time to go: climbing back into the Beaver, strapping ourselves in, and gripping the edges of our tiny tube-framed seats to brace against the shuddering airframe as it sped headlong into the glacial valley…before then gaining lift beneath its wings and altitude and beauty beyond measure outside the windows on either side of the plane.
When you plan a trip to Alaska, you hope against hope that Denali won’t be shy. That you’ll get at least a glimpse of the majestic peak. We got all that, and more. So much more. It was impossible NOT to feel blessed by the experience.
Impossible, too, not to SHARE the abundant beauty that was poured into our laps… and caused our spirits to overflow with joy and wonder and humility and grace.
Only one day in three is storm-free at Denali, they say.
We couldn’t help feeling that ours had been more like a one-in-a-million encounter…both with The High One…and with The Holy One who’d fashioned it, from ancient days.
Day-tripping…into mystical, ancient beauty.
Set me high upon the rock
Too high for me to reach,
You, my refuge and mighty tower…
Then will I dwell in Your tent forever,
And hide in the shelter of Your wings.
— Psalm 61
On the razor’s edge of adventure…
A peak experience, to be sure.
Let us pause now…to recall that we are in the presence of the Holy & Merciful One.
IHS
With Us Still 
I was nine years old when I saw Mount McKinley (now named Denali) in the distance. Then we drove and drove and drove before finally reaching, what I would call, the base. It was definitely an exciting day watching that mountain get bigger and bigger in my little eyes.
Indeed…hard to take it all in, at any age! And I’m glad to hear you remember it still from your childhood. There was a girl, 8 or 9, on the plane with us… and I wondered whether she might be too young to appreciate the moment. But based on your experience, perhaps it will be something she remembers for the rest of her life!
What an awesome view towering above all.
we saw it several years ago…majestic and mystical for sure! Thanks for sharing.
My pleasure, Mary. Truly a blessing to have been there!