Mt. McKinley Climbing Specifics

The typical climbing season for the high mountains in the Alaska Range is mid-April through mid-July. If you intend to climb Mt. McKinley or Mt. Foraker you must register with National Park Service 60 days in advance. NPS fee is $200 + $10 park entrance fee. Please email us at info@flyk2.com if you would like a registration form. Or contact the National Park Service at P.O. Box 588, Talkeetna, Alaska 99676. The NPS phone in Talkeetna is (907) 733-2231, or visit the NPS mountaineering website.

Base Camp on Mt. McKinley is located at the 7,200 foot level on the southeast fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. The Base Camp is jointly operated by the air taxi services of Talkeetna. Its primary purpose is to provide information about weather and aircraft landing conditions and coordinate the arrival and departure of climbers. A radio phone provides reliable communications between the Base Camp and Talkeetna. The Base Camp manager will check you in, brief you on camp operations, and distribute fuel and sleds from our cache. The Base Camp manager typically provides twice-daily weather service broadcasts.

When you return to Base Camp, the manager will contact K2 Aviation to request your return flight. For those climbing in areas where there is no communication, a predesignated pick-up time and place will be established prior to your departure. K2 Aviation recommends satellite phones or VHF aviation radios. Weather is broadcasted through a “family band” radio station twice daily. Please contact our office to check for quantities on hand and we would be happy to sell them at time of check in.

Several pressurized butane and butane/propane mix fuel containers are not approved for aircraft transport. Please keep this in mind when you are purchasing your supplies. We recommend “GIGA Power” or Primus “Power Gas” Among the unapproved products are most MSR and Coleman products. K2 Aviation will carry the approved canisters for sale at the time of check in.

The West Buttress, West Rib, Cassin Ridge, South Face, Mt. Hunter and Mt. Foraker routes are all accessible from Base Camp. Additional popular routes supported by K2 Aviation include:

• Ruth Amphitheater: Sheldon Cabin, South Buttress, Mt. Dan Beard, Barrille, Moose's Tooth, Mt. Dickey.
• Ruth Gorge: Moose's Tooth, Mts. Dickey, Johnson, Barille, and Wake.
• Pika Glacier: Little Switzerland, rock and alpine climbing opportunities.
• Kantishna Airstrip: Kahiltna traverse via the Muldrow Glacier.

While these are some of the most common routes, K2 can provide custom air taxi service to many remote climbing and trekking locations.

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