Want to know what it’s like landing on a Glacier in Alaska?
Alaska has a lot to show, and fortunately, most of it is visible from the sky. That’s
why we booked a Temsco Helicopters tour from the Denali National Park to Yanert Glacier.
The company provides tours to Juneau, Denali, and Skagway, enabling tourists to experience
the glacier-laden views of Alaska from above. Denali is popular for its views, but it is
once you’re in the air that you realize the place is even more beautiful than you
might have heard from a friend or read in travel blogs.
The flightseeing tour began from the Denali National Park, where we spent quite a great
time doing different activities. When you’re in the air, nature looks even
more glorious than it does on the ground. Most flightseeing tours take off from the
Great Gorge of Ruth Glacier, which is one of the densest granite wall collections in
the whole world. Below, you’ll spot a few miles of crevasses
in the landscape. The rock formations look much similar to the after-effects of a bomb
blast. Due to gravity and natural forces, these rocks fall into the river below, creating
hurdles in the path of water. As you go further, you’ll find yourself
surrounded by towers of granite, appearing brown in color.
The huge granite monoliths are some of the greatest in the world and are bound to leave
your mouth hanging in disbelief. They’re called the Moose’s Tooth, although
they won’t really remind you of teeth. Also, did you know someone climbed the monoliths
alone? How crazy does that sound? From atop, the ledges might seem really tiny, but they’re
actually large enough to park a trailer. Another beautiful element of nature that you’ll
spot abundantly on your flightseeing tour is snow. Most of the snow you spot is tightly
frozen, and some of it is up to 3700 feet deep.
Plus, the snow has been there for thousands of years, not melting due to the surrounding
cold temperature. So, it doesn’t matter which season you travel
to Alaska in; you’ll be able to spot the snow snaking through the peaks and covering
them to form crowns. The granite monoliths below are also covered
with ice formations. Trust me when we say that some of these are
as big as buildings. You might even spot one bigger than your hope.
During the sunny and hot days, some pieces melt off from the rock formations and fall
into the glacier floor like showers of ice and rock.
If you’re lucky enough to be present at this show-stopping time, you’ll feel the
vibrations in the ground for many miles. From the top, you can only see the ice-covered
debris on the glacier floor. But here’s the thing about this ice. It’s
very tough - tough enough to resist the stabs from an axe. These fluted faces of ice pose
a life-threatening challenge to climbers who try to scent these peaks.
But that’s none of your worries since you’ll be safe and sound in the helicopter being
stunned by these majestic ice formations. That’s one thing we personally like about
helicopter tours. Unlike plane tours, they offer a less bumpy ride.
Also, you get more window space to capture pictures or see the landscape in its full
magnificence. Since Temsco offers the only helicopter tours in Denali, we had to give
the company a try. The tour season lasts from mid May to mid
September, so make sure you book your seats before time. The total duration of the trip
is around one to five hours. We took the Denali Glacier landing expedition,
which has a 50-minute flight time. Plus, you get to spend about 15 times on the
glacier. So, the total duration comes up to 2 hours, including the transfers.
The company also offers two other tours, the Denali Heli Hiking and the Denali Tundra Express.
The Denali Heli Hiking is best for people who want to combine their flightseeing tour
with a little bit of hiking. The tour has 15 minutes of flight time, and you get to
hike for about three hours. On the other hand, the Denali Tundra Express
has up to 20 minutes of flight time, and you get to spend the same amount of time on the
mountain landing. Do note that the tour might be delayed or
canceled due to weather problems. But you can always take an alternate tour to view
the Alaskan landscape from above. As for the Denali glacier landing tour - the
one we took - it starts from the company’s private heliport. From there, you go up the
air and immediately find yourself surrounded by the Denali National Preserve.
During the tour, the pilot guides you about the surrounding landscape and tells you interesting
facts about the area. While you’re up in the air, you might spot wildlife and local
residents too. We saw plenty of Dall sheep and moose, but
the pilot mentioned the presence of bears and caribou in the area too.
Oh, and don’t be shy. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask your pilots. They’re
very friendly and knowledgeable, so we never had any trouble with resolving our curiosity
about the landscape and the wildlife below. While we may not have seen these animals,
we definitely saw countless snow-capped peaks. In fact, they’re a representation of the
area since people from all over the country come to Denali to view these peaks.
The view becomes even more stunning when you spot an icy river passing through the gaps
in the mountains. The reason we chose the Denali Glacier landing tour was that it actually
lets you land on the glacier and take pictures or walk around, taking in the vastness of
the area. When the helicopter stopped at the Yanert
Glacier, we got off and were immediately welcomed by a cold breeze. The Yanert Glacier is near
the Hess Mountain and used to be a subject of discussion due to its movements.
In 2000, the Geophysical Institute researchers went to the Alaska Range. When they returned,
the pathway was overtaken by the Yanert Glacier that formed its way around the crevasses.
According to the glaciologists, the glacier surged. To put it simply, it moved forward
with speed after years of being in one place. Since the tour stops for 15 minutes on the
glacier, we had enough time to drink the fresh water from it.
The water at the glacier was inexplicably blue, setting a beautiful contrast against
the white ice and brown vegetation. Back in 2000, when the skiers were at the
glacier, they noticed cracks in the glacier, although the surface used to be smooth just
five years ago. Also, the helicopter excursions from Denali also noticed the cracking in the
glacier. Complexion problems are not uncommon in glaciers,
but Yanert’s pattern is slightly different. When glaciers grind for many years, they suddenly
surge at a fast speed. But the last surge spotted in Yanert was in 1942 when it covered
the distance of a football field. Glaciologists say that it is now covering
the distance much quickly. However, it will not become a roadblock since it’s just 35
miles from the Parks Highway. Back in 2001, when glaciologists were flying
over Yanert to monitor its movements, they noticed that it had stopped moving in mid-summer.
They assumed that it might start surging the next year in winter or take another break
for about 60 years as it did before. It all depends on the glacier’s mood.
Speaking of mood, the Yanert River further sets the mood for adventure. Although it’s
not very popular, it’s the largest tributary of the Nenana River. You can spot this river
on the eastern side of the Denali National Park.
The Yanert River is only 20 miles long but is bordered by many beautiful elements, such
as metamorphic rocks, volcanic mixes, and deep gorges.
The mountains in the region are up to 12,000 feet, with Mount Deborah taking the lead.
In short, the whole distance is as scenically beautiful as it can be. We’d suggest taking
your cameras along and charging your phones to the full because you’ll definitely want
to take pictures when you land on the glacier and on your way to and from the destination.
But make sure you’re quick with pictures, or you won’t be able to enjoy the views
since the tour only stops at the glacier for about 15 minutes.
Also, you need to have at least four passengers if you want to book the tour for yourself.
Another tour that you can book to get a closer view of the mountains and glaciers at Denali
is the Denali Air Tour. The flightseeing tour is extremely fulfilling and gives you a bird’s
eye view of everything Denali is famous for. Along with viewing Alaska’s landscape from
above, you’ll also get a chance to walk on the ice near the world-famous Denali Mountain.
If you need a front-row experience, you need to hop on this flightseeing tour.
Denali Air is the only company that has the permits to land in the Denali National Park.
So, you can enjoy close-up views of places that you’ve only previously seen in pictures.
Needless to say, the national park is one of the most beautiful sites in the world.
It covers six million acres of land and has everything from outrageously beautiful landscapes
and rich vegetation to all types of wildlife. You’ll spot caribou, wolves, black bears,
grizzly bears, and moose. More importantly, you’ll be as close as
you can possibly be to Mount Denali without reaching it with the aim of ascent.
Let us remind you that it’s the tallest peak in North America.
So, you must take dozens of pictures for your social media pages and simply flaunt your
adventures at dinner parties and family gatherings. Personally, we’d always prefer the aerial
view over exploring Denali on foot or a bike because the top views let you cover a lot
of landscape in a short amount of time. While the Glacier landing helicopter tour
is 50 minutes, the Denali Air tour lasts for 100 minutes.
So, you only need a little over an hour to experience Denali in its full grandeur. Also,
there’s just something so extraordinarily beautiful about looking at the winding river
valleys, rivers, and glaciers sitting between them from above.
The Fly Denali tour has interactive headsets, allowing the pilots to tell you fun facts
about the area you’re traveling in by air. As you get close to Denali Mountain, you’ll
see the lush green landscape turning into glacial terrain.
If you’ve watched Ice Age, you know what we’re talking about.
As you get closer to the mountain, the descent will begin, and you’ll find yourself in
the Great Gorge of the Ruth Glacier, which is the deepest in the whole world.
By this point, you’ll be at the Mountain House.
Since the tour lands here, you get 20 to 30 minutes of free time to do anything you want.
Walk around, drink water from the glacier, and take a lot of pictures to take some gorgeous
memories home. Or, if you’re going with friends or family,
you might want to have a short snowball fight. On your way back, you can experience the same
landscape or simply sit back and reflect on this pleasantly awe-inspiring trip you’ve
just had. For us, the glacier landing tour was nothing
short of extraordinary, so we’ll recommend it to everyone going to Alaska.
To avoid any disappointments, make sure you book a trip from Temsco Air’s website beforehand.
The trips start as early as 9:20 in the morning, and the last trip is timed at 5:45 pm. So,
you can choose the time that suits you best and book a slot for yourself.
The website also shows you which tours only have one or two seats left. So, if you’re
traveling solo, there’s an opportunity for you to find the right slot.
We’d still suggest calling beforehand so that your flightseeing tour can be as pleasant
as possible.