Mt McKinley flight questions

[Mathteach]

I read that less than 20% of Alaska visitors get to see Mt Mckinley because of clouds. So here are my questions:

Do you get to see Mt. Mckinley on a fight tour if the mountain is mostly covered in clouds?

If you went on a Mt Mckinley fight tour out of Denali was it worth it and who did you use?

If you could only either do the Mt Mckinley flight or the Misty Fjords seaplane out of Ketchikan which would you choose and why.

We already booked a glacier heicoptor walk so we have that covered.

Thanks!

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=9400d3&cdt=2004;6;23;6;0;00&timezone=GMT-1000[/img]
until we start our Alaska Adventure!

[Yukon]

The usual statement is that "far" fewer than 20% of summer visitors see Denali (the Alaskan name for Mt. Mckinley). My success rate in the summer has been about 10% in possibly 100 trips along the Parks Highway. Denali creates her own weather, so if it's cloudy anywhere, she's hidden - a Summit tour, though, can be successfull even then, and only one operator does it - [url="http://www.talkeetna-aero.com/"]http://www.talkeetna-aero.com/[/url]

I've flown out of Denali with Denali Air in their Baby Navaho (a twin-engine which the owner flies), and it was an amazing trip. [url="http://www.denaliair.com/"]http://www.denaliair.com/[/url]

To say that a Denali flight is better than a Misty Fjords flight is splitting hairs - they're both beautful beyond words. I'd suggest that you take whichever one you are at first if the weather is good - if it isn't wait for the other destination and hope that weather is good. Misty Fjords is almost always flyable, so that option is much more available so I hope that you're going to be at Denali first.

Murray

[Mathteach]

Thanks for the info. We are going to Denali first. However, I was under the impression that if we waited until we got somewhere to book a flight that there would not be any available.

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=9400d3&cdt=2004;6;23;6;0;00&timezone=GMT-1000[/img]
until we start our Alaska Adventure!

[lmcd]

To add a little to Yukon's comments. Talkeetna Aero is the only one to do the Over-the-top Summitt flights, but they also are available in both Talkeetna and Denali Park area. If, as we did, book a Summitt flight and the clouds prevent actually flying over the top, they will do a circle flight of the Summitt and only charge you for the circle flight. Weather can change rather quickly in the area. The early part of the afternoon was clear and summitt flight was possible, but 2 hrs later and the summitt flight was not possible.

I also agree with Yukon's views of the Mt. Mckinley vs Misty Fjords flight. Very different scenery but both also very beautiful. We have done both.

Larry

Fantasy 08/99
Ecstacy 05/00
Westerdam 04/01
Legend of the Seas 08/02
Zaandam 04/03
Carnival Spirit 08/03

[lmcd]

The toursaver coupon book I believe has a coupon for Talkeetna Aero. The coupon is not for the Summitt flight, but they will let you pay the difference between the coupon flight and the summitt so you can still use the coupon.
When you talk to Geri at Talkeetna Aero ask about this possibility. She can also help you with just about anything concerning the Denali/Talkeetna area. She made lodging reservations, tour reservations, etc for us last year.

Larry

Fantasy 08/99
Ecstacy 05/00
Westerdam 04/01
Legend of the Seas 08/02
Zaandam 04/03
Carnival Spirit 08/03

[virginia600]

We used K2 aviation out of Talkeetna. It was great like I have said before. The weather was perfect beyond words. Our cost- $240.00 per person

[Budget Queen]

I say- skimp elsewhere and do both, vastly different. And unfortunately with all the cruise ships- I do recommend having reservations in advance for Misty Fjords. A lot of the sailings have 1/2 day port times and it is just too difficult to predict if there will be any avialablity. I have seen McKinley 4 times- twice on my 3-04 trip. So most people are NOT likely to see it. I have taken a lot of flights- but my clear favorite out of Talkeetna is a summit flight. A ski plane is also great with a landing. So choose what fits best. As mentioned- consider the toursaver book. Has a coupon for Southeast Aviation out of Ketchikan, Talkeenta Aero and Talkeetna Air Taxi. It may be worth it to purchase one- if going later- EBay usually has several listings. A deal anyway at $99 and would allow you to do both??

[Michelene]

Hi,

We did the Summit fight over Denali and highly recommend it. Great Trip. We were also lucky, we had perfect weather everyday, saw the mountain from the train, walks, bus, everywhere. Lucky.

Michelene