Flying into the Alaska Range on a beautiful day, the Denali Vikings get a spectacular view of the mountain on the right side of the Otter aircraft. Towering above everything else, Denali at 20,320 feet, is showing its best side on this the first day of the expedition.
This movie, shot from the edge of the high camp plateau at 17,200 feet, shows basin camp below at 14,300 feet. A pan with the camera lays out the magnificent west buttress from the saddle where the fixed lines end, all the way up to high-camp. This may be the most scenic part of the route the Denali Vikings took up the mountain. The move up from 14k to high camp is certainly one of the most strenuous days, requiring strong legs and a poor understanding of what constitutes a pleasant vacation.
