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What type of experience do I need to have?
* What do the backpacking prices include?
* Is transportation & lodging included?
* Do I need to be in shape?
* What's the terrain like?
*
What type of experience do I need to have?
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Our clients range from beginners to seasoned veterans. We cater
to you and your group. To join another group of hikers or climbers
there may be requirements related to conditioning, technical skills,
capabilities.
- First time campers are encouraged to come and learn how to comfortably
enjoy the backcountry. We will provide you with tent, sleeping pad,
sleeping bag, cooking gear, glacier gear & a guide to show you
how to go gourmet and travel light.
- Almost all of our clients are walking on glaciers for the first
time.
* What Do
the Backpacking Prices Include?
-
Trip Planning; Guiding Services (Trip Features), including necessary
gear; meals; satellite phones & first aid; skills development;
Local Transportation; Backcountry Flight;.Pre-trip Glacier Hike
for 3+ day fly-in trips.
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Glacier Trips include: walking crampons, harness, necessary hardware.
Guide carries medical equipment & safety gear.
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Is Transportation & Lodging Included?
- Transportation from Anchorage, Valdez, Glenallen, Copper Center,
or Chitina is a service we can arrange or provide, but at an additional
cost.
- Shuttle prices are listed within Area Information section of website.
- Pre & Post Trip Lodging is additional cost. We can arrange
this for you.
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Do I Need to be in Shape?
- Reasonable physical conditioning and training helps you enjoy
your experience and get the most out of your trip. Feel free to
ask us for recommendations on how to prepare physically for your
Alaskan adventure!
- It's understood in the guiding world that any group goes at the
pace of its most leisurely hiker. We never want anyone to feel pressured
to speed up, nor do we want overly ambitious hikers feeling they
are "stuck in slow motion." We do our best to match clients
of similar conditioning together, especially when relative fitness
is necessary to accomplish intended trip.
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What's the terrain like?
Some of the factors shaping the landscape and terrain we travel
through:
- How glaciated is the valley? How long has it been since it was
buried in ice?
- How much vegetation are we traveling through? Is there lots of
willow and alder to navigate? What elevation range will be traveling
through?
- What's the ground cover? Is it loose rock, rolling tundra, high
alpine, or glacier ice? Consider: What's my off-trail experience
and how's my footing?
- There are areas where we land and get picked up in the high alpine
tundra, which is typically less strenuous travel. Or there are trips
where the challenging terrain is the theme and focus: maneuvering
on loose rock and over morraines, navigating glaciers, crossing
creeks and small rivers, traversing alpine ridges.
- We typically talk in terms of hours and days when evaluating a
particular hike or route, rather than in terms of mileage. The Alaskan
Mile concept is a reminder to not equate your ability to travel
x miles in a day via established trail, to the experience of making
your own way through thru the wilderness. Our experience is that
this country can kick your butt in very few miles.
- There are trips we take 4 days to go 14 miles. Along the way we
may scramble a peak, traverse a ridge, or just spend a day exploring
the area more thoroughly.
- Tree-line is typically between 2,500 and 3,000 feet above see
level, with brush and lower vegetations creeping another 1,000 feet
or so up the mountains.
- Glacier Travel varies in difficulty, each glacier having it's
own personality and character. Often, the most challenging part
is getting on and off the ice. The center of the glaciers typically
present the most mellow travel with regard to smoothness and a fewer
number of glacial features to navigate. We outfit you with necessary
glacier gear, which includes at the very least some type of walking
crampon that straps onto your hiking boots/shoes.
- Taking a 3-day trip on the Root Glacier is a challenging endeavor.
Some hikers have no problems and cover lots of up & down ground
with 30-35 lb packs. Other hikers enjoy setting up a base camp alongside
the glacier and taking full day hikes with light backpacks and big
lunches.
- For fly-in backpacking trips we recommend taking a glacier hike
with your guide before you head deeper into the park. It's a great
opportunity to prep for the upcoming trip, as well as an opportunity
for the guide to begin evaluating your capabilities and trip expectations.
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