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Welcome to Base Camp! You’ve just arrived after perhaps the most stunning flight of your life, from the grassy wetlands surrounding Talkeetna, over braided glacial rivers, to passing between massive peaks as high as the plane’s cruising altitude.
After a glacier-landing on the Base Camp airstrip lined by crevasses, you and the team will shuffle your bags uphill toward the tent village of Denali Base Camp. It feels a bit like a dream when you first arrive, surrounded by massive and enchanting peaks.
The most important rule of camp is respect the Base Camp manager—she can decide your fate on whether you get out of there first or last when your trip is over. Observe her hours of 8 a.m.-8 p.m.! Perhaps bring her a fresh snack from dry land—fruit and avocados seem to go over well.
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You've got work to do beyond hauling all your kit away from the air taxi. You'll need to check in with the NPS ranger patrol, and also with the Base Camp manager, whom you'll coordinate with to get your fuel for the climb.
Before you lose the sun, dig your Base Camp cache hole in the area designated by NPS. The snow at Base Camp can melt out a lot, or it can snow meters. Dig your cache hole deep enough to satisfy NPS requirements, line the perimeter of the hole with wands (this will help when you dig it up), and after burying your cache, heap more snow atop the hole to guard against melt. Lastly, mark your cache with a very long cache pole or wands taped together, so your cache flag flutters a good two meters above the snow.
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The iconic Kahiltna Base Camp is tucked in the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. Situated at the base of the North Buttress of Mount Hunter (Begguya in Dena’ina), and with views of Denali to the north and Mount Foraker (Sultana in Dena’ina) to the west, Kahiltna Base Camp has served as the starting hub for many mountaineering and alpine climbing expeditions in the Alaska Range.
It's an extraordinary place. After you've hauled loads to your camp, take a minute to try to wrap your head around the fact that the summit of Foraker, which is just across the Kahiltna, rises two vertical miles above the glacier!
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You’ll cache some goodies to look forward to on your return (cold carbonated beverages, anyone?). This is also the time to think long and hard about your packing job. Do you really need five hardback books? Leave that one about the first winter ascent of Denali—trust us. What about that deodorant? (You’re not showering for 21 days, embrace the musk!) Extra straps on your duffel? Car keys snuck in there? Champagne for the summit? What we like to say is, “Ounces lead to pounds, and pounds lead to pain.”
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“Work smarter not harder.” This is your motto for the rest of your trip. Take over some old tent platforms, flatten them, and acquaint yourself with your living setup for the next 21 days. Practice good habits and hold on to that tent for goodness sakes!
Once you’ve set up camp, grab a slice of cold pizza from Mountain High Pizza (which you smartly brought onto the glacier with you for dinner) and enjoy the alpenglow hitting Foraker and the surrounding peaks. Take a deep breath. After all the training and packing and planning, you’re finally here!