Back to civilization.

The team flew out to Talkeetna yesterday evening when the weather finally cleared enough for the planes to find them in their camp on the Pika Glacier. They spent Wednesday night in Talkeetna and John entertained the team and the locals alike at the local Pizza place singing hits from the 80's. It sounds like they all had a really great trip.

They are fishing on the Talkeetna river this evening, and plan to drive back to Anchorage tonight.

Rope work

We got a call from the team this evening and it sounds like it was a fun filled day of rope work. They traveled out of camp to find a place to rappel, ascend a rope and practice their crevasse rescue skills. It was a full day with a big curry dinner at the finish line. The group is scheduled to fly out tomorrow, so lets cross our fingers for a weather window big enough to land some planes.

Fun Crevasse Rescue Practice

They found a crevasse that they could access easily today to practice crevasse rescue techniques and do a bit of rappelling. It was a really nice day again, a few clouds, but overall they are enjoying some really good conditions.

Here's the evening call from the Pika Glacier,

A Ski Day

Sonja called this evening from the Pika glacier to give us the update for the crew. The weather wasn't perfect, but they were still able to get out and go for a ski tour today. They've picked out a great spot to do some ice climbing, so hope to be able to get a nice day for climbing tomorrow. They are having a great trip so far, and have been able to get out and have some fun in the mountains.

Here's the evening podcast, the sat phone gets a bit garbled at the end, but it's pretty fun anyway.

A beautiful day on the Pika Glacier

They had a really nice day in the mountains! Kevin called this afternoon as they returned from a ski tour up the glacier. It was a beautiful day and they were thrilled to be in the mountains.

Here's the evening call from James, checking in from the Pika Glacier.

Into the Alaska Range!

The team drove to Talkeetna this morning from Anchorage, checked into Denali National Park at the Talkeetna Ranger Station, and flew into the Alaska Range. They flew into the range in a plane called an "Otter" equipped with skis for landing on the snow. The flight takes about 35 minutes to go from Talkeetna at under 400 ft above sea level to the Pika glacier where they landed in the middle of the Alaska Range at over 5,600 ft. They will be living on the glacier in the snow for the next 5-6 days.

The area we chose this year for the trip is know as "Little Switzerland" and provides many different opportunities for glacier travel, maybe a bit of skiing, and some climbing. They should be able to find fun for all.

They'll be calling in nightly for the rest of the trip to update their days adventures and we'll pass it on through this blog, so keep watching.

Welcome to the Alaska Adaptive Adventure!

Thanks for joining us as we follow the adventures of the second annual Mountain Trip/Telluride Adaptive Sports Program "Alaska Adaptive Adventure!"

Giving Back

As I sit in a booth at a Denver coffee shop, hunting and pecking away at my computer, thinking of how to begin the dispatch blog for our 2010 Telluride Adaptive Sports Program Alaska trip, I'm suddenly struck by how seemingly rote and mundane my morning has been. I woke up, jumped on my bike for a quick ride around the campground at which we're staying for the next week, and then hopped into my truck for coffee and an internet connection. Easy-peasy-pie...

The athletes who participate in the Telluride Adaptive Sports Program (TASP), located at the base of the Telluride Ski Resort, in (you guessed it!) Telluride, Colorado rarely have "easy-peasy" mornings like mine. TASP organizes trips, excursions and instruction for people with a wide array of disabilities, from kids with learning disorders to wheelchair bound adults and folks faced with every imaginable challenge in between and beyond.

TASP serves an integral function on our SW Colorado community and we at Mountain Trip wanted to find a way to give something back to TASP for their efforts, and give some amazing experiences to some of their athletes in the meantime.

In 2009, we ran our first Alaska Adventure with TASP. We flew four athletes onto the Coffee Glacier, deep in the heart of the wild and remote Alaska Range, in Denali National Park and Preserve. We all had a collective dream, but no hard and fast notion of how the trip would go. The athletes were hand picked TASP veterans and they were aboard with a sense of curiosity, excitement and adventure, ready and willing to help us figure out systems to make their experience a memorable one.

By all accounts, the trip was a resounding success. I was fortunate to be able to attend TASP's local video and slideshow presentation after their trip, and I'm pretty certain there was not a dry eye in the house after hearing the stories, and seeing some of the participants so energized and invigorated by their experiences. It was awesome to see these super able folks figure out how to make their Alaska Range ambitions come to fruition with some support from TASP staff and our guides.

In late March, 2010, we were all deeply saddened by the loss of our friend and guide, Heidi Kloos, who had taken it upon herself to organize and push the limits of the possible for this program. Heidi was exploring the San Juan Mountains backcountry when a massive avalanche came quite literally out of nowhere and took her from us. A memorial fund has been established in her name to help keep her vision for the Alaska Adaptive Trip alive, by providing scholarships for participants. Mountain Trip assists in this dream by running these trips at cost to make it as affordable as possible for the participants.

We invite you to visit the Telluride Adaptive Sports Program website at www.tellurideadaptivesports.org to learn more about their programs and services. Anyone interested in contibuting to the Heidi Kloos Memorial Fund can find a link to a donation page HERE.

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