Your flight to Mount McKinley departs the beautiful city of Anchorage from the largest general aviation airport in Alaska, Merrill Field. As we become airborne you see the city itself unfold below surrounded on three sides by water, with the Chugach mountains to the east. During the summer months, the Beluga Whales can be spotted below us in the Knik Arm as we head northward to "Denali", The Great One. On extremely clear days, the mountains can be seen immediately after lift-off revealing exactly how the Alaska Range of mountains slices through the Great State of Alaska.

As we speed northward up the Susitna Valley, your pilot explains to you the geology and geography of the area, as well as a bit of the history behind the settlement of the valley and the importance that "gold fever" played. Climbing now into the range of mountains you see the splendor of Mt. McKinley surrounded by the many foothills that nestle around it as we pass over the climber base camp, where almost all of the climbing expeditions originate. On clear and calm days, we are afforded the opportunity to completely circumnavigate McKinley and see the mountain climbers on the glaciers making their way up and down the mountain. As we arrive on the eastern side of McKinley we begin to descend into the Don Sheldon Amphitheatre, the largest natural amphitheatre in the world, and have a look at the cabin that Don built. During the summer months, the skiers and climbers can be seen on the glacier as we begin our flight down the Great Gorge of the Ruth Glacier. Here in the Gorge, you will see mountains on both sides of the aircraft that are over a mile high, and ice in the Gorge that is over 9,000 feet thick. This makes that Gorge over 15,000 feet deep!

After leaving the mountain range behind as we begin to head back toward Anchorage, we frequently see Moose, Bear, Swans, as well as an occasional Wolf or Coyote. Be sure to look for them.

"The most unforgettable experience of my life. If you have time to do only one thing in Alaska, you must have BUSH AIRVENTURES fly you around the great Mt. McKinley!!! It was the highlight of my whole vacation to Alaska"
Jane Maas
Chairman Emeritis, Earle Palmer Brown, N.Y., NY

"The avalanche we saw, and the glaciers, were the most magnificent things I have seen in my life. I am coming back again, and again. It was like being in Heaven on Earth".
Philip Brady - Victoria, Australia
TV Host - "Good Morning Australia", Radio Host - "Nightline"