Quick Details
Experience majestic beauty in this all-out plane tour in Denali!
Our most comprehensive and popular flightseeing tour; the Around The Mountain Adventure is perfect for anyone seeking the full beauty of the Alaska Range and Denali on a beautiful panoramic Alaskan day. View the famed North Face of Denali, including the 14,000 foot high Wickersham Wall, one of the longest uninterrupted vertical rises in the world.
On the flight out and back you will see the vast expanse of interior Alaska. Fly over the Peters, Muldrow, and Traleika Glaciers and innumerable peaks. A glacier landing in the heart of the Alaska Range can easily be included to top off this classic Alaskan adventure.
We strive to have all of our flights not only provide you with the majestic scenery of our dramatic Alaskan landscape, but also an engaging and interactive experience for all! To this end our passengers are provided noise cancelling headsets that allow you to seamlessly converse with your mountain pilot as well as fellow group members while in flight. A favorite for young and old alike!
Please note that weather patterns sometimes make the north side of Denali difficult. We will flight-see this route only in safe and enjoyable conditions!
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You’ll depart from Talkeetna and experience the vast river and forest lands on the short trip over to the Alaska range, just as you would on our Southside Sheldon or Denali Mountaineer air tours.
The river and forest lands are home to Alaska’s wild game such as black bear and moose. In addition, there are occasional lodges to be sighted along the lake shores, often only accessible by float plane.
Sheldon’s pilots know the lay of the land like the back of their hand and will point out points of interest on the way, as the terrain gradually changes through the foothills of the Alaska Range.
Denali is so massive that it won’t appear to get closer until you are past the foothills and flying up the Tokositna Glacier. Off to your left will be Little Switzerland, a popular destination for both technical climbing expeditions and fun day trips.
Next you climb through One Shot pass and fly over the massive Kahiltna Glacier as it winds toward Denali, flying within six miles of the massive summit.
The Kahiltna is massive, easily the largest glacier in the Alaska Range.
Just short of the head is a small branch off to the east that contains the landing area Don Sheldon pioneered as the arrival point for climbing expeditions. This is known as “Base Camp” and is where most climbers begin and conclude their ascent of Denali. In the course of the climbing season, Sheldon pilots regularly deliver and pick up climbing expeditions at the Kahiltna Glacier Base Camp.
While flying through The Range you will be sure to marvel at the rugged peaks, massive ancient glaciers, brilliant cobalt-blue glacier lakes and surrounding foothills of the Alaska Range.
An aerial view of Don Sheldon’s Mountain House is the focal point of the Sheldon Air Service basic flightseeing tour and is included as the last part of the Around the Mountain tour. The Mountain House was built in 1955 by Don Sheldon as a climber refuge and private retreat and is a popular overnight destination to this day. Reservations for the Mountain House are booked up to two years in advance.
You will see Mooses Tooth, Bear Tooth and Broken Tooth peaks, all popular climbing destinations on the far side of the Don Sheldon Amphitheater.
To top it off, you will experience the majestic Ruth Gorge on the way back to Talkeetna. The Great Gorge, as it is sometimes called, is a mile deep in some places. The floor is the rugged Ruth Glacier. Make sure to watch for the brilliant pools of bright-blue glacier melt water atop the ice!
A landing at the peak-ringed Ruth Amphitheater allows the flightseer to take the majesty of the surroundings into perspective and, of course, offers the opportunity to take some amazing photos of the range.
A glacier landing will add roughly an extra half hour to the flight and is the highlight of any flightseeing experience, truly immersing you in the experience of the Alaska Range.
