Thursday, March 26, 2009

Talkeetna Air Taxi dramatic glacier pick up after Mt Redoubt Volcano Blows


Packing up a dirty ashy camp on the Hayes Glacier




Definitely "Ready to GO!"



Clear runnels amidst the ash on the Tordrillo Mtns


The ash was stirred up by the "Foxy" plane activity. There was about a one inch layer that had fallen all across the Tordrillo Range. then it snowed about an inch on top of th eash. When Paul landed it revealed the concealed ash layer beneath. the two climbers from Colorado woke up to the ash covering everything, describing the experience as a "mind ****". They weren't sure if the world was ending or ?? TAT wasn't sure if we would be able to pick them up that day or even for quite a while, so Paul prepared a food/map drop in case we couldn't land and they had to hike out to Finger Lake. Picking them up was uncertain because volcanic ash has a quality akin to sandpaper. Because of this, acceleration for take-off is very difficult. Congrats to Paul for completing a challenging mission!

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