The Wild Yonder
August 14, 2007 8:02 AM Subscribe
Great photos and commentary:
My master plan of becoming one with the animals is almost complete.
Talkeetna: It's a little drinking town with a climbing problem.
Denali is the tallest peak in North America. While there are other peaks that are taller, none of them have the height from floor to top that Denali has. The atmosphere is also irregular on the planet, with more atmosphere "stacked" at the equator, so the poles have less height to the valuable insulated and oxygenated air so vital under strenuous climbing.
What an adventure! Thanks, exogenous.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:42 AM on August 14, 2007
My master plan of becoming one with the animals is almost complete.
Talkeetna: It's a little drinking town with a climbing problem.
Denali is the tallest peak in North America. While there are other peaks that are taller, none of them have the height from floor to top that Denali has. The atmosphere is also irregular on the planet, with more atmosphere "stacked" at the equator, so the poles have less height to the valuable insulated and oxygenated air so vital under strenuous climbing.
What an adventure! Thanks, exogenous.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:42 AM on August 14, 2007
Wow.
posted by Aloysius Bear at 8:45 AM on August 14, 2007
posted by Aloysius Bear at 8:45 AM on August 14, 2007
I was just watching something on The History Channel about Alaska's "Bermuda Triangle" and the 1972 disappearance of the Cessna carrying House Majority Leader Hale Boggs.
posted by Poolio at 8:59 AM on August 14, 2007
posted by Poolio at 8:59 AM on August 14, 2007
This is absolutelky breathtaking. Thank you so much for the post!
posted by Pecinpah at 9:21 AM on August 14, 2007
posted by Pecinpah at 9:21 AM on August 14, 2007
Awesomeness.
posted by uncle harold at 9:23 AM on August 14, 2007
posted by uncle harold at 9:23 AM on August 14, 2007
That was an awesome post! Thanks, exogenous.
In a more literary sense, if anyone wants to read more about Alaskan bush pilots, I highly recommend Wager With the Wind, a book about one of the most famous bush pilots of them all, Don Sheldon. I (and lots of other people) always think of him as the quintessential bush pilot.
posted by barchan at 9:30 AM on August 14, 2007
In a more literary sense, if anyone wants to read more about Alaskan bush pilots, I highly recommend Wager With the Wind, a book about one of the most famous bush pilots of them all, Don Sheldon. I (and lots of other people) always think of him as the quintessential bush pilot.
posted by barchan at 9:30 AM on August 14, 2007
Does this guy work as a pilot, or just fly around for fun?
posted by anthill at 11:03 AM on August 14, 2007
posted by anthill at 11:03 AM on August 14, 2007
Are they all self-portraits or is the person taking photos not the dude flying it?
posted by mathowie at 11:21 AM on August 14, 2007
posted by mathowie at 11:21 AM on August 14, 2007
Does this guy work as a pilot, or just fly around for fun?
I suspect the latter... on his other blog there is mention of skiing while at a medical conference.
posted by exogenous at 11:26 AM on August 14, 2007
I suspect the latter... on his other blog there is mention of skiing while at a medical conference.
posted by exogenous at 11:26 AM on August 14, 2007
Wow, I had to get all the way to the bottom - thanks!
posted by coolhappysteve at 11:35 AM on August 14, 2007
posted by coolhappysteve at 11:35 AM on August 14, 2007
Wow, very nice. I could do with fewer shots of the dude himself, but a very small price to pay.
posted by maxwelton at 12:46 PM on August 14, 2007
posted by maxwelton at 12:46 PM on August 14, 2007
One of the people mentioned, Loni Habersetzer, has his own gallery of bush flying in Alaska, Africa and the Pacific NW, with some videos of landings.
posted by Aloysius Bear at 1:18 PM on August 14, 2007
posted by Aloysius Bear at 1:18 PM on August 14, 2007
Thanks Aloysius Bear - that water-assisted landing video is amazing!
posted by exogenous at 1:38 PM on August 14, 2007
posted by exogenous at 1:38 PM on August 14, 2007
Some of those shots are breathtaking. Wow.
Alaska Bush MeFi Meetup?
posted by ORthey at 2:06 PM on August 14, 2007
Alaska Bush MeFi Meetup?
posted by ORthey at 2:06 PM on August 14, 2007
It took me 15 minutes of flying the coast before I found a spot to land where the brown bears weren't clamming. It's rush hour with griz-lock traffic.
His commentary is excellent.
posted by spiderskull at 5:01 PM on August 14, 2007
His commentary is excellent.
posted by spiderskull at 5:01 PM on August 14, 2007
I second "I want that life."
I always tell myself that if I somehow end up wealthy I'll buy my father's old M20C back and restore it, but you couldn't do this in that..
posted by Alterscape at 6:28 PM on August 14, 2007
I always tell myself that if I somehow end up wealthy I'll buy my father's old M20C back and restore it, but you couldn't do this in that..
posted by Alterscape at 6:28 PM on August 14, 2007
A Mooney? Sweetness. Hey, you could use it to fly up to Alaska to pick up the Super Cub.
posted by exogenous at 7:33 PM on August 14, 2007
posted by exogenous at 7:33 PM on August 14, 2007
Alterscape, you'd be surprised where you can land (and take off again in) a Mooney. Wide damp-sand beaches are particularly fun. I wish I could dig up the pictures I took at some of the airstrips around McCarthy/Kennicott right in the middle of the Wrangell-St. Elias mountains (which this guy has taken a bunch of photos of as well). I recognize one of the high passes there, and it was a bit foggy when I was flying over it as well. I was glad I had a turbocharger, and I think he's kind of nuts to fly it in his plane with a service ceiling right about level with the pass, surrounded by 15,000 ft peaks. I guess it is at least colder than standard there.
When I got back to California from that flight, my partner did ask what the hell I had done to our plane. :)
Also, there's an M20C with one owner since new (38 years!) for sale at Palo Alto for under $40K. If you can come up with $10K down, payments could be around $350/month!
posted by Hello Dad, I'm in Jail at 3:38 AM on August 15, 2007
When I got back to California from that flight, my partner did ask what the hell I had done to our plane. :)
Also, there's an M20C with one owner since new (38 years!) for sale at Palo Alto for under $40K. If you can come up with $10K down, payments could be around $350/month!
posted by Hello Dad, I'm in Jail at 3:38 AM on August 15, 2007
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posted by Divine_Wino at 8:14 AM on August 14, 2007