June 1-2, 2015: Conshy to Talkeetna

One of the best parts about going on a month long mountaineering expedition is that moment when you close the door behind you and leave the comfort and familiarity of your every day life.  It's a finite moment when all of the preparations and planning are over.  In 4 weeks, I'll be anxious to get back inside, but at this moment it's the last place I want to be.  One thing is for sure, I will be a changed person when I return.

My parents spent the night and we enjoyed a nice dinner and breakfast in Conshy.  They dropped me off at the airport and with a couple heart-felt good-byes and selfies, I was off on my way.  My travels on June 1, took me from Philly to Atlanta to Anchorage.  I always carry my mountaineering boots with me on flights because there's one thing I can't afford to lose, and that's my size 49 La Sportiva Baruntses.  My flight to Atlanta was uneventful and I was actually able to log some sleepy time.  The meat of the trip was the 8.5 hour leg from Atlanta to Anchorage.  All 6'4" of me boarded the plane and I apprehensively made my way to the back of the plane.  When I arrived, there was a mom changing her baby's diaper on my seat.  Just my luck that I'd be next to a baby for the next 9 hours.  This happened to be 9 month old Asa's first ever flight and his mom Ivy was taking him to see his father stationed in Alaska.  I also had the luck of being sandwiched on the other side by 9 month old baby Izron.  Well it turns out these two babies couldn't have been more well behaved and definitely helped the time go by.

I made it to my hotel in Anchorage and grabbed a quick dinner. I was all kind of whacked out being 5 hours back and the midnight sun making it seem like it was afternoon.  Regardless, I had a reserved sense of excitement deep within as I enjoyed some Alaskan fish and chips.  The two other expedition team members Zach and Marcus arrived later that evening and we arranged to meet up in the morning.

Zach and I met for breakfast and filled up on Reindeer sausage and pancakes which would become our breakfast staple over the next couple days. The third member of our team Markus met us back at the hotel lobby later that morning.  We arranged for Gary at Go Purple Shuttle to transport us to Talkeetna.  He made one mandatory stop at the cookie shop and shortly after we found ourselves in the heart of downtown Talkeetna.  We dropped all our gear off at Alaska Mountaineering School and checked into our hotel.  That afternoon we met our guides and did some initial gear sorting.  This was a good exercise as we trimmed everything to the bare minimum.  We were still planning an expedition style approach, however, on the Full West Rib, you don't have the luxury of sleds once on the Northeast Fork of the Kahiltna, so it's imperative to go as light as possible.  If all went according to plans, we would be on the glacier this time tomorrow.  Weather didn't look promising, but the trip was starting to sink in.