We’ve been taken over by climbers! Around 1000 climbers have signed up to climb Denali this year, we will host about 90 here at the Inn from May to mid July. They all fly up to Base Camp from Talkeetna. The climbers that stay with us are on guided expedtions with Alpine Ascents International, www.alpineascents.com a well respected mountain guide service that specializes in guiding the 7 highest Summits around the world.
They bring a great energy to the start of our season, we enjoy getting to know the different charachters and can stay tuned into their trip through the cybercasts posted on the AAI website. Over the years we have learnt to stay flexible with the changing conditions of expedition logisitics and now hold the Inn exclusively for AAI climbers during the season. The first and third expeditions had to stay an extra night, unable to fly into Base Camp due to high winds, other team members have left their expedtion and flown off the mountain earlier than expected. It’s always unpredictable.
Looking at the booking calendar just gives me a rough idea of what the day has in store. Today we have two for breakfast (I was expecting only one last night) and nobody scheduled to come in - however there’s a rumor of one more coming off early any day now! It’s just a matter of when the phone will ring with a new plan. Another group arrive Friday, the night before an 8 or 12 day mountaineering course. I’m hoping they will stick to their schedule as we have some fun planned for Saturday.
I’m usually left with some time in the afternoon to spend in the greenhouse. It’s so nice in there these days; everything is growing well, even a few flowers blooming, we’ve eaten a couple of freshly picked salads too. The lawn chair fits inbetween the benches calling me for a sneaky nap - one of these days…
