| One of the 4 snowmobiles that were helicopter slung into the camp. These are used for grooming the dog trails and getting around in the deep snow. Every step that we take in camp we sink about 2 feet. These machines make it very easy to get around camp. |
| Unloading helicopters is a daily routine. We have about 30 helicopters land in camp per day that carry tourists and gear for our camp. The helicopters do not shut down when they land, so we usually are timed on how fast we can unload the chopper while still being safe. |
| A mulon is a vertical shaft into the center of the glacier, hundreds or thousands of feet deep. This mulon (according to the helicopter pilot) is probably over a 1000 feet deep and it has a "toilet bowl" affect, so you don't want to go near them! If you do, you might end up as a "Mendenhall Man" (they'd find your frozen body about 400 years from now 1000 feet under the ice). |
| This is Ed and I in a Bell-212 chopper. Ed is one of the mushers on the glacier and owns a kennel in Michigan. He currently owns about 70 dogs on the glacier, including 27 of the ones I am taking care of. Ed has run the Iditarod three times and is wanting to run it again. |
| Here is a picture of me boarding the helicopter to go to Juneau. Everyone is plugging their ears because of how loud the engine is. This helicopter is the same type they used in Vietnam. They are EXTREMELY loud... and slow. |
| Helicopter Pictures |
| This is where the Mendenhall Glacier flows into Mendenhall Lake. The ice caves that I hiked to are located at the point where the water, land, and ice all meet on the left side. |
| The ridge the helicopters fly over when heading back into Juneau. |
| Here is a great picture of Temsco. Temsco is a helicopter company that contracts directly with Alaskan Icefield Expeditions (AIE). If you look closely, you can see the helicopters parked around the building. Every time we arrive or depart in Juneau we leave from this building and head out onto the road you see on the right. |
| The B-212 helicopter, or what we refer to it as "Big Bird." |