The Denali Basecamp Talk offers a glimpse into Lisa Roderick’s life living on a glacier during the ten week Denali climbing season, the myriad of interesting characters and mountain climbers she has encountered, and her duties working with and providing weather observations for the Talkeetna glacier pilots who bring more than one thousand climbers along with hundreds of scenic flight passengers to the basecamp at 7,200 feet elevation on the Kahiltna Glacier each season.
I have been working as the Denali Basecamp Manager for the past 23 seasons. I have spent up to ten weeks each year living in a small tent at 7,200 feet on the remote Kahiltna Glacier, the starting point for climbing expeditions heading for Denali and numerous surrounding mountains. My primary duties involve managing the basecamp and providing ever-changing weather conditions reports for incoming pilots bringing mountain climbers and scenic flight passengers to the glacier. I have assisted the National Park Service with communications and coordination during numerous search and rescue operations, and I have enjoyed a front row seat to some world-class feats in mountaineering and alpinism.
~ Lisa Roderick
At 20,320 feet, Denali is North America’s tallest mountain. It attracts over 1,200 climbers annually from all over the world to its challenging slopes, as well as thousands of tourists who experience the mountain by scenic flight tours. Kahiltna Basecamp, located at 7,200 feet on the Kahiltna Glacier, is a remote, seasonal installation located 65 miles from the small tourist town of Talkeetna and is only reachable by ski-wheel equipped aircraft.
Between April and July each season, the vast majority of Denali climbers pass through basecamp, but the camp is also a destination for climbers attempting difficult routes on impressive mountains including 17,400 foot Mount Foraker (AKA “Sultana”), and 14,573 foot Mount Hunter (AKA “Begguya”).
In addition, many of the Talkeetna-based scenic flight tourists add on a glacier landing to their flight tour, which often brings them to Kahiltna Basecamp. The camp is an energetic, dynamic hub of activity for three months each year, filled with world-class athletes, adventurers, and wanderers who are bound together and brought here by the beauty of the Alaska Range landscape.
Contact us
Denali Mountain Talks
Lisa Roderick
Talkeetna, Alaska
+1 907-841-8424
alaskasunflower@gmail.com