The Approach

So, over a few months, the trip got organized and then came the fateful day when each of us showed up at the Vancouver airport with about 70Kg of luggage for a flight to Whitehorse in Canada’s Yukon territory.

25th May
After checking in and paying for a huge amount of excess baggage, we were on the flight, and a couple of hours later we were landing in Whitehorse – The provincial capital of Canada’s Yukon. It’s a small city perched up on a flat area somewhat above the Yukon River.
We were met at the airport by our transport to get to Kluane Lake where we would get a flight on a small ski plane into the glacier at the foot of the mountain. – A Limo!
Yes, it was a full on stretched limo. It turns out that this was the cheapest option to get the four of us and our gear across the several hundred Km to our next stop on the journey. Id done the phoning around and set this up. It was going to cost us $350 for the four hour drive and that’s only $80 each for us and our gear. The limo was rather beat up on the inside and had clearly seen better days but the driver was a very lively character and was happy to give us the low-down on this and that as we drove around town – I think he had some close ties with the local “Hells Angels” chapter... We had to buy the last of our supplies here since certain things are not allowed to fly and other things were just too heavy. So, we drove around for an hour or so and got many liters of light fuel for the stoves and some heavy and perishable food (Alcahol etc :) ) for the first week of the trip. Then it was off down the highway towards Haines Junction and the four of us nodded off quite happily in the back of the limo.
About half way to our destination, we had a stop at the local ranger station to fill in several forms and let them know that we were in the area, that we had the right permit, and the trip was on. I also noticed that the trees up here were getting very small and short. They were some sort of Pine tree, but they were only about 3-5m tall – It’s a reflection of the climate up here. The trees are likely a hundred years old or so (there has been a good deal of logging here!) but the growing season is very short in the sub-arctic.
Back in the car and off we go again till we get to Kluane Lake where there is an airport. It turns out that that’s about all there is! – Not quite true, there is a lodge/motel with some little cabins on the side of the lake that we have booked into for the night … or two… or three, till we fly into the glacier. We unload and bid farewell to our talkative limo driver and then stand around and start to settle into the awesome silence of the North.
Our first night up here is a short one. The sun sets at half an hour past midnight and then rises again at 4:30 am!

26th May
Well, the weather looked OK today but there are some people already in the queue for flights so we have to wait till they are gone before we get our turn. Not to worry, we have a relaxing (but cool) day of doing a bit of gear organizing (pouring fuel into packable volumes), strolling along the lake front, and generally relaxing into the local “style” - We all just came from full-on work life in the “big” city of Vancouver.
The ski plane manages two flights into the Kings Trench route with the other people today but no more for us – we have to wait till tomorrow.

27th May
Again the weather looks OK but that’s not enough for the pilot. We are a couple of hundred kilometers from the mountain and a couple of kilometers lower in altitude too. The weather here can be very different to the weather there and no one knows it better than the bush pilot we are flying in with. We are quite happy to trust his judgment and wait till he says its OK to fly.
It turns out that his say so is not given till about mid-day. Then its all go go go! We rapidly load our gear into a pickup and get dressed for the glacier with our ice axes, ropes and crampons at the top of the gear pile so we can use it as soon as we land. We drive over to the airport a couple of Km and wait near the plane. The pilot ambles casually over and tinkers about his machine. We must be just the usual over anxious climbing party to him, and Im sure he enjoys taking his time :)

He eventually gets around to loading the plane, and he does it all himself so that he can feel the weight of all the luggage and pack it where he wants in the plane – These things make all the difference for the light aircraft and we have no choice but to sit back and watch while the work is done. Its going to take two flights to get us and our gear in. Straws are drawn and Marcus and I get the first flight with the other two to follow later that day…. Or the next if the weather shuts down…. And there is no guarantee that we will get in for that matter. If the visibility is poor when we get in there then we may not be able to land and may have to simply turn around and fly back out!