| | | | | | Natalia Stepanova | - Denali Summit
The main idea of my Alaskan trip was summit attempt to Denali mountain. "Denali, a half-day drive north of Anchorage, is a park which contains an extraordinary variety of wildlife, in its vast tundra and taiga expenses, more than any other in the United States.
Its main feature, however, is Mount Denali (former McKinley) (20320 feet, 6200m) the highest mountain in North America, and its satellite peaks, which are magnificent mountains on their own, but are here dwarfed by the big mountain.
Altitude is not everything: the vertical relief of the mountain is 18000 feet (5500 meters), and its latitude, just a few hundreds miles below the artic circle can bring some of the coldest weather anywhere, especially during the fierce Alaskan storms, when winds rage over 100mph and temperatures drop -40. For those reason, climbing Mt McKinley combines the challenges of a high-altitude climb with those of a polar expedition. Each year, about a thousand climbers seek to reach the summit, the vast majority of them through the technically easy West Buttress route, and about half of them succeed."
I must say lots of thanks to my friends, we were able to reach the summit in a total of 12 days versus usual 14.
- photos: 25 (3 MB)
- Album was created 3 years 1 month ago and modified 2 years 2 months ago
- Comments: 2
| | Natalia Stepanova | - Anchorage
- photos: 16 (4 MB)
- Album was created 3 years 0 months ago and modified 2 years 5 months ago
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| | Natalia Stepanova. | - Valdez - Prince William Sound Cruise
- Jul 1, 2005
These pictures were taken during 9-hour cruise from Valdez to Columbia Glacier. This area is called Prince William Sound. It is a marine wonderland like nowhere else I have ever been. Unfortunetely I could not shoot all the birds and mammals I had seen, but here are some of them - sea otters, sea lions, and bald eagle. - photos: 16 (3 MB)
- Album was created 2 years 6 months ago and modified 1 year 10 months ago
- Comments: 1
| | Natalia Stepanova | - Talkeetna - Fairbanks trip
- Jun 28, 2005
- photos: 14 (3 MB)
- Album was created 2 years 2 months ago and modified 2 years 2 months ago
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