As featured on the Travel Channel's "Secrets of Alaska's National Parks"
"The mountains are calling and I must go."
--John Muir
From the rejuvenated waters of Prince William Sound to the tumbling glaciers of the Wrangell
Mountains, Expedition Alaska offers an opportunity to experience three
different areas of America's "Last Frontier." As with all Wilderness Adventure
at Eagle Landing courses, Expedition Alaska is designed to allow participants
to progress in both experience and skill. Your group will be living, learning,
and playing together for 28 days, so, group dynamics and leadership are
important components of this trip. You will learn to work together and come to
depend upon each other as you backpack, sea kayak, and ice climb your way
through Alaska.
Backpacking & Land
Navigation The
trip begins with a week of backpacking & land navigation. Beginning below
the tree line, your group will quickly ascend above it for some of the most
amazing views that Alaska has to offer. Weather permitting, you may be
fortunate to catch a glimpse of Mt. McKinley (Denali), adding to the grandness
and awe of the hike. This area offers magnificent tundra flowers, rock
formations, tarns, and streams and is teeming with wildlife. Each group member
will be involved with route planning through this open alpine environment, thus
allowing your group to develop its land navigation skills. Once you and your
group have had the opportunity to practice these skills, you'll make a few
non-technical summit attempts before descending back below the tree
line.
Sea Kayaking &
Marine Navigation
After taking in much of
what Denali has to offer, your group will head to Prince William Sound for a week of sea kayaking and marine navigation. It is
here that you will board "water taxis" for a ride to Glacier Bay, where the
mountains meet the sea. Once in the bay, your group will learn the art of
marine navigation by exploring the seemingly limitless coastline and practicing
your paddling techniques in tandem sea kayaks. It is quite common to view orca
and humpback whales, harbor seals, sea otters, sea lions, and bald eagles
throughout the Prince William Sound.
Glacier Travel & Ice
Climbing Next
you will head to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. A short flight over the
Kennecott Glacier will land you and your group at the start of the glacier
travel and ice-climbing portion of the trip. The next nine days will be spent
traveling across two different glaciers using crampons and ice axes. After
traveling for a bit, your group will stop to spend two spectacular and
challenging days learning the fundamentals of ice climbing. Upon finishing this
incredible final portion of the trip, you and your group will head back to
Anchorage and catch your respective flights home. You'll never forget this
unbelievable experience. Click here for dates &
tuition.
