You'll also be able to listen to other air traffic as pilots call in their positions and chat with each other. On the longer flights, you'll eventually be surrounded by jagged peaks as your small plane darts in and out of the folds of the mountains, bringing you face to face with McKinley before catapulting you around to the other side of the mountain. During summer, it's likely at some point that you'll see a thin black line of mountaineers snaking their way along a ridge as they head to the mountain's summit. Obtaining a favorable report on conditions, our pilot set us down. Booking a flightseeing trip is easy enough.
Many services have toll-free numbers and Web sites.
There's also a commercial visitor information center at the junction of the Parks Highway and the Talkeetna Spur Road, the only road leading into Talkeetna. The following companies provide flight-seeing tours of Mount McKinley.