Actuary-Schmactuary. My new ambition is to be a HELICOPTER PILOT. We flew up Sunday evening with Alpine Air based out of Girdwood to the Thomas Training Center on Eagle Glacier.

This is the sweet, sweet R44 that we flew in. I don't know anything about helicopters (...yet) but I thought that this was the most beautiful transportation device that I'd ever seen.

Most of us flew up in the helicopter, 7 loads of 3 athletes per load plus Andy who was piloting. Keith was flying up sling loads of gear. Some of the athletes that Erik doesn't like had to be wrapped up in the netting and flown up with the gear. Here, Tazlina Mannix.

While waiting for my group's turn to fly in I had an Exciting Opportunity. Debbie, who was in charge of the ground side of things (and I'm 90% sure I remembered her name correctly, but I could be wrong so correct me if you're in the know), went to pick up some pizzas for the pilots and said that if Keith came back to pick up the next load of gear before she got back that it would be great if someone could hook it up for him. I, being eager to interact more with these beautiful beasties, volunteered. So Keith did come back and I signaled that I would attach the load for him so he wouldn't have to stop and land. (And then I jumped up and down a couple times because I was So excited.) Keith came down and hovered about 6 feet off the ground and I walked under the helicopter and attached the top of the rope to the belly of the helicopter. I felt as I walked into the roaring and windy vortex around the R44 that I was offering a sacrifice to some scary mythical beast and that it only really wanted the rope but it might take my hand too if I wasn't careful. I felt a moment of panic when I went to hook the rope in because, what if I messed up and the load of all of our backpacks fell halfway up to the glacier? eek! I felt responsible. The hook was very simple and closed with a satisfying click, though. Then Keith flew up and I guided the rope up and then the mesh bag tightened around our gear and everything lifted off the ground.

Andy returned shortly after and we were finally actually in a helicopter! Katie Ronsse is modeling the sweet headset that we all with microphones and earpieces so we could talk and hear each other over the roar of the blades.

If you haven't guessed already by how childishly excited I am about the helicopters... this was my first time up in a helicopter!




Because it was marginal weather on the close side of the glacier we had to take the longer way in around the back. Needless to say, I was thrilled!

We passed Keith with the sling load on the way in. I was very happy to see the bag of gear still attached to the helicopter.





My first view of Eagle Glacier

Katie Ronsse & R44. A thick fog blanket had crept in (most likely on little cat feet) between when the previous load got dropped and us so Andy let us down on the lower part of the glacier and told us to wait and that they would call Erik up at camp and have him pick us up on snow machines.

can I make a side note here? So I've always called them snow mobiles, but in alaska people generally call them snow machines. I don't care and am not interested in debating what they're actually called so when I'm in AK I'll say snow machine but when I'm back in the lower 48 I'll probably go back to snow mobile.

LAV, happy to be back in the snow

Kalysta Schmidt, Ky Eiben, Katie Ronsse huddled in the pile of gear also dropped at the bottom of the glacier. After Andy dropped us off he came back half an hour later with three more people. And then half an hour after that with the last three athletes who informed us that no one actually knew we were down here because they hadn't been able to get ahold of the coaches, but we should just wait. So we waited. And got hungry. And cold. So we went through some of the boxes of food and got some snacks and went through our backpacks and pulled out whatever extra clothes we had. Then the drone of snow machines could be heard in the distance and we were rescued and whisked up the glacier to the training facility!