Vitaliy M. wrote: The hardest thing to get right is team dynamics and good weather window.
True Dat! Wow. Team dynamics can ruin your trip faster than the weather! You can hear about it, read about it, get advice about it but until
you actually go through it, you won't understand the degree it can get to.
ibekker wrote:Is there transportation available to leave Talkeetna early in the morning (4am) and make a 9am flight out of Anchorage?
From my memory, we found no such land travel available that early from Talt. We just planned on staying an extra day in Anchorage to make up for that fact.
Though, our 'end of trip' was anything but ordinary. In short, we built a few extra days into the trip at the end to see some of the sights around Anc and Sweard. Though with that Oprah-sized hangover, God, we needed the extra time to recooperate!
Things might have changed a bit...just don't know. The train won't run that early and I don't think
you'll have much luck with shuttle services. Any later flights out of Anc by chance? Or did you purchase already?
TrainingSince I was living in Vail at the time, my buddy and I started off by climbing Vail Mountain 3-4 nights a week when the lifts closed
(I lived at the base). It was roughly 2,300ft in about a half mile (distance). We'd ski down by headlamp once at the top
(damn, that was fun!). It took us near 2 hours in the beginning then a couple weeks before we left, we had it down to 45 minutes!
Plus, I'd do 2 hours of cardio and light weights (upper body) 3x a week on top of that. So like Vitality, I also didn't think the mountain (West Butt) was all that difficult.
Though I did try to burn and sacrafice my sled back at base camp but no one would have it. I still harbour a lingering hatred about that sled!