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Denali/Hunter/Foraker pics, no MTB, long, (attn: niteshift) (8 posts)
|  Denali/Hunter/Foraker pics, no MTB, long, (attn: niteshift) | AK Ken
May 31, 2003 12:59 AM | | Not only is it niteshift, but the weekend, so appropriate posting policy applies.
The following contains no biking reference or ride report, and is probably going to end up being fairly maudlin, so be forewarned or depart now.
A small plane carrying four souls left Talkeetna, Alaska this week for a routine flight to drop off two climbers on the Kahiltna Glacier. It was a beautiful spring day, the climbers were excited to be on their way into big mountains, the pilot was doing what she loved best, and the fourth passenger was visiting from another state and had been given this flightseeing/glacier landing trip as a gift from her son.
No doubt they were all marvelling at the beauty and magnitude of the Denali massif as they wended their way between huge white walls. I'll bet spirits were high and a sense of cameraderie and adventure reigned inside that Cessna. These folks were having an experience that most can't even imagine, and not many duplicate. They were building memories that would last forever, and would be recalled frequently to regale their friends and families with for years to come.
At some point those feelings of joy and elation must have turned to concern, fear, and horror. Something went terribly wrong, and the tubing and tin that had carried them skyward into the realm of the raptors now plunged earthward at incredible speed.
Gravity won, and when the last sounds ceased to echo around the cirque, the little airplane was buried in the snow for half its length. There were no survivors.
An incredible day of joy and lightheartedness metamorphosed into another kind of everlasting memory for a widening circle of people as the world became aware that plans had gone awry. There was a wife and two children with a third on the way in one home; a fiance planning a wedding for a month from now in another; a son who had nothing but the best intentions, who had randomly picked a flightseeing trip for his mom to cap her Alaska vacation.....
I knew none of these people personally, but the light of my life and center of my universe was called upon to help with the million and one things that must be done in the aftermath of a terrible tragedy; she's good at it, she's done it before; it's part of her job.
After families had been notified, after bodies had been recovered, after NTSB investigators had arrived, after the press had been mollified, she took a walk along the river and snapped some photos looking toward the crash site.
From left to right you see Mount Foraker, Mount Hunter, and Denali with braids of the Susitna River in the foreground.
A little time has passed, and the sun is disappearing behind Foraker.
I hope for comfort and rest for the lost and their loved ones.
For those who have read this, I hope for joy, and happiness, and passion to continue to burn brightly in us, and that we can be a positive influence and purveyors of our passions to those around us. If not us, who? If not now, when?
Carpe diem.
Ken |
| A................ | Mike T.
May 31, 2003 4:49 AM | | .....most beautiful post about such a tragic even Ken. Out of most bad things comes something good. This was one of those times. I too sat and reflected about those lost lives after I read the newspaper link that you sent me. I was reflecting on all the "what ifs" and the "I wish I'ds" that would torment their loved ones forever. How is it possible to deal with that?
I was reflecting on the utter silence that would be so profound after the horrific sound of the crash. I've attended many fatal car wrecks and the silence is the most noticable thing. It's easy to imagine the sheer sound of the impact, the last second cries and the final gasps but the silence is strange and overpowering.
May they rest in peace forever and their loved ones eventually smile at the good times. |
| Thanks Ken... | UncleMTB
May 31, 2003 8:44 AM | | I am glad I wasn't on niteshift when I read this...
I am still dealing with an Accident at my unit two weeks ago.
The first set of niteshifts was a challenge.
An excellent post...and reflects how I travel thru life.
5 minutes or 20 years with someone...give your spirit...It's all we have.
Tim(celebrates life) |
| Thanks Ken. | Kitchenware
May 31, 2003 8:53 AM | | I think I'll go solo for a while today, and ride for the reason I started riding.
Jim |
| Very nice post, Ken | radair
May 31, 2003 9:04 AM | | Thanks to Clare for helping deal with the tragedy and taking those fine pics.
I was watching one of the Harry Potter movies with my son this morning (these books are superb, BTW). Dumbledore, the headmaster, made a comment that went something like this: Our lives are defined not by our abilities, but by the choices we make. Seemed like a pretty apt point of view. Sort of like the difference between participants and contributors.
Thanks again. |
| I have a friend on Foraker right now... | freakrider
May 31, 2003 12:10 PM | | ...she was going to pick him up yesterday. It's something that seems to touch everyone up here. |
| Wow... | mudferret*
May 31, 2003 12:43 PM | | ...powerful post and pics Ken. It's nice to be reminded of the people who go in and do the post disaster stuff as well, all the best to Clare.
rdm |
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