USA – Skiing and climbing from the world’s most remote and luxury outpost
Sheldon Chalet, the world’s most remote and luxury glacier outpost has announced its new adventure offerings including rock climbing, mixed climbing, and an elevated backcountry ski touring experience. Perched on a nunatak 6,000 ft above the Don Sheldon Amphitheater inside Denali National Park, the Sheldon Chalet is only accessible by helicopter from Anchorage or Talkeetna. Designed to complement the property’s premier location just 10 miles from the summit of Denali are its epic offerings of glacier trekking, ice cavern exploration, and aurora gazing, Sheldon Chalet continues to raise the bar and expectation for luxury outdoor adventures, while preserving the joy of true exploration.
As a 3rd generation-run property on the flanks of Denali, the Sheldon family has always desired to keep the adventure of exploration alive and the experience preserved as the pioneers before them embraced Denali. Before there was heli-skiing, snowcats or gondolas to usher explorers up the mountain, there was just grit and determination to make it to the top. Backcountry skiing, glacier mountaineering, and summit climbing began with the pure human spirit, curiosity, and eagerness. Men and women such as Bradford and Barbara Washburn, Ricardo Cassin, and Ray Gionet (to name a few legends) pioneered the Alaskan backcountry mountaineering and skiing spirit.
As international ski resorts start to close down, the Don Sheldon Amphitheater in Denali National Park prepares for epic backcountry skiing conditions from March to June, with 35 square miles of untouched pristine powder and endless opportunities to ski Alaska’s rugged wilderness. This exclusive offering includes your private gear fitting, custom backcountry skis with skins for easier ascents, and your own glacier guides to explore the open terrain. After a glacier training course, guests along with their expert guides will create fresh tracks among the powder coating the glacier in Alaska’s rugged wilderness.
Skiing in Denali National Park is a backcountry alpine touring and skiing experience. After a hearty and gourmet breakfast, guests depart Sheldon Chalet and ski-tour their way to prime slopes identified by their guides. Being in the wilderness, guests earn their turns as they trek or “skin” up the slope in a zig-zag pattern ascending the mountain, before locking their bindings in place, and carving epic turns.
Why bold men and women decide to conquer mountain after mountain is one of life’s great mysteries; yet today, a rare and select few still follow in their footsteps. Sheldon Chalet believes in cultivating an experience like no other. Combining the past with the present which leads to a future-forward mindset, that aims to teach guests of the pioneers that came before them and offer an experience that allows each person to enjoy the backcountry of Alaska as their predecessors did many years ago paired with the afforded accessibility of modern ingenuity. Earning your turns is one of life’s most rewarding experiences.
From May through July, Sheldon Chalet guests can get up close and personal with some of the world’s most famous climbing routes along Denali’s glacier highway and within the Don Sheldon Amphitheater, including access to the Moose’s Tooth’s spectacular Root Canal, Broken Tooth, and Mt. Barrille. Guided climbing experiences have been designed to accommodate guests at novice to expert levels, with all training, gear, and safety courses included. For the more skilled rock climbers who want to try something new, mixed climbing combines the thrill of using ice axes, climbing shoes, crampons, bivy sacks, mountaineering boots, and more as adventurers switch gears mid-mountain from rock climbing to mountaineering to ice climbing and to ‘crampon’ summits.
According to Experience Director Ryan Sheldon, “There is a magic and gravity that guests feel when trekking up the many surrounding faces, unassisted by helicopters which improve the integrity of the skiing experience. At Sheldon Chalet, we take care of everything for you. Our in-house mountain guides will be sure to lead you to the best powder caches in the Alaska range; some of which may have never been touched before.”
In addition to backcountry skiing and climbing, Sheldon Chalet’s glacier guides offer ice crevasse and cavern exploration, rappelling, epic sledding runs and powsurfing, gourmet glacier picnics, glacier trekking via snowshoes or skis, snow cave or igloo building, and heli or fixed wing tours of Denali. As the day ends, return to Sheldon Chalet for a sauna, gourmet dinner, the spectacular glow of the northern lights, sparkling night starscapes, and a luxurious night’s sleep.
