Era flightseeing adds mountain landing

MAT-SU -- Tourists and local residents could have another option for exploring Alaska beginning this spring when Era Flightseeing hopes to start making helicopter landings on a Denali State Park mountaintop.

The unnamed peak is in the wilderness zone west of Eldridge Glacier. As planned, helicopter pilots will cut their normal 50-minute scenic route a few minutes short to land at the 5,300-foot level and allow passengers to get out to take pictures.

"It's a way for people to step out and get a good view of the Alaska Range," said Dennis McDonnell, director of flightseeing for Era Helicopters Inc. "We scoped out a site that wouldn't infringe on wilderness."

The Anchorage-based company has had permits to land at other sites in Denali State Park but they haven't been used for one reason or another, said Dennis Heikes, Mat-Su area superintendent for the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. They were lower-elevation sites, including one envisioned as a put-in for raft trips that wasn't used because the venture didn't pan out economically, Heikes said.

Another potential landing site was so brushy it would make landings difficult, McDonnell said, as well as being in prime bear habitat.

The new site can be used for landings even when covered by snow, patches of which were still evident when McDonnell surveyed the area in September 2003. He said the new service will begin between May 15 and June 1.

The venture still depends on results of a 30-day appeal period that began Tuesday. People who believe they will be adversely affected by the landings -- permitted by an Alaska State Parks director's determination -- may appeal the decision to Tom Irwin, state Department of Natural Resources commissioner, 550 West Seventh Ave., Suite 1400, Anchorage AK 99501-8918. More information is available from Heikes at 745-8935.

If approved, the permit will be good for one year. McConnell noted that a portion the $299 each person would pay for the trip will go to help fund Alaska State Parks. He added there will be no damage to the park.

"It's a happy medium between giving visitors a chance to experience something they otherwise wouldn't be able to do, and not being environmentally damaging," he said.