K2 Aviation runs scenic flights around Denali, America’s highest point at 20,310 feet, and transports aspiring summiters to basecamp. On a routine flight in early March this year, pilot Chris Palm noticed something unusual on the flanks of the mountain. The normally uniform Muldrow Glacier was sliced and diced with exceptionally large cracks and crevasses. Not in one spot, but everywhere. The glacier looked like it was falling apart.
The Muldrow is a 39-mile long glacier that starts high on the northeastern slope of Denali and flows into the McKinley River. It’s one of four main routes to the summit (the others are the West Buttress, West Rib, and Cassin Ridge), and for the last 60 years, it has flowed downhill at a rate of 3 to 11 inches per day. It’s now moving at a blistering pace (for a glacier) of 30 to 60 feet per day, or up to 100 times faster than usual.