Frequently Asked Questions

We provide comfortable van transportation both to and from our Airport and Douglas Bases. Our Helicopter Glacier Walkabout, Trek, and Ice Climbing tours are all dispatched from our base located next to the Juneau International Airport (JNU) in the Mendenhall Valley; while our Taku Glacier Helicopter & Airboat Adventure and Helicopter Glacier Dogsled Adventure are launched from our base on Douglas Island.

We are able to pick up and drop off in most locations in Juneau, excluding the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area. Cruise ship passengers who book directly with us rather than through their ship will be picked up and dropped off at the Goldbelt Tramway downtown.

Because space in the helicopter is limited, everything that you bring should fit inside your pockets or the large hip pack that is provided on our trekking tours. For larger DSLR cameras, we recommend a neck-strap for easy carrying. Bags, purses, selfie sticks, nor drones are permitted. We provide safe storage for any personal belongings to remain at our base.

We fly A-Star 350 series helicopters that seat up to 6 passengers plus the pilot. Seating is arranged in the helicopter to comply with the helicopter’s weight and balance requirements.

If  you decide to cancel more than 24 hours before departure, you will receive a refund minus a 10% cancellation fee. If you cancel less than 24 hours before departure, you will not receive a refund.

We arrange seating based on the weight, balance, safety, and comfort of the whole departure, and cannot guarantee that we will be able to keep groups together on the aircraft. Please note that we will do everything possible to keep groups together for the flight portion of the tour, but we are sometimes required to split a group between multiple helicopters. All groups will be together for the glacier portion of the tour.

You should dress for a 10-15°F temperature decrease from sea-level (at the cruise ship docks) to the glacier. We recommend that you dress in  long socks, warm layers,  and sunglasses. We will provide you with rain pants, a rain jacket, gloves, a harness, and boots during your tour. Additionally, water and a light snack will be provided for walkabouts, treks, and extended treks.

We operate the majority of our trekking tours on the Mendenhall Glacier. However, we also have permits to operate on the Taku, Hole-in-the-Wall, Thiel, Gilkey, Norris, Battle, and Herbert Glaciers. The location is depended upon weather and glacier conditions, with safety and quality of the experience as the top priority.

We offer three different levels of treks to accommodate a broad range of physical abilities and time on the glacier.

• Walkabout is the easiest and allows for 1-hour on the glacier.
• Trek requires a moderate amount of physical activity for 2 hours.
• Extended Trek is the most strenuous and allows you to spend 3-hours on the glacier.

Additionally, all tours will be made to accommodate the level of the participants in the group. No previous climbing or glacier experience is needed.

You should dress for a 10-15°F temperature decrease from sea-level (at the cruise ship docks) to the glacier. We recommend that you dress in sturdy shoes, long socks, warm layers, gloves, and sunglasses. We will provide you with over boots.

We operate all of our dogsledding tours on the Norris Glacier. Unlike the Mendenhall Glacier, which earns its fame for being one of the most accessible glaciers in North America, the Norris Glacier is secluded and well off the beaten path of other visitors. Our remote dog mushers camp is located approximately 35 kilometers outside of Juneau and is only accessible by helicopter. The Norris Glacier is massive, extending from over 4,000 feet in elevation down to the coastline, where visitors may have the fortune to view stunning displays of azure-blue ice walls as the glacier calves into the sea, while en route to dog camp. 

You should dress for a 10-15°F temperature decrease from sea-level (at the cruise ship docks) to the glacier. We recommend that you dress in sturdy shoes, long socks, warm layers, gloves, and sunglasses. We will provide you with over boots and rain pants during your tour. 

We operate all of our airboat tours on the Taku Glacier. The Taku is a massive tidewater glacier and the largest of 38 glaciers comprising the 1,500 square mile Juneau Icefield. The Taku Inlet region remains, to this day, one of the most pristine and untouched areas of Southeast Alaska. Due to the shallow river banks, the inlet is only accessible by careful boat navigation or by air. Our base at Taku Point is the area’s only visible human structure, allowing you to view this environment in its rawest form.