Mid-January is the time we hear back from our previous summer staff whether or not they’ll be returning to work for another season at Camp Denali and North Face Lodge. This time of year is also when we will get an update as to where our Staff has scattered to during the Annual Staff Migrations that occur in late fall and spring.
After a long summer working at Camp Denali, our daring staff are more often than not itching to begin a great adventure, return home to visit family, start new winter jobs, or discover more of Alaska. Being that we are isolated from the rest of the state for most of the summer, our staff takes time planning trips to hike, paddle, climb, and generally explore the different corners of Alaska at the end of the season, just like many of our guests do on their vacations. Many summers, staff will borrow, buy, or rent a car and drive to the Lower 48 discovering the wonders of Eastern Alaska, and the Yukon and British Columbia, Canada.
The choices of exploration and winter work run the gamut. This past fall, three of our staff members Tom, Eric, and Tess, drove from Fairbanks to Massachusetts. One of our hosts, Sadie, took a Yoga Instructor course in New England and is now working at a Yoga center in Costa Rica for the winter. Our Housekeeping Coordinator, Kendall, and her husband, Justin, hiked the Camino de Santiago in Spain and are now exploring Central America. Finally, our Executive Chef, Chris, chose to spend his winter backcountry snowboarding on Mt. Baker as he has done in the past.
Another path chosen by our staff is that of working in Antarctica over the “austral summer.” Two of our current staff members, Kristen and Max, are working as cooks at McMurdo Station. This site is a U.S. Antarctic research center on the south tip of Ross Island. The working season in Antarctica matches up well for our staff because it allows ample time to travel in the spring before heading back to Camp Denali in late May.
Each season our dedicated staff members work tirelessly for more than three months providing amazing experiences for our guests. The time of year when they journey south and begin adventures or go back home is a well-deserved and rewarding time. We relish in hearing their plans before departing and look forward to the migration north in the spring when most of them return to Camp Denali, stories in tow.
