This secluded little bush town was not well known till the late 1990’s. The valley the town sits in at the foot hills of the Wrangell Mountains contains several drainages that develop outstanding ice for climbing. While the ice is excellent the approaches are not. The cicles located around the town of Nebensa do have relative short easy approaches but the drainages take time and some effort to reach the ice. And the temperatures are not real ice climber friendly either. Most action happens late October to mid November when the temps are cold but still manageable. The temperatures can still be brutal cold with overnight lows to -25F and daytime climbing temps not much warmer. It is insane to climb ice here mid winter with temps as low as -50F. After winter has released its tight grip on this interior bush area, March and April have long days of daylight but the cold can linger as sunlight rarely breaks it way into the shadows.
It is roughly the same driving distance from Anchorage to Nebesna as it is to Valdez from Anchorage. The driving time takes around seven hours but the road conditions and weather can add an hour maybe more. Drive the Glenn Highway 190 miles to the town of Glennallen. It would be wise to fill the fuel tank of your vehicle in Glennallen before driving on to Nebesna and it is also a good idea to fuel the body too. At the "T" junction of the Glenn and Richardson Highways, turn left and follow until the Gulkana Juction in the town of Gulkana where the higway splits into the Richardson heading north to Fairbanks and Glenn heading to Tok. Stay on the Glenn until the town of Slana is reach in about 60 miles. Turn right and it is 50 miles to the town of Nebesna. Around milepost 35 the first cicle can be seen hanging high and far away on the right side.
| North of Anchorage | Anchorage Bowl | South of Anchorage | Valdez |
