If you're going to Denali this summer and are planning on taking the popular shuttle bus trip inside the park you may want to follow this story and see if they actually strike or not.

"The bus drivers who carry thousands of tourists through Denali National Park in the peak of the summer season are voting this weekend on a possible strike, according to Teamsters union officials.

If the Teamsters go ahead with the strike, tourist traffic through the popular national park could be in jeopardy, union officials said Friday"

Here's a link to the story in the Anchorage newspaper: http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/469084.html

Bill

For those unfamiliar with Denali, this is big news. One can only take private vehicles 15 miles into Park and then it is bus or nothing.

And the very idea hinted in article of getting substitute drivers is terrifying. The road into Denali is about a millimeter wider than a bus and stuck onto a mountain cliff in many places - dirt road, no guard rails, with many switchbacks - not the place a replacement driver should be driving an aged schoolbus.

Anything new on this? Friend goes to Denali in a couple of weeks.

I read they have to have a 30 day cooling off period while still proceeding with talks, so hopefully that means no strike the next couple of weeks. I'll be in Denali next week!

Anything new on this?

I'm not following it closely because I'll be near Kantishna with private transport and the fewer busses on the road the better for me, selfish SOB that I am (I do have a friend with camping permits who will be screwed if they strike, so I hope it's settled for his sake)

However a quick Google sez the drivers on Monday authorized a strike as a negotiating ploy but have yet to actually go out on strike. The vote was 110 to 2 in favor, so it's pretty solid. My guess is management will cave.

Here's a quote from the Anchorage Daily Planet:

"the bus drivers who ferry visitors into Denali National Park and Preserve have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike that could cripple the park's transportation system. The final vote tally Monday came to 110 in favor of the strike and 2 opposed"

Here's the link ... http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/471200.html

Bill