Originally Posted by
Reindeerflame
Yes, there is.
The rule of thumb at Denali is that the mountain is only visible about 30 percent of the time, so, on the average, the chance of seeing the mountain on any given day is not that good.
On the day we went, we opted for the earlier bus, and the mountain was visible at Eielson. Just one hour later, when the next bus arrived, the mountain was no longer visible due to clouds moving in.
This is the main if not the only reason for an earlier or later shuttle bus. Old wives tales say that wildlife is more active earlier and later in the day but that is not proven by the statistics. Check out the Denali NP website for wildlife studies done in 2006-2009 and in 2012. Wildlife can be seen any time of the day.
My first 20 times in Denali I saw the Mountain 19 times. That is 95% not 30%. Why so high? Most the times I saw the mountain were from Wonder Lake between 10pm and 6am, when the buses were not running. Also, many people only go 3 (headquarters for sleddog demo) or 17 miles into the park (natural history tour). Their chances of seeing the mountain are much less.
So the 30% statistic is more a PR fact to sell t-shirts and sweatshirts. Those who work harder at seeing it will have a much greater chance to see it :-).