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Denali (; also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest
mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...
peak in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, with a summit
elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...
of above
sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...
. With a
topographic prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...
of and a
topographic isolation The topographic isolation of a summit is the minimum distance to a point of equal elevation, representing a radius of dominance in which the peak is the highest point. It can be calculated for small hills and islands as well as for major mountain ...
of , Denali is the third most prominent and third most isolated peak on Earth, after
Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
and
Aconcagua Aconcagua () is a mountain in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the List of highest mountains on Earth, highest mountain in the Americas, the highest outside Asia, and the highest in the ...
. Located in the
Alaska Range The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 600-mile-long (950 km) mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest endSources differ as to the exact delineation of the Alaska Range. ThBoar ...
in the interior of the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
, Denali is the centerpiece of
Denali National Park and Preserve Denali National Park and Preserve, formerly known as Mount McKinley National Park, is an American national park and preserve located in Interior Alaska, centered on Denali, the highest mountain in North America. The park and contiguous preserve e ...
. The
Koyukon people The Koyukon (russian: Коюконы) are an Alaska Native Athabascan people of the Athabascan-speaking ethnolinguistic group. Their traditional territory is along the Koyukuk and Yukon rivers where they subsisted for thousands of years by ...
who inhabit the area around the mountain have referred to the peak as "Denali" for centuries. In 1896, a gold prospector named it "Mount McKinley" in support of then-presidential candidate
William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...
; that name was the official name recognized by the
federal government of the United States The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...
from 1917 until 2015. In August 2015, 40 years after Alaska had done so, the
United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...
announced the change of the official name of the mountain to Denali. In 1903,
James Wickersham James Wickersham (August 24, 1857 – October 24, 1939) was a district judge for Alaska, appointed by U.S. President William McKinley to the Third Judicial District in 1900. He resigned his post in 1908 and was subsequently elected as Alaska ...
recorded the first attempt at climbing Denali, which was unsuccessful. In 1906,
Frederick Cook Frederick Albert Cook (June 10, 1865 – August 5, 1940) was an American explorer, physician, and ethnographer who claimed to have reached the North Pole on April 21, 1908. That was nearly a year before Robert Peary, who similarly claime ...
claimed the
first ascent In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they en ...
, but this ascent is unverified and its legitimacy questioned. The first verifiable ascent to Denali's summit was achieved on June 7, 1913, by climbers
Hudson Stuck Hudson Stuck (November 4, 1863 – October 10, 1920) was a British native who became an Episcopal priest, social reformer and mountain climber in the United States. With Harry P. Karstens, he co-led the first expedition to successfully climb Den ...
,
Harry Karstens Henry Peter "Harry" Karstens'' (September 2, 1878 – November 28, 1955) was the first superintendent of Denali National Park, from 1921 to 1928. He was the guide and climbing leader of the first complete ascent of Denali in 1913, with expedition ...
,
Walter Harper Walter Harper (1893 – October 25, 1918) was an Alaska Native mountain climber and guide. On Saturday, 7 June 1913, he was the first person to reach the summit of Denali (Mount McKinley), the highest mountain in North America. He was followed by ...
, and
Robert Tatum The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...
, who went by the South Summit. In 1951,
Bradford Washburn Henry Bradford Washburn Jr. (June 7, 1910 – January 10, 2007) was an American explorer, mountaineer, photographer, and cartographer. He established the Boston Museum of Science, served as its director from 1939–1980, and from 1985 until his d ...
pioneered the West Buttress route, considered to be the safest and easiest route, and therefore the most popular currently in use. On September 2, 2015, the
U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...
announced that the mountain is high, not , as measured in 1952 using
photogrammetry Photogrammetry is the science and technology of obtaining reliable information about physical objects and the environment through the process of recording, measuring and interpreting photographic images and patterns of electromagnetic radiant ima ...
.


Geology and features

Denali is a
granitic A granitoid is a generic term for a diverse category of coarse-grained igneous rocks that consist predominantly of quartz, plagioclase, and alkali feldspar. Granitoids range from plagioclase-rich tonalites to alkali-rich syenites and from quart ...
pluton In geology, an igneous intrusion (or intrusive body or simply intrusion) is a body of intrusive igneous rock that forms by crystallization of magma slowly cooling below the surface of the Earth. Intrusions have a wide variety of forms and com ...
, mostly pink
quartz monzonite Quartz monzonite is an intrusive, felsic, igneous rock that has an approximately equal proportion of orthoclase and plagioclase feldspars. It is typically a light colored phaneritic (coarse-grained) to porphyritic granitic rock. The plagioclase ...
, lifted by
tectonic Tectonics (; ) are the processes that control the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. These include the processes of mountain building, the growth and behavior of the strong, old cores of continents k ...
pressure from the
subduction Subduction is a geological process in which the oceanic lithosphere is recycled into the Earth's mantle at convergent boundaries. Where the oceanic lithosphere of a tectonic plate converges with the less dense lithosphere of a second plate, the ...
of the
Pacific Plate The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate that lies beneath the Pacific Ocean. At , it is the largest tectonic plate. The plate first came into existence 190 million years ago, at the triple junction between the Farallon, Phoenix, and Iza ...
beneath the
North American Plate The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Cuba, the Bahamas, extreme northeastern Asia, and parts of Iceland and the Azores. With an area of , it is the Earth's second largest tectonic plate, behind the Pacific ...
; at the same time, the
sedimentary Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic matter, organic particles at Earth#Surface, Earth's surface, followed by cementation (geology), cementation. Sedimentati ...
material above and around the mountain was stripped away by
erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...
. The forces that lifted Denali also caused many deep
earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
s in Alaska and the
Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...
. The Pacific Plate is seismically active beneath Denali, a tectonic region that is known as the "McKinley cluster". Denali has a summit
elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...
of above
sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...
, making it the highest peak in North America and the northernmost mountain above elevation in the world. Measured from base to peak at some , it is among the largest mountains situated entirely above sea level. Denali rises from a sloping plain with elevations from , for a base-to-peak height of . By comparison,
Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
rises from the
Tibetan Plateau The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the Ti ...
at a much higher base elevation. Base elevations for Everest range from on the south side to on the Tibetan Plateau, for a base-to-peak height in the range of . Prepared for the
Boston Museum of Science The Museum of Science (MoS) is a science museum and indoor zoo in Boston, Massachusetts, located in Science Park, a plot of land spanning the Charles River. Along with over 700 interactive exhibits, the museum features a number of live presentat ...
, the Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research, and the
National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and ...
Denali's base-to-peak height is little more than half the of the volcano
Mauna Kea Mauna Kea ( or ; ; abbreviation for ''Mauna a Wākea''); is a dormant volcano on the island of Hawaii. Its peak is above sea level, making it the highest point in the state of Hawaii and second-highest peak of an island on Earth. The peak is ...
, which lies mostly under water.


Geography of the mountain

Denali has two significant summits: the South Summit is the higher one, while the North Summit has an elevation of and a
prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...
of approximately . The North Summit is sometimes counted as a separate peak (see e.g.,
fourteener In the mountaineering parlance of the Western United States, a fourteener is a mountain peak with an elevation of at least . The 96 fourteeners in the United States are all west of the Mississippi River. Colorado has the most (53) of any single ...
) and sometimes not; it is rarely climbed, except by those doing routes on the north side of the
massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...
. Five large glaciers flow off the slopes of the mountain. The Peters Glacier lies on the northwest side of the massif, while the
Muldrow Glacier Muldrow Glacier, also known as McKinley Glacier, is a large glacier in Denali National Park and Preserve in the U.S. state of Alaska. Native names for the glacier include, Henteel No' Loo' and Henteel No' Loot. The glacier originates from the Gr ...
falls from its northeast slopes. Just to the east of the Muldrow, and abutting the eastern side of the massif, is the
Traleika Glacier Traleika Glacier is a glacier in Denali National Park and Preserve in the U.S. state of Alaska. The glacier originates from two forks on either side of Farthing Horn on the east side of Denali. The west fork of the glacier starts in the Thayer Ba ...
. The
Ruth Glacier Ruth Glacier is a glacier in Denali National Park and Preserve in the U.S. state of Alaska. Its upper reaches are approximately 3 vertical miles below the summit of Denali. The glacier's "Great Gorge" is one mile wide, and drops almost 2,000 feet o ...
lies to the southeast of the mountain, and the
Kahiltna Glacier Kahiltna Glacier is the longest glacier of the Alaska Range in the U.S. state of Alaska. It starts on the southwest slope of Denali near Kahiltna Pass (elevation ). Its main channel runs almost due south between Mount Foraker to the west and Mo ...
leads up to the southwest side of the mountain. With a length of , the Kahiltna Glacier is the longest glacier in the
Alaska Range The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 600-mile-long (950 km) mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest endSources differ as to the exact delineation of the Alaska Range. ThBoar ...
.


Naming

The
Koyukon The Koyukon (russian: Коюконы) are an Alaska Native Athabascan people of the Athabascan-speaking ethnolinguistic group. Their traditional territory is along the Koyukuk and Yukon rivers where they subsisted for thousands of years by ...
Athabaskans Athabaskan (also spelled ''Athabascan'', ''Athapaskan'' or ''Athapascan'', and also known as Dene) is a large family of indigenous languages of North America, located in western North America in three areal language groups: Northern, Pacific C ...
who inhabit the area around the mountain have for centuries referred to the peak as or . The name is based on a Koyukon word for 'high' or 'tall'. During the Russian ownership of Alaska, the common name for the mountain was (russian: Большая Гора; 'big'; 'mountain'), which is the Russian translation of ''Denali''.. It was briefly called Densmore's Mountain in the late 1880s and early 1890s after Frank Densmore, a gold prospector who was the first non-native Alaskan to reach the base of the mountain. In 1896, a gold prospector named it ''McKinley'' as political support for then-presidential candidate
William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...
, who became president the following year. The United States formally recognized the name Mount McKinley after
President Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Demo ...
signed the Mount McKinley National Park Act of February 26, 1917. In 1965,
Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
declared the north and south peaks of the mountain the "Churchill Peaks", in honor of British statesman
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
. The Alaska Board of Geographic Names changed the name of the mountain to ''Denali'' in 1975, which was how it is called locally. However, a request in 1975 from the Alaska state legislature to the
United States Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal governm ...
to do the same at the federal level was blocked by Ohio congressman
Ralph Regula Ralph Straus Regula (December 3, 1924 – July 19, 2017) was an American politician from Ohio. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the Ohio House of Representatives, the Ohio State Senate and the United States House of Representatives. ...
, whose district included McKinley's home town of Canton. On August 30, 2015, just ahead of a presidential visit to Alaska, the
Barack Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...
announced the name ''Denali'' would be restored in line with the Alaska Geographic Board's designation.
U.S. Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural ...
Sally Jewell Sarah Margaret "Sally" Roffey Jewell (born February 21, 1956) is a British-American businessperson who served as the 51st United States secretary of the interior in the Obama administration from 2013 to 2017. Jewell was born in London and moved ...
issued the order changing the name to Denali on August 28, 2015, effective immediately. Jewell said the change had been "a long time coming". The renaming of the mountain received praise from Alaska's senior U.S. senator,
Lisa Murkowski Lisa Ann Murkowski ( ; born May 22, 1957) is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator for Alaska, having held that seat since 2002. Murkowski is the second-most senior Republican woman in the Senate, after S ...
(R-AK),Matthew Smit
"Murkowski thanks Obama for restoring Denali", (video)
''Alaska Public Radio'', ''KNOM'', Nome, August 31, 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-01
who had previously introduced legislation to accomplish the name change,Michael A. Memoli

''Los Angeles Times'', August 30, 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-1
but it drew criticism from several politicians from President McKinley's home state of Ohio, such as
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician, author, and television news host who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001 and as the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, Kasic ...
,
U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...
Rob Portman Robert Jones Portman (born December 19, 1955) is an American attorney and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Ohio since 2011. A member of the Republican Party ...
,
U.S. House Speaker The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section 2 of the U ...
John Boehner John Andrew Boehner ( ; born , 1949) is an American retired politician who served as the 53rd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served 13 terms as the U.S. represe ...
, and
Representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...
Bob Gibbs Robert Brian Gibbs (born June 14, 1954) is an American farmer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2023. He is a member of the Republican Party. On April 6, 2022, Gibbs announced he was not seeking reelection. ...
, who described Obama's action as "constitutional overreach" because he said an act of
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
was required to rename the mountain. The ''
Alaska Dispatch News The ''Anchorage Daily News'' is a daily newspaper published by the Binkley Co., and based in Anchorage, Alaska. It is the most widely read newspaper and news website (adn.com) in the state of Alaska. The newspaper is headquartered in Anchorage ...
'' reported that the Secretary of the Interior has authority under federal law to change geographic names when the Board of Geographic Names does not act on a naming request within a "reasonable" period of time. Jewell told the ''
Alaska Dispatch News The ''Anchorage Daily News'' is a daily newspaper published by the Binkley Co., and based in Anchorage, Alaska. It is the most widely read newspaper and news website (adn.com) in the state of Alaska. The newspaper is headquartered in Anchorage ...
'' that "I think any of us would think that 40 years is an unreasonable amount of time." Indigenous names for Denali can be found in seven different Alaskan languages. The names fall into two categories. To the south of the Alaska Range in the Dena'ina and
Ahtna The Ahtna (also Ahtena, Atna, Ahtna-kohtaene, or Copper River) are an Alaska Native Athabaskan people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group. The people's homeland called Atna Nenn', is located in the Copper River area of souther ...
languages the mountain is known by names that are translated as "big mountain". To the north of the Alaska Range in the
Lower Tanana Lower Tanana (also Tanana and/or Middle Tanana) is an endangered language spoken in Interior Alaska in the lower Tanana River villages of Minto and Nenana. Of about 380 Tanana people in the two villages, about 30 still speak the language. As of ...
,
Koyukon The Koyukon (russian: Коюконы) are an Alaska Native Athabascan people of the Athabascan-speaking ethnolinguistic group. Their traditional territory is along the Koyukuk and Yukon rivers where they subsisted for thousands of years by ...
, Upper Kuskokwim,
Holikachuk Holikachuk (also Innoko, Organized Village of Grayling, Innoka-khotana, Tlëgon-khotana) are a Yupikized Alaska Native Athabaskan people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group to western Alaska. Their native territory includes the ...
, and
Deg Xinag Deg Xinag (Deg Hitan) is a Northern Athabaskan language spoken by the Deg Hitʼan peoples of the GASH region. The GASH region consists of the villages of Grayling, Anvik, Shageluk, and Holy Cross along the lower Yukon River The Yukon River ( ...
languages the mountain is known by names that are translated as "the high one", "the tall one" (Koyukon, Lower and Middle Tanana, Upper Kuskokwim, Deg Xinag, and Holikachuk), or "big mountain" (Ahtna and Dena'ina).Kari, James (2003)
Names for Denali/Mt. McKinley in Alaska Native Languages
pp. 211–13.
Asked about the importance of the mountain and its name, Will Mayo, former president of the
Tanana Chiefs Conference Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC), the traditional tribal consortium of the 42 villages of Interior Alaska, is based on a belief in tribal self-determination and the need for regional Native unity. TCC is a non-profit organization that works toward ...
, an organization that represents 42 Athabaskan tribes in the Alaskan interior, said "It’s not one homogeneous belief structure around the mountain, but we all agree that we’re all deeply gratified by the acknowledgment of the importance of Denali to Alaska’s people." The following table lists the Alaskan Athabascan names for Denali.


History

The
Koyukon The Koyukon (russian: Коюконы) are an Alaska Native Athabascan people of the Athabascan-speaking ethnolinguistic group. Their traditional territory is along the Koyukuk and Yukon rivers where they subsisted for thousands of years by ...
Athabaskans Athabaskan (also spelled ''Athabascan'', ''Athapaskan'' or ''Athapascan'', and also known as Dene) is a large family of indigenous languages of North America, located in western North America in three areal language groups: Northern, Pacific C ...
, living in the
Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...
, Tanana and
Kuskokwim The Kuskokwim River or Kusko River (Yup'ik: ''Kusquqvak''; Deg Xinag: ''Digenegh''; Upper Kuskokwim: ''Dichinanek' ''; russian: Кускоквим (''Kuskokvim'')) is a river, long, in Southwest Alaska in the United States. It is the ninth la ...
basins, were the first Native Americans with access to the flanks of the mountain. A British naval captain and explorer,
George Vancouver Captain George Vancouver (22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a British Royal Navy officer best known for his 1791–1795 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of what a ...
, is the first
European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
on record to have sighted Denali, when he noted "distant stupendous mountains" while surveying the
Knik Arm Knik Arm ( Dena'ina: ''Nuti'') is a waterway into the northwestern part of the Gulf of Alaska. It is one of two narrow branches of Cook Inlet, the other being Turnagain Arm. Knik Glacier empties into the Knik Arm. The Port of Anchorage is loc ...
of the
Cook Inlet Cook Inlet ( tfn, Tikahtnu; Sugpiaq: ''Cungaaciq'') stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage. On its sou ...
on May 6, 1794. The Russian explorer
Lavrenty Zagoskin Lavrenty Alekseyevich Zagoskin (russian: link=no, Лаврентий Алексеевич Загоскин; 21 May 1808 – 22 January 1890) was a Russian naval officer and explorer of Alaska. Zagoskin was born in 1808 in the Russian district of ...
explored the Tanana and
Kuskokwim The Kuskokwim River or Kusko River (Yup'ik: ''Kusquqvak''; Deg Xinag: ''Digenegh''; Upper Kuskokwim: ''Dichinanek' ''; russian: Кускоквим (''Kuskokvim'')) is a river, long, in Southwest Alaska in the United States. It is the ninth la ...
rivers in 1843 and 1844, and was likely the first European to sight the mountain from the other side. William Dickey, a
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
-born resident of
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Washington who had been digging for gold in the sands of the
Susitna River The Susitna River (; aht, Sasutna’; tfn, Susitnu) is a long river in the Southcentral Alaska. It is the 15th largest river in the United States, ranked by average discharge volume at its mouth. The river stretches from the Susitna Glacier to ...
, wrote, after his returning from Alaska, an account in the ''
New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...
'' that appeared on January 24, 1897. His report drew attention with the sentence "We have no doubt that this peak is the highest in North America, and estimate that it is over high." Until then,
Mount Logan Mount Logan () is the highest mountain in Canada and the second-highest peak in North America after Denali. The mountain was named after Sir William Edmond Logan, a Canadian geologist and founder of the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC). Mount ...
in Canada's
Yukon Territory Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...
was believed to be the continent's highest point. Though later praised for his estimate, Dickey admitted that other prospector parties had also guessed the mountain to be over . These estimates were confirmed in 1898 by the surveyor Robert Muldrow, who measured its elevation as . On November 5, 2012, the
United States Mint The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. It does not produce paper money; tha ...
released a twenty-five cent piece depicting Denali National Park. It is the fifteenth of the America the Beautiful Quarters series. The
reverse Reverse or reversing may refer to: Arts and media * ''Reverse'' (Eldritch album), 2001 * ''Reverse'' (2009 film), a Polish comedy-drama film * ''Reverse'' (2019 film), an Iranian crime-drama film * ''Reverse'' (Morandi album), 2005 * ''Reverse'' ...
features a Dall sheep with the peak of Denali in the background.


Climbing history

During the summer of 1902, scientist Alfred Brooks explored the flanks of the mountain as a part of an exploratory surveying party conducted by the
U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...
. The party landed at
Cook Inlet Cook Inlet ( tfn, Tikahtnu; Sugpiaq: ''Cungaaciq'') stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage. On its sou ...
in late May, then traveled east, paralleling the
Alaska Range The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 600-mile-long (950 km) mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest endSources differ as to the exact delineation of the Alaska Range. ThBoar ...
, before reaching the slopes of Denali in early August. Camped on the flank of the mountain on August 3, Brooks noted later that while "the ascent of Mount McKinley had never been part of our plans", the party decided to delay one day so "that we might actually set foot on the slopes of the mountain". Setting off alone, with good weather, on August 4, Brooks aimed to reach a shoulder. At , Brooks found his way blocked by sheer ice and, after leaving a small cairn as a marker, descended. After the party's return, Brooks co-authored a "Plan For Climbing Mt McKinley", published in ''
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
'' magazine in January, 1903, with fellow party-member and topographer D. L. Raeburn, in which they suggested that future attempts at the summit should approach from the north, not the south. The report received substantial attention, and within a year, two climbing parties declared their intent to summit. In the early summer of 1903, Judge
James Wickersham James Wickersham (August 24, 1857 – October 24, 1939) was a district judge for Alaska, appointed by U.S. President William McKinley to the Third Judicial District in 1900. He resigned his post in 1908 and was subsequently elected as Alaska ...
, then of
Eagle, Alaska Eagle ( in Hän Athabascan) is a city on the south bank of the Yukon River near the Canada–US border in the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, United States. It includes the Eagle Historic District, a U.S. National Historic Landmark. The ...
, made the first recorded attempt to climb Denali, along with a party of four others. The group attempted to get as close to the mountain as possible via the
Kantishna river The Kantishna River (Lower Tanana: ''Khenteethno'') is a tributary of the Tanana River in the U.S. state of Alaska. Formed by the confluence of the McKinley River with Birch Creek in Denali National Park and Preserve, it drains part of the north ...
by steamer, before offloading and following Chitsia Creek with a poling boat, mules and backpacks, a route suggested to them by Tanana Athabaskan people they met along the way. The party received further navigational assistance at Anotoktilon, an Athabaskan hunting camp, where residents gave the group detailed directions to reach the glaciers at the foot of Denali. On reaching the mountain, the mountaineers set up base camp on the lower portion of Peters Glacier. Aiming for the northwest buttress of Denali's north peak, they attempted to ascend directly; however,
crevasses A crevasse is a deep crack, that forms in a glacier or ice sheet that can be a few inches across to over 40 feet. Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the shear stress generated when two semi-rigid pie ...
, ice fall and the lack of a clear passage caused them to turn and attempt to follow a spur via Jeffery Glacier where they believed they could see a way to the summit. After a dangerous ascent, at around , Wickersham found that the route did not connect as it had appeared from below, instead discovering "a tremendous precipice beyond which we cannot go. Our only line of further ascent would be to climb the vertical wall of the mountain at our left, and that is impossible." This wall, now known as the Wickersham Wall, juts upwards from the glacier to the north peak of Denali. Because of the route's history of avalanche danger, it was not successfully climbed until 1963. Later in the summer of 1903, Dr.
Frederick Cook Frederick Albert Cook (June 10, 1865 – August 5, 1940) was an American explorer, physician, and ethnographer who claimed to have reached the North Pole on April 21, 1908. That was nearly a year before Robert Peary, who similarly claime ...
led a team of five men on another attempt at the summit. Cook was already an experienced explorer and had been a party-member on successful arctic expeditions led both by
Robert Peary Robert Edwin Peary Sr. (; May 6, 1856 – February 20, 1920) was an American explorer and officer in the United States Navy who made several expeditions to the Arctic in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is best known for, in Apri ...
and
Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Amundsen bega ...
. Yet he struggled to obtain funding for the expedition under his own leadership, eventually putting it together "on a shoestring budget" without any other experienced climbers. The party navigated up the Cook inlet and followed the path of the 1902 Brooks party towards Denali. Cook approached the mountain via the Peters Glacier, as Wickersham had done; however, he was able to overcome the ice fall that had caused the previous group to turn up the spur towards the Wickersham Wall. Despite avoiding this obstacle, on August 31, having reached an elevation of about on the northwest buttress of the north peak, the party found they had reached a dead end and could make no further progress. On the descent, the group completely circumnavigated the mountain, the first climbing party to do so. Although Cook's 1903 expedition did not reach the summit, he received acclaim for the accomplishment, a trek in which he not only circled the entire mountain but also found, on the descent, an accessible pass northeast of the
Muldrow Glacier Muldrow Glacier, also known as McKinley Glacier, is a large glacier in Denali National Park and Preserve in the U.S. state of Alaska. Native names for the glacier include, Henteel No' Loo' and Henteel No' Loot. The glacier originates from the Gr ...
following the headwaters of the Toklat and Chulitna rivers. In 1906, Cook launched another expedition to Denali with co-leader Herschel Parker, a
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
professor of electrical engineering with extensive mountaineering experience. Belmore Browne, an experienced climber and five other men comprised the rest of the group. Cook and Parker's group spent the bulk of the summer season exploring the southern and southeastern approaches to the mountain, eventually reaching a high point on
Tokositna glacier Tokositna Glacier is a glacier in the Alaska Range of Denali National Park and Preserve in the U.S. state of Alaska. The glacier originates in two major arms on the east side of Mount Hunter, moving east until the main arms join, then turning so ...
, from the summit. During their explorations the party mapped out many of the tributaries and glaciers of the
Susitna river The Susitna River (; aht, Sasutna’; tfn, Susitnu) is a long river in the Southcentral Alaska. It is the 15th largest river in the United States, ranked by average discharge volume at its mouth. The river stretches from the Susitna Glacier to ...
along the mountain's south flank. As the summer ended, the team retreated to the coast and began to disperse. In September 1906, Cook and a single party-member, horseman Robert Barrill, struck out towards the summit again, in what Cook later described as "a last desperate attempt" in a telegram to his financial backers. Cook and Barrill spent 12 days in total on the attempt, and claimed to have reached the summit via the
Ruth Glacier Ruth Glacier is a glacier in Denali National Park and Preserve in the U.S. state of Alaska. Its upper reaches are approximately 3 vertical miles below the summit of Denali. The glacier's "Great Gorge" is one mile wide, and drops almost 2,000 feet o ...
. Upon hearing Cook's claims, Parker and Browne were immediately suspicious. Browne later wrote that he knew Cook's claims were lies, just as "any New Yorker would know that no man could walk from the Brooklyn Bridge to Grant's Tomb distance of eight milesin ten minutes." In May 1907, ''
Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...
'' published Cook's account of the climb along with a photograph of what appeared to be Barrill standing on the summit. By 1909, Barrill had recanted at least part of his story about the climb, and others publicly questioned the account; however, Cook continued to assert his claim The controversy continued for decades. In 1956, mountaineers
Bradford Washburn Henry Bradford Washburn Jr. (June 7, 1910 – January 10, 2007) was an American explorer, mountaineer, photographer, and cartographer. He established the Boston Museum of Science, served as its director from 1939–1980, and from 1985 until his d ...
and Walter Gonnason tried to settle the matter, with Gonnason attempting to follow Cook's purported route to the summit. Washburn noted inconsistencies between Cook's account of locations of glaciers and found a spot, at and southeast of the summit that appeared identical to the supposed summit image. Gonnason was not able to complete the climb, but because he was turned back by poor weather, felt that this did not definitely disprove Cook's story. In 1998, historian Robert Bryce discovered an original and un-cropped version of the "fake peak" photograph of Barrill standing on the promontory. It showed a wider view of surrounding features, appearing to definitively discount Cook's claim. Given the skepticism surrounding Cook's story, interest in claiming the first ascent remained. Miners and other Alaskans living in Kantishna and Fairbanks wanted the honors to go to local men. In 1909, four Alaska residents – Tom Lloyd, Peter Anderson, Billy Taylor, and Charles McGonagall – set out from
Fairbanks Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...
, Alaska in late December with supplies and dogs that were in part paid for by bettors in a Fairbanks bar. By March 1910, the men had established a base camp near one of the sites where the Brooks party had been and pressed on from the north via the
Muldrow glacier Muldrow Glacier, also known as McKinley Glacier, is a large glacier in Denali National Park and Preserve in the U.S. state of Alaska. Native names for the glacier include, Henteel No' Loo' and Henteel No' Loot. The glacier originates from the Gr ...
. Unlike some previous expeditions, they discovered a pass, since named McGonagall Pass, which allowed them to bypass the Wickersham Wall and access the higher reaches of the mountain. At roughly , Tom Lloyd, old and less physically fit than the others, stayed behind. According to their account, the remaining three men pioneered a route following Karstens Ridge around the Harper Icefall, then reached the upper basin before ascending to Pioneer Ridge. The three men carried a spruce pole. Around , Charles McGonagall, older and having exhausted himself carrying the spruce pole, remained behind. On April 3, 1910, Billy Taylor and Peter Anderson scrambled the final few hundred feet to reach the north peak of Denali, at high, the shorter of the two peaks. The pair erected the pole near the top, with the hope that it would be visible from lower reaches to prove they had made it. Following the expedition, Tom Lloyd returned to Fairbanks, while the three others remained in Kantishna to mine. In Lloyd's recounting, all four men made it to the top of not only the north peak, but the higher south peak as well. When the remaining three men returned to town with conflicting accounts, the entire expedition's legitimacy was questioned. Several years later, another climbing group would claim to have seen the spruce pole in the distance, supporting their north peak claim. However, some continue to doubt they reached the summit. Outside of the single later climbing group, who were friendly with some of the Sourdough expedition men, no other group would ever see it. Jon Waterman, author of the book ''Chasing Denali'', which explored the controversy, outlined several reasons to doubt the claim: There was never any photographic evidence. The four men climbed during the winter season, known for much more difficult conditions, along a route that has never been fully replicated. They were inexperienced climbers, ascending without any of the usual safety gear or any care for altitude sickness. They claimed to have ascended from to the top in less than 18 hours, unheard of at a time when siege-style alpinism was the norm. Yet Waterman says "these guys were men of the trail. They didn't care what anybody thought. They were just tough SOBs." He noted that the men were largely unlettered and that some of the ensuing doubt was related to their lack of sophistication in dealing with the press and the contemporary climbing establishment. In 1912, the
Parker Parker may refer to: Persons * Parker (given name) * Parker (surname) Places Place names in the United States *Parker, Arizona *Parker, Colorado * Parker, Florida * Parker, Idaho * Parker, Kansas * Parker, Missouri * Parker, North Carolina *Park ...
-Browne expedition nearly reached the summit, turning back within just a few hundred yards/meters of it due to harsh weather. On July 7, the day after their descent, a 7.4-magnitude earthquake shattered the glacier they had ascended. The first ascent of the main summit of Denali came on June 7, 1913, by a party led by
Hudson Stuck Hudson Stuck (November 4, 1863 – October 10, 1920) was a British native who became an Episcopal priest, social reformer and mountain climber in the United States. With Harry P. Karstens, he co-led the first expedition to successfully climb Den ...
and
Harry Karstens Henry Peter "Harry" Karstens'' (September 2, 1878 – November 28, 1955) was the first superintendent of Denali National Park, from 1921 to 1928. He was the guide and climbing leader of the first complete ascent of Denali in 1913, with expedition ...
, along with
Walter Harper Walter Harper (1893 – October 25, 1918) was an Alaska Native mountain climber and guide. On Saturday, 7 June 1913, he was the first person to reach the summit of Denali (Mount McKinley), the highest mountain in North America. He was followed by ...
and
Robert Tatum The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...
. Karstens moved to Alaska in the gold rush of 1897, and in subsequent years became involved in a variety of endeavors beyond mining, including helping establish dog mushing routes to deliver mail across vast swathes of territory and supporting expeditions led by naturalist
Charles Sheldon Charles Monroe Sheldon (February 26, 1857 – February 24, 1946) was an American Congregationalist minister and a leader of the Social Gospel movement. His novel ''In His Steps'' introduced the principle "What would Jesus do?", which articu ...
near the base of Denali. Stuck was an English-born Episcopal priest who came to Alaska by chance. He became acclimated to the often harsh Alaskan environment because of his many travels between far-flung outposts within his district, climbing mountains as a hobby. At 21 years old, Harper was already known as a skilled and strong outdoorsman, the Alaska-born son of a Koyukon-Athabascan mother and Irish gold prospector father. Tatum, also 21 years old, was a theology student working at a Tanana mission, and the least experienced of the team. His primary responsibility on the trip was as a cook. The team approached the peak from the north via the Muldrow glacier and McGonagall pass. While ferrying loads up to a camp at around , they suffered a setback when a stray match accidentally set fire to some supplies, including several tents. The prior year's earthquake had left what had previously been described by the Parker-Browne expedition as a gentle slope ascended in no more than three days as a dangerous, ice-strewn morass on a knife-edged ridge (later named Karstens ridge). It would take the team three weeks to cover the same ground, as Karstens and Harper laboriously cut steps into the ice. On May 30, the team, with the help of some good weather, ascended to a new high camp, situated at in the Grand Basin between the north and south peaks. On June 7, the team made the summit attempt. Temperatures were below at times. Every man, and particularly Stuck, suffered from altitude sickness. By midday, Harper became the first climber to reach the summit, followed seconds later by Tatum and Karstens. Stuck arrived last, falling unconscious on the summit. Using the mountain's contemporary name, Tatum later commented, "The view from the top of Mount McKinley is like looking out the windows of Heaven!" During the climb, Stuck spotted, via binoculars, the presence of a large pole near the North Summit; this report confirmed the Sourdough ascent, and today it is widely believed that the Sourdoughs did succeed on the North Summit. However, the pole was never seen before or since, so there is still some doubt. Stuck also discovered that the Parker-Browne party were only about of elevation short of the true summit when they turned back. Stuck and Karstens' team achieved the uncontroversial first ascent of Denali's south peak; however, the news was met with muted interest by the wider climbing community. ''Appalachia Journal'', then the official journal of the
American Alpine Club The American Alpine Club (AAC) is a non-profit member organization with more than 24,000 members. Its vision is to create "a united community of competent climbers and healthy climbing landscapes." The Club is housed in the American Mountaineerin ...
, published a small notice of the accomplishment a year later. The mountain is regularly climbed today. In 2003, around 58% of climbers reached the top. But by that time, the mountain had claimed the lives of nearly 100 mountaineers. The vast majority of climbers use the West Buttress Route, pioneered in 1951 by
Bradford Washburn Henry Bradford Washburn Jr. (June 7, 1910 – January 10, 2007) was an American explorer, mountaineer, photographer, and cartographer. He established the Boston Museum of Science, served as its director from 1939–1980, and from 1985 until his d ...
, after an extensive aerial photographic analysis of the mountain. Climbers typically take two to four weeks to ascend Denali. It is one of the
Seven Summits The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven traditional continents. Climbing to the summit of all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first achieved on 30 April 1985 by Richard Bass. Climbing the Seven Summits a ...
; summiting all of them is a challenge for mountaineers. On August 4, 2018, five people died in the
K2 Aviation de Havilland Beaver (DHC-2) crash On 4 August 2018, a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver aircraft operated by K2 Aviation crashed in poor weather near Denali, Alaska, United States. All five people on board survived the crash, but died before rescuers were able to arrive at the scene ...
near Denali.


Accidents

From 1947 to 2018 in the United States "2,799 people were reported to be involved in mountaineering accidents" and 11% of these accidents occurred on Denali. Of these 2,799 accidents, 43% resulted in death and 8% of these deaths occurred on Denali.


Timeline

* 1896–1902: Surveys by Robert Muldrow, George Eldridge, Alfred Brooks. * 1913: First ascent, by Hudson Stuck, Harry Karstens, Walter Harper, and Robert Tatum via the Muldrow Glacier route. * 1932: Second ascent, by
Alfred Lindley Alfred Damon Lindley (January 20, 1904 – February 22, 1951) was an American lawyer and sportsman. He participated in a wide variety of sports, including rowing (where he won the gold medal in the eights in the 1924 Summer Olympics), s ...
, Harry , Grant Pearson, Erling Strom. (Both peaks were climbed.) * 1947: Barbara Washburn becomes the first woman to reach the summit while her husband
Bradford Washburn Henry Bradford Washburn Jr. (June 7, 1910 – January 10, 2007) was an American explorer, mountaineer, photographer, and cartographer. He established the Boston Museum of Science, served as its director from 1939–1980, and from 1985 until his d ...
becomes the first person to summit twice. * 1951: First ascent of the West Buttress Route, led by
Bradford Washburn Henry Bradford Washburn Jr. (June 7, 1910 – January 10, 2007) was an American explorer, mountaineer, photographer, and cartographer. He established the Boston Museum of Science, served as its director from 1939–1980, and from 1985 until his d ...
. * 1954: First ascent of the very long South Buttress Route by George Argus, Elton Thayer (died on descent), Morton Wood, and Les Viereck. Deteriorating conditions behind the team pushed them to make the first traverse of Denali. The Great Traleika Cirque, where they camped just below the summit, was renamed Thayer Basin, in honor of the fallen climber. * 1954 (May 27) First ascent via Northwest Buttress to North Peak by Fred Beckey, Donald McLean, Charles Wilson, Henry Meybohm, and Bill Hackett * 1959: First ascent of the West Rib, now a popular, mildly technical route to the summit. * 1961: First ascent of the Cassin Ridge, named for
Riccardo Cassin Riccardo Cassin (2 January 19096 August 2009) was an Italian mountaineer, developer of mountaineering equipment and author, and an important figure in the history of rock climbing. Life Born into a peasant family at San Vito al Tagliamento in Fr ...
and the best-known technical route on the mountain. The first ascent team members are: Riccardo Cassin, Luigi Airoldi, Luigi Alippi, Giancarlo Canali, Romano Perego, and Annibale Zucchi. * 1962: First ascent of the southeast spur, team of six climbers (C. Hollister, H. Abrons, B. Everett, Jr., S. Silverstein, S. Cochrane, and C. Wren) * 1963: A team of six climbers (W. Blesser, P. Lev, R. Newcomb, A. Read, J. Williamson, F. Wright) made the first ascent of the East Buttress. The summit was attained via Thayer Basin and Karstens Ridge. See AAJ 1964. * 1963: Two teams make first ascents of two different routes on the Wickersham Wall. * 1967: First winter ascent, via the West Buttress, by Dave Johnston, Art Davidson and
Ray Genet Ray Genet (July 27, 1931 – October 2, 1979), often referred to by the nickname Pirate, was a Swiss-born American mountaineer. He was the first guide on North America's highest mountain, Alaska's Denali (Mount McKinley). Genet is the grandfathe ...
. * 1967: The 1967 Mount McKinley disaster; Seven members of Joe Wilcox's twelve-man expedition perish, while stranded for ten days near the summit, in what has been described as the worst storm on record. Up to that time, this was the third worst disaster in mountaineering history in terms of lives lost. Before July 1967 only four men had ever perished on Denali. * 1970: First solo ascent by
Naomi Uemura was a Japanese adventurer who was known particularly for his solo exploits. For example, he was the first person to reach the North Pole solo, the first person to raft the Amazon solo, and the first person to climb Denali solo. He disappeared a ...
. * 1970: First ascent by an all-female team (the "Denali Damsels"), led by Grace Hoeman and the later famous American high altitude mountaineer
Arlene Blum Arlene Blum (born March 1, 1945Breaking Trail: A Climbing Life, page 34Chapter 24 /ref>) is an American mountaineer, writer, and environmental health scientist. She is best known for leading the first successful American ascent of Annapurna (I), ...
together with Margaret Clark, Margaret Young, Faye Kerr and Dana Smith Isherwood. * 1972: First descent on skis down the sheer southwest face, by
Sylvain Saudan Sylvain Saudan (born 23 September 1936 in Lausanne, Switzerland) is an extreme skier, dubbed "skier of the impossible." He is noted for skiing down large and steep mountains, including those in the Himalayas. In 2007 he survived a helicopter crash ...
, "Skier of the Impossible". * 1976: First solo ascent of the Cassin Ridge by
Charlie Porter Charlie Porter (June 12, 1950 in Massachusetts – February 23, 2014 in Punta Arenas) was an American mountaineer and climate change scientist. He is best known for his bold first ascents in Yosemite (particularly on El Capitan), Canada and ...
, a climb "ahead of its time". * 1979: First ascent by dog team achieved by
Susan Butcher Susan Howlet Butcher (December 26, 1954 – August 5, 2006) was an American dog musher, noteworthy as the second woman to win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1986, the second four-time winner in 1990, and the first to win four out of five s ...
,
Ray Genet Ray Genet (July 27, 1931 – October 2, 1979), often referred to by the nickname Pirate, was a Swiss-born American mountaineer. He was the first guide on North America's highest mountain, Alaska's Denali (Mount McKinley). Genet is the grandfathe ...
, Brian Okonek, Joe Redington, Sr., and Robert Stapleton. * 1984: Uemura returns to make the first winter solo ascent, but dies after summitting. Tono Križo, František Korl and Blažej Adam from the Slovak Mountaineering Association climb a very direct route to the summit, now known as the Slovak Route, on the south face of the mountain, to the right of the Cassin Ridge. * 1988: First successful winter solo ascent. Vern Tejas climbed the West Buttress alone in February and March, summitted successfully, and descended. * 1990:
Anatoli Boukreev Anatoli Nikolaevich Boukreev (russian: Анато́лий Никола́евич Букре́ев; January 16, 1958 – December 25, 1997) was a Soviet and Kazakhstani mountaineer who made ascents of 10 of the 14 eight-thousander peaks—those a ...
climbed the West Rib in 10 hours and 30 mins from the base to the summit, at the time a record for the fastest ascent. * 1997: First successful ascent up the West Fork of Traleika Glacier up to Karstens Ridge beneath Browne Tower. This path was named the "Butte Direct" by the two climbers Jim Wilson and Jim Blow. * 2015: On June 24, a survey team led by Blaine Horner placed two global positioning receivers on the summit to determine the precise position and elevation of the summit. The summit snow depth was measured at . The
United States National Geodetic Survey The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) is a United States federal agency that defines and manages a national coordinate system, providing the foundation for transportation and communication; mapping and charting; and a large number of applications ...
later determined the summit elevation to be . *2019: On June 20,
Karl Egloff Karl Egloff (born March 16, 1981, Ecuador) is a Swiss-Ecuadorian athlete, mountaineer, cyclist and mountain guide, best known for his speed ascents of high mountains, including the Seven Summits. He was well known in his native Ecuador for a rec ...
(Swiss-Ecuadorian) set new speed records for the ascent (7h 40m) and round-trip (11h 44m), starting and returning to a base camp at on the Kahiltna Glacier.


Weather station

The
Japan Alpine Club The is a mountaineering and climbing organisation based in Tokyo, Japan. History The Japanese Alpine Club was founded in October 1905 as the first mountaineering club in Asia. In late 19th century modern alpinism had been imported from Europe t ...
installed a meteorological station on a ridge near the summit of Denali at an elevation of in 1990. In 1998, this weather station was donated to the
International Arctic Research Center The International Arctic Research Center, or IARC, established in 1999, is a research institution focused on integrating and coordinating study of Climate change in the Arctic. The primary partners in IARC are Japan and the United States. Partici ...
at the
University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public land-grant research university in College, Alaska, a suburb of Fairbanks. It is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska system. UAF was established in 1917 and opened for cla ...
. In June 2002, a weather station was placed at the level. This weather station was designed to transmit data in real-time for use by the climbing public and the science community. Since its establishment, annual upgrades to the equipment have been performed with instrumentation custom built for the extreme weather and altitude conditions. This weather station is the third-highest weather station in the world. The weather station recorded a temperature of on December 1, 2003. On the previous day of November 30, 2003, a temperature of combined with a wind speed of to produce a North American record windchill of . Even in July, this weather station has recorded temperatures as low as and windchills as low as .


Historical record

According to the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
, in 1932 the -Lindley expedition recovered a self-recording minimum thermometer left near Browne's Tower, at about , on Denali by the Stuck-Karstens party in 1913. The spirit thermometer was calibrated down to , and the lowest recorded temperature was below that point. Harry J. Liek took the thermometer back to Washington, D.C. where it was tested by the
United States Weather Bureau The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the p ...
and found to be accurate. The lowest temperature that it had recorded was found to be approximately . Another thermometer was placed at the level by the U.S. Army Natick Laboratory, and was there from 1950 to 1969. The coldest temperature recorded during that period was also .


Subpeaks and nearby mountains

Besides the North Summit mentioned above, other features on the massif which are sometimes included as separate peaks are: * South Buttress, ; mean prominence: * East Buttress high point, ; mean prominence: * East Buttress, most topographically prominent point, ; mean prominence: * Browne Tower, ; mean prominence: Nearby peaks include: *
Mount Crosson Mount Crosson is a mountain in the Alaska Range, in Denali National Park and Preserve. Mount Crosson lies to the northeast of Mount Foraker, overlooking Kahiltna Glacier. The mountain was named in 1949 by mountaineer Bradford Washburn for bush p ...
*
Mount Foraker Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...
*
Mount Silverthrone Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...
* Mount Hunter * Mount Huntington *
Mount Dickey Mount Dickey is a peak on the west side of the Ruth Gorge in the Central Alaska Range of mountains, 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Denali and 4 miles (6 km) southwest of The Moose's Tooth. Despite its relatively low elevation, it is not ...
*
The Moose's Tooth The Moose's Tooth (or simply Moose's Tooth, Mooses Tooth) is a rock peak on the east side of the Ruth Glacier, Ruth Gorge in the Central Alaska Range, 15 miles (24 km) southeast of Denali. Despite its relatively low elevation, it is a diffic ...


Taxonomic honors

* ''denaliensis'' ** '' Ceratozetella denaliensis'' (formerly ''Cyrtozetes denaliensis'' Behan-Pelletier, 1985) is a species of moss mite in the family Mycobatidae :sv:Ceratozetella denaliensis ** '' Magnoavipes denaliensis'' Fiorillo et al., 2011 (literally "bird with large feet found in Denali") is a ''
Magnoavipes ''Magnoavipes'' is an ichnogenus of dinosaur footprint. See also * List of dinosaur ichnogenera This list of dinosaur ichnogenera is a comprehensive listing of all ichnogenera that have been attributed to dinosaurs, excluding class Aves ( bi ...
''
ichnospecies An ichnotaxon (plural ichnotaxa) is "a taxon based on the fossilized work of an organism", i.e. the non-human equivalent of an artifact. ''Ichnotaxa'' comes from the Greek ίχνος, ''ichnos'' meaning ''track'' and ταξις, ''taxis'' meaning ...
of bird footprint from the Upper Cretaceous of Alaska and was a large heron-like bird (as larger than a
sandhill crane The sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis'') is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills on t ...
) with three toes and toe pads. :pt:Magnoavipes denaliensis * ''denali'' ** ' (Fjellberg, 1985) is a
springtail Springtails (Collembola) form the largest of the three lineages of modern hexapods that are no longer considered insects (the other two are the Protura and Diplura). Although the three orders are sometimes grouped together in a class called Ento ...
. ** '' Proclossiana aphirape denali'' Klots, 1940 is a ''
Boloria ''Boloria'' is a brush-footed butterfly (Nymphalidae) genus. ''Clossiana'' is usually included with it nowadays, though some authors still consider it distinct and it seems to warrant recognition as a subgenus at least. Species Listed alphabetic ...
'' butterfly species of the subfamily
Heliconiinae The Heliconiinae, commonly called heliconians or longwings, are a subfamily of the brush-footed butterflies (family Nymphalidae). They can be divided into 45–50 genera and were sometimes treated as a separate family Heliconiidae within the P ...
of family
Nymphalidae The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have a red ...
. ** ' (Alexander, 1955) is a species of crane fly in the family Limoniidae. ** ' Alexander, 1969 is a species of crane fly in the family
Tipulidae Crane fly is a common name referring to any member of the insect family (biology), family Tipulidae. Cylindrotominae, Limoniinae, and Pediciinae have been ranked as subfamilies of Tipulidae by most authors, though occasionally elevated to family ...
. * ''denalii'' ** '' Erigeron denalii'' A. Nelson, 1945 or Denali fleabane is an ''
Erigeron ''Erigeron'' () is a large genus of plants in the family Asteraceae. It is closely related to the genus '' Aster'' and the true daisies in the genus '' Bellis''. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution in dry, mountainous areas and grassland, ...
'' fleabane species. ** ''
Papaver denalii ''Papaver'' is a genus of 70–100 species of frost-tolerant annual plant, annuals, biennial plant, biennials, and perennial plant, perennials native plant, native to temperateness, temperate and cold regions of Eurasia, Africa and North America ...
'' Gjaerevoll 1963 is an ''
Papaver ''Papaver'' is a genus of 70–100 species of frost-tolerant annuals, biennials, and perennials native to temperate and cold regions of Eurasia, Africa and North America. It is the type genus of the poppy family, Papaveraceae. Description The ...
'' species and synonym of '' Papaver mcconnellii''. * ''mckinleyensis'' or ''mackinleyensis'' ** '' Erebia mackinleyensis'' (Gunder, 1932) or
Mt. McKinley alpine ''Erebia mackinleyensis'', the Mt. McKinley alpine, is a member of the subfamily Satyrinae of family Nymphalidae. It is found from eastern Siberia through Alaska and Yukon, just reaching into the Northwest Territories in the Richardson Mountain ...
is a butterfly species of the subfamily
Satyrinae The Satyrinae, the satyrines or satyrids, commonly known as the browns, are a subfamily of the Nymphalidae (brush-footed butterflies). They were formerly considered a distinct family, Satyridae. This group contains nearly half of the known divers ...
of family
Nymphalidae The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have a red ...
. ** ''
Oeneis mackinleyensis ''Oeneis bore'', the white-veined Arctic or Arctic grayling, is a butterfly, a species of Satyrinae that occurs in North America and Asia. Description The wingspan is 37 to 49 mm. The dorsal view is a dull greyish brown while the females a ...
'' Dos Passos 1965 or ''
Oeneis mckinleyensis ''Oeneis bore'', the white-veined Arctic or Arctic grayling, is a butterfly, a species of Satyrinae that occurs in North America and Asia. Description The wingspan is 37 to 49 mm. The dorsal view is a dull greyish brown while the females a ...
'' Dos Passos 1949 is a butterfly species of the subfamily
Satyrinae The Satyrinae, the satyrines or satyrids, commonly known as the browns, are a subfamily of the Nymphalidae (brush-footed butterflies). They were formerly considered a distinct family, Satyridae. This group contains nearly half of the known divers ...
of family
Nymphalidae The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have a red ...
(synonym of ''
Oeneis bore ''Oeneis bore'', the white-veined Arctic or Arctic grayling, is a butterfly, a species of Satyrinae that occurs in North America and Asia. Description The wingspan is 37 to 49 mm. The dorsal view is a dull greyish brown while the females ...
'') ** '' Uredo mckinleyensis'' Cummins 1952 or '' Uredo mackinleyensis'' Cummins 1952 is a
rust fungus Rusts are plant diseases caused by pathogenic fungi of the order Pucciniales (previously known as Uredinales). An estimated 168 rust genera and approximately 7,000 species, more than half of which belong to the genus ''Puccinia'', are currently a ...
species.


In popular culture

* In 2019, American educational animated series ''
Molly of Denali ''Molly of Denali'' (stylized as ''MOLLY of DENALI'') is an animated children's television series produced by Atomic Cartoons in association with WGBH Kids, created by Dorothea Gillim and Kathy Waugh for PBS Kids and CBC Kids.
'', named for the region, premiered on
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
and
CBC Kids ''CBC Kids'' is a Canadian children's block on CBC Television. The block was launched as Hodge Podge Lodge in 1987 and contains programming targeted at children. The block airs on weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., Saturdays from 6:00 a.m. ...
. The show depicts the daily life and culture of Molly, a young Alaskan Native girl and vlogger."PBS Kids orders animated series from Atomic Cartoons"
'' Playback'', May 9, 2018.
"Upfronts ’18: CBC debuts 17 new series"
'' Playback'', May 24, 2018.
The animated series has received acclaim for its representation of indigenous Alaskan culture.


See also

*
List of mountain peaks of North America This article comprises three sortable tables of major mountain peaksThis article defines a significant summit as a summit with at least of topographic prominence, and a major summit as a summit with at least of topographic prominence. All ...
**
List of mountain peaks of the United States This article comprises three sortable tables of major mountain peaksThis article defines a significant summit as a summit with at least of topographic prominence, and a major summit as a summit with at least of topographic prominence. All su ...
***
List of mountain peaks of Alaska This article comprises three sortable tables of major mountain peaksThis article defines a significant summit as a summit with at least of topographic prominence, and a major summit as a susexxleast of topographic prominence. All summits i ...
* List of U.S. states by elevation *
List of the highest major summits of the United States The following sortable table comprises the 477 mountain peaks of the United States with at least of topographic elevation and at least of topographic prominence.This article defines a significant summit as a summit with at least of topograph ...
*
List of the most prominent summits of the United States The following sortable table comprises the 200 most topographically prominent mountain peaks of the United States of America. The summit of a mountain or hill may be measured in three principal ways: #The topographic elevation of a summit me ...
*
List of the most isolated major summits of the United States The following sortable table comprises the 209 most topographically isolated mountain peaks of the United States of America (including its territories) with at least of topographic prominence.This article defines a significant summit as a su ...
*
Extremes on Earth This article lists extreme locations on Earth that hold geographical records or are otherwise known for their geophysical or meteorological superlatives. All of these locations are Earth-wide extremes; extremes of individual continents or coun ...


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Mt. McKinley Weather Station

Denali at SummitPost


National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
*
Mount Mckinley Quadrangle PublicationsAlaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denali North American 6000 m summit Alaska Range Mountains of Alaska Seven Summits Highest points of United States national parks Sacred mountains Mountains of Denali Borough, Alaska Denali National Park and Preserve Religious places of the indigenous peoples of North America Highest points of U.S. states Highest points of countries Naming controversies Ahtna