Stroller White Mountain, also known as Mount Stroller White, is a mountain summit located in the
Boundary Ranges
The Boundary Ranges, also known in the singular and as the Alaska Boundary Range, are the largest and most northerly subrange of the Coast Mountains. They begin at the Nass River, near the southern end of the Alaska Panhandle in the Canadian p ...
, in 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., ...
. The peak is situated near the toe of the
Mendenhall Glacier
Mendenhall Glacier (in Tlingit language “Sít”) is a glacier about long located in Mendenhall Valley, about from downtown Juneau in the southeast area of the U.S. state of Alaska. The glacier and surrounding landscape is protected as part ...
, within
Tongass National Forest
The Tongass National Forest () in Southeast Alaska is the largest U.S. National Forest at . Most of its area is temperate rain forest and is remote enough to be home to many species of endangered and rare flora and fauna. The Tongass, which i ...
, north-northwest of
Juneau, Alaska
The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the se ...
, and north of
Juneau International Airport
Juneau International Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport and seaplane base located seven nautical miles (8 mi, 13 km) northwest of the central business district of Juneau, a city and borough in the U.S. state of Alaska th ...
. Although modest in elevation,
relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
is significant since the mountain rises up from sea-level in less than seven miles. Stroller White Mountain is often seen and photographed with
McGinnis Mountain
McGinnis Mountain, also known as Mount McGinnis, is a mountain summit located in the Boundary Ranges, in the U.S. state of Alaska. The peak is situated near the toe of the Mendenhall Glacier, within Tongass National Forest, north-northwest of Ju ...
, a summit south, because they are together in the background behind
Mendenhall Lake
Mendenhall Lake is a proglacial lake in the Mendenhall Valley at the 1962 terminus of Mendenhall Glacier, north of the Juneau Airport in the Coast Mountains. It is the source of the short Mendenhall River. The lake is included in the Mendenha ...
, a popular tourist and recreation area.
E. J. "Stroller" White
The mountain's name was officially adopted in 1931 by the
United States 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, ...
to honor Elmer John "Stroller" White (1859-1930), one of the most famous editors and publishers of the
Territory of Alaska
The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The territory was previously Russian America, 1784–1867; the ...
. He was living in
Washington state
Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
when news broke of the gold strikes in the Klondike in 1898. He followed the rush north, where he worked for the
Skagway News
''The Skagway News'' is a newspaper published once a month in January, then twice a month for the rest of the year in Skagway, Alaska.
A different paper by a similar title, ''The Skaguay News'' or at various times ''Skaguay Weekly News'' and ''S ...
and wrote accounts about
Soapy Smith
Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith II (November 2, 1860 – July 8, 1898) was an American con artist and gangster in the American frontier.
Smith operated confidence schemes across the Western United States, and had a large hand in organized crim ...
's gang including the
Shootout on Juneau Wharf
The Shootout on Juneau Wharf was a gunfight between Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith, Frank H. Reid, and Jesse Murphy that took place on Friday, July 8, 1898, at approximately 9:15 p.m. in Skagway, District of Alaska, in the United States. Sm ...
. The powerful lure of the goldfields drew him to
Dawson, Yukon
Dawson City, officially the City of Dawson, is a town in the Canadian territory of Yukon. It is inseparably linked to the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–99). Its population was 1,577 as of the 2021 census, making it the second-largest town in Yuko ...
, where he wrote a column called ''"The Stroller by E.J. White"'' which earned him the nickname "Stroller". From 1904 until 1916, Stroller White was editor of the
Whitehorse Star
The ''Whitehorse Star'' is one of two newspapers in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. When founded in 1900 it appeared only once a week, and its progress to Monday through Friday publication occurred in fits and starts; it was issued twice a week for a ...
. In 1917 he moved to the Juneau area where he published the ''Strollers Weekly''. In 1918 he was appointed Chief of the Territorial Bureau of Publicity, and later served as Speaker of the Territorial House of Representatives.
Climate
Based on the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
, Stroller White Mountain is located in a
subarctic climate
The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...
zone with cold, wet winters, and cold summers. Weather systems coming off the
Gulf of Alaska
The Gulf of Alaska (Tlingit: ''Yéil T'ooch’'') is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the east, ...
are forced upwards by the Coast Mountains (
orographic lift
Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...
), causing heavy precipitation in the form of rainfall and snowfall. Temperatures can drop below −10 °C with wind chill factors below −46 °C. This climate supports the Mendenhall Glacier and
Juneau Icefield
The Juneau Icefield is an ice field located just north of Juneau, Alaska, continuing north through the border with British Columbia, extending through an area of in the Coast Range ranging north to south and east to west. The icefield is the so ...
to the mountain's east. The months May through July offer the most favorable weather for viewing and climbing.
See also
*
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 ...
*
Geography of Alaska
Alaska occupies the northwestern portion of the North American continent and is bordered only by Canada on the east. It is one of two U.S. states not bordered by another state; Hawaii is the other. Alaska has more ocean coastline than all of the ...
Gallery
File:Stroller White Mountain.jpg, Stroller White Mountain
File:Mendenhall Best Flkr1231.jpg, Aerial of Stroller White (left) with Mendenhall Glacier
File:Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls and Mount Stroller White.jpg, Stroller White with Nugget Falls
File:Coast Range toward Mendenhall Glacier (15700233738).jpg, Mt. Stroller White is first peak to left of center
File:Mendenhall Glacier calm.jpg, McGinnis Mountain and Stroller White (right)
File:Stroller White Mountain SW.jpg, Southwest aspect
File:Stroller White Mountain 2.jpg