King Peak (sometimes called Mount King) is the fourth-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 area, and is usually highe ...
in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and the ninth-highest peak in
North America. Situated just west of
Mount Logan (highest in Canada), in
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 ...
, it is considered a satellite peak of the massive mountain.
Climbing history
The first ascent of King Peak was made in 1952 by some students from the
University of Alaska. Russell Alston Paige, Keith Hart, Elton Thayer and Bill Atwood walked to the
Ogilvie Glacier at the foot of Quartz Ridge where the majority of their supplies had been air dropped. They reached Camp 2 on the west ridge on June 3. After waiting two days for a storm to subside, Hart and Thayer set out for the summit while Atwood remained in camp due to a knee injury. After struggling with rock towers and icy crests, they reached the top on June 6, 1952.
[Scott pp. 141-142]
The second and third ascents were also completed in 1952 by an American team who had also just made the first ascent of
Mount Augusta
Mount Augusta, also designated Boundary Peak 183, is a high peak in the state of Alaska.
Mount Augusta lies about south of Mount Logan and 25 km east of Mount Saint Elias, respectively the first and second highest mountains in Canada. It f ...
. From the south side of King Peak, they made their way up to the east ridge occasionally traversing to the north side to avoid steep slopes. After two failed summit attempts on July 20 and 21,
Pete Schoening
Peter Kittilsby Schoening (July 30, 1927 – September 22, 2004) was an American mountaineer. Schoening and Andrew Kauffman was two Americans to first successfully climb the Pakistani peak Gasherbrum I in 1958, and was one of the first to summit M ...
and
Gibson Reynolds succeeded in negotiating the
gendarme
Wrong info! -->
A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...
that had rebuffed the failed attempts and reached the top on July 23. Schoening returned the next day with Dick McGowan and Bill Niendorff to complete the third ascent.
[Scott pp. 142-143]
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 Canada
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 s ...
Bibliography
*
References
External links
Photo of King Peak
{{Yukon
Five-thousanders of Yukon
Saint Elias Mountains