Mount Huntington is a striking rock and ice pyramid in the central

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 ...

, about 8 miles (13 km) south-southeast of

Denali Denali (; also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. With a topographic prominence of and a topographic isolation of , Denali is the th ...

. It is also about 6 miles (10 km) east of Mount Hunter, and two miles west of The Rooster Comb. While overshadowed in absolute elevation by Denali, Huntington is a steeper peak: in almost every direction, faces drop over in about a mile (1.6 km). Even its easiest route presents significantly more technical challenge than the standard route on Denali, and it is a favorite peak for high-standard technical climbers. Mount Huntington aerial view

Mount Huntington was first climbed in 1964 by a French expedition led by famed alpinist

Lionel Terray Lionel Terray (25 July 1921 – 19 September 1965) was a French people, French climber who made many first ascents, including on the 1955 French Makalu expedition in the Himalaya (with Jean Couzy on 15 May 1955) and Fitz-Roy, Cerro Fitz Roy in t ...

, via the Northwest Ridge, from then on also called the French Ridge. The second ascent the following year, via the West Face/West Rib, is reported by David Roberts in ''The Mountain of My Fear''. The mountain can be accessed either from the West Fork of 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 ...

, on the north side of the mountain, or the

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 ...

, on the south side. Mount Huntington aerial

Notable ascents

* 1964 ''French Ridge''

et al. * 1965 ''Harvard Route'' (VI 5.9 A2 70-degree ice) by David Roberts, Ed Bernd, Don Jensen, Matt Hale. * 1978 ''North Face'' Jack Roberts and Simon McCartney, summit reached on July 6, 1978. * 1978 ''Southeast Spur'' Joseph Kaelin, Kent Meneghin, Glenn Randall and Angus M. Thuermer Jr., summit reached on July 9, 1978. * 1980 ''The British Route, East Face'' Roger Mear and Steve Bell, summit reached on May 16, 1980. * 1981 ''Colton-Leach Route, West Face'' Nick Colton, Tim Leach. * 1989 ''Nettle-Quirk Route'' disputed FA by Dave Nettle and James Quirk, summit reached May 24, 1989. * 2017 ''Gauntlet Ridge'' , Clint Helander and Jess Roskelley, five days on route, two nights spent sleeping on summit.http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web17w/newswire-huntington-complete-south-ridge-ascent

Popular Culture

Characteristics of the mountain was the inspiration of the Paramount Pictures logo.

References

External links

American Alpine Journal "The Timeless Face: The North Face of Mount Huntington" by JACK ROBERTS, Bufl Alpine Club

Mount Huntington on Summitpost.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huntington, Mount Mountains of Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska Mountains of Alaska Denali National Park and Preserve Alaska Range Mountains of Denali National Park and Preserve

Notable ascents

Popular Culture

References

Further reading

External links