MOUNTAINEERING INFORMATION ARTICLES

McKinley - Climbing History

Mount McKinley, or Denali, is North America's tallest mountain and is thus one of the Seven Summits. Just like Mount Everest, it has gained the respect and reverence of the natives who first caught sight of it. In this section, we will cover it's Climbing History, from the time it was discovered by Westerners until the more recent ones.

The mountain, visible from the sea, was discovered as early as 1794. Denali - The High One - was the Native American word for North America's highest peak rising 20,320 feet (6,194m) in the mountain chain called the Alaska Range. In 1897, it was also given the name McKinley, named after William McKinley, a nominee for president, by the Princeton graduate and gold prospector, William Dickey.

Since the turn of the 19th century, the official name of this great mountain has not been established. In 1914, following his historic first ascent of the mountain in 1913, Hudson Stuck wrote in the preface of his book, The Ascent of Denali: "Forefront in this book, because forefront in the author's heart and desire, must stand a plea for the restoration to the greatest mountain in North America of its immemorial native name."

In 1980, the name Mount McKinley National Park was officially changed to Denali National Park and Preserve. The State of Alaska Board of Geographic Names has also officially changed the mountain's name back to Denali. Negotiations continue today to officially return the original native name to this magnificent mountain.

The first serious attempt to climb Denali came in 1903. Approaching from the north, the expedition gave up below the Wickersham Wall, named after the expedition leader. Three years later, Cook returned to climb Denali, he went up the Ruth Glacier from the southeast and attempted the East Buttress. He came back with a picture of himself, flying the American flag from the summit. His claim was later revealed to be false and the peak in his summit was shot only at an altitude of 1600 m. This remains one of the greatest controversies in climbing history.

A few years later, a team of golddiggers made a bet that they could climb McKinley. Starting in December, they approached the mountain from the north with horses and dogsleds. By early April, they had spent over a month in a camp at 3350m. On 3 April 1910, they set out and climbed the North Peak in a remarkable 18-hour round trip. They carried a 4m spruce tree pole, in which they planted among the summit rocks. This later supplied proof of the achievement, when the pole was sighted by the first team to climb the main summit three years later.

The higher South Peak was finally climbed in 1913 by Harry Karstens, a local guide, Walter Harper, Robert Tatum, and Hudson Stuk. They climbed the mountain by the Muldrow Glacier, following the Sourdoughs Route, and then climbed directly to the summit from the Harper Glacier.

In 1954, the West Buttress Route was pioneered by Bradford Washburn. Following the introduction of ski-equipped light aircraft access to the Kahiltna Glacier, this became the Normal Route up the mountain. In 1954, the massive South Buttress was climbed and the same team descended by the Muldrow Glacier to complete the first traverse of the mountain.

Thus has been the story so far of Mount McKinley, otherwise known Mount Denali. While it would be impossible to tell its story in complete detail, it would suffice to say that until today, it still never fails to gain the respect and reverence of anyone who sees it much like the Native Americans ages ago. We hoped this section helped you appreciate the "High One" even more.

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