- "Denali" redirects here. For other meanings, see Denali (disambiguation).
Mount McKinley or Denali in Alaska is the highest mountain peak in North America, at a height of approximately 20,320 feet (6,194 metres). It is the centerpiece of Denali National Park.
It is commonly known as Denali, which means "the great one" in the Dena'ina language, and which is also the official name currently recognized by the State of Alaska. In 1897 the Mountain was "officially" named Mount McKinley, after the popular U.S. president William McKinley. As the decades progressed Indian-rights activists began increasingly to view this renaming as colonial and disrespectful. Denali is also the name preferred by the mountaineering community. There have been several campaigns to officially switch the name of the mountain back to "Denali" nationwide. However, at the first session of each Congress, Ralph Regula, the congressman from President McKinley's district, introduces legislation "to provide for the retention of the name of Mount McKinley," which effectively blocks any effort at a name change.
A 1906 claim of a first ascent by Dr. Frederick Cook was later proven fraudulent, and the first real ascent came on June 7, 1913 by a party led by Hudson Stuck. In 1947, Barbara Washburn became the first woman to reach the summit. The mountain is regularly climbed today, although it is still a dangerous undertaking, and there have been many fatalities.
Mount McKinley has a larger bulk and rise than Mount Everest. Even though the summit of Everest is 9000 feet higher measured from sea level, its base sits on the Tibetan Plateau at about 17,000 feet, giving it a real vertical rise of little more than 12,000 feet. The base of Denali sits on a 2,000 feet plateau, giving it an actual rise of 18,000 feet.
The mountain is characterized by extremely cold weather due to its high latitude, and its proximity to the jet stream.[1]
References
- Dow Scoggins, Discovering Denali
- R. J. Secor, Denali Climbing Guide (Stackpole Books, 1998) ISBN 0811727173
- Bradford Washburn et al, Mount McKinley: The Conquest of Denali (Harry N. Abrams, 1991) ISBN 0810936119
- Colby Coombs and Bradford Washburn, Denali's West Buttress: A Climber's Guide to Mount McKinley's Classic Route
- Jonathan Waterman, Surviving Denali: A Study of Accidents on Mount McKinley 1903-1990 (American Alpine Club, 1991)
- Jonathan Waterman, In the Shadow of Denali: Life and Death on Alaska's Mt. McKinley (1994)++
- Kaye, G. D., Using GIS to estimate the total volume of Mauna Loa Volcano, Hawaii, 98th Annual Meeting, Geological Society of America, (2002).
- Art Davidson, Minus 148 Degrees: The First Winter Ascent of Mount McKinley, 3rd ed. (Mountaineers Books, 1999) ISBN 0898866871
- Hudson Stuck, D.D., Archdeacon of the Yukon, The Ascent of Denali, The 1913 Expedition that First Conquered Mt. McKinley, ((reprinted by) Wolfe Publishing Co., 1988) ISBN 0-935632-69-7
Mt. McKinley on a clear day
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