Celebrating the first summit of Mount McKinley

Harry Karstens leads Robert Tatum on Mount McKinley.

Project Gutenberg

 

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"Anyone who thinks that the climbing of Denali is a picnic is badly mistaken." -- Hudson Stuck

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On June 7, 1913, four men stood on the top of Mount McKinley, or Denali as it was called by the native Koyukon Athabaskans, for the first time. By achieving the summit of the highest peak in North America, Walter Harper, Harry Karstens, Hudson Stuck and Robert Tatum made history. One of the party, Harry Karstens, would continue to have an association with the mountain and the land around it by becoming the first superintendent of the fledgling Mount McKinley National Park, which would be renamed Denali National Park and Preserve in 1980.

Planning is underway for several events and exhibits to celebrate the centennial.

 

Descendants of Walter Harper, Harry Karstens, and Hudson Stuck will participate in a guided "Denali 2013 Centennial Climb" that will follow the historic pioneer route up the mountain from its north side. More information about this independent expedition can be found at Denali2013.org

 

University of Alaska Museum of the North will host a special exhibit opening May 2013, "Denali Legacy: 100 Years on the Mountain." More information is available online and the UAMN page on Facebook.

 

In partnership with Alaska Geographic, the park is producing a new exhibit about the climb, "First Ascent of Denali 1913-2013," for display at the Eielson Visitor Center, near the base of Mount McKinley at Mile 66 of the Denali Park Road, from June 1 to Sept 16. Some aspects of the exhibit may be duplicated for display at the Talkeetna Ranger Station.

 

A Summer Speaker Series on pioneer and other significant climbs of Mount McKinley will take place in the Denali Visitor Center's Karstens Theater from June to August. A schedule of dates, speakers, and topics will be posted once finalized.

 

Denali Backcountry Adventures (DBA), an annual backpacking camp for high school students, has special events planned for 2013! In celebration of the Summit Centennial, students will take a flight over the Alaska Range and interact with Denali Mountaineering Rangers as they launch a summit attempt from Kantishna. DBA will take place June 2 - 7, 2013. Registration through Denali Education Center starts at 9 am on April 22nd.

 

EVENT POSTPONED to 2014: Originally planned to coincide with the Centennial events in 2013, the National Park Service and the American Alpine Club will now host the Sustainable Summits: The International Mountain Conference on Environmental Practices in Golden, Colorado in July 2014. In addition to a more centralized location, conference planners aim to incorporate live videoconferencing capability at the 2014 event. The conference will be open to all interested individuals, including land managers, climbers, planners and scientists representing the world's mountainous areas. More information coming soon!

 

Fostering Diversity in the Outdoors
Expedition Denali is a historical undertaking by the first African American team to attempt to summit Denali.The expedition, and the two-year outreach initiative afterwards, will provide a platform for its members to be role models and inspire young people, particularly African American youth, to get outside and be active.