The Quest to Reach the Highest Point on Every Continent - McKinley (Denali)

SEVEN SUMMITS
The Quest to Reach the Highest Point on Every Continent
by Steve Bell

Mount McKinley (Denali)

The view of McKinley from Wonder Lake, north of the mountain, is one of the most majestic mountain scenes anywhere in the world, as McKinley and the Alaska Range rise abruptly from the Arctic tundra and surrounding lowlands. This is the view that inspired the native Inuit people to call it Denali, the "High One."

Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in North America, is the second hardest climb of the Seven Summits, only surpassed by Everest. It is a mountain of grand scale, standing head and shoulders above its neighbours, and presents a tough challenge. Lying just south of the Arctic Circle in Alaska, at 63*N, it is one of the coldest mountains in the world and the elevation gain from the foot of the mountain to the summit is almost 6000m (20,000 ft), one of the greatest vertical gains in the world. Also, because it is closer to the pole, the lower barometric pressure make an ascent comparable to climbing a 7000m (23,000 ft) peak in the Himalayas.

McKinley is the apex of the Alaska Range, stretching from the Aleutian Peninsula, through central Alaska, to curve southeast to meet the Mount St. Elias Range in Canada. Three major glaciers radiate out from it: the Muldrow to the northeast, the Ruth to the southeast, and the Kahiltna to the southwest. It has two summits, the South Summit 6194m (20,320 ft) and the lower North Summit 5934m (19,500 ft), separated by the lofty Denali Pass.

This wild, untamed region is surprisingly accessible - only 240km (150 miles) north of Alaska's largest city, Anchorage. The nearest town is Talkeentna, from where a 40-minute flight takes climbers into the mountain's icy embrace.