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Mount McKinley
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Mount McKinley is the tallest mountain in North America. Although there are
many taller mountains in the world, McKinley is one of the most impressive. With
its base at nearly sea level and its summit at 20,320 feet, it is said to have
one of earth's steepest vertical rises.
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W.A. Dickey named the mountain after President William McKinley in 1897.
Prior to that time the Athabaskan Indians of Interior Alaska called it Denali,
meaning "The High One." In other regions of the state it had different
names: Doleyka, Traleika, Bulshia, Gora and Tenada. It was called "Dunsmore's
Mountain" by the English speakers. Efforts over the years to officially
rename the mountain Denali, the Athabaskan name, have been unsuccessful.
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The Sourdough Party made the first successful climb of Mount McKinley in
1910. Prior to the Sourdough climb, people believed that the North Peak was the
higher peak. Via the Muldrow Glacier, the Sourdough Party hauled a forty-foot
spruce pole and flag to the top of the North Peak. They discovered at the summit,
however, that the South Peak is in fact higher by 850 feet. Their flag was not
visible from Fairbanks, thereby leaving the climbers with only their word as
proof of their feat.
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On June 7, 1913, the Karstens-Stuck expedition conquered the true peak of
Mount McKinley. With Harry Karstens and Rev. Hudson Stuck were Robert Tatum and
Walter Harper. From their vantage point atop the South Peak they could look
across to the North Peak and see the flag pole left by the Sourdough Party.
Harry Karstens went on to become the first superintendent of Mount McKinley
National Park in 1917.
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