Mount McKinley

The heart of Denali National Park is Mount McKinley, the highest point in North America, at 20,320 feet. The Park was created in 1917 and expanded in 1980. It now covers six million acres. The Park is larger than many states. However, it is only the third largest Park or preserve in the U.S. The two largest are also in Alaska! They are Wrangell National Preserve and the Brooks Range Complex, which is really a series of connected preserves and parks.

There is a continuing discussion about the name of this highest point--many Alaskans simply refer to it as Denali, which in Athabascan means "the high one." 

We were extremely fortunate to be able to see the mountain unobstructed by clouds. Only about 20 percent of visitors ever have this good fortune. Mount McKinley is so high it creates its own weather. The upper reaches of McKinley are permanently covered in snow and ice. Wintertime temperatures drop below -95 degrees and winds reach 150 miles per hour. The circular, almost funnel-shaped cloud, in the first picture is characteristic of the clouds that shroud the mountain most days.

McKinley is apparently irresistible to mountain climbers. When we reached Denali on Memorial Day weekend, there were over 400 climbers on the mountain. Many actually make it to the top. However, three-tenths of one percent of those who try, don't come back. When we arrived in Alaska on May 22, one experienced climber was reported missing for a couple days on the mountain. Today (May 26), the evening news reported the search for that climber had been suspended as no sign of him had been found in six days.

Early in the day when these pictures were taken, you could not see the top. However, later in the day and the following day, the "High One" was visible. The first three pictures were all taken from Denali Viewpoint South off Highway 3 about 40 miles south-southeast of the mountain. The final picture was taken the next day approximately 70 miles northeast of the mountain from within the Park.