Mount Huntington (Alaska)

Mount Huntington
Elevation	12,240 ft (3,731 m)
Prominence	2,890 ft (881 m)
Location
Location	Denali National Park and Preserve, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, USA
Range	Central Alaska Range
Coordinates	62°58′02″N 150°53′55″W / 62.96722°N 150.89861°W / 62.96722; -150.89861Coordinates: 62°58′02″N 150°53′55″W / 62.96722°N 150.89861°W / 62.96722; -150.89861
Topo map	USGS Talkeetna D-2
Climbing
First ascent	1964 by Lionel Terray et al.
Easiest route	rock/snow/ice climb

Mount Huntington is a striking rock and ice pyramid in the Central Alaska Range, about 8 miles (13 km) south-southeast of Mount McKinley. It is also about 6 miles (10 km) east of Mount Hunter. While overshadowed in absolute elevation by McKinley, Huntington is a steeper peak: in almost every direction, faces drop over 5,000 feet (1,525 m) in about a mile (1.6 km). Even its easiest route presents significantly more technical challenge than the standard route on McKinley, and it is a favorite peak for high-standard technical climbers.

Mount Huntington was first climbed in 1964 by famed French alpinist Lionel Terray and party, via the Northwest Ridge, also called the French Ridge. The second ascent the following year, via the West Face/West Rib, is chronicled by noted climber and author David Roberts in The Mountain of My Fear. The mountain can be accessed either from the West Fork of the Ruth Glacier, on the north side of the mountain, or the Tokositna Glacier, on the south side.

Notable ascents

• 1964 French Ridge Lionel Terray et al.
• 1965 Harvard Route (VI 5.9 A2 70-degree ice) by David Roberts, Ed Bernd, Don Jensen, Matt Hale.^[1]
• 1978 North Face Jack Roberts and Simon McCartney, summit reached on July 6, 1978.^[2]
• 1978 Southeast Spur Joseph Kaelin, Kent Meneghin, Glenn Randall and Angus M. Thuermer, Jr., summit reached on July 9, 1978.^[3]
• 1989 Nettle-Quirk Route disputed FA by Dave Nettle and James Quirk, summit reached May 24, 1989.^[4]

Further reading

• Roberts, David (1991 (reprint)). The Mountain of My Fear/Deborah: A Wilderness Narrative. Seattle, WA, USA: Mountaineers Books. ISBN 0898862701. 
• Wood, Michael; Colby Coombs (2002). Alaska: A Climbing Guide. Seattle, WA, USA: Mountaineers Books. ISBN 089886724X. 
• Terray, Lionel; Geoffrey Sutton (translator) (1963). Conquistadors of the Useless. Victor Gollancz Ltd.. pp. 353–363. ISBN 0-89886-778-9. 

References

1. ^ Roberts, David (1991 (reprint)). The Mountain of My Fear/Deborah: A Wilderness Narrative. Seattle, WA, USA: Mountaineers Books. ISBN 0898862701. 
2. ^ Roberts, Jack (1979). "The Timeless Face: The North Face of Mount Huntington". American Alpine Journal 1979 (New York, NY, USA: American Alpine Club) 22 (53): 70–80. ISSN 0065-6925. 
3. ^ Thuermer, Angus (1979). "Huntington's Southeast Spur". American Alpine Journal 1979 (New York, NY, USA: American Alpine Club) 22 (53): 81–89. ISSN 0065-6925. 
4. ^ Quirk, James (1990). "Moose's Tooth and Huntington". American Alpine Journal 1990 (New York, NY, USA: American Alpine Club) 32 (64): 43–49. ISBN 0-930410-43-2. 

External links

• Mount Huntington on bivouac.com