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The first climbing expedition to reach the North Peak was that of the Sourdoughs (Tom Lloyd, Charles McGonagall, Peter Anderson, and Bill Taylor) and McGonagall, Anderson, and Taylor successfully reached the North Peak on April 3, 1910, three years before Hudson Stuck's expedition. Their summit bid started at 11,000 feet and their summit day subsistence consisted only of doughnuts and hot chocolate, they also dragged a fourteen foot pole which they secured into rocks around 19,000 feet. They reasoned it would be able to be seen from Fairbanks proving their accomplishment, however, it was not to be seen from Fairbanks and complicated with fraudulent claims by Lloyd that they all made the summit of both peaks, they were doubted. Fortunately, during Hudson Stuck's ascent, he was able to verify that the fourteen foot spruce pole was indeed planted near the summit of the North Peak. Considering the background of these sourdoughs as miners and not climbers, it was a great accomplishment and what many would consider a phenomenal feat.
FOREFRONT in this book,
because forefront in -- Hudson Stuck,
The Ascent of Denali ©Copyright
1997-2004
Updated October 18, 2005
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Denali
stands at 20,320 feet (6,194m) at the South Peak. The North Peak
is slightly lower at 19,470 feet (5,934m). Together, these peaks
are known as the Churchill Peaks. Denali is an Athabascan Indian
name meaning "The High One" and this is the name recognized
as the proper name by the State of Alaska's Geographic Names Board
for North America's highest mountain-- Mount McKinley. The first
climbing expedition to reach the South Peak was that of Hudson Stuck's
1913 expedition. Hudson Stuck, Harry Karstens, Walter Harper, and
Robert Tatum stood on Denali's South Peak on June 13th. The first
person of this expedition to summit the South Peak was Walter Harper,
a Native Alaskan of Athabascan descent. An excellent narrative of
this climb is available and was written by 