View source for Denali

<noinclude>{{Requested move notice|1=?|2=Talk:Denali#Requested move 16 November 2025}}
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{{Short description|Highest mountain in North America}}
{{About|the mountain}}
{{redirect|Mount McKinley|the mountain in South Australia|Mount McKinlay}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Denali<!-- PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE the article name without consensus on the talk page. -->
| other_name = Mount McKinley
| photo = Wonder Lake and Denali.jpg
| photo_alt = A snow-covered, gently sloping mountain is in the background, with a lake in the foreground
| photo_caption = From the north, with [[Wonder Lake (Alaska)|Wonder Lake]] in the foreground
| elevation = 20,310 ft (6,190 m) top of snow
| elevation_ref = <ref name=ADN>{{cite press release |url=https://www.usgs.gov/news/new-elevation-nation%E2%80%99s-highest-peak |publisher=USGS |title=New Elevation for Nation's Highest Peak |author1=Mark Newell |author2=Blaine Horner |date=September 2, 2015 |access-date=May 16, 2016 |archive-date=December 30, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230062108/https://www.usgs.gov/news/new-elevation-nation%E2%80%99s-highest-peak |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Wagner>{{cite journal |last=Wagner |first=Mary Jo |title=Surveying at 20,000 feet |journal=The American Surveyor |date=November 2015 |volume=12 |issue=10 |pages=10–19 |issn=1548-2669 }}</ref>
| elevation_system = NAVD88
| prominence_ft = 20,156
| prominence_ref = <ref name="PeakVisor">{{Cite web |url=https://peakvisor.com/peak/denali.html |title=Denali |author=PeakVisor |access-date=February 1, 2021 |archive-date=January 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123043412/https://peakvisor.com/peak/denali.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
| parent_peak = [[Aconcagua]]<ref name="PeakVisor" />
| isolation_mi = 4,621.1
| isolation_ref = <ref name="PeakVisor" />
| map = USA Alaska
| map_caption = Location in Alaska
| label_position = left
| mapframe = yes
| mapframe-zoom = 8
| mapframe-caption = Interactive map of Denali
| listing = {{unbulleted list
 |[[Ultra-prominent peak|World's most prominent peaks]] 3rd
 |[[Topographic isolation|World's most isolated peaks]] 3rd
 |[[Seven Summits]] 3rd
 |[[List of countries by highest point|Country high points]] 14th
 |[[List of the highest major summits of North America|North America highest peaks]] 1st
 |[[List of the highest major summits of the United States|US highest major peaks]] 1st
 |[[List of the highest major summits of Alaska|Alaska highest major peaks]] 1st
 |[[List of U.S. states by elevation|US state high points]] 1st
 }}
| location = [[Denali National Park and Preserve]], [[Alaska]], US
| range = [[Alaska Range]]
| coordinates = {{Coord|63|4|9|N|151|0|23|W|region:US-AK_type:mountain_scale:100000|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_ref = <ref name="gnis"/>
| topo = [[United States Geological Survey|USGS]] Mt. McKinley A-3
| first_ascent = June 7, 1913 by{{unbulleted list
 |style=margin-top:0.5em
 |[[Hudson Stuck]]
 |[[Henry Peter Karstens|Harry Karstens]]
 |[[Walter Harper]]
 |[[Robert Tatum]]
 }}
| easiest_route = West Buttress Route (glacier/snow climb)
}}
<!-- PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE the article name or this section without a previous consensus on the talk page. -->

'''Denali''' ({{IPAc-en|d|ə|ˈ|n|ɑː|l|i}} {{respell|də|NAH|lee}}),<ref>{{cite book |last=Jones |first=Daniel |author-link=Daniel Jones (phonetician) |title=English Pronouncing Dictionary |editor=Peter Roach |editor2=James Hartmann |editor3=Jane Setter |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |orig-date=1917 |date=2003 |isbn=3-12-539683-2 }}</ref> federally designated as '''Mount McKinley''',<ref name="Friedman2025">{{Cite news |last=Friedman |first=Lisa |date=2025-01-24 |title=Interior Department Says Gulf of Mexico Is Now 'Gulf of America' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/24/us/politics/trump-administration-gulf-of-america-change.html |access-date=2025-01-24 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 28, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250128162900/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/24/us/politics/trump-administration-gulf-of-america-change.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{GNIS|1414314|Mount McKinley }}</ref><!-- PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE the article name or subsequent text regarding Denali/Mount McKinley without [[Talk:Denali|talk page]] consensus. --> is the highest [[mountain]] peak in [[North America]], with a summit [[elevation]] of {{convert|20310|ft|m|0|abbr=out}} above [[sea level]]. It is the [[List of highest mountains on Earth|tallest mountain in the world from base to peak]] on land, measuring {{convert|18000|feet|meter|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Helman2005">{{cite book |author=Adam Helman |title=The Finest Peaks: Prominence and Other Mountain Measures |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kr8AM-w8IFQC |access-date=December 9, 2012 |date=2005 |publisher=Trafford Publishing |isbn=978-1-4120-5995-4 |archive-date=October 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031053845/https://books.google.com/books?id=kr8AM-w8IFQC |url-status=live}} On p. 20 of Helman (2005):"the base to peak rise of Mount McKinley is the largest of any mountain that lies entirely above sea level, some {{convert|18000|feet|meter|abbr=on}}".</ref> With a [[topographic prominence]] of {{convert|20156|ft|m|abbr=out}}<ref name="PeakVisor" /> and a [[topographic isolation]] of {{convert|4621.1|mi|abbr=out}},<ref name="PeakVisor" /> Denali is the [[List of peaks by prominence|third most prominent]] and [[List of peaks by isolation|third-most isolated]] peak on Earth, after [[Mount Everest]] and [[Aconcagua]]. Located in the [[Alaska Range]] in the interior of the [[U.S. state]] of [[Alaska]], Denali is the centerpiece of [[Denali National Park and Preserve]].

The [[Koyukon people]] who inhabit the area around the mountain have referred to the peak as "Denali" for centuries. In 1896, a gold prospector named it "Mount McKinley" in support of then-presidential candidate [[William McKinley]], who later became the 25th president; McKinley's name was the official name recognized by the [[federal government of the United States]] from 1917 until 2015. In August 2015, 40 years after Alaska had officially named the mountain Denali, the [[United States Department of the Interior]] under the [[Presidency of Barack Obama|Obama administration]] changed the [[Denali–Mount McKinley naming dispute|official federal name of the mountain]] also to Denali.<ref name="DenaliNameChangeDOI">{{cite press release |title=Denali Name Change |url=https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/elips/documents/3337%20-%20Changing%20the%20Name%20of%20Mount%20McKinley%20to%20Denali.pdf |publisher=[[United States Department of the Interior|U.S. Department of the Interior]] |date=August 28, 2015 |access-date=August 31, 2015 |archive-date=October 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008012637/https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/elips/documents/3337%20-%20Changing%20the%20Name%20of%20Mount%20McKinley%20to%20Denali.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="denalirestored">{{cite web |last=Campbell |first=Jon |title=Old Name Officially Returns to Nation's Highest Peak |url=https://www.usgs.gov/news/old-name-officially-returns-nations-highest-peak |publisher=U.S. Board on Geographic Names ([[United States Geological Survey|U.S. Geological Survey]]) |date=August 30, 2015 |access-date=May 16, 2016 |archive-date=June 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605070047/https://www.usgs.gov/news/old-name-officially-returns-nations-highest-peak |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="McKinley Name">{{cite web |url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CRPT-113srpt93/html/CRPT-113srpt93.htm |title=Senate Report 113-93 – Designation of Denali in the State of Alaska |author=Mr. [[Ron Wyden|Wyden]], from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources |date=September 10, 2013 |publisher=U.S. Government Publishing Office |access-date=September 16, 2015 |quote=The State of Alaska changed the name of the mountain to Denali in 1975, although the U.S. Board on Geographic Names has continued to use the name Mount McKinley. Today most Alaskans refer to Mount McKinley as Denali. |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612162757/https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CRPT-113srpt93/html/CRPT-113srpt93.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In January 2025, the Department of the Interior under the [[Second presidency of Donald Trump|Trump administration]] reverted the mountain's official federal name to Mount McKinley.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |date=2025-01-24 |title=Interior Department Advances Restoration of Historic Names Honoring American Greatness {{!}} U.S. Department of the Interior |url=https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-department-advances-restoration-historic-names-honoring-american-greatness |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=www.doi.gov |language=en |archive-date=January 24, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250124223522/https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-department-advances-restoration-historic-names-honoring-american-greatness |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Friedman2025" />

In 1903, [[James Wickersham]] recorded the first attempt at climbing Denali, which was unsuccessful. In 1906, [[Frederick Cook]] claimed the [[first ascent]], but this ascent is unverified and its legitimacy questioned. The first verifiable ascent to Denali's summit was achieved on June 7, 1913, by climbers [[Hudson Stuck]], [[Harry Karstens]], [[Walter Harper]], and [[Robert Tatum]], who went by the South Summit. In 1951, [[Bradford Washburn]] pioneered the West Buttress route, considered to be the safest and easiest route, and therefore the most popular currently in use.<ref name="roberts" />

On September 2, 2015, the [[U.S. Geological Survey]] measured the mountain at {{convert|20310|ft|m|0|abbr=out}} high,<ref name=ADN/> 10&nbsp;ft lower than the {{convert|20320|ft|m|0|abbr=out}} measured in 1952 using [[photogrammetry]].

==Geology and features==
Denali is a [[granitic]] [[pluton]], mostly pink [[quartz monzonite]], lifted by [[tectonic]] pressure from the [[subduction]] of the [[Pacific Plate]] beneath the [[North American Plate]]; at the same time, the [[sedimentary]] material above and around the mountain was stripped away by [[erosion]].<ref name="brease">{{cite web |last=Brease |first=P. |title=GEO-FAQS #1 – General Geologic Features |url=http://www.nps.gov/dena/upload/Brief%20Geology%20of%20Mt.pdf |publisher=National Park Service |date=May 2003 |access-date=March 17, 2013 |archive-date=March 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308043818/http://www.nps.gov/dena/upload/Brief%20Geology%20of%20Mt.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://journals.openedition.org/geomorphologie/147?lang=en |first1=Kenji |last1=Yoshikawa |first2=Yositomi |last2=Okura |first3=Vincent |last3=Autier |first4=Satoshi |last4=Ishimaru |date=2006 |title=Secondary calcite crystallization and oxidation processes of granite near the summit of Mt. McKinley, Alaska |journal=Géomorphologie |volume=12 |number=6 |doi=10.4000/geomorphologie.147 |access-date=December 6, 2019 |archive-date=March 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302172811/https://journals.openedition.org/geomorphologie/147?lang=en |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> The forces that lifted Denali also caused many deep [[earthquake]]s in Alaska and the [[Aleutian Islands]]. The Pacific Plate is seismically active beneath Denali, a tectonic region that is known as the "McKinley cluster".<ref name="hanson">{{cite web |last=Hanson |first=Roger A. |title=Earthquake and Seismic Monitoring in Denali National Park |url=http://www.nps.gov/akso/nature/science/ak_park_science/PDF/2006Vol5-1/Earthquake-Monitoring.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080210130333/http://www.nps.gov/dena/upload/Brief%20Geology%20of%20Mt.pdf |archive-date=February 10, 2008 |access-date=March 17, 2013 |publisher=National Park Service |pages=23–25 }}</ref>

===Structural geology===
The high topography of Denali is related to the complex structural relationships created by the right-lateral [[Denali Fault]] and Denali Fault Bend. The Denali Fault is caused by stresses created by the low-angle subduction of the [[Yakutat Block|Yakutat microplate]] underneath Alaska. The Denali Fault Bend is characterized as a gentle restraining bend.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Burkett |first=Corey |title=Along-fault migration of the Mount McKinley restraining bend of the Denali fault defined by late Quaternary fault patterns and seismicity, Denali National Park & Preserve, Alaska |journal=Tectonophysics |date=2016 |volume=693 |pages=489–506 |doi=10.1016/j.tecto.2016.05.009 |bibcode=2016Tectp.693..489B |hdl=10919/101887 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The Denali Fault Bend represents a curvature in the Denali Fault that is approximately 75&nbsp;km long. This curvature creates what is known as a "space problem". As the right-lateral movement along the Denali Fault continues, high compressional forces created at the fault bend essentially push the crust up in a vertical fashion. The longer the crust stays within the restraining bend, the higher the topography will be. Several active normal faults north of the restraining bend have recently been mapped with slip rates of approximately 2–6&nbsp;mm/year.<ref name=":3" /> These normal faults help to accommodate the unusual curvature of the restraining bend.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

===Elevation===
Denali has a summit [[elevation]] of {{convert|20310|ft|m|0|abbr=out}} above [[sea level]], making it the highest peak in North America and the northernmost mountain above {{convert|6,000|m|ft|0|abbr=out|order=flip}} elevation in the world.<ref name="ADN" /> Measured from base to peak at some {{convert|18000|ft|-2|abbr=on}}, it is among the largest mountains situated entirely above sea level. Denali rises from a sloping plain with elevations from {{convert|1000|to|3000|ft|abbr=on}}, for a base-to-peak height of {{convert|17000|to|19000|ft|m|-3|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web |last=Clark |first=Liesl |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/denali/expedition/mission.html |title=NOVA Online: Surviving Denali, The Mission |publisher=Public Broadcasting Corporation |work=NOVA |year=2000 |access-date=June 7, 2007 |archive-date=November 20, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101120103239/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/denali/expedition/mission.html |url-status=live }}</ref> By comparison, [[Mount Everest]] rises from the [[Tibetan Plateau]] at a much higher base elevation. Base elevations for Everest range from {{convert|13800|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}} on the south side to {{convert|17100|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}} on the Tibetan Plateau, for a base-to-peak height in the range of {{convert|12000|to|15300|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}}.<ref name="washburn_map">{{cite map |title=Mount Everest |year=1991 |scale=1:50,000 |cartography=[[Bradford Washburn]] |isbn=3-85515-105-9}} Prepared for the [[Boston Museum of Science]], the Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research, and the [[National Geographic Society]]</ref> Denali's base-to-peak height is little more than half the {{convert|33500|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}} of the volcano [[Mauna Kea]], which lies mostly under water.<ref name="natgeo">{{cite magazine |title=Mountains: Highest Points on Earth |url=http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/earth/surface-of-the-earth/mountains-article/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100408152540/http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/earth/surface-of-the-earth/mountains-article/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 8, 2010 |magazine=National Geographic |access-date=March 17, 2013 }}</ref>

===Geography of the mountain===
Denali has two significant summits: the South Summit is the higher one, while the North Summit has an elevation of {{convert|19470|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}<ref name="brease" /> and a [[prominence]] of approximately {{convert|1270|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}.<ref name="pbnorth">{{cite peakbagger |pid=270 |name=Mount McKinley-North Peak, Alaska |access-date=March 18, 2013 }}</ref> The North Summit is sometimes counted as a separate peak (see e.g., [[fourteener]]) and sometimes not; it is rarely climbed, except by those doing routes on the north side of the [[massif]].

Five large glaciers flow off the slopes of the mountain. The [[Peters Glacier (Alaska Range)|Peters Glacier]] lies on the northwest side of the massif, while the [[Muldrow Glacier]] falls from its northeast slopes. Just to the east of the Muldrow, and abutting the eastern side of the massif, is the [[Traleika Glacier]]. The [[Ruth Glacier]] lies to the southeast of the mountain, and the [[Kahiltna Glacier]] leads up to the southwest side of the mountain.<ref name="areaparks">{{cite web |title=Denali National Park and Preserve |url=http://denali.areaparks.com/parkinfo.html?pid=7821 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130410125354/http://denali.areaparks.com/parkinfo.html?pid=7821 |archive-date=April 10, 2013 |publisher=AreaParks.com |access-date=March 18, 2013 }}</ref><ref name="planetware">{{cite web |title=Denali National Park |url=http://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/denali-national-park-us-ak-dp.htm#US-AK-MM |publisher=PlanetWare |access-date=March 18, 2013 |archive-date=December 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202234319/http://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/denali-national-park-us-ak-dp.htm#US-AK-MM |url-status=live }}</ref> With a length of {{convert|44|mi|abbr=on}}, the Kahiltna Glacier is the longest glacier in the [[Alaska Range]].

==Naming==
{{main|Denali–Mount McKinley naming dispute}}
The [[Koyukon people|Koyukon]] [[Alaskan Athabaskans|Athabaskans]] who inhabit the area around the mountain have, for centuries, referred to the peak as {{Lang|koy|Dinale}} or {{Lang|koy|Denali}}. The name is based on a Koyukon word for 'high' or 'tall'.<ref name="Martinson2015">{{cite news |url=http://www.adn.com/article/20150830/it-s-official-it-s-denali |title=McKinley no more: America's tallest peak to be renamed Denali |last=Martinson |first=Erica |date=August 30, 2015 |newspaper=Alaska Dispatch News |access-date=August 31, 2015 |quote=The name 'Denali' is derived from the Koyukon name and is based on a verb theme meaning 'high' or 'tall', according to linguist James Kari of the Alaska Native Language Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, in the book 'Shem Pete's Alaska'. It doesn't mean 'the great one', as is commonly believed, Kari wrote. |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303183640/http://www.adn.com/article/20150830/it-s-official-it-s-denali |url-status=live }}</ref> During the [[Russian America|Russian ownership of Alaska]], the common name for the mountain was {{Lang|ru-latn|Bolshaya Gora}} ({{langx|ru|Большая Гора}}; {{Lang|ru-latn|bolshaya}} 'big'; {{Lang|ru-latn|gora}} 'mountain'), which is the Russian translation of ''Denali''.<ref name=DictionaryOFAlaskaPlaceNames>{{cite book |title=Dictionary of Alaska Place Names |publisher=[[United States Department of the Interior]] |series=Geological Survey Professional Paper 567 |year=1967 |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_0y48AQAAMAAJ/ |page=610 |oclc=1956142 |via=Archive.org}}</ref> It was briefly called Densmore's Mountain in the late 1880s and early 1890s<ref name="norrisv1-1">{{cite web |last=Norris |first=Frank |title=Crown Jewel of the North: An Administrative History of Denali National Park and Preserve, Vol. 1 |url=http://www.nps.gov/dena/historyculture/upload/Crown%20Jewel%20of%20the%20North%20-%20An%20Administrative%20History%20of%20DENA%20-%20Vol%20I.pdf |publisher=National Park Service |page=1 |access-date=April 30, 2013 |archive-date=September 1, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901205736/http://www.nps.gov/dena/historyculture/upload/Crown%20Jewel%20of%20the%20North%20-%20An%20Administrative%20History%20of%20DENA%20-%20Vol%20I.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> after Frank Densmore, a gold prospector who was the first non-native Alaskan to reach the base of the mountain.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Berton |first1=Pierre |orig-date=1972 |year=1990 |title=Klondike: The Last Great Gold Rush 1896–1899 |edition=revised |page=84 |publisher=Penguin Books Canada |isbn=0-14-011759-8 |oclc=19392422 }}</ref>

===William A Dickey===

In 1896, gold prospector William Dickey<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Tale of Two Names: The Denali/Mt. McKinley Story |url=https://www.alaskatourservices.com/blog/a-tale-of-two-names-the-denalimt-mckinley-story |access-date=2025-09-14 |website=Alaska Audio Adventure |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Brooks1911">{{Cite web |last=Brooks |first=Alfred H |year=1911 |editor-last=Otis Smith |editor-first=George |title=THE MOUNT McKINLEY REGION, ALASKA |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0070/report.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250509124026/https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0070/report.pdf |archive-date=2025-05-09 |access-date=2025-09-14 |website=pubs.usgs.gov}}</ref> named it ''McKinley'' as political support for then-presidential candidate [[William McKinley]], who became president the following year.

{{Blockquote
|text=
One, however, W. A. Dickey, of a different type from the rest, recognized the surpassing height of the peak and its geographic import and gave it the name Mount McKinley. His exploration in 1896 was probably one of the first extensive journeys in this district since that of the Russian Malakoff in 1834. With three other men he ascended Susitna River to the trading station at the head of the delta; then constructed boats of whipsawed lumber and continued his journey up the main Susitna to the mouth of Indian Creek. From this place he explored a part of the upper canyon of the Susitna and also made a journey westward to the Chulitna, reaching the foot of the glacier which discharges into this river and has its source on the slopes of Mount McKinley. It was after this journey that he published his description of the mountain, in which he named it and stated its altitude as over 20,000 feet. He told the writer that he had no instruments, but made his estimate, which has proved to be remarkably accurate, with careful consideration of the atmospheric conditions, as well as of the probable distance to the base of the peak. In 1897 he made a second trip into this region, with one companion, and extended his previous explorations. He was the first to call attention to the great lowland drained by Tokichitna River and to the low divide which separates it from the Kuskokwim drainage, later explored by Spurr, Herron, and the writer.
|author= Alfred H Brooks
|title="The Mount McKinley Region, Alaska"
|source=''Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Professional Paper 70''<ref name="Brooks1911" />
}}
The United States formally recognized the name Mount McKinley after President [[Woodrow Wilson]] signed the Mount McKinley National Park Act of February 26, 1917.<ref>{{cite book |author=United States. Dept. of the Interior. Alaska Planning Group |title=Proposed Mt. McKinley National Park Additions, Alaska: Final Environmental Statement |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iXk1AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA558 |year=1974 |publisher=Alaska Planning Group, US Department of the Interior |page=558 |access-date=September 30, 2016 |archive-date=July 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709190424/https://books.google.com/books?id=iXk1AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA558#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1965, President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] declared the north and south peaks of the mountain the "Churchill Peaks", in honor of British statesman [[Winston Churchill]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=27333 |title=Statement by the President Designating Two Peaks of Mount McKinley in Honor of Sir Winston Churchill |last=Johnson |first=Lyndon B. |author-link=Lyndon B. Johnson |date=October 23, 1965 |website=The American Presidency Project |publisher=[[University of California, Santa Barbara]] |access-date=December 29, 2015 |archive-date=February 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216052224/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=27333 }}</ref> The Alaska Board of Geographic Names changed the state name of the mountain to ''Denali'' in 1975, which was how it was referred to locally.<ref name="McKinley Name"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Senate Report 113-93, Designation of Denali in the State of Alaska |author=Senator [[Ron Wyden]] |date=September 10, 2013 |publisher=US Government Publishing Office |url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CRPT-113srpt93/html/CRPT-113srpt93.htm |access-date=August 31, 2015 |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612162757/https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CRPT-113srpt93/html/CRPT-113srpt93.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> However, a request in 1975 from the Alaska state legislature to the [[United States Board on Geographic Names]] to do the same at the federal level was blocked by Ohio congressman [[Ralph Regula]], whose district included McKinley's home town of [[Canton, Ohio|Canton]].<ref name="monmonier">{{cite book |last=Monmonier |first=Mark |title=Drawing the Line: Tales of Maps and Cartocontroversy |year=1995 |publisher=[[Henry Holt and Company]] |isbn=0-8050-2581-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/drawinglinetales0000monm |url-access=registration |author-link=Mark Monmonier |access-date=January 22, 2013 |page=[https://archive.org/details/drawinglinetales0000monm/page/67 67] }}</ref>

On August 28, 2015, just ahead of a presidential visit to Alaska, the [[Presidency of Barack Obama|Barack Obama administration]] changed the mountain's official federal name to Denali,<ref name="DenaliNameChangeDOI" /> bringing it in line with the Alaska Geographic Board's designation.<ref name="denalirestored" /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/denali-to-be-restored-as-name-of-north-america-s/article_c5444ce4-4f4d-11e5-80ac-4b3fcffe6182.html |title=Denali to be restored as name of North America's tallest mountain |first=Jeff |last=Richardson |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |date=August 30, 2015 |access-date=August 30, 2015 |archive-date=January 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220103202001/https://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/denali-to-be-restored-as-name-of-north-america-s/article_c5444ce4-4f4d-11e5-80ac-4b3fcffe6182.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[United States Secretary of the Interior|U.S. Secretary of the Interior]] [[Sally Jewell]] said the change had been "a long time coming".<ref name=ADNDenali>{{cite news |url=http://www.adn.com/article/20150830/president-obama-oks-renaming-mount-mckinley-denali |title=President Obama OKs renaming of Mount McKinley to Denali |date=August 30, 2015 |access-date=August 30, 2015 |work=Alaska Dispatch News |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303192745/http://www.adn.com/article/20150830/president-obama-oks-renaming-mount-mckinley-denali |url-status=live }}</ref> The renaming of the mountain received praise from Alaska's senior U.S. senator, Republican [[Lisa Murkowski]],<ref name=KNOM>Matthew Smith [http://www.alaskapublic.org/2015/08/31/murkowski-thanks-obama-for-restoring-denali-obama-directs-his-gaze-on-climate-change/ "Murkowski thanks Obama for restoring Denali", (video)] {{Webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150902190157/http://www.alaskapublic.org/2015/08/31/murkowski-thanks-obama-for-restoring-denali-obama-directs-his-gaze-on-climate-change/ |date=September 2, 2015 }} ''Alaska Public Radio'', ''KNOM'', Nome, August 31, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2015</ref> who had previously introduced legislation to accomplish the name change,<ref name=LATimes0830>{{cite news |first=Michael A. |last=Memoli |url=http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-alaska-mckinley-denali-20150830-story.html |title=Mt. McKinley, America's Tallest Peak, is Getting Back its Original Name: Denali |work=Los Angeles Times |date=August 30, 2015 |access-date=September 10, 2015 |archive-date=September 5, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905062854/http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-alaska-mckinley-denali-20150830-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> but it drew criticism from several politicians from President McKinley's home state of Ohio, such as [[List of governors of Ohio|Governor]] [[John Kasich]], [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]] [[Rob Portman]], [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|U.S. House Speaker]] [[John Boehner]], and [[United States House of Representatives|Representative]] [[Bob Gibbs]], who described Obama's action as "constitutional overreach" because he said an act of [[United States Congress|Congress]] was required to rename the mountain.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ohio-lawmakers-slam-obama-plans-to-rename-mt-mckinley-denali-during-alaska-trip/ |title=Ohio lawmakers slam Obama plans to rename Mt. McKinley 'Denali' during Alaska trip |date=August 31, 2015 |access-date=August 31, 2015 |agency=Fox News |archive-date=August 31, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150831141740/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/08/31/obama-to-rename-mt-mckinley-to-denali-during-alaska-trip-that-focuses-on/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Glionna |first1=John M. |title=It's back to Denali, but some McKinley supporters may be in denial |url=http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-denali-mckinley-react-20150831-story.html |access-date=August 31, 2015 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=August 31, 2015 |archive-date=September 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150902132234/http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-denali-mckinley-react-20150831-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Ohio Gov. Kasich opposes changing name of Mount McKinley |url=http://www.ktuu.com/news/news/ohio-governor-opposes-changing-name-of-mount-mckinley/35021246 |access-date=August 31, 2015 |agency=Associated Press |publisher=KTUU |date=August 31, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150902190007/http://www.ktuu.com/news/news/ohio-governor-opposes-changing-name-of-mount-mckinley/35021246 |archive-date=September 2, 2015 }}</ref> The ''[[Alaska Dispatch News]]'' reported that the secretary of the interior has authority under federal law to change geographic names when the Board of Geographic Names does not act on a naming request within a "reasonable" period of time. Jewell told the ''[[Anchorage Daily News|Alaska Dispatch News]]'' that "I think any of us would think that 40 years is an unreasonable amount of time."<ref name="Martinson2015" />

In December 2024, [[President-elect of the United States|President-elect]] [[Donald Trump]] stated that he planned to revert the mountain's official federal name back to Mount McKinley during his [[Second presidency of Donald Trump|second term]], in honor of President William McKinley. Trump had previously proposed changing the name in 2017, drawing opposition from Alaska's [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] governor [[Mike Dunleavy (politician)|Mike Dunleavy]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bohrer |first1=Becky |date=20 January 2025 |title=Trump order seeks to change the name of North America's tallest peak from Denali to Mount McKinley |url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-denali-mckinley-alaska-57b2a44d878aa7ac927d346fcdf824b8 |access-date=21 January 2025 |publisher=Associated Press |archive-date=January 21, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250121173845/https://apnews.com/article/trump-denali-mckinley-alaska-57b2a44d878aa7ac927d346fcdf824b8 |url-status=live }}</ref> His 2017 proposal was strongly opposed by both Republican U.S. senators from Alaska, Murkowski and [[Dan Sullivan (U.S. senator)|Dan Sullivan]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Merica |first1=Dan |title=Trump asked about renaming Denali as Mt. McKinley |url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/10/24/politics/trump-denali-mt-mckinley/index.html |access-date=22 January 2025 |work=CNN |date=24 October 2017 |archive-date=January 20, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250120224110/https://www.cnn.com/2017/10/24/politics/trump-denali-mt-mckinley/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> who, along with Alaska State Senator [[Scott Kawasaki]], a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]], again expressed their preference for Denali in 2024.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rosen |first1=Yereth |title=Trump's plan to revert Denali to Mount McKinley name irks Alaskans |url=https://alaskabeacon.com/2024/12/25/trumps-plan-to-revert-denali-to-mount-mckinley-name-irks-alaskans/ |access-date=22 January 2025 |work=Alaska Beacon |date=25 December 2024 |archive-date=January 23, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250123080422/https://alaskabeacon.com/2024/12/25/trumps-plan-to-revert-denali-to-mount-mckinley-name-irks-alaskans/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On January 20, 2025, shortly after his [[Second inauguration of Donald Trump|second inauguration]], Trump signed an [[Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness|executive order]] requiring the secretary of the interior to revert the Obama-era name change within 30 days of signing, renaming Denali back to Mount McKinley in official maps and communications from the American federal government.<ref name=":7">{{Cite press release |date=January 20, 2025 |title=Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/restoring-names-that-honor-american-greatness/ |access-date=January 21, 2025 |publisher=The White House |archive-date=January 21, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250121022236/https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/restoring-names-that-honor-american-greatness/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The executive order does not change the name of [[Denali National Park]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bohannon |first1=Molly |title=Trump Renames Denali To Mount McKinley—Here's What To Know |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2025/01/20/trump-renames-denali-to-mount-mckinley-heres-what-to-know/ |access-date=22 January 2025 |work=Forbes |archive-date=January 22, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250122230253/https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2025/01/20/trump-renames-denali-to-mount-mckinley-heres-what-to-know/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On January 23, 2025, the [[United States Department of the Interior|Department of the Interior]] changed the mountain's official federal name back to Mount McKinley.<ref name=":8" /><ref name="Friedman2025" /> The same day, the [[Associated Press]] announced that it would use Mount McKinley instead of Denali, with the reasoning that as president, Trump has the authority to change federal geographical names of features lying within national borders.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barrett |first=Amanda |title=AP style guidance on Gulf of Mexico, Mount McKinley |url=https://www.ap.org/the-definitive-source/announcements/ap-style-guidance-on-gulf-of-mexico-mount-mckinley/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |date=January 23, 2025 |publisher=Associated Press |archive-date=January 23, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250123194104/https://www.ap.org/the-definitive-source/announcements/ap-style-guidance-on-gulf-of-mexico-mount-mckinley/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Hudson Stuck]], the organizer of the Stuck-Karstens Expedition, which was the first confirmed team to summit the mountain, preferred the name Denali over McKinley, referring to it as Denali nearly exclusively in his account of the expedition.{{sfn|Stuck|1914|p=vii}}

According to the [[Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development]]'s official database of [[business license]]s, businesses named after Denali outnumber those named after McKinley by a margin of six to one.<ref>{{cite news |title=We asked: Mount McKinley or Denali? You said: Denali. |first=Liz |last=Ruskin |publisher=[[Alaska Public Media]] |location=Anchorage, Alaska |date=February 3, 2025 |access-date=February 9, 2025 |url=https://alaskapublic.org/news/2025-02-03/we-asked-mount-mckinley-or-denali-you-said-denali |archive-date=February 8, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250208032320/https://alaskapublic.org/news/2025-02-03/we-asked-mount-mckinley-or-denali-you-said-denali |url-status=live }}</ref>

Indigenous names for Denali can be found in seven different Alaskan languages. The names fall into two categories. To the south of the Alaska Range in the [[Dena'ina language|Dena'ina]] and [[Ahtna language|Ahtna]] languages the mountain is known by names that are translated as 'big mountain'. To the north of the Alaska Range in the [[Lower Tanana language|Lower Tanana]], [[Koyukon language|Koyukon]], [[Upper Kuskokwim language|Upper Kuskokwim]], [[Holikachuk language|Holikachuk]], and [[Deg Xinag language|Deg Xinag]] languages the mountain is known by names that are translated as 'the high one',<ref>{{cite book |first1=Robert |last1=Hedin |first2=Gary |last2=Holthaus |title=Alaska: Reflections on Land and Spirit |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I76yqSrjXJQC&pg=PA95 |year=1994 |publisher=University of Arizona Press |isbn=978-0-8165-1442-7 |page=95 |access-date=August 26, 2017 |archive-date=July 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709190424/https://books.google.com/books?id=I76yqSrjXJQC&pg=PA95#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> 'the tall one' (Koyukon, Lower and Middle Tanana, Upper Kuskokwim, Deg Xinag, and Holikachuk).<ref name="karijamden">{{cite web |first=Kari |last=James |year=2003 |url=http://www.uaf.edu/anla/collections/search/resultDetail.xml?id=TI972K2003c |title=Names for Denali/Mt. McKinley in Alaska Native Languages |pages=211–13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304114831/https://www.uaf.edu/anla/collections/search/resultDetail.xml?id=TI972K2003c |archive-date=March 4, 2016 }}</ref>

Asked about the importance of the mountain and its name, Will Mayo, former president of the [[Tanana Chiefs Conference]], an organization that represents 42 Athabaskan tribes in the Alaskan interior, said: "It's not one homogeneous belief structure around the mountain, but we all agree that we're all deeply gratified by the acknowledgment of the importance of Denali to Alaska's people."<ref name=mayochiefsconference>{{cite news |last1=Thiessen |first1=Mark |title=Renaming Mount McKinley to Denali: 9 questions answered |url=http://www.knoxnews.com/news/nation-and-world/renaming-mount-mckinley-to-denali-9-questions-answered_45408292 |access-date=September 2, 2015 |agency=Associated Press |date=August 31, 2015 |ref=mayochiefsconference |archive-date=September 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904005253/http://www.knoxnews.com/news/nation-and-world/renaming-mount-mckinley-to-denali-9-questions-answered_45408292 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The following table lists the [[Alaskan Athabaskans|Alaskan Athabascan]] names for Denali.<ref name="karijamden"/>
{| class="wikitable"
! Literal meaning
! Native language
! Spelling in the<br />local practical alphabet
! Spelling in a<br />standardized alphabet
! IPA transcription
|-
| rowspan="6"|'The tall one'
| [[Koyukon language|Koyukon]]
| {{Lang|koy|Deenaalee|italic=no}}
| {{Lang|koy|Diinaalii|italic=no}}
| {{IPA|/diːˈnæli/}}
|-
| [[Lower Tanana language|Lower Tanana]]
| {{Lang|taa|Deenadheet, Deenadhee|italic=no}}
| {{Lang|taa|Diinaadhiit, Diinaadhii|italic=no}}
| {{IPA|/diˈnæðid/}}
|-
| [[Tanana Athabaskans#Middle Tanana|Middle Tanana]]
| {{Lang|mis|Diineezi|italic=no}}<!-- Middle Tanana -->
| {{Lang|mis|Diinaadhi|italic=no}}<!-- Middle Tanana -->
| {{IPA|/diˈnæði/}}
|-
| [[Upper Kuskokwim language|Upper Kuskokwim]]
| {{Lang|kuu|Denaze|italic=no}}
| {{Lang|kuu|Diinaazii|italic=no}}
| {{IPA|/diˈnæzi/}}
|-
| [[Deg Xinag language|Deg Xinag]]
| {{Lang|ing|Dengadh, Dengadhi|italic=no}}
| {{Lang|ing|Dengadh, Dengadhe|italic=no}}
| {{IPA|/təˈŋað, təˈŋaðə/}}
|-
| [[Holikachuk language|Holikachuk]]
| {{Lang|hoi|Denadhe|italic=no}}
| {{Lang|hoi|Diinaadhii|italic=no}}
| {{IPA|/diːˈnæðiː/}}
|-
| rowspan="3"|'Big mountain'
| [[Ahtna language|Ahtna]]
| {{Lang|aht|Dghelaay Ce'e, Deghilaay Ce'e|italic=no}}
| {{Lang|aht|Dghelaay Ke'e, Deghilaay Ke'e|italic=no}}
| {{IPA|/dʁɛˈlɔj ˈkɛʔɛ/}}
|-
| [[Dena'ina language|Upper Inlet Dena'ina]]
| {{Lang|tfn|Dghelay Ka'a|italic=no}}
| {{Lang|tfn|Dghelay Ka'a|italic=no}}
| {{IPA|/dʁəˈlaj ˈkaʔa/}}
|-
| [[Dena'ina language|Lower Inlet Dena'ina]]
| {{Lang|tfn|Dghili Ka'a|italic=no}}
| {{Lang|tfn|Dghili Ka'a|italic=no}}
| {{IPA|/dʁili ˈkaʔa/}}
|}

==History==
[[File:Stuck.Karstens.jpg|thumb|[[Hudson Stuck]] and [[Harry Karstens]], co-leaders of the first successful expedition of four to reach the summit of Denali in 1913, the other members of the expedition being Robert G. Tatum and Walter Harper|alt=In a grayscale photograph, two men stand in front of a tent and snowy evergreen trees]]

The [[Koyukon]] [[Athabaskan languages|Athabaskans]], living in the [[Yukon River|Yukon]], [[Tanana River|Tanana]] and [[Kuskokwim River|Kuskokwim]] basins, were the first Native Americans with access to the flanks of the mountain.<ref name="gnis">{{cite gnis |id=1414314 |name=Denali |access-date=January 20, 2010 }}</ref> A British naval captain and explorer, [[George Vancouver]], is the first [[Europeans|European]] on record to have sighted Denali, when he noted "distant stupendous mountains" while surveying the [[Knik Arm]] of the [[Cook Inlet]] on May 6, 1794.{{sfn|Beckey|1993|p=42}} The Russian explorer [[Lavrenty Zagoskin]] explored the Tanana and Kuskokwim rivers in 1843 and 1844, and was likely the first European to sight the mountain from the other side.{{sfn|Beckey|1993|p=44}}

William Dickey, a [[New Hampshire]]-born resident of [[Seattle]], Washington, who had been digging for gold in the sands of the [[Susitna River]], wrote, after his returning from Alaska, an account in the ''[[New York Sun]]'' that appeared on January 24, 1897.{{sfn|Beckey|1993|p=47}} His report drew attention with the sentence "We have no doubt that this peak is the highest in North America, and estimate that it is over {{convert|20000|ft|m}} high." Until then, [[Mount Logan]] in Canada's [[Yukon Territory]] was believed to be the continent's highest point. Though later praised for his estimate, Dickey admitted that other prospector parties had also guessed the mountain to be over {{convert|20000|ft|m}}.<ref>{{cite book |first=Bill |last=Sherwonit |title=Denali: A Literary Anthology |publisher=[[The Mountaineers Books]] |location=[[Seattle]] |isbn=0-89886-710-X |page=9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VG6m-HGVJa4C |date=October 1, 2000 |access-date=September 30, 2016 |archive-date=July 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707042622/https://books.google.com/books?id=VG6m-HGVJa4C |url-status=live}}  See, particularly, chapter 4 (pp. 52–61): [https://books.google.com/books?id=mr5CfxqLRdgC&pg=PA128&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false "Discoveries in Alaska"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707042623/https://books.google.com/books?id=mr5CfxqLRdgC&pg=PA128&lpg=PA128&dq=%22The+Ascent+of+Denali%22 |date=July 7, 2023 }}, 1897, by William A. Dickey.</ref> These estimates were confirmed in 1898 by the surveyor [[Robert Muldrow]], who measured its elevation as {{Convert|20300|ft|m|round=50}}.{{sfn|Stuck|1914|p=159}}

On November 5, 2012, the [[United States Mint]] released a [[Quarter (United States coin)|twenty-five cent piece]] depicting Denali National Park. It is the fifteenth of the [[America the Beautiful Quarters]] series. The [[Obverse and reverse|reverse]] features a [[Dall sheep]] with the peak of Denali in the background.<ref name="parkquarters">{{cite web |title=Denali National Park Quarter |url=http://www.parkquarters.com/denali-national-park-quarter |publisher=National Park Quarters |access-date=March 17, 2013 |date=January 20, 2011 |archive-date=July 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709192607/http://www.parkquarters.com/denali-national-park-quarter |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Climbing history===
During the summer of 1902 scientist [[Alfred Hulse Brooks|Alfred Brooks]] explored the flanks of the mountain as a part of an exploratory surveying party conducted by the [[United States Geological Survey|U.S. Geological Survey]]. The party landed at Cook Inlet in late May, then traveled east, paralleling the Alaska Range, before reaching the slopes of Denali in early August. Camped on the flank of the mountain on August 3, Brooks noted later that while "the ascent of Mount McKinley had never been part of our plans", the party decided to delay one day so "that we might actually set foot on the slopes of the mountain". Setting off alone, with good weather, on August 4, Brooks aimed to reach a {{convert|10,000|ft|m|0|abbr=out}} shoulder. At {{convert|7,500|ft|m|0|abbr=out}}, Brooks found his way blocked by sheer ice and, after leaving a small cairn as a marker, descended.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/dena1/history.pdf |title=A History of Mount McKinley National Park |last=Person |first=Grant |publisher=United States Department of the Interior |year=1953 |pages=9–12 |access-date=August 15, 2019 |archive-date=August 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803082633/https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/dena1/history.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> After the party's return, Brooks co-authored a "Plan For Climbing Mt McKinley", published in ''[[National Geographic]]'' magazine in January 1903, with fellow party-member and topographer D. L. Raeburn, in which they suggested that future attempts at the summit should approach from the north, not the south.<ref>{{Cite book |title=To The Top of Denali: Climbing Adventures on North America's Highest Peak |last=Sherwonit |first=Bill |publisher=Alaska Northwest Books |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-88240-894-1 }}</ref> The report received substantial attention, and within a year, two climbing parties declared their intent to summit.<ref name=Sfraga1997>{{Cite book |title=Distant Vistas: Bradford Washburn, Expeditionary Science and Landscape 1930–1960 |last=Sfraga |first=Michael |year=1997 |page=256 }}</ref>

During the early summer of 1903, Judge [[James Wickersham]], then of [[Eagle, Alaska|Eagle]], Alaska, made the first recorded attempt to climb Denali, along with a party of four others. The group attempted to get as close to the mountain as possible via the [[Kantishna River|Kantishna river]] by [[Steamboat|steamer]], before offloading and following Chitsia Creek with a poling boat, mules and backpacks, a route suggested to them by [[Tanana Athabaskans|Tanana Athabaskan]] people they met along the way. The party received further navigational assistance at Anotoktilon, an Athabaskan hunting camp, where residents gave the group detailed directions to reach the glaciers at the foot of Denali. On reaching the mountain, the mountaineers set up base camp on the lower portion of Peters Glacier. Aiming for the northwest buttress of Denali's north peak, they attempted to ascend directly; however, [[crevasse]]s, ice fall and the lack of a clear passage caused them to turn and attempt to follow a spur via [[Jeffery Glacier]] where they believed they could see a way to the summit. After a dangerous ascent, at around {{convert|10,000|ft|m|0|abbr=out}}, Wickersham found that the route did not connect as it had appeared from below, instead discovering "a tremendous precipice beyond which we cannot go. Our only line of further ascent would be to climb the vertical wall of the mountain at our left, and that is impossible." This wall, now known as the Wickersham Wall, juts {{convert|15,000|ft|m|0|abbr=out}} upwards from the glacier to the north peak of Denali.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/dena/hrs3.htm |title=Denali NP: Historic Resource Study (Chapter 3) |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=August 20, 2019 |archive-date=October 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007022143/https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/dena/hrs3.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Because of the route's history of avalanche danger, it was not successfully climbed until 1963.{{sfn|Beckey|1993|p=139}}

Later in the summer of 1903, Dr. [[Frederick Cook]] directed a team of five men on another attempt at the summit. Cook was already an experienced explorer and had been a party-member on successful arctic expeditions commanded both by [[Robert Peary]] and [[Roald Amundsen]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |title=Continental Divide: A History of American Mountaineering |last=Isserman |first=Maurice |publisher=W. W. Norton & Co. |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-393-29252-7 }}</ref> Yet he struggled to obtain funding for his own expedition, eventually organizing it "on a shoestring budget"<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |url=https://www.outsideonline.com/1829411/long-and-brutal-assault |title=A Long and Brutal Assault |date=May 2, 2004 |website=Outside Online |access-date=October 30, 2019 |archive-date=July 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709192635/https://www.outsideonline.com/1829411/long-and-brutal-assault |url-status=live }}</ref> without any other experienced climbers.<ref name=":1" /> The party navigated up the Cook inlet and followed the path of the 1902 Brooks party towards Denali. Cook approached the mountain via the Peters Glacier, as Wickersham had done; however, he was able to overcome the ice fall that had caused the previous group to turn up the spur towards the Wickersham Wall. Despite avoiding this obstacle, on August 31, having reached an elevation of about {{convert|10,900|ft|m|0|abbr=out}} on the northwest buttress of the north peak, the party found they had reached a dead end and could make no further progress. On the descent, the group completely circumnavigated the mountain, the first climbing party to do so.{{sfn|Beckey|1993|p=295}} Although Cook's 1903 expedition did not reach the summit, he received acclaim for the accomplishment – a 1,000-mile (1,609 km) trek in which he not only circled the entire mountain but also found, on the descent, an accessible pass northeast of the Muldrow Glacier following the headwaters of the [[Toklat River|Toklat]] and [[Chulitna River (Susitna River)|Chulitna]] rivers.<ref name=":0" />

In 1906, Cook initiated another expedition to Denali with co-leader [[Herschel Parker]], a [[Columbia University]] professor of electrical engineering with extensive mountaineering experience. [[Belmore Browne]], an experienced climber and five other men comprised the rest of the group. Cook and Parker's group spent most of the summer season exploring the southern and southeastern approaches to the mountain, eventually reaching a high point on [[Tokositna Glacier|Tokositna glacier]], {{convert|25|mi|0|abbr=out}} from the summit.{{sfn|Beckey|1993|p=295}} During their explorations the party mapped out many of the tributaries and glaciers of the Susitna river along the mountain's south flank.<ref name=":0" /> As the summer ended, the team retreated to the coast and began to disperse. In September 1906, Cook and a single party-member, horseman Robert Barrill, journeyed towards the summit again, in what Cook later described as "a last desperate attempt" in a telegram to his financial backers.<ref name=":0" /> Cook and Barrill spent 12 days in total on the attempt, and claimed to have reached the summit via the Ruth Glacier.<ref name=":2" />

Upon hearing Cook's claims, Parker and Browne were immediately suspicious. Browne later wrote that he knew Cook's claims were lies, just as "any New Yorker would know that no man could walk from the Brooklyn Bridge to Grant's Tomb [a distance of eight miles] in ten minutes."<ref name=":2" /> In May 1907, ''[[Harper's Magazine]]'' published Cook's account of the climb along with a photograph of what appeared to be Barrill standing on the summit. By 1909, Barrill had recanted at least part of his story about the climb, and others publicly questioned the account; however, Cook continued to assert his claim.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://library.osu.edu/projects/frederick-cook/controversy.html |title=Controversy - Frederick A. Cook Digital Exhibition |publisher=Ohio State University |access-date=October 31, 2019 |archive-date=May 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503233015/https://library.osu.edu/projects/frederick-cook/controversy.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The controversy continued for decades. In 1956, mountaineers [[Bradford Washburn]] and Walter Gonnason tried to settle the matter, with Gonnason attempting to follow Cook's purported route to the summit. Washburn noted inconsistencies between Cook's account of locations of glaciers and found a spot, at {{convert|5400|ft|m|0|abbr=out}} and {{convert|19|mi|0|abbr=out}} southeast of the summit that appeared identical to the supposed summit image. Gonnason was not able to complete the climb, but because he was turned back by poor weather, felt that this did not definitely disprove Cook's story.<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://time.com/4017660/mount-mckinley-denali-ascent-hoax/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150902135911/http://time.com/4017660/mount-mckinley-denali-ascent-hoax/ |archive-date=September 2, 2015 |title=The Other Mount McKinley Controversy: Who Climbed Denali First |last=Berman |first=Eliza |magazine=Time |access-date=October 31, 2019 }}</ref> In 1998, historian Robert Bryce discovered an original and un-cropped version of the [[Fake Peak|"fake peak"]] photograph of Barrill standing on the promontory. It showed a wider view of surrounding features, appearing to definitively discount Cook's claim.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/26/nyregion/author-says-photo-confirms-mt-mckinley-hoax-in-1908.html |title=Author Says Photo Confirms Mt. McKinley Hoax in 1908 |last=Tierney |first=John |date=November 26, 1998 |work=The New York Times |access-date=October 31, 2019 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031011721/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/26/nyregion/author-says-photo-confirms-mt-mckinley-hoax-in-1908.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Denali high camp.jpg|thumb|left|High camp ({{convert|17200|ft|m|disp=or|abbr=on}}) of the West Buttress Route pioneered by [[Bradford Washburn]], photographed in 2001|alt=Several tents are pitched near the edge of a snow-covered cliff]]

Given the skepticism concerning Cook's story, interest in claiming the first ascent remained. Miners and other Alaskans living in Kantishna and Fairbanks wanted the honors to go to local men. In 1909, four Alaska residents – Tom Lloyd, Peter Anderson, Billy Taylor, and Charles McGonagall – set out from [[Fairbanks, Alaska|Fairbanks]], Alaska during late December with supplies and dogs that were in part paid for by bettors in a Fairbanks tavern. By March 1910, the men had established a base camp near one of the sites where the Brooks party had been and pressed on from the north via the Muldrow glacier. Unlike some previous expeditions, they discovered a pass, since named McGonagall Pass, which allowed them to bypass the Wickersham Wall and access the higher reaches of the mountain. At roughly {{convert|11,000|ft|m|0|abbr=out}}, Tom Lloyd, old and less physically fit than the others, stayed behind. According to their account, the remaining three men pioneered a route following Karstens Ridge around the Harper Icefall, then reached the upper basin before ascending to Pioneer Ridge. The three men carried a {{convert|14|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} spruce pole. Around {{convert|19,000|ft|m|0|abbr=out}}, Charles McGonagall, older and having exhausted himself carrying the spruce pole, remained behind. On April 3, 1910, Billy Taylor and Peter Anderson scrambled the final few hundred feet to reach the north peak of Denali, at {{convert|19,470|ft|m|0|abbr=out}} high, the shorter of the two peaks. The pair erected the pole near the top, with the hope that it would be visible from lower reaches to prove they had made it.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Denali NP: Historic Resource Study (Chapter 3) |url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/dena/hrs3a.htm |access-date=July 5, 2020 |publisher=National Park Service |archive-date=October 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001083905/https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/dena/hrs3a.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

After the expedition, Tom Lloyd returned to Fairbanks, while the three others remained in Kantishna to mine. In Lloyd's recounting, all four men made it to the top of not only the north peak, but the higher south peak as well. When the remaining three men returned to town with conflicting accounts, the entire expedition's legitimacy was questioned.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 8, 2019 |title=Did they make it or fake it? Book tries to uncover truth about legendary Sourdough ascent of Denali |url=https://www.adn.com/arts/books/2019/06/08/did-they-make-it-or-fake-it-book-tries-to-uncover-truth-about-legendary-sourdough-ascent-of-denali/ |access-date=July 5, 2020 |website=Anchorage Daily News |archive-date=July 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706051950/https://www.adn.com/arts/books/2019/06/08/did-they-make-it-or-fake-it-book-tries-to-uncover-truth-about-legendary-sourdough-ascent-of-denali/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Several years later, another climbing group would claim to have seen the spruce pole in the distance, supporting their north peak claim.<ref name=":4" /> However, some continue to doubt they reached the summit. Outside of the single later climbing group, who were friendly with some of the Sourdough expedition men, no other group would ever see it. [[Jonathan Waterman|Jon Waterman]], author of the book ''Chasing Denali'', which explored the controversy, outlined several reasons to doubt the claim: There was never any photographic evidence. The four men climbed during the winter season, known for much more difficult conditions, along a route that has never been fully replicated. They were inexperienced climbers, ascending without any of the usual safety gear or any care for altitude sickness. They claimed to have ascended from {{convert|11,000|ft|m|0|abbr=out}} to the top in less than 18 hours, unheard of at a time when siege-style alpinism was the norm.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Chasing Denali – A Story of the Most Unbelievable Feat in Mountaineering |url=https://rockandice.com/climbing-destinations/chasing-denali-a-story-of-the-most-unbelievable-feat-in-mountaineering/ |access-date=July 5, 2020 |website=Rock and Ice |date=November 2018 |archive-date=September 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920063757/https://rockandice.com/climbing-destinations/chasing-denali-a-story-of-the-most-unbelievable-feat-in-mountaineering/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Yet Waterman says "these guys were men of the trail. They didn't care what anybody thought. They were just tough SOBs."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Condon |first=Scott |title=Carbondale author explores if his heroes committed fraud or feat on Denali |url=https://www.aspentimes.com/trending/carbondale-author-explores-if-his-heroes-committed-fraud-or-feat-on-denali/ |access-date=July 5, 2020 |website=Aspen Times |date=December 18, 2018 |archive-date=July 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200705232432/https://www.aspentimes.com/trending/carbondale-author-explores-if-his-heroes-committed-fraud-or-feat-on-denali/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He noted that the men were largely unlettered and that some of the ensuing doubt was related to their lack of sophistication in dealing with the press and the contemporary climbing establishment.<ref name=":5" />

In 1912, the [[Herschel Clifford Parker|Parker]]-Browne expedition nearly reached the summit, turning back within just a few hundred yards/meters of it due to harsh weather. On July 7, the day after their descent, a 7.4-magnitude earthquake shattered the glacier they had ascended.<ref>{{cite web |title=North peak of Mount McKinley: A Timely Escape |url=http://explore.americanalpineclub.org/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/5369 |publisher=The American Alpine Club |access-date=October 5, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906153300/http://explore.americanalpineclub.org/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/5369 |archive-date=September 6, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Heacox |first1=Kim |title=Rhythm of the Wild: A Life Inspired by Alaska's Denali National Park |date=2015 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |location=Connecticut |isbn=978-1-4930-0389-1 |pages=55–56 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rmQlCQAAQBAJ&pg=PR4 |access-date=June 17, 2019 |archive-date=July 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709190527/https://books.google.com/books?id=rmQlCQAAQBAJ&pg=PR4#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Stover |first1=Carl W. |last2=Coffman |first2=Jerry L. |title=Seismicity of the United States, 1568–1989 |edition=revised |publisher=[[United States Government Printing Office]] |date=1993 |page=52 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bY0KAQAAIAAJ&q=alaska+earthquake+july+7,+1912 |quote=This earthquake was violent at Fairbanks and strong at Kennicott. The earth 'heaved and rolled' at the north base of Mt. McKinley and the country was scarred with landslides. |access-date=November 10, 2020 |archive-date=July 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709190931/https://books.google.com/books?id=bY0KAQAAIAAJ&q=alaska+earthquake+july+7,+1912#v=snippet&q=alaska%20earthquake%20july%207%2C%201912&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>

The first ascent of the main summit of Denali came on June 7, 1913, by a party directed by [[Hudson Stuck]] and [[Harry Karstens]], along with [[Walter Harper]] and [[Robert Tatum]]. Karstens relocated to Alaska in the gold rush of 1897, and in subsequent years became involved in a variety of endeavors beyond mining, including helping establish dog mushing routes to deliver mail across vast swathes of territory and supporting expeditions led by naturalist [[Charles Alexander Sheldon|Charles Sheldon]] near the base of Denali.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Superintendent Harry Karstens |publisher=National Park Service |url=https://www.nps.gov/dena/learn/photosmultimedia/station06a.htm |access-date=July 7, 2020 |archive-date=July 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707134122/https://www.nps.gov/dena/learn/photosmultimedia/station06a.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Stuck was an English-born Episcopal priest who came to Alaska by chance. He became acclimated to the often harsh Alaskan environment because of his many travels between far-flung outposts within his district, climbing mountains as a hobby.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=Who Led the First Ascent of Denali? |first=Christine |last=Woodside |date=June 6, 2012 |url=https://chriswoodside.com/who-led-the-first-ascent-of-denali/ |access-date=July 7, 2020 |archive-date=July 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709192652/https://chriswoodside.com/who-led-the-first-ascent-of-denali/ |url-status=live }}</ref> At 21 years old, Harper was already known as a skilled and strong outdoorsman, the Alaska-born son of a Koyukon-Athabascan mother and Irish gold prospector father.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Ultimate Triumph and Tragedy: Remembering Walter Harper 100 Years Later |publisher=National Park Service |url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/dena-history-harper.htm |access-date=July 7, 2020 |archive-date=July 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709192610/https://www.nps.gov/articles/dena-history-harper.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Denali, A Universe |first=Jan |last=Harper-Haines |url=http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web19f/wfeature-a67-wired-denali-universe |access-date=July 7, 2020 |magazine=Alpinist |archive-date=August 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801052346/http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web19f/wfeature-a67-wired-denali-universe |url-status=live }}</ref> Tatum, also 21 years old, was a theology student working at a Tanana mission, and the least experienced of the team. His primary responsibility on the trip was as a cook.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ehrlander |first=Mary |title=Walter Harper, Alaska Native Son |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |year=2017 |page=55 }}</ref>

The team approached the peak from the north via the Muldrow glacier and McGonagall pass. While ferrying loads up to a camp at around {{convert|10,800|ft|m|0|abbr=out}}, they suffered a setback when a stray match accidentally set fire to some supplies, including several tents. The prior year's earthquake had left what had previously been described by the Parker-Browne expedition as a gentle slope ascended in no more than three days as a dangerous, ice-strewn morass on a knife-edged ridge (later named Karstens ridge). It would take the team three weeks to cover the same ground, as Karstens and Harper laboriously cut steps into the ice. On May 30, the team, with the help of some good weather, ascended to a new high camp, situated at {{convert|17,500|ft|m|0|abbr=out}} in the Grand Basin between the north and south peaks. On June 7, the team made the summit attempt. Temperatures were below {{convert|-20|°F|°C}} at times. Every man, and particularly Stuck, suffered from altitude sickness. By midday, Harper became the first climber to reach the summit, followed seconds later by Tatum and Karstens. Stuck arrived last, falling unconscious on the summit.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Brief Account of the 1913 Climb of Denali |publisher=National Park Service |url=https://www.nps.gov/dena/learn/historyculture/1913ex.htm |access-date=July 7, 2020 |archive-date=July 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707024044/https://www.nps.gov/dena/learn/historyculture/1913ex.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Using the mountain's contemporary name, Tatum later commented, "The view from the top of Mount McKinley is like looking out the windows of Heaven!"{{sfn|Coombs|Washburn|1997|p=26}} During the climb, Stuck spotted, via binoculars, the presence of a large pole near the North Summit; this report confirmed the Sourdough ascent, and it is widely believed presently that the Sourdoughs did succeed on the North Summit. However, the pole was never seen before or since, so there is still some doubt. Stuck also discovered that the Parker-Browne party were only about {{convert|200|ft|m|0|abbr=out}} of elevation short of the true summit when they turned back. Stuck and Karstens' team achieved the uncontroversial first ascent of Denali's south peak; however, the news was met with muted interest by the wider climbing community. ''Appalachia Journal'', then the official journal of the [[American Alpine Club]], published a small notice of the accomplishment a year later.<ref name=":6" />

The mountain is climbed regularly nowadays. In 2003, around 58% of climbers reached the top. But by that time, the mountain had claimed the lives of nearly 100 mountaineers.<ref name="glickman">{{cite news |last=Glickman |first=Joe |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/24/travel/man-against-the-great-one.html?pagewanted=all |title=Man Against the Great One |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 24, 2003 |access-date=September 25, 2010 |archive-date=May 18, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518170229/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/24/travel/man-against-the-great-one.html?pagewanted=all |url-status=live }}</ref> The vast majority of climbers use the West Buttress Route, pioneered in 1951 by Bradford Washburn,<ref name="roberts">{{cite journal |last=Roberts |first=David |title=The Geography of Brad Washburn (1910–2007) |journal=[[National Geographic Adventure (magazine)|National Geographic Adventure]] |date=April 2007 |url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/mountaineering/bradford-washburn.html |access-date=March 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103231812/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/mountaineering/bradford-washburn.html |archive-date=November 3, 2013 }}</ref> after an extensive aerial photographic analysis of the mountain. Climbers typically take two to four weeks to ascend Denali. It is one of the [[Seven Summits]]; summiting all of them is a challenge for mountaineers.

===Accidents===
From 1947 to 2018 in the United States "2,799 people were reported to be involved in mountaineering accidents"<ref name="14 June 2022">{{cite journal |first1=Emma P. |last1=DeLoughery |first2=Thomas G. |last2=DeLoughery |date=June 14, 2022 |title=Review and Analysis of Mountaineering Accidents in the United States from 1947–2018 |url=https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/ham.2021.0085#B8 |journal=High Altitude Medicine & Biology |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=114–118 |doi=10.1089/ham.2021.0085 |pmid=35263173 |s2cid=247361980 |access-date=July 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711104944/https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/ham.2021.0085 |archive-date=July 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> and 11% of these accidents occurred on Denali.<ref name="14 June 2022"/> Of these 2,799 accidents, 43% resulted in death and 8% of these deaths occurred on Denali.<ref name="14 June 2022"/>

===Timeline===
[[File:McKinelyWestbuttress.jpg|thumb|Denali's West Buttress (lower left to upper right), August 2010|alt=An aerial view of Denali; an airplane wing is visible in the lower-left corner]]
[[File:Mount Mckinley 3D.gif|thumb|right|A three-dimensional representation of the mountain created with topographic data|alt=A rotating 3-D computer image of the mountain]]
* 1896–1902: Surveys by Robert Muldrow, George Eldridge, Alfred Brooks.{{sfn|Borneman|2003|p=221}}
* 1913: First ascent, by Hudson Stuck, Harry Karstens, Walter Harper, and Robert Tatum via the Muldrow Glacier route.{{sfn|Stuck|1914}}
* 1932: Second ascent, by [[Alfred Lindley]], Harry {{Not a typo|Liek}}, Grant Pearson, Erling Strom. (Both peaks were climbed.){{sfn|Borneman|2003|p=320}}<ref name="verschoth">{{cite news |last=Verschoth |first=Anita |title=Mount Mckinley On Cross-country Skis And Other High Old Tales |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1092201/index.htm |access-date=March 18, 2013 |newspaper=[[Sports Illustrated]] |date=March 28, 1977 |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203053233/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1092201/index.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* 1947: [[Barbara Washburn]] becomes the first woman to reach the summit while her husband [[Bradford Washburn]] becomes the first person to summit twice.{{sfn|Waterman|1998|p=31}}
* 1951: First ascent of the West Buttress Route, led by [[Bradford Washburn]].<ref name="roberts" />
* 1954: First ascent of the very long South Buttress Route by George Argus, Elton Thayer (died on descent), Morton Wood, and Les Viereck. Deteriorating conditions behind the team pushed them to make the first traverse of Denali. The Great Traleika Cirque, where they camped just below the summit, was renamed Thayer Basin, in honor of the fallen climber.<ref name="nps-climbinghistory" /><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.climbing.com/people/band-of-brothers-andndash-remembering-denalis-greatest-rescue/ |title=Remembering Denali's Greatest Rescue |last=MacDonald |first=Dougald |date=June 15, 2012 |website=www.climbing.com |access-date=October 24, 2016 |archive-date=October 25, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025045633/http://www.climbing.com/people/band-of-brothers-andndash-remembering-denalis-greatest-rescue/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 1954 (May 27) First ascent via Northwest Buttress to North Peak by Fred Beckey, Donald McLean, Charles Wilson, Henry Meybohm, and Bill Hackett<ref>Selters, Andy (2004) Ways to the Sky. Golden, CO: the American Alpine Club Press. {{ISBN|0-930410-83-1 }}</ref>
* 1959: First ascent of the West Rib, now a popular, mildly technical route to the summit.<ref name="nps-climbinghistory" />
* 1961: First ascent of the Cassin Ridge, named for [[Riccardo Cassin]] and the best-known technical route on the mountain.<ref name="summitpost">{{cite summitpost |id=150199 |name=Denali (Mount McKinley) |access-date=March 21, 2013 }}</ref> The first ascent team members are: Riccardo Cassin, Luigi Airoldi, Luigi Alippi, Giancarlo Canali, Romano Perego, and Annibale Zucchi.<ref name="supertopo" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cascadeimages.com/images/main/cassin.pdf |title=Cassin Ridge |website=Cascadeimages.com |access-date=October 8, 2017 |archive-date=June 26, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110626230130/http://www.cascadeimages.com/images/main/cassin.pdf |url-status=usurped }}</ref>
[[File:Denali3.jpg|thumb|South view from {{convert|27000|ft|m}}|alt=In an aerial image, a mountain is surrounded by many smaller mountains and a glacier]]
* 1962: First ascent of the southeast spur, team of six climbers (C. Hollister, H. Abrons, B. Everett, Jr., S. Silverstein, S. Cochrane, and C. Wren)<ref name="look 19621009">{{cite magazine |date=October 9, 1962 |title=We Climbed our Highest Mountain: First ascent McKinley's SE Spur and South Face |magazine=[[Look (American magazine)|Look]] |volume=26 |issue=21 |pages=60–69 |issn=0024-6336 }}</ref>
* 1963: A team of six climbers (W. Blesser, P. Lev, R. Newcomb, A. Read, J. Williamson, F. Wright) made the first ascent of the East Buttress. The summit was attained via Thayer Basin and Karstens Ridge. See AAJ 1964.
* 1963: Two teams make first ascents of two different routes on the Wickersham Wall.<ref name="geiger">{{cite book |last=Geiger |first=John |author-link=John G. Geiger |title=The Third Man Factor |url=https://archive.org/details/thirdmanfactorsu00geig |url-access=registration |access-date=March 21, 2013 |year=2009 |publisher=[[Weinstein Books]] |isbn=978-1-60286-116-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/thirdmanfactorsu00geig/page/109 109] }}</ref><ref name="natgeo2">{{cite magazine |title=Climb Mount McKinley, Alaska |url=http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/trips/americas-best-adventures/climb-mount-mckinley/ |magazine=National Geographic |access-date=March 21, 2013 |date=August 2, 2010 |archive-date=January 31, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131011635/http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/trips/americas-best-adventures/climb-mount-mckinley/ }}</ref>
* 1967: First winter ascent, via the West Buttress, by Gregg Blomberg, Dave Johnston, Art Davidson and [[Ray Genet]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12196802100/The-Winter-1967-Mount-McKinley-Expedition |title=The Winter 1967 Mount McKinley Expedition |last=Blomberg |first=Gregg |date=1968 |website=American Alpine Club |access-date=January 11, 2016 |archive-date=March 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305003537/http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12196802100/The-Winter-1967-Mount-McKinley-Expedition |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 1967: The [[1967 Mount McKinley disaster]]; Seven members of Joe Wilcox's twelve-man expedition perish, while stranded for ten days near the summit, in what has been described as the worst storm on record. Up to that time, this was the third worst disaster in mountaineering history in terms of lives lost.<ref name="tabor">{{cite book |first=James M. |last=Tabor |title=Forever on the Mountain: The Truth Behind One of Mountaineering's Most Controversial and Mysterious Disasters |publisher=[[W. W. Norton]] |date=2007 |isbn=978-0-393-06174-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8YxI1g8lETEC }}</ref> Before July 1967 only four men had ever perished on Denali.<ref name="babcock">{{cite book |first=Jeffrey T. |last=Babcock |title=Should I Not Return: The Most Controversial Tragedy in the History of North American Mountaineering! |publisher=Publication Consultants |date=2012 |isbn=978-1-59433-270-8 }}</ref>
* 1970: First solo ascent by [[Naomi Uemura]].{{sfn|Beckey|1993|p=214}}
* 1970: First ascent by an all-female team (the "Denali Damsels"), led by [[Grace Hoeman]] and the later famous American high altitude mountaineer [[Arlene Blum]] together with Margaret Clark, Margaret Young, Faye Kerr and Dana Smith Isherwood.{{sfn|Beckey|1993|p=298}}<ref name="nps-climbinghistory" />
* 1972: First descent on skis down the sheer southwest face, by [[Sylvain Saudan]], "Skier of the Impossible".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-09-12 |title=Skiing Denali: The Fast Way Down |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/denali-at-100-the-future-of-skiing-the-alaska-range |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=Adventure |language=en |archive-date=October 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001214850/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/denali-at-100-the-future-of-skiing-the-alaska-range |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 1976: First solo ascent of the Cassin Ridge by [[Charlie Porter]], a climb "ahead of its time".<ref
name="supertopo">{{cite web |url=http://www.cascadeimages.com/images/main/cassin.pdf |publisher=supertopo.com |title=Cassin Ridge |access-date=February 16, 2013 |archive-date=June 26, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110626230130/http://www.cascadeimages.com/images/main/cassin.pdf |url-status=usurped }}</ref>
* 1979: First ascent by dog team achieved by [[Susan Butcher]], [[Ray Genet]], Brian Okonek, [[Joe Redington, Sr.]], and Robert Stapleton.<ref name="nps-climbinghistory">{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/climbinghistory.htm |title=Historical Timeline |work=Denali National Park and Preserve |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |access-date=September 25, 2010 |archive-date=July 15, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120715124649/http://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/climbinghistory.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 1984: Uemura returns to make the first winter solo ascent, but dies after summitting.<ref name=aaj_1985_1/> Tono Križo, František Korl and Blažej Adam from the [[Slovakia|Slovak]] Mountaineering Association climb a very direct route to the summit, now known as the Slovak Route, on the south face of the mountain, to the right of the Cassin Ridge.<ref name=aaj_1985_2/> [[Sarah Doherty]] became the first amputee to reach the summit in August.<ref name="American Alpine Journal 1986">{{cite web |last1=Kerns |first1=Matthew |title=Denali on One Leg |url=https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12198606500 |publisher=[[American Alpine Journal]] |access-date=24 August 2025 |date=1986}}</ref><ref name="Kegel 1992">{{cite book |last1=Bernice |first1=Kegel |title=Atlas of Limb Prosthetics: Surgical, Prosthetic, and Rehabilitation Principles |date=1992 |publisher=[[American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons]] |isbn=978-0-8016-0209-2 |url=http://www.oandplibrary.org/alp/chap24-02.asp |language=en |chapter=Special Considerations: Adaptations for Sports and Recreation}}</ref>
* 1988: First successful winter solo ascent. [[Vernon Tejas|Vern Tejas]] climbed the West Buttress alone in February and March, summitted successfully, and descended.<ref name="climbinghistorytimeline">{{cite web |title=Denali First Ascents and Interesting Statistics |url=http://www.nps.gov/dena/upload/Climbing%20History%20Timeline.pdf |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=July 18, 2012 |archive-date=September 1, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901211953/http://www.nps.gov/dena/upload/Climbing%20History%20Timeline.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* 1989: Japanese climbing team of [[Noboru Yamada]], {{ill|Teruo Saegusa|ja|三枝照雄}} and Kozo Komatsu died of a presumed fall and exposure while making a winter attempt via the West Buttress route.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AAC Publications - Weather, Fall on Snow, Exposure, Alaska, Mount McKinley |url=https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/13199001900/Weather-Fall-on-Snow-Exposure-Alaska-Mount-McKinley |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=publications.americanalpineclub.org |archive-date=April 14, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250414102105/https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/13199001900/Weather-Fall-on-Snow-Exposure-Alaska-Mount-McKinley |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 1990: [[Anatoli Boukreev]] climbed the West Rib in 10 hours and 30 mins from the base to the summit, at the time a record for the fastest ascent.<ref name="ABspeed">{{cite web |url=http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web17s/newswire-katie-bono-denali-female-speed-record |title=Katie Bono sets probable women's speed record on Denali |publisher=Alpinist Magazine |date=June 23, 2017 |access-date=March 13, 2019 |author=Franz, Derek |archive-date=February 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207124407/http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web17s/newswire-katie-bono-denali-female-speed-record |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 1995: French skiers Jean-Noel Urban and Nicolas Bonhomme, made the first ski descent down the Wickersham Wall, most of the face was 50°.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AAC Publications - North America, United States, Alaska, Alaska Range, Mount McKinley, Ski Descent of the Wickersham Wall |url=https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199617203/North-America-United-States-Alaska-Alaska-Range-Mount-McKinley-Ski-Descent-of-the-Wickersham-Wall |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=publications.americanalpineclub.org |archive-date=July 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709191455/https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199617203/North-America-United-States-Alaska-Alaska-Range-Mount-McKinley-Ski-Descent-of-the-Wickersham-Wall |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 1997: First successful ascent up the West Fork of Traleika Glacier up to Karstens Ridge beneath Browne Tower. This path was named the "Butte Direct" by the two climbers Jim Wilson and Jim Blow.<ref name="aaj2">{{cite journal |title=North America, United States, Alaska, Denali National Park, Denali, Butte Direct |journal=[[American Alpine Journal]] |date=1998 |volume=40 |issue=72 |page=217 |publisher=[[American Alpine Club]] |location=[[Golden, Colorado|Golden]], Colorado |issn=0065-6925 |url=http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199821700/North-America-United-States-Alaska-Denali-National-Park-Denali-Butte-Direct |access-date=August 31, 2015 |archive-date=September 6, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906071247/http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199821700/North-America-United-States-Alaska-Denali-National-Park-Denali-Butte-Direct |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Secor|1998|p=35}}
* 2015: On June 24, a survey team led by Blaine Horner placed two global positioning receivers on the summit to determine the precise position and elevation of the summit. The summit snow depth was measured at {{convert|15|ft|abbr=on}}. The [[United States National Geodetic Survey]] later determined the summit elevation to be {{convert|20310|ft|abbr=in}}.<ref name=ADN/>
* 2019: On June 20, [[Karl Egloff]] (Swiss-Ecuadorian) set new speed records for the ascent (7h 40m) and round-trip (11h 44m), starting and returning to a base camp at {{convert|7200|ft|abbr=on|round=50}} on the Kahiltna Glacier.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Karl Egloff - Denali (AK) - 2019-06-20 |url=https://fastestknowntime.com/fkt/karl-egloff-denali-ak-2019-06-20 |access-date=October 11, 2021 |website=fastestknowntime.com |date=June 20, 2019 |language=en |archive-date=October 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026204702/https://fastestknowntime.com/fkt/karl-egloff-denali-ak-2019-06-20 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=June 21, 2019 |title=Karl Egloff Smashes Denali Speed Record |url=https://www.rockandice.com/climbing-news/karl-egloff-smashes-denali-speed-record/ |access-date=October 11, 2021 |website=Rock and Ice Magazine |archive-date=October 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028132101/https://www.rockandice.com/climbing-news/karl-egloff-smashes-denali-speed-record/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Weather station==
[[File:Mount McKinley and Denali National Park Road 2048px.jpg|thumb|right|The east side viewed from Denali National Park and Preserve, which surrounds the mountain|alt=Denali seen through a green field]]
The [[Japanese Alpine Club]] installed a meteorological station on a ridge near the summit of Denali at an elevation of {{convert|18733|ft}} in 1990.<ref name="rozell">{{cite web |last=Rozell |first=Ned |title=Mountaineering and Science Meet on Mt. McKinley |url=http://www.sitnews.us/0703news/071703/071703_ak_science.html |publisher=Sitnews |access-date=January 24, 2013 |location=[[Ketchikan, Alaska|Ketchikan]], Alaska |date=July 17, 2003 |archive-date=November 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103225755/http://www.sitnews.us/0703news/071703/071703_ak_science.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1998, this weather station was donated to the [[International Arctic Research Center]] at the [[University of Alaska Fairbanks]].<ref name="rozell"/> In June 2002, a weather station was placed at the {{convert|19000|ft|m|adj=on}} level. This weather station was designed to transmit data in real-time for use by the climbing public and the science community. Since its establishment, annual upgrades to the equipment have been performed with instrumentation custom built for the extreme weather and altitude conditions. This weather station is the third-highest weather station in the world.<ref name="japantimes">{{cite news |title=Japanese install probe on tallest US peak |url=http://info.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20060717f2.html |access-date=January 24, 2013 |newspaper=[[The Japan Times]] |date=July 17, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103213828/http://info.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20060717f2.html |archive-date=November 3, 2013 }}</ref>

The weather station recorded a temperature of {{convert|-75.5|°F|°C|abbr=on}} on December 1, 2003. On the previous day of November 30, 2003, a temperature of {{convert|-74.4|°F|°C|abbr=on}} combined with a wind speed of {{convert|18.4|mph}} to produce a North American record windchill of {{convert|-118.1|°F|°C|abbr=on}}.

Even in July, this weather station has recorded temperatures as low as {{convert|-22.9|°F|°C|abbr=on}} and windchills as low as {{convert|-59.2|°F|°C|abbr=on}}.

===Historical record===
According to the [[National Park Service]], in 1932 the {{Not a typo|Liek}}-Lindley expedition recovered a [[Six's thermometer|self-recording minimum thermometer]] left near Browne's Tower, at about {{convert|15000|ft|sigfig=2}}, on Denali by the Stuck-Karstens party in 1913. The spirit thermometer was calibrated down to {{convert|-95|°F|°C|abbr=on}}, and the lowest recorded temperature was below that point. Harry J. Liek took the thermometer back to Washington, D.C. where it was tested by the [[United States Weather Bureau]] and found to be accurate. The lowest temperature that it had recorded was found to be approximately {{convert|-100|F|C}}.<ref name="dixon">{{cite book |last=Dixon |first=Joseph S. |title=Fauna of the National Parks of the United States |year=1938 |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |location=Washington, D.C. |url=http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/fauna3/fauna2.htm |access-date=January 24, 2013 |archive-date=November 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104034509/http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/fauna3/fauna2.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><!-- The source says "1000 below zero", which is obviously a typo. --> Another thermometer was placed at the {{convert|15000|ft|sigfig=2|adj=on}} level by the [[Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center|U.S. Army Natick Laboratory]], and was there from 1950 to 1969. The lowest temperature recorded during that period was also {{convert|-100|°F|°C}}.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wunderground.com/blog/weatherhistorian/the-coldest-places-on-earth |title=Wunderground.com – Weather Extremes: The Coldest Places On Earth |access-date=April 29, 2019 |archive-date=April 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416125749/https://www.wunderground.com/blog/weatherhistorian/the-coldest-places-on-earth }}</ref>

==Subpeaks and nearby mountains==
[[File:Mount McKinley Shrouded 2048px.jpg|right|thumb|Denali, here shrouded in clouds, is large enough to create its own localized weather.|alt=The top of Denali is shrouded in clouds]]
Besides the North Summit mentioned above, other features on the massif which are sometimes included as separate peaks are:
* South Buttress, {{convert|15885|ft|m}}; mean prominence: {{convert|335|ft|m}}
* East Buttress high point, {{convert|14730|ft|m}}; mean prominence: {{convert|380|ft|m}}
* East Buttress, most topographically prominent point, {{convert|14650|ft|m}}; mean prominence: {{convert|600|ft|m}}
* Browne Tower, {{convert|14530|ft|m}}; mean prominence: {{convert|75|ft|m}}

Nearby peaks include:
* [[Mount Crosson]]
* [[Mount Foraker]]
* [[Mount Silverthrone (Alaska)|Mount Silverthrone]]
* [[Mount Hunter (Alaska)|Mount Hunter]]
* [[Mount Huntington (Alaska)|Mount Huntington]]
* [[Mount Dickey]]
* [[The Moose's Tooth]]

==Taxonomic honors==
[[File:Ice Sheets on Mt. Denali.jpg|thumb|Ice sheets on Denali]]
* ''denaliensis''
** ''[[Ceratozetella denaliensis]]'' (formerly ''Cyrtozetes denaliensis'' <small>Behan-Pelletier, 1985</small>) is a species of [[Oribatida|moss mite]] in the family Mycobatidae
** ''[[Magnoavipes denaliensis]]'' <small>Fiorillo et al., 2011</small> (literally "bird with large feet found in Denali") is a ''[[Magnoavipes]]'' [[ichnospecies]] of bird footprint from the Upper Cretaceous of Alaska and was a large heron-like bird (as large as a [[sandhill crane]]) with three toes and toe pads.
* ''denali''
** ''[[Cosberella denali]]'' (<small>Fjellberg, 1985</small>) is a [[springtail]] in the genus ''[[Cosberella]]''.
** ''[[Proclossiana aphirape]] denali'' <small>Klots, 1940</small> is a ''[[Boloria]]'' butterfly subspecies in the family [[Nymphalidae]].
** ''[[Symplecta denali]]'' (<small>Alexander, 1955</small>) is a species of crane fly in the family [[Limoniidae]].
** ''[[Tipula denali]]'' <small>Alexander, 1969</small> is a species of crane fly in the family [[Tipulidae]].
* ''denalii''
** ''[[Erigeron denalii]]'' <small>A. Nelson, 1945</small> or [[Denali fleabane]] is an ''[[Erigeron]]'' fleabane species.
* ''mckinleyensis'' or ''mackinleyensis''
** ''[[Erebia mackinleyensis]]'' (<small>Gunder, 1932</small>) or [[Mt. McKinley alpine]] is a butterfly species of the subfamily [[Satyrinae]] of family [[Nymphalidae]].
** ''[[Oeneis mackinleyensis]]'' <small>Dos Passos 1965</small> or ''[[Oeneis mckinleyensis]]'' <small>Dos Passos 1949</small> is a butterfly species of the subfamily [[Satyrinae]] of family [[Nymphalidae]] (synonym of ''[[Oeneis bore]]'')
** ''[[Uredo]] mckinleyensis'' Cummins 1952 (sometimes spelled ''Uredo mackinleyensis'') is a [[Rust (fungus)|rust fungus]] species.
* others:
** ''[[Papaver mcconnellii]]'' {{Au|Hultén 1945}}, synonym ''Papaver denalii'' {{Au|Gjaerevoll 1963}}, is a [[poppy]] species.

==In popular culture==
* In 2019, American educational animated series ''[[Molly of Denali]]'' premiered on [[PBS Kids|PBS]] and [[CBC Kids]]. The show depicts the daily life and culture of Molly, a young Alaskan Native girl and vlogger.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Get An Exclusive Sneak Peek At A Brand New Episode Of 'Molly Of Denali' On PBS Kids |author-first1=Morgan |author-last1=Brinlee |url=https://www.romper.com/p/exclusive-molly-of-denali-clip-gives-peek-at-new-episode-on-pbs-kids-22852019 |website=Romper |date=April 28, 2020 |access-date=December 12, 2022 |archive-date=December 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221212005448/https://www.romper.com/p/exclusive-molly-of-denali-clip-gives-peek-at-new-episode-on-pbs-kids-22852019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="playback2">[http://playbackonline.ca/2018/05/09/pbs-kids-orders-first-alaskan-native-series/ "PBS Kids orders animated series from Atomic Cartoons"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905124824/http://playbackonline.ca/2018/05/09/pbs-kids-orders-first-alaskan-native-series/ |date=September 5, 2019 }}. ''[[Playback (magazine)|Playback]]'', May 9, 2018.</ref><ref name="cbcupfront2">[http://playbackonline.ca/2018/05/24/upfronts-18-cbc-debuts-17-new-series/ "Upfronts '18: CBC debuts 17 new series"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190902012545/http://playbackonline.ca/2018/05/24/upfronts-18-cbc-debuts-17-new-series/ |date=September 2, 2019 }}. ''[[Playback (magazine)|Playback]]'', May 24, 2018.</ref> The animated series has received acclaim for its representation of [[Indigenous Alaskans|Indigenous Alaskan]] culture.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jacobs |first=Julia |date=July 15, 2019 |title=With 'Molly of Denali', PBS Raises Its Bar for Inclusion |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/15/arts/television/molly-of-denali-alaska-native-pbs.html |access-date=May 25, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231130911/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/15/arts/television/molly-of-denali-alaska-native-pbs.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Peabody">{{Cite web |date=August 24, 2020 |title=Peabody 30 Winners |url=https://peabodyawards.com/stories/peabody-30-winners/ |access-date=December 12, 2022 |archive-date=December 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221212005509/https://peabodyawards.com/stories/peabody-30-winners/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
{{commons and category|Denali}}
{{portal|North America|United States|Alaska|Mountains}}
* [[List of mountain peaks of North America]]
** [[List of mountain peaks of the United States]]
*** [[List of mountain peaks of Alaska]]
* [[List of U.S. states by elevation]]
* [[List of the highest major summits of the United States]]
* [[List of the most prominent summits of the United States]]
* [[List of the most isolated major summits of the United States]]
* [[Extremes on Earth]]
{{clear}}

==References==
{{notelist}}

{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=aaj_1985_1>{{cite journal |journal=[[American Alpine Journal]] |department=Accident Reports |title=Exposure, Weather, Climbing Alone — Alaska Mount McKinley |date=1985 |volume=5 |issue=2 |page=25 |url=http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/13198502502/Exposure-Weather-Climbing-Alone-Alaska-Mount-McKinley |access-date=March 8, 2015 |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402172456/http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/13198502502/Exposure-Weather-Climbing-Alone-Alaska-Mount-McKinley |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name=aaj_1985_2>{{cite journal |journal=[[American Alpine Journal]] |department=Climbs And Expeditions |title=Mount McKinley, South Face, New Route |date=1985 |volume=26 |issue=58 |page=174 |url=http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12198517401/North-America-United-States-Alaska-Mount-McKinley-South-Face-New-Route |publisher=[[American Alpine Club]] |location=[[Golden, Colorado|Golden]], Colorado |issn=0065-6925 |access-date=March 8, 2015 |archive-date=May 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510103044/http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12198517401/North-America-United-States-Alaska-Mount-McKinley-South-Face-New-Route |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin|2}}
* {{cite book |last=Beckey |first=Fred |author-link=Fred Beckey |title=Mount McKinley: Icy Crown of North America |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w48sXjjEWbwC |publisher=[[The Mountaineers Books]] |year=1993 |isbn=0-89886-646-4}}
* {{cite book |last=Borneman |first=Walter R. |title=Alaska: Saga of a Bold Land |year=2003 |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |isbn=0-06-050306-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A9QXxo-MeUEC |author-link=Walter R. Borneman |access-date=February 13, 2013}}
* {{cite book |last1=Coombs |first1=Colby |last2=Washburn |first2=Bradford |author-link2=Bradford Washburn |title=Denali's West Buttress: A Climber's Guide to Mount McKinley's Classic Route |year=1997 |publisher=The Mountaineers Books |location=[[Seattle]] |isbn=978-0-89886-516-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/denaliswestbuttr00coom}}
* {{cite book |last=Davidson |first=Art |title=Minus 148°: First Winter Ascent of Mt. McKinley |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Enh464zYNnwC |access-date=February 16, 2013 |edition=7th |year=2004 |publisher=The Mountaineers Books |isbn=0-89886-687-1}}
* {{cite book |author=Freedman, Lew |title=Dangerous Steps: Vernon Tejas and the Solo Winter Ascent of Mount McKinley |year=1990 |publisher=[[Stackpole Books]] |isbn=978-0-8117-2341-1 |author-link=Lew Freedman}}
* {{cite journal |last=Rodway |first=George W. |date=March 2003 |title=Paul Crews' "Accident on Mount McKinley"—A Commentary |journal=Wilderness and Environmental Medicine |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=33–38 |doi=10.1580/1080-6032(2003)014[0033:PCAOMM]2.0.CO;2 |issn=1080-6032 |pmid=12659247 |doi-access=free}}
* {{cite book |last=Scoggins |first=Dow |title=Discovering Denali: A Complete Reference Guide to Denali National Park and Mount McKinley, Alaska |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u7bnCdIfpIYC |access-date=February 16, 2013 |year=2004 |publisher=[[iUniverse]] |isbn=978-0-595-75058-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Secor |first=R. J. |title=Denali Climbing Guide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dMv-QwJVVV4C&pg=PA35 |access-date=February 16, 2013 |year=1998 |publisher=[[Stackpole Books]] |location=[[Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania|Mechanicsburg]], Pennsylvania |isbn=0-8117-2717-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Stuck |first=Hudson |author-link=Hudson Stuck |title=The ascent of Denali (Mount McKinley): a narrative of the first complete ascent of the highest peak in North America |url=https://archive.org/details/ascentofdenalimo01stuc |access-date=September 14, 2025 |year=1914 |publisher=C. Scribner's Sons |oclc=1507759 |via=Archive.org}} {{isbn|978-0-935632-69-9}}
* {{cite book |last1=Washburn |first1=Bradford |last2=Roberts |first2=David |author-link2=David Roberts (climber) |title=Mount McKinley: the conquest of Denali |year=1991 |publisher=[[Abrams Books]] |isbn=978-0-8109-3611-9}}
* {{cite book |last1=Waterman |first1=Jonathan |last2=Washburn |first2=Bradford |title=High Alaska: A Historical Guide to Denali, Mount Foraker, & Mount Hunter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cgQ6xUiqxLwC |access-date=February 16, 2013 |year=1988 |publisher=The Mountaineers Books |isbn=978-0-930410-41-4}}
* {{cite book |last=Waterman |first=Jonathan |title=In the Shadow of Denali: Life and Death on Alaska's Mt. McKinley |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s3nl7FDRNwYC |access-date=February 4, 2013 |year=1998 |publisher=[[Lyons Press]] |isbn=978-1-55821-726-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Waterman |first=Jonathan |title=Surviving Denali: A Study of Accidents on Mt. McKinley, 1910-1990 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAz60t7YYiAC |access-date=February 16, 2013 |year=1991 |publisher=The Mountaineers Books |isbn=978-1-933056-66-1}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Wilson |first1=Rodman |last2=Mills |first2=William J. Jr. |last3=Rogers |first3=Donald R. |last4=Propst |first4=Michael T. |date=June 1978 |title=Death on Denali |journal=[[Western Journal of Medicine]] |volume=128 |issue=6 |pages=471–76 |lccn=75642547 |oclc=1799362 |pmid=664648 |pmc=1238183}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |last=Drury |first=Bob |year=2001 |title=The Rescue Season: A True Story of Heroism on the Edge of the World |location=New York |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=0-684-86479-7 |oclc=44969545}} Also titled ''The Rescue Season: The Heroic Story of [[Parajumper]]s on the Edge of the World''. About the US Air Force's 210th Rescue Squadron during the 1999 climbing season on Denali.

==External links==
{{sister project links}}

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070705230531/http://www.nps.gov/archive/dena/home/mountaineering/history.htm Mt. McKinley Weather Station]
* [http://www.summitpost.org/denali/150199 Denali at SummitPost]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061218092221/http://www.nps.gov/archive/dena/home/mountaineering/history.htm Timeline of Denali climbing history], [[National Park Service]] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070705230531/http://www.nps.gov/archive/dena/home/mountaineering/history.htm |date=July 5, 2007 }}
* {{Gutenberg|no=26059|name=The Ascent of Denali (Mount McKinley)}}
* [https://dggs.alaska.gov/pubs/quad/mount-mckinley Mount Mckinley Quadrangle Publications], [http://dggs.alaska.gov Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys]

{{NA highest}}
{{NA prominent}}
{{NA isolated}}
{{Alaska highest}}
{{Seven Summits}}
{{U.S. State Highest Points}}
{{William McKinley}}
{{Highest points of North America}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denali}}
[[Category:Denali| ]]
[[Category:North American 6000 m summit]]
[[Category:Alaska Range]]
[[Category:Seven Summits]]
[[Category:Highest points of United States national parks]]
[[Category:Sacred mountains of the United States]]
[[Category:William McKinley]]
[[Category:Mountains of Denali Borough, Alaska]]
[[Category:Denali National Park and Preserve]]
[[Category:Religious places of the Indigenous peoples of North America]]
[[Category:Highest points of U.S. states]]
[[Category:Highest points of countries]]
[[Category:Geographical naming disputes]]
[[Category:Ahtna]]