The United States is a country of contrasts in every way, and the geography could not be less. The lush vegetation and farmlands of the East give way to the wide central grasslands, which in turn are interrupted by the impressive presence of the Rocky Mountains . This mountainous system extends from North to South, from Canada to New Mexico, and is part of the American Mountain Range, a series of systems that occupy the entire western part of America, from Alaska to Patagonia. Although in the United States there are other prominent mountain ranges, such as the Appalachians or the OzarksIt is in the Rocky Mountains where we can find the most representative North American peaks. Of these, the first thirteen are in the state of Alaska, although there are also prominent examples in the states of Colorado, Washington and California. These are the top ten:
Mount Denali-McKinley (Alaska)
It is the highest peak in the country, with heights of 6,194 meters above sea level and one of the most complex to ascend and descend, given its extreme slopes and the low temperatures caused by its proximity to the Arctic Circle. It is part of the Alaska range and was discovered by the Americans at the end of the 19th century, during the gold rush. The first man to crown him was Frederick A. Cook in 1906, who documented the feat in the book “To the Top of the Continent.”Although there were skeptics who subsequently climbed the peak again to disprove Cook’s story. There is a controversy about his name: McKinley was renamed in 1890 as a political supporter of then President William McKinley, although the traditional name is Denali (“the great one” in the Athabaskan Koyukon language). This last name was recovered in the 70s by the State of Alaska, where it is official, although at the federal level it is still called McKinley due to the efforts of congressmen from Ohio (the former president’s place of origin), who year after year block the Alaska requests.
Mount Saint Elias (Alaska)
Named after the biblical prophet, its name in the Tiglit language is Yaas’éit’aa Shaa . This peak has a height of 5,488 meters above sea level, and the first mountaineer to attempt to ascend the summit was Vitus Bering, a Russian national, in 1741. However, it was not until 1897 that he was crowned for the first time by Luis Amadeo de Saboya. . Currently, the mountain shares territories with Canada and is very close to the ocean. It has a great verticality and spectacular valleys, rivers and peaks that contain a fertile nature, despite the fact that as one climbs the conditions are increasingly extreme, with perpetual snow levels starting at 600 meters.
Mount Foraker (Alaska)
Like McKinley, it is located in Denali National Park and has a height above sea level of 5,304 meters. Named after the Governor of Ohio in 1899, Joseph B. Foraker, it was first climbed in August 1934. From a distance, it can be seen next to McKinley, as a twin peak. In fact, the Tanana ethnic group calls it Menlale , which means “Denali’s wife . “
Mount Bona (Alaska)
It belongs to the Saint Elias Mountains, in the eastern part of the state. It is the highest volcano in the country and the fourth in North America, with 5,044 meters above sea level. Its huge expanses of ice and numerous glaciers span 64 square kilometers of white expanse, extending into the Yukon Territory of Canada. Its name of Italian origin is due to the fact that it was first explored by the Duke of Abruzzi in 1897, and that was the name of his yacht. It was finally crowned in 1930 from the Russian glaciers by alpinists Allen Carpé, Terris Moore and Andrew Taylor.
Mount Blackburn (Alaska) A
4,996-meter-high volcano, Blackburn is one of the most difficult to climb in the world, with extreme relief. Because of this, it was not crowned until 1958, although it is believed that a previous first ascent was not correctly identified by mountaineers. It belongs to the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in the Wrangell mountain range, and is listed as one of the peaks with the most glaciers in Alaska, such as the famous Kennicott Glacier , with more than 32 square kilometers of ice of extreme purity and quality.
Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park is home to numerous high-rise peaks, many of them volcanic. (Photo: craignorrisphotography, flickr)
Mount Sanford (Alaska)
Another volcano in Wrangell-St. Elias, east of the state. After Bona and Blackburn it is the highest in the United States. Its southern side has one of the steepest reliefs in North America. Its geological wealth is surprising, since it belongs to different eras such as the Pleistocene and the Holocene, with an age that is close to one million years. It was baptized in 1885 and climbed for the first time in 1938. In 1948 the collision of a plane with 30 passengers on one of its slopes was famous, whose bodies, covered by several layers of snow, were not recovered until 1999. The first ascent alone from its summit was a feat by the Japanese Naomi Uemura, an adventurer determined to undertake solo milestones only achieved before as a team, who died shortly after topping Mount McKinley in 1968.
Fairweather Mountain (Alaska)
20 kilometers east of the Pacific Ocean, in the Glacier Bay National Park and Reserve, this mountain is located within the Saint Elias mountain range, which serves as a boundary point between the United States and Canada. Its name, Fairweather, refers to the good weather in the area at the time of its first exploration, undertaken by James Cook in 1778, although in reality this “good weather” is conspicuous by its absence, with continuous and aggressive precipitation in the form of snow all over. the year and temperatures that reach -46 degrees centigrade. The first successful ascent was made in 1931 by mountaineers Allen Carpé and Terris Moore. Like many other mountains in Alaska, some of its slopes have a vertical relief of tremendous elevations, although this verticality can hardly ever be appreciated by the clouds that perpetually cover the mountain.
Mount Hubbard (Alaska)
This mountain is located in the Saint Elias mountain system, which shares territory with Canada. It was named after the first president of National Geographic, Gardiner Greene Hubbard, who financed the first expedition led by Israel Russell in 1890. Its height of 4,557 meters above sea level and its isolation, surrounded by impenetrable glaciers, make it rank as one of the most unique peaks in Alaska. On some of its slopes, climbing is impossible, as in the west, which has 2,286 meters of elevation in just three square kilometers.
Mount Bear (Alaska)
At 4,520 meters above sea level, Mount Bear sits right on the southern border with Canada, forming part of the Wrangell-Saint Elias system. Surrounding its slopes flow the Branard and Klutlan glaciers. It is a relatively unknown peak for mountaineers, who prefer to climb the more popular Lucania or Logan, which are very close and taller than Bear.
Mount Hunter (Alaska)
In Denali National Park, 13 kilometers from Mount McKinley, is this summit of 4,442 meters above sea level. The Dena’ina call the summit Begguya, which means “son of Denali . ” The name Hunter comes from Anna Falconnet Hunter (1885-1941), who financed the first expedition. The extreme difficulty of the summit in alpinistic terms did not allow its crowning until 1954.
