Denali: 015 (Alaska Geographic) Book

Denali, or Mt. McKinley, dominates the heartland of Alaska and is an icon for the state itself. This book investigates the mountain and park and presents the history, geography and wildlife of the surrounding park and wilderness.

The first chapter provides a broad view of the region, including the history of explorations and a summary of the wildlife that inhabits the area. Readers learn that none of the early foreign explorers took much note of the tall mountain and in fact, the official Russian map used in the sale of Alaska to the United States in 1867 left blank the entire mountain range. Nearly 30 years after the sale, gold prospector William Dickey's articles in The New York Sun and National Geographic brought national attention to the mountain for the first time. Awe-struck by the spectacle of the mountain, he correctly estimated its height at more than 20,000 feet. Later in the book, a section describes how mountains are measured and how remarkable Dickey's estimate was for its time.

Today, hundreds of people flock to McKinley each summer to climb the tallest mountain in North America. Thousands more come just to look at it. The stories of the first climbs are remarkable and an excerpt from "The Ascent of Denali" by Hudson Stuck, a member of the 1913 expedition which became the first to reach the South Peak, is included. In 1947, Barbara Washburn became the first woman to reach the top of McKinley. Other women have followed her, including Karen Jettmar, who presents a personal account of her modern-day climb.

Climbing the mountain is not the only activity pursued in the area. A fascinating section of "Denali" tells of the search for gold, lead and silver in the Kantishna Hills. Another chapter tells the story of building the railroad through this rugged country. Throughout the book are interesting tidbits of information such as the story of Wonder Lake's name. As the story goes, two local prospectors named the lake "I Wonder Lake" after finding it by accident and wondering why they had not seen it before. Over the years the "I" was dropped.

Readers also learn the inside story of how, before statehood, Celia Hunter and Ginny and "Woody" Wood of Fairbanks started Camp Denali, the first tourist facility at Denali. "We were naïve," Hunter writes. "We learned about the elements the first summer we were open." Those elements and the remote site presented challenges but the camp, which the group sold in 1976, has become world famous, serving guests from every state and continent and dozens of countries.

In addition to wonderful educational information in this beautiful book, "Denali" also includes a mile-by-mile guide to the National Park Road as well as a section on accommodations, travel and cautions.

"Denali" contains 60 color photographs, 10 black-and-white photographs and a pull-out map.