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Mt. McKinley

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West Buttress 
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Mt. McKinley

Submitted By: R Squared on Apr 29, 2007
Elevation: 20,320 feet
Latitude: 63.0724  Longitude: -150.9467 
Aerial photo/map | Weather
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The view S from the summit


Description 

The tallest mountain in North America, Denali stands tall at 20,320 feet. It host a number of routes the most popular being the West Buttress and it is also home to the great Alaskan testpiece the Cassin Ridge. Weather can change on Denali in the blink of an eye so come prepared for everything.


Getting There 

You can fly to Mt. McKinley with a number of aviation services or make the long hike from Talkeetna


The Classics

Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Mt. McKinley:
West Buttress   Mod. Snow     Snow, 12500 feet   
Cassin Ridge   5.8 WI4     Ice, Grade V   
Browse More Classics in Mt. McKinley

Featured Route For Mt. McKinley
Looking up at the summit from our food cache just past windy corner. June 2003

West Buttress Mod. Snow  AK : Denali NP : Mt. McKinley
The West Buttress is often considered the handicap ramp to the top of Denali. It is the easiest route to the top but it can still kill you very quickly. The route has around 12,500 ft. of elevation gain. Weather can change in a heartbeat so come prepared for anything....[more]   Browse More Classics in AK


Photos of Mt. McKinley Slideshow Add Photo
The list of the folks who have died in Denali National Park, at the Climber's Memorial in the Talkeetna Cemetery. It's heavily weighted toward fatalities on Denali. You don't want to get your name on this list.

The list of the folks who have died in Denali Nati...

Denali's south side, from the Base Camp airstrip on the SE Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier, 7,200 ft. Typically windy conditions aloft - notice the giant lenticular cloud that obscures the top of the mountain. Be prepared for really tough weather on this peak.

Denali's south side, from the Base Camp airstrip o...

View of the SW side of the peak from the West Buttress/Cassin/West Rib Advanced Base Camp at 7,800 ft on the Kahiltna Glacier, at the mouth of the NE Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier (aka The Valley of Death - "VOD"). Prominent in the photo are the West Buttress(left skyline), the West Rim (Center, in the VOD) & the West Rib (sunlit ridge on the R in the VOD) Note the numberous gaping crevasses in the mouth of the VOD. You have to run this gauntlet in order to approach the West Rim, the West Rib and the Cassin Ridge via the VOD.

BETA PHOTO: View of the SW side of the peak from the West Butt...

Spectre of the Brocken, high on the coxcomb.

Spectre of the Brocken, high on the coxcomb.

In the business on the Muldrow.

In the business on the Muldrow.

Sweet day in the Muldrow.

Sweet day in the Muldrow.

The Coxcomb.

The Coxcomb.

Base camp

Base camp

Denali as seen from Mt Hunter. The sun/shade line in the center is the Cassin Ridge

BETA PHOTO: Denali as seen from Mt Hunter. The sun/shade line...

Looking down the Kahiltna towards ski hill and the start of the west Buttress

BETA PHOTO: Looking down the Kahiltna towards ski hill and the...

The north side of Denali from near Wonder Lake.

The north side of Denali from near Wonder Lake.

Denali from near Wonder Lake.

Denali from near Wonder Lake.

Denali from above Eielson Visitor Center.

Denali from above Eielson Visitor Center.