Mount McKinley: Icy Crown of North America

By Fred Beckey

Book Overview

* A classic of mountaineering literature * Beckey's name is synonymous with mountaineering in Alaska, Canada and the western US * Peppered with personal anecdotes and unique photographs This biography of Alaska's Mount McKinley presents a complete history of one of the world's great mountains. Author and famed mountaineer Fred Beckey starts with McKinley's geology and covers early human history, from native associations with Denali to the influx of Russian fur traders and American prospectors. The mountaineering history of McKinley follows, with a look at the gold seekers and surveyors who were among the first to map the region. Beckey examines the efforts of those who raced to be first on McKinley's summit and details the first complete ascent by Hudson Stuck in 1913. The chronology continues with profiles of notable summit attempts, including those of the author himself. Also included is information about the challenges and logistics of climbing Mount McKinley, with information on planning, permits, suggested routes, and what to expect. Personal anecdotes and previously unpublished photographs make this volume a must-have for historians and climbers everywhere.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0898866464
• ISBN13: 9780898866469
• Release Date: December 1998
• Publisher: Mountaineers Books
• Length: 338 Pages
• Weight: 1.17 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Very good

The book is very good. The history of the mountain makes it simple to write something interesting, but certainly Mr. Beckey has done an excellent and very comprehensive work, and he deserves the credit. The reading is fine too. I only missed some more detailed sketches of the routes, and at times I got a bit lost in the succession of climbing expeditions (though it is true that the book has a chronology at the end). Also some of the final chapters perhaps do not belong in this book, but all in all I certainly recommend it.

An essential climbing book by a legendary climber

Commenting on a Fred Beckey climbing book is a little like critiquing a Mozart opera: who among us, really, has any standing to question him? It's remarkable that the man combines such complete mastery of two crafts, both climbing and writing. Compared to Reinhold Messner, another heroic climber and author, Beckey's writing is much better, more insightful, and ultimately far more useful. The book begins with a forward by Heinrich Harrer, famous for the first climb of the north face of the Eiger, as well as his books "The White Spider" and "Seven Years in Tibet." Much of the book is a history, detailing the early explorations and attempts, including Cook, the sourdough expedition, and the Reverend Stuck's successful climb, on through the pioneering climbs of other routes on the mountain. This is one more book that demonstrates that, in his areas of experience, Fred Beckey is unsurpassed. He is a climber's climber (not least because of his legendary guidebooks) and this is a climber's book on Denali. It's extensively footnoted and makes good use of historical photos, which is a nice professional touch, but the real value of the book is Beckey's total knowledge of climbing and of the mountain. One of the chapters details his participation on the first climb of the NW buttress (the first ascent of the Wickersham Wall) as well as his subsequent first ascent, with Harrer, of nearby Mt. Hunter. It's hard to imagine undertaking a climb of Denali without reading this book first; the last section includes complete route descriptions of the four most-climbed routes on the mountain, an extensive record of accidents and disasters, including analysis of what went wrong, and a chapter on logistics and equipment. Some things have changed; Talkitna is already more built-up than it was in '93 when the book was published (with a soberingly well-used cemetary) and the standard routes are more crowded than ever, but the same accidents happen for the same reasons. If everyone who attempted the mountain read this book, it would be a safer place.