Mount Hunter (Alaska)

Mount Hunter or Begguya is a mountain in Denali National Park in Alaska. It is approximately eight miles (13 km) south of Denali, the highest peak in North America. "Begguya" means child (of Denali) in the Dena'ina language. Mount Hunter is the third-highest major peak in the Alaska Range.

Mount Hunter
Begguya
Mt. Hunter from the northwest (Kahilta Base Camp)
Highest point
Elevation14,573 ft (4,442 m) [1]
NAVD88
Prominence4,653 ft (1,418 m) [1]
Isolation6.88 mi (11.07 km) [1]
Listing
Coordinates62°57′03″N 151°05′22″W [2]
Geography
Mount Hunter
Location in Alaska
LocationMatanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, U.S.
Parent rangeAlaska Range
Topo mapUSGS Talkeetna D-3[2]
Climbing
First ascent1954 by Fred Beckey, Heinrich Harrer, Henry Meybohm[3]
Easiest routeserious snow/ice/rock climb (Alaska Grade 4, 5.8, AI 3)
Looking down the SW Ridge at about 10,500 ft.

Mount Hunter has a complex structure: it is topped by a large, low-angled glacier plateau, connecting the North (Main) Summit and the South Summit (13,965 feet or 4,257 m). Long, corniced ridges extend in various directions; between them are exceptionally steep faces.

Naming of the mountain

The native name for the mountain is Begguya, meaning "Denali's Child". Early prospectors referred to the mountain as Mount Roosevelt. In 1903, Robert Dunn, a reporter for the New York Commercial Advertiser, visited the area as part of Frederick Cook's attempt to climb Mount McKinley. He bestowed the name of his aunt Anna Falconnet Hunter (1885–1941), who financed his trip, on a high nearby mountain, prominent from the northwest. This was, in fact, a different peak, now known as Kahiltna Dome. The name Hunter was mistakenly applied to the present-day Mount Hunter by a government surveyor in 1906.[4]

In October 2010, the South Summit was named Mount Stevens, after Ted Stevens (1923–2010), a former senator of Alaska.[5]

Climbing history

Despite being much lower in elevation than Denali (formerly Mount McKinley), Mount Hunter is a more difficult climb, due to its steep faces and corniced ridges; it also sees far less traffic than its larger neighbor.

Fred Beckey, Heinrich Harrer and Henry Meybohm completed the first ascent in 1954, via the long West Ridge; this was a great accomplishment for the time, and used techniques such as extensive front-pointing which were unusual in the climbing world.[3]

Beginning in 1977, with Michael Kennedy and George Lowe's climb of a route on the northwest face of Mount Hunter, this steep rock and ice face has been the scene of many landmark hard climbs.

Notable ascents
  • 1954 West Ridge - first ascent of peak by Fred Beckey, Heinrich Harrer and Henry Meybohm[6][3]
  • 1977 Lowe-Kennedy, on the north face.[7]
  • 1979 South Spur by John Mallon Waterman (solo, 145 days)[8]
  • 1981 Moonflower Buttress (Alaska Grade 6: 5.8 A3 AI6 6100') first ascent to last rock band by Mugs Stump and Paul Aubry (NZ).[9]
  • 1983 Moonflower Buttress to summit, first complete ascent by Todd Bibler and Doug Klewin.[9]
  • 1985 "Diamond Arete" (Alaska Grade 6) first ascent by Jack Tackle and Jim Donini
  • 1989 Northwest Face first ascent by Conrad Anker and Seth 'S.T.' Shaw, summit attained July 3, 1989.[10]
  • 1994 Deprivation, (Alaska Grade 6, Alpine ED+, 90deg ice) first ascent by Scott Backes and Mark Francis Twight.[11]
  • 1994 Wall of Shadows, (Alaska Grade 6, AI6+ 5.9 A4) first ascent by Greg Child and Michael Kennedy.[12]
Mount Hunter, Alaska
Mt. Hunter, nestled between Mt. Foraker and Denali.

See also

Notes
  1. ^ This is excluding the North Peak and other sub-summits of Denali.

References
  1. "Mount Hunter, Alaska". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  2. "Mount Hunter". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2014-08-03.
  3. Beckey, Fred (1955). "Mt. Deborah and Mt. Hunter: First Ascents". American Alpine Journal. American Alpine Club. 9 (2). Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  4. Jonathan Waterman, High Alaska, AAC Press, 1988.
  5. "Hello, Mount Stevens!". Alaska Beat. Alaska Dispatch Publishing. October 19, 2010. Archived from the original on October 23, 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-19.
  6. Selters 2004, p. 170
  7. Selters 2004, p. 263
  8. Krakauer, Jon (January 1993). "Death of an Innocent: How Christopher McCandless lost his way in the wilds". The Independent. Outside Magazine. Archived from the original on 2014-03-16. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  9. Westman, Mark (May 25, 2007). "Hunter: Grand repeat and epic near-ascent". Alpinist Newswire. Alpinist Magazine. Retrieved July 24, 2010.
  10. Anker, Conrad (1990). "Hunter's Northwest Face". American Alpine Journal. NYC, NY, USA: American Alpine Club. 42 (64): 36–38. ISBN 0-930410-43-2. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  11. Twight, Mark Francis (1995). ""Deprivation" on Mount Hunter". American Alpine Journal. Golden, CO, USA: American Alpine Club. 37 (69): 11–14. ISBN 0-930410-61-0.
  12. Kennedy, Michael (1995). "Shadows of Doubt, Mount Hunter". American Alpine Journal. Golden, CO, USA: American Alpine Club. 37 (69): 1–10. ISBN 0-930410-61-0. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
Sources
  • Selters, Andy (2004). Ways to the Sky. Golden, CO, USA: The American Alpine Club Press. ISBN 0-930410-83-1.
Mount Hunter aerial
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