Mapping McKinley’s Southeast Approaches

BRADFORD WASHBURN

Few living persons have enjoyed the privilege of spending a month in the magnificent Great Amphitheater or Basin of Ruth Glacier. Lying between the vertiginous granite crags of the Great Gorge and the foot of the southeastern cliffs of Mount McKinley, the Amphitheater probably affords the visitor the greatest variety of superb closeup views of McKinley which can be had from any side. Unfortunately, however, its weather is not in a class with the other sides of the great mountain, as it is dominated by the flow of relatively warm, moist air from the coast, in marked contrast to the colder and drier climate on the other side of the Alaska Range.

Only two parties in history have traversed the Great Amphitheater and traveled afoot the entire forty miles from the Chulitna River to the head of the Ruth—the Parker-Browne expedition of 1910 and Elton Thayer’s in 1954. The Mazama Expedition which "raced” Browne and Parker up the glacier in 1910, reached the center of the Amphitheater (11 miles below the glacier’s head) and then swung off to the south, making the first ascents of Mount Barrill (7,650 feet) on July 13 and Pittock Pass (7,250 feet) on the 14th.

The Parker-Browne expedition spent nearly three weeks that same July exploring the Amphitheater and the glaciers leading into it from the slopes of both Mount Silverthrone and Mount McKinley, in a futile effort to climb from this side. Thayer’s party (1954) only stayed in the Amphitheater itself for two days (April 23-25) but spent an eventful week traversing the Great Gorge, receiving two air drops near the center of the Amphitheater and relaying their supplies to the very head of the Ruth’s extreme southwest fork—an incredibly speedy maneuver, made possible by hard work, careful planning and flawless spring weather.

The only other persons ever to approach the Great Amphitheater afoot were Dr. Frederick A. Cook and Edward Barrill, who reached a point near the upper gateway of the Great Gorge (5,100 feet) on or about September 10, 1906. A photograph taken from this point and published opposite page 193 of Dr. Cook’s book, To the Top of the Continent, stands as proof that Cook and his companion at least got this far in their alleged first ascent of Mount McKinley that year.

In the spring of 1955, Boston’s Museum of Science organized a small party to make a one-month visit to the Amphitheater for the purpose of obtaining the necessary ground control to complete the survey network for a new large-scale map of the McKinley region. Previous expeditions in 1945, 1947, 1949, 1951, and 1953 had secured all of the additional control needed to map the other sides and top of the peak.

This little expedition had no climbing objectives other than the first ascent of "Peak 9,550” at the head of the Great Gorge, on which the key survey station of the local network was to be established. The party consisted of Richard T. Kleber of the museum staff, David Fisher of Toronto,1 George P. Gardner, Jr., and Carlton P. Fuller (both trustees of the Museum) and Bradford Washburn (leader).

Kleber flew to Alaska early in March, in order to buy food and miscellaneous equipment in Anchorage and Talkeetna and to arrange about preliminary flights to the Amphitheater by Don Sheldon, Talkeetna’s experienced bush pilot. By March 18, when Fisher and I reached Talkeetna by train from Anchorage, Sheldon had already made several successful Super- Cub flights with food, fuel and tents, and a sizable cache with a satisfactory airstrip had been established at 5,300-foot altitude, precisely where we had wanted it in the middle of the Amphitheater.

The early spring almost always brings clear weather to Alaska, and although it is usually too cold and windy to try climbing much above 15,000 feet, it is an ideal time to carry out survey work or low-altitude exploration. 1955 was no exception to the rule, with a final tally of 16 beautiful days, five partly-clear and only nine downright bad out of a total of 30 spent in the field—a fabulous record for an Alaskan trip.

Two flights established a base camp on March 19, I sitting in Dick Kleber’s lap on the first and Fisher with the final load of freight arriving on the second—in describing this trip I am tempted to quote Horace B. de Saussure (re Mont Blanc, 1787) "la science est une grande dame qui voyage avec beaucoup de bagages!”

By the time that Carl Fuller and George Gardner had joined us for a 10-day visit on March 27, we had had so much clear weather that we were really exhausted, all our basic survey stations except one were positioned and preliminary observations almost completed. Temperatures ranged from zero up to a maximum of 17 above in the daytime (average about + 10°) and down to 32 below at night (average about —15°).

Snowshoeing from station to station across the floor of the Amphitheater, we reveled in day after day of incredible mountain scenery rising above us on all sides. We made the first ascent of the 6,900-foot notch between the Ruth and Buckskin glaciers on March 29 and got a breathtaking view of the unclimbed Moose’s Tooth2 in the beautiful late- afternoon light.

On March 31 and April 1-2, with Don Sheldon’s assistance, we devoted two full days to a thorough study of the pictures taken by Dr. Cook during his 1906 trip to McKinley. For legal (copyright) reasons, it is impossible to relate the results of this fascinating bit of geographical detective work until next fall (50 years after Cook’s trip). Suffice it to say that we precisely located the spot from which every one of Dr. Cook’s key unidentified photographs was made and not a single one of them was exposed at an altitude of more than 5,400 feet!

Several trips were made to the crest of Pittock Pass (7,250 feet) for the first time since 1910 and a substantial cache built up for a camp here. This was first occupied by Dave Fisher and Carl Fuller on the evening of April 5, but it was not until April 9 that Fisher and I finally packed our survey gear to the top of "Peak 9,550” which we called Mt. Dickey in honor of William A. Dickey, who named Mt. McKinley in the fall of 1896. There were no technical problems of note in this little first ascent, although the vertical ice barrier at 8,200 feet (we found a nice little route) might easily cause considerable trouble under certain conditions.

The view from the top of Mt. Dickey is utterly magnificent. It is certain to be considered along with those from Mts. Silverthrone, Brooks, Foraker, and Hunter, as one of North America’s truly great panoramas …but this one has the added advantage of being readily accessible to civilization. We spent five hours on the summit, completing and then checking all of our observations, which we made with a highly precise Wild T-3 Theodolite. Scarcely a cloud came into sight all day long, and the changing light and shadows on the stupendous southeastern cliffs and ridges of McKinley were a never-to-be-forgotten sight.

As we descended into camp and our trip came to a close, we felt that we had not only completed our map, but also had succeeded in securing a wealth of new information about this wonderful region. Mt. Huntington (12,240 feet), The Rooster Comb (10,180 feet), the Moose’s Tooth (10,335 feet), and Mt. Dan Beard (10,260 feet) are the four major unclimbed peaks which dominate the southeastern approaches to McKinley. The ascent of these and, of course, the attack on the great southeastern ridges of McKinley itself, will surely tempt other parties into the Ruth Amphitheater again soon—as will the superb rock-climbs of the half- dozen virgin peaks which dramatically flank the Great Gorge.

This region is not only easily accessible by air (ski-plane) from Talkeetna, only 50 miles to the south, but not one of these peaks is in Mount McKinley National Park, thus eliminating the necessity of the formal permission and prohibition of airplane landings required by the National Park Service in connection with ascents of all of the other major peaks of the McKinley Massif. The ease of approach and relatively low cost of an expedition to this area must, however, be viewed in proper perspective, as all of the major unclimbed peaks and ridges rising out of the Great Amphitheater of the Ruth Glacier range from difficult to extremely difficult and should not be attempted by any but the most experienced parties.

It would be hard to find a spot more easy of access where glorious glacier walks, easy lower climbs, and magnificent major ascents can all be accomplished out of the same air-supplied base camp, set amid North America’s finest scenery and hardly a day’s travel from New York!

Summary of Statistics

Area: Great Amphitheater of Ruth Glacier, southeast of Mt. McKinley, Alaska.

Scientific Program: Completion of McKinley area map.

Ascent: "Mt. Dickey,” 9,550 feet, first ascent, April 9, 1955.

Personnel: Leader, Bradford Washburn; David Fisher, Carlton P.

Fuller, George P. Gardner, Jr., Richard T. Kleber.

1An experienced young British climber and member of the 1954 Rakaposhi expedition.

2A local native name for this superb 10,335-foot peak.