Mount Denison, Katmai National Monument. A professor and six students or graduates of Denison University in Ohio made the first ascent of Mount Denison, which had been named for the university in 1923. A first attempt in August, 1977 was unsuccessful. On May 25, 1978 Dr. William Dennis, Espen Brooks, Richard Soaper, John Phillips, John Farci, Fritz Kaeser and Rick Wiggin set off from Hallo Bay, 14 miles from the summit of Mount Denison. It took two days of battling coastal swamps and moraines to reach the glacier. Bad weather gave them delays and deep snow, but early in June all reached the summit. They also climbed nearby P 6650.