Peak 13,790' (Mt. Andrews), Going Monk. On May 30 Jonny Copp and I climbed a new route on Peak 13,790' (as marked on the Mt. McKinley A-3 quad map), located on the south side of the East Fork Kahiltna Glacier; this is the last peak at the southeast terminus of Denali’s South Buttress. Although the peak had been climbed before (from the south and east), we proposed— unofficially, but with widespread support from the local climbing community and the peak’s prior ascensionists that we were able to contact—that the peak be known as Mt. Andrews, after our friend Bruce Andrews, a guide and Alaskan regular who died in the airplane crash on May 28 (see Denali National Park and Preserve, summary, above).

Going Monk begins on a north-facing snow-and-ice field at the peak’s west end, continues through a rock band via an ice ribbon, and then ascends the crest of the west ridge on ice and through mixed rock towers. The route gains 4,300' vertical and was climbed in a 24-hour round trip from the base (15 hours base-summit). Aside from the two crux pitches (AI6 and M6), which we pitched out, we found moderate terrain (with a few short, tricky spots) that we simulclimbed throughout.

Upon gaining the low-angled summit ridge, we were hit by a storm and punched through numerous crevasses en route to the summit. We descended by rappel. While skiing from the base in a whiteout, I fell into a crevasse, but we returned safely.

Kelly Cordes, AAC