Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1917-04-22
Mount Mckinley National Park


navigation on the Kantishna He left the
river and struck across the country to the
base OF the mountain, but he tried to ascend
by the Peters glacier, and was stopped by
the enormous recovered cliffs of the north
peak He came back saying that only bal
loon or flying machine could ever take one
to the top. He spent week in attempting
the climb. and it was only when his provi-
sions gave out that he returned to Fair
banks
The next attempt to reach the top was
made by DR.. Cook, who claimed that he
stood on the peak, and gave an illustrated
lecture at Washington, telling how he got
there. This, like his north polar expedition.
was afterward shown up as fraud.
The first real ascent of Mount Mckinley
was made in February, 1910, by party of
mining prospectors who were backed bv
three saloon keepers of Fairbanks. The pros
pectors were Thomas Lloyd, Charles Nc
Gonoglll, William Taylor, Peter Anderson
and Bob Horne, and also by f. c. Davidson,
surveyor. One of the saloon keepers was
William McPhee, "Big Bill McPhee," whom
met IN Fairbanks. He and the two others
each put UP $500 apiece for the journey, and
that sum sufficed for the needs of the party.
had talk in a club at Fairbanks with Tom
Lloyd, who headed the party, and also with
Taylor and Anderson, with whom travelled
on the Ianana river from Nenana to Chena.
The party got to the foothills about the
first OF March, 1910. and little later Dav-
ldson and Horne left them. LLOYD had been
hunting mountain sheep in the region and
ne led the party up the slope by easy passes
and through the experience of McGonogll
made his way over the great Muldrow gla-
cier. 1t took them about rs days to get to
the head of the glacier with their dogs and
supplies, and it was on the 10th of April that
Taylor, Anderson and McGonogill made the
final part of the ascent, climbing over the
ice by means of irons strapped to their moe
casns and with hooked pipe-poles in thei-
hands. They did not tie themselves to-
gether with ropes as they crawled over the
ice, and there was no cutting of steps. 1t was
every man for himself, and they gradually
climbed the ice of the north peak of the
omuntain, carrying l4foot flagstaff with
them They planted the flagstaff on the
peak and it stands there today
The north peak is several hundred feet
lower than the south peak. The top of the
mountain is somewhat like horseshoe. 1t
is an extinct volcano and the south point is
perhaps 800 feet higher than the north point.
Tom Lloyd, Pete Anderson, Billy Taylor and
Charlie McGonogill could easily have gone
over and climbed the south peak, but they
wanted their flag where it could be seen by
telescope at Fairbanks, $50 miles away. They
thought it would be visible, although it was
not. This gives the honor of the highest
ascent to the party headed by Archdeacon
Stuck, who with Harry Karstens, the Alaska
scout and guide, climbed to the top of the
south peak in 1913. Belmore Browne had
come within about 100 feet of it the year
before that, but an earthquake, which had
shaken down the great ice masses, and the
blizzard which came up at that altitude pre-
vented his reaching the top
AS to the ascent of Harry Karstens and
Archdeacon Stuck, got the story of it from
Harry Karstens as we sat and chatted to-