Mount McKinley is the highest peak in North America (20,320 feet). It is a huge snowy mass, flanked by five giant glaciers and countless icefalls. It dominates the horizon from as far south as Cook Inlet, 200 miles away, and as far north as Fairbanks, 150 miles away. Its steep unbroken south slope rises 17,000 feet in twelve miles. Five major ridges extend from the summit, and many spurs and buttresses extend from these.
The mountain is increasingly known by its native name, Denali, which means The Great One in the Athabaskan language. We viewed the mountain while driving from Anchorage to Denali, and also stoped in Talkeetna to catch a "summit flight" to the mountain.
