See the Main ORS/spire page or the Explanation page for general notes on ORS/spire measure. See below the table for notes specific to this table.
| Rank | Peak Name | Location | ORS | RORS | Elev | Ascents | People |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Elias | St. Elias | 1334 | 1334 | 5489 | FA 1897 FWA 1996 SA 1945 |
FA Luigi Amadeo di Savoia (Duke of Abruzzi),
Vittorio Sella, et al. FWA D Briggs G Heaton, J Reichert SA D Molenaar, C Molenaar, A Kauffman, B Kauffman, Miller, Latady, Ferris (Harvard) |
| 2 | Denali (McKinley) | Alaska | 1243 | 1242 | 6194 | FA 1913 FWA 1967 FS 1970 |
FA H Stuck, H Karstens, W Harper, (R Tatum?) FWA A Davidson, R Genet, D Johnston FS N Uemura |
| 3 | Sanford | Wrangell | 1126 | 1123 | 4949 | FA 1938 | FA T Moore, B Washburn |
| 4 | Mount Foraker | Alaska | 1132 | 992 | 5304 | FA 1934 FWA 1975 SA 1963 |
FA C Houston, T G Brown, C Waterston FWA S Tandy, G Tandy SA J Richardson, J Duenwald |
| 5 | Fairweather | St. Elias | 977 | 969 | 4663 | FA 1931 SA 1958 |
FA A Carpe, T Moore, W Ladd, A Taylor SA Canadian Centennial Expedition |
| 6 | University Peak | St. Elias | 965 | 958 | 4411 | FA 1956 SA 1997 |
FA L Blumer, S Brooks, K Hart, T Kelley, G Reynolds, N Sanders SA D Kost, P Claus, R Homberger, D Staeheli No WA, No Solo (as of 2001) |
| 7 | Augusta | St. Elias | 1032 | 952 | 4289 | FA 1952 SA 1987 |
FA P Schoening et al SA M Carlson, G Foweraker, J Marshall, D Serl |
| 8 | Hayes | Alaska | 930 | 925 | 4216 | FA 1941 | FA Bradford Washburn, Barbara Washburn, S Hendricks, W Shand, (H S Hall Jr, B Ferris, R Montgomery?) |
| 9 | Crillon | St. Elias | 971 | 923 | 3879 | FA 1934 SA 1972 |
FA B Washburn, H A Carter SA L Adkins, M Adkins, R Benedict, J Buckley, B Tickell |
| 10 | Hesperus | Revelation | 865 | 862 | 2996 | FA 1985 | FA J Lesueur, K Swanson, S Spaulding |
| 11 | Blackburn | Wrangell | 859 | 837 | 4996 | FA 1912 FWA 1974 |
FA Dora Keen, G.W. Handy FWA A Ward, G Tandy, S Tandy, J Pinamont, D Pahlke |
| 12 | Rainier (Liberty Cap)* |
Cascade | 827 | 827 | 4301 (Main: 4392) |
FRA 1870 (Main) FWA 1922 (") SA 1870 (") |
FRA H Stevens, P Van Trump (Main) FWA Jean Landry, Jacques Landry, J Bergues, C Perryman (") SA S Emmons, A Wilson (") |
| 14 | Deborah | Alaska | 846 | 816 | 3762 | FA 1954 SA 1975 |
FA F Beckey, H Harrer, H Meybohm SA P Condran, M Hottman, B Okonek, D Pettigrew, P Stuart, T Wheeler |
| 15 | Wilbur | St. Elias | 903 | 812 | 3298 | FA 1975 | FA D Jones, C Gerhardt, C McKibben |
| 16 | Mount Salisbury | St. Elias | 931 | 796 | 3709 | FA 1977 | FA J Nelson, S Swenson, J Eberharter, G Thompson |
| 17 | Huntington | Alaska | 906 | 775 | 3730 | FA 1964 SA 1965 |
FA L Terray et al SA D Roberts et al (Harvard) |
| 18 | Dickey | Alaska | 826 | 768 | 2909 | FA 1955 FWA 1979 |
FA D Fisher, B Washburn FWA 1979 R Cowles, B Okonek |
| 19 | Hubbard | St. Elias | 798 | 765 | 4576 | FA 1951 |
FA W Wood et al |
| 20 | Mount Russell | Alaska | 788 | 744 | 3557 | FA 1962 SA 1972 |
FA Ekkerlein, Goodwin, Hennig SA T Kensler, P Brown, J Hauck, D Jablonski, D Osborne |
| 21 | Aello Peak (Twaharpies) |
St. Elias | 849 | 740 | 4403 | FA 1967 | FA Benton, Boulton, Hagihara, Matsumoto, McBee, Ono, Randall, Staley |
| 22 | Mount Moffit | Alaska | 799 | 740 | 3969 | FA 1941 SA 1975 |
FA W Shand Jr. + one companion SA M Sallee, D Buchanan |
| 23 | Lituya Mountain | St. Elias | 902 | 726 | 3634 | FA 1962 | FA S Arighi, D Bohn, D Chappelear, H Flachsmann, A Maki, M Mushkin, L Nielsen |
| 24 | Mooses Tooth | Alaska | 766 | 708 | 3150 | FA ??? | FA ??? |
| 25 | Redoubt Volcano | Chigmit | 707 | 705 | 3108 | FA 1959 | FA C Deehr, J Gardey, F Kennell, G Wescott |
"Location" gives the name of the range in which the peak lies.
"ORS" is the ORS in meters
(click here for explanation of the
units of ORS).
"RORS" is the reduced ORS in meters.
Elevation is also in meters.
FA is first ascent, FWA is first winter ascent, FS is first solo, SA is second ascent.
If an unrecorded first ascent is a good possibility, I use "FRA"
for first recorded ascent instead of FA.
A single asterisk refers to the additional notes below.
I have highlighted the non-Alaskan peaks in green.
Peak names are linked to Wikipedia pages.
(*) General Note: the Spire Measure of a peak is calculated from a reference point on the peak which may not be the main (highest) summit. Instead the reference point is chosen to give the best SM, i.e. it is the point on the peak with the "most impressive view." It is also usually a harder climb than the main summit. In the case of Mount Rainier this best reference point is indeed different from the main summit. Liberty Cap is the northernmost peak on the broad top of Rainier. It is fairly pointy and stands atop the Willis Wall (the premier alpine North Face in the lower 48) and the Sunset Amphitheater, also a steep face. By contrast Columbia Crest, the main summit, is gentle and sits well away from any steep face.
There are a few other cases in the table where the best reference point is not exactly at the main summit, but is not far away, and I have not made any special notation of these.
See the Main ORS Page for general acknowledgements.
Much of the ascent data is from the American Alpine Journal. I got great information from the American Alpine Club Library, where they used the AAJ, the Canadian Alpine Journal, and the book Alaska : A Climbing Guide by Michael Wood and Colby Coombs, published by Mountaineers Books in 2001.
The books High Alaska by Jonathan Waterman and Mt. McKinley by Fred Beckey were quite helpful, as was personal communication from Steve Gruhn. I also found a lot of information on www.skimountaineer.com and www.mcak.org (the Mountaineering Club of Alaska site).
Any comments or questions are very welcome:
Copyright 2010 David Metzler. All rights reserved.