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After taking readings from their instruments to establish the height of the mountain, the party began the descent. Compared to the 50-day journey up the mountain, it took them just two days to make it back to base camp. The expedition returned to Tanana on June 20, three months and four days since
324:
At 4:00 a.m. the next morning, the climbers left camp for their final summit attempt. At 1:30 p.m., the party reached the top of Denali, an elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190 m). Harper was the first to gain the summit. They spent an hour and a half on the summit, during which Tatum
396:, the flat, rocky tip of an underwater mountain. Initially the sea was calm, but another gale began. The ship asked by radio for help, but neither ships nor small boats could get close enough to rescue the people aboard because of the dangerous conditions. After about 40 hours,
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341:
where he studied for two years, leaving in 1916. He continued his education in Alaska, while continuing to work on the frontier. He planned to attend medical school in
Philadelphia. On September 1, 1918, he married Frances Wells in
317:; and a tent fire. But it took them three weeks to get through the Karstens Ridge, where the trail was blocked by huge rocks and blocks of ice thrown up by an earthquake the year before. They also survived a 50-foot (15 m)
180:
from
Skagway to Seattle for their honeymoon before setting off cross-country. The ship ran aground on a reef in a snowstorm, and was broken up in a gale, sinking on October 25. All 268 passengers and 75 crew were lost.
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planted a flag he had made earlier from handkerchiefs. He compared the view to "looking out of a window of heaven". Stuck ensured they also put up a six-foot cross.
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263:. Stuck was impressed by Harper's intelligence, manners, and skills in fishing, tracking, trapping, fire-building, and dog handling. He hired him to work as his
313:
It took them weeks to reach their final camp. Their journey had been much longer than expected. They had made it through the steep, crevasse-filled
173:
After gaining more formal education, Harper married in 1918 and planned to attend medical school in
Philadelphia. He and his wife took the steamer
321:. On June 6, they arrived at their final camp, at an elevation of 18,000 feet (5,500 m), the highest camp ever established in North America.
232:
in 1897. Jennie reared Walter as a
Koyukon. All the older Harper children had been sent for education to boarding schools "Outside", mostly in
225:. Harper also did some mining there, after years of experience in California and British Columbia. Mayo married Margaret, a cousin of Jennie.
275:
Stuck invited Harper, then 20, to be part of his 1913 expedition to climb Denali. Others in the party were the chief guide and co-director
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445:
In 2020, Alaska
Senator Click Bishop introduced and saw passed Alaska SB 144, to have June 7 annually designated Walter Harper Day.
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298:
On March 17, 1913, the expedition left from Nenana to climb Denali. The first day, they hiked 30 miles (48 km) along the
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581:
448:
On July 19, 2022 the Walter Harper
Project unveiled a life-sized bronze statue of Walter Harper in downtown Fairbanks, Alaska
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1063:
682:
877:
613:
The Ascent of Denali (Mount McKinley): A Narrative of the First
Complete Ascent of the Highest Peak in North America
256:
946:"On 99th Anniversary of Summit, Murkowski Requests Hearing on Bill to Name Ranger Station for Athabascan Climber"
888:
631:
338:
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valley with two sleds of supplies, pulled by fourteen dogs. The 110-mile (180 km) journey up the river to
17:
882:
369:. They embarked on October 23 at Skagway, and the four-year-old Scottish steamer left at 10:00 that night.
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broke apart and sank on
October 25, killing all 268 passengers and 75 crew, a total of 343 persons lost.
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after the first man to reach the summit. The 4-mile-long (6.4 km) glacier runs from Denali Pass on
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region. They married in 1874 when Harper was 39 and Jennie was 14, at
Koyukuk. Harper and his partner
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417:
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295:. This pair also brought the dog teams down when the terrain became too rough for their use.
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526:; "Biographical/Historical Note", 2010, State of Alaska Library, accessed 22 September 2013
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267:, guide, and dog driver. He also encouraged him to continue with his formal education.
174:
66:
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Cold River
Spirits: The Legacy of an Athabascan-Irish Family from Alaska's Yukon River
228:
The couple separated permanently in 1895, and Arthur Harper left the area. He died of
852:
678:
577:
439:
365:, where Harper had been admitted to medical school, and his wife planned to join the
709:"Ascending the steep roof of the continent Just to 'look out the windows of heaven'"
150:
ancestry. On Saturday, 7 June 1913, he was the first person to reach the summit of
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49:
1073:
797:
Bridging Cultures: American Indian Students at the Northfield Mount Hermon School
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571:
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244:
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After the Harpers' bodies were recovered, the couple was buried side by side in
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At the age of 16, Walter Harper started attending Tortella School, an Episcopal
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62:
346:, with Archdeacon Stuck officiating. For their honeymoon, the couple took the
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The youngest of eight children, Walter Harper was born in 1893 as the son of
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158:. He was followed by the other members of the small expedition team, guide
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introduced bill S. 2273, to "designate the Talkeetna Ranger Station in
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343:
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811:"C.P. Liner Founders In Alaska Gale; 343 Persons Aboard Lost With Her"
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archdeacon of the Yukon, who served a large area of the Interior as a
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On June 7, 2012, the 99th anniversary of the first ascent, Alaskan
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took eight days; there, they replenished supplies and celebrated
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This article is about the mountaineer. For other uses, see
236:. Harper's partners also adopted this practice for their
166:, who had organized the effort, and Episcopal missionary
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524:
Guide to Collection: St. Mark's Mission, Nenana, Alaska
291:
and Esaias George, who helped prepare and maintain the
283:, an Episcopal missionary, who served as cook; and two
989:
https://juneaunews.com/juneau-news/walter-harper-day/
840:
442:, as the Walter Harper Talkeetna Ranger Station."
1035:
910:"Bill Text 112th Congress (2011â2012) S.2273.IS"
501:Bundtzen, Thomas K.; Hawley, Charles C. (2009).
428:. It was also named for Walter's father Arthur.
1089:Burials at Evergreen Cemetery (Juneau, Alaska)
500:
337:Encouraged by Stuck, at age 21 Harper entered
372:A day later, as the ship was passing through
851:. Heritage House Publishing Co. p. 60.
565:
563:
803:
799:. University of New Hampshire. p. 165.
602:
600:
184:
670:Mount McKinley: Icy Crown of North America
529:
496:
494:
492:
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154:(Mount McKinley), the highest mountain in
884:Feature Detail Report for: Harper Glacier
740:"New Elevation for Nation's Highest Peak"
702:
700:
698:
696:
694:
560:
388:went 1 mile (1.6 km) off course and
659:
657:
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841:O'Keefe, Betty; MacDonald, Ian (1998).
757:
706:
632:"Early Climbers Met Denali's Challenge"
517:
489:
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902:
794:
737:
691:
663:
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466:"Yukon Indian opens Coney Island eyes"
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606:
424:to the Great Icefall before becoming
247:associated with St. Marks Mission in
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938:
361:. From there, they would travel to
13:
738:Newell, Mark (September 2, 2015).
14:
1100:
1021:
765:"Dr. Stuck scales Mount M'Kinley"
707:Moutoux, John T. (May 22, 1932).
624:
537:"Dr. Stuck scales Mount M'Kinley"
1079:People from pre-statehood Alaska
922:. March 29, 2012. Archived from
876: This article incorporates
871:
138:(1893 â October 25, 1918) was a
29:
1007:
993:
982:
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889:United States Geological Survey
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1069:Deaths due to shipwreck at sea
952:. June 7, 2012. Archived from
18:Walter Harper (disambiguation)
1:
1014:https://www.walterharper.org/
715:. Denali 2013. Archived from
452:
332:
1001:"Today is Walter Harper Day"
505:. Alaska Mining Hall of Fame
7:
1059:Accidental deaths in Alaska
848:: Did They All Have to Die?
713:The Knoxville News-Sentinel
570:Haines, Jan Harper (2000).
201:(nÊe Bosco) Harper, of the
10:
1105:
1084:People from Tanana, Alaska
1064:American mountain climbers
976:"Alaska State Legislature"
380:, it encountered a strong
213:founded a trading post in
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234:San Francisco, California
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112:
107:
99:
73:
55:
45:
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28:
844:The Final Voyage of the
795:Askins, Kathryn (2009).
185:Early life and education
950:Alaska Business Monthly
162:, Episcopal archdeacon
878:public domain material
675:The Mountaineers Books
197:, Ireland, and Jennie
956:on September 27, 2013
416:In 1913, Stuck named
719:on 25 September 2013
677:. pp. 118â119.
640:University of Alaska
277:Harry Peter Karstens
193:, an immigrant from
41:Personal information
920:Library of Congress
576:. Epicenter Press.
339:Mount Hermon School
146:of mixed white and
93:Territory of Alaska
25:
822:. October 27, 1918
819:The New York Times
773:The New York Times
618:C. Scribner's sons
545:The New York Times
474:The New York Times
67:District of Alaska
23:
1030:at peakbagger.com
926:on 9 January 2015
858:978-1-895811-64-3
742:(Press release).
583:978-0-945397-85-4
440:Talkeetna, Alaska
271:Denali expedition
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384:and heavy snow.
140:mountain climber
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77:October 25, 1918
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50:Mountain climber
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776:. June 21, 1913
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642:. February 1981
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548:. June 21, 1913
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503:"Arthur Harper"
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426:Muldrow Glacier
413:
398:Princess Sophia
394:Vanderbilt Reef
386:Princess Sophia
350:Princess Sophia
335:
315:Muldrow Glacier
273:
251:. There he met
245:boarding school
187:
177:Princess Sophia
121:Notable ascents
87:
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61:
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46:Main discipline
36:
35:Harper in 1913.
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1044:Koyukon people
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1022:External links
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1003:. 7 June 2021.
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477:. June 1, 1914
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436:Lisa Murkowski
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418:Harper Glacier
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289:Johnny Fredson
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249:Nenana, Alaska
203:Koyukon people
186:
183:
160:Harry Karstens
131:
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128:(June 7, 1913)
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85:(aged 25)
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195:County Antrim
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191:Arthur Harper
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156:North America
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148:Alaska Native
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24:Walter Harper
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1009:
995:
984:
970:
958:. Retrieved
954:the original
949:
940:
928:. Retrieved
924:the original
913:
904:
892:. Retrieved
883:
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847:
843:
836:
824:. Retrieved
817:
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796:
790:
778:. Retrieved
771:
759:
747:. Retrieved
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721:. Retrieved
717:the original
712:
669:
665:Beckey, Fred
644:. Retrieved
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612:
587:. Retrieved
572:
550:. Retrieved
543:
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519:
507:. Retrieved
479:. Retrieved
472:
460:
402:
397:
385:
376:en route to
371:
363:Philadelphia
349:
336:
327:
323:
312:
300:Tanana River
297:
281:Robert Tatum
274:
253:Hudson Stuck
242:
230:tuberculosis
227:
222:
198:
188:
176:
172:
168:Robert Tatum
164:Hudson Stuck
135:
134:
113:Starting age
1054:1918 deaths
1049:1893 births
390:ran aground
329:they left.
287:teenagers,
265:interpreter
217:, near the
100:Nationality
1038:Categories
749:August 23,
453:References
374:Lynn Canal
344:Fort Yukon
333:Later life
261:missionary
240:children.
238:mixed-race
223:Nuklukayet
219:Athabascan
89:Lynn Canal
81:1918-10-26
367:Red Cross
293:base camp
257:Episcopal
205:from the
199:Seentahna
960:July 22,
667:(1993).
610:(1918).
348:SS
285:Gwich'in
221:site of
175:SS
103:American
930:22 July
894:21 July
826:22 July
723:10 July
646:21 July
589:22 July
552:21 July
509:21 July
481:21 July
433:Senator
359:Seattle
355:Skagway
319:icefall
211:Al Mayo
207:Koyukuk
79: (
1074:Denali
915:THOMAS
855:
681:
580:
422:Denali
411:Legacy
405:Juneau
378:Juneau
308:Easter
304:Eureka
215:Tanana
152:Denali
125:Denali
108:Career
63:Tanana
880:from
814:(PDF)
768:(PDF)
540:(PDF)
469:(PDF)
353:from
144:guide
962:2013
932:2013
896:2013
853:ISBN
828:2013
782:2013
751:2017
744:USGS
725:2013
679:ISBN
648:2013
591:2013
578:ISBN
554:2013
511:2013
483:2013
382:gale
142:and
74:Died
59:1893
56:Born
392:on
357:to
1040::
948:.
918:.
912:.
887:.
816:.
770:.
711:.
693:^
673:.
656:^
638:.
634:.
616:.
599:^
562:^
542:.
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407:.
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279:;
255:,
170:.
116:20
91:,
65:,
978:.
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83:)
20:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
