1913 Historic First Ascent of Denali via Muldrow Glacier and Karstens Ridge

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Harry Karstens

Born on September 9, 1878, in Chicago, Illinois, Harry Karstens moved to the Yukon Territory during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897 at age nineteen. Hardy, disciplined, and possessing extraordinary northern wilderness survival skills, Karstens quickly earned the nickname The General for his iron resolution and exceptional competence as a freight hauler, dog-musher, and trail blazer. In 1906, he guided naturalist Charles Sheldon into the wilderness of the Alaska Range to study Dall sheep, an expedition that sparked the creation of Mount McKinley National Park. In 1913, Archdeacon Hudson Stuck enlisted Karstens as climbing leader and co-commander for the historic attempt on Denali. When the expedition arrived at the northeast approach to find the Muldrow Glacier ridge violently shattered into a chaotic maze of yawning crevasses and razor-edged ice pinnacles by the 1912 Katmai earthquake, Karstens spent three grueling weeks chopping thousands of steps by hand to construct a safe pathway up what became permanently immortalized as Karstens Ridge. On June 7, 1913, Karstens stepped onto the summit of Denali alongside Walter Harper, Robert Tatum, and Stuck. In 1921, Karstens was appointed the first superintendent of Mount McKinley National Park, establishing ranger patrols, enforcing wildlife protection against poachers, and laying the groundwork for modern Alaskan wilderness conservation.

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Hudson Stuck

Born on November 11, 1863, in London, England, Hudson Stuck emigrated to the United States in 1885, completing theological studies at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. Ordained an Episcopal priest, he served as dean of Saint Matthew's Cathedral in Dallas, Texas, before volunteering in 1904 for missionary service in the vast sub-arctic wilderness of the Yukon and interior Alaska. Appointed Archdeacon of the Yukon, Stuck traveled thousands of miles each winter by dog team across trackless frozen tundra to minister to indigenous Athabascan communities. Entranced by the majestic bulk of Denali, which rose above the Alaskan interior, Stuck conceived an ambitious expedition to achieve its first complete ascent. Partnering with seasoned frontier dog-musher Harry Karstens, Koyukon Athabascan woodsman Walter Harper, and postulant Robert Tatum, Stuck mounted the 1913 expedition via the Muldrow Glacier. Despite suffering from chronic bronchial illness and the physical strain of extreme altitude, Stuck's leadership, spiritual fortitude, and logistical planning held the team together. On June 7, 1913, the party stood atop the highest point in North America. Throughout his life, Stuck fiercely advocated for the preservation of indigenous cultures and insisted on restoring the mountain's traditional native name, Denali.

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Walter Harper

Born in 1892 in Tanana, Alaska, Walter Harper was the youngest child of Koyukon Athabascan native woman Seenia and pioneer trader Arthur Harper. Possessing immense physical strength, deep traditional woodland knowledge, and extraordinary natural grace, Harper joined Archdeacon Hudson Stuck's missionary journeys as dog-musher, riverboat engineer, and expedition guide at age sixteen. In 1913, at just twenty years old, Harper was chosen as the lead scout and climbing stalwart for the historic expedition to Denali. Across grueling weeks on the Muldrow Glacier and the precarious ice steps of Karstens Ridge, Harper's relentless stamina, buoyant cheer, and sharp mountain instincts proved the backbone of the enterprise. On the morning of June 7, 1913, as the party reached the wind-swept 20,000-foot summit ridge, Stuck and Karstens insisted that Harper lead the rope onto the highest crest. At 1:30 in the afternoon, Harper became the first human being to stand atop Denali, North America's highest peak. Harper subsequently trained at the Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts with dreams of becoming a medical missionary to his people. Tragically, in October 1918, on his way to medical school in Philadelphia with his newlywed bride Frances Wells, Harper was lost at sea when the steamship Princess Sophia foundered on Vanderbilt Reef in the Lynn Canal. In 2013, on the centennial of the ascent, Harper was honored across Alaska as a foundational indigenous pioneer and national mountain hero.