The 1913 Pioneer Ascent of Denali

The 1913 Pioneer Ascent of Denali. . , The Expedition Members , Episcopal Archdeacon Hudson Stuck and Harry Karstens co-led the expedition. Walter Harper and Robert Tatum completed the ascent team. Alaska Native youths John Fredson (Johnny Fred), who was Gwich'in, and Esaias George, who was Koyukon, provided critical support., Walter Harper (1892-1918) , Harper's physical strength, wilderness skills, and positive attitude played critical roles in the expedition's success. As tensions rose between the co-leaders and altitude sickness weakened the men, Harper's energy and cheerfulness moved the team forward. He, especially, lent a hand to Stuck when he needed help. On summit day, Karstens put the most able-bodied team member - Harper - in the lead, where he worked all day, chopping steps toward the summit, "without a murmur," Karstens reported. Stack estimated that both Harper and Karstens could have climbed another ten thousand feet, based on their condition at the summit., Hudson Shack (1863-1920) , Episcopal Archdeacon Hudson Stuck often dreamed of climbing Denali as he traveled throughout Alaska's Interior. He proposed the expedition, assembled the team, raised private funding, and ordered the supplies and equipment. Despite his vast wilderness experience, Stuck struggled to keep up with the ascent team. He documented the expedition, however, taking many photographs, and he publicized it to newspapers, in his book Ascent of Denali, and through nationwide speaking events. Thus, his name was most closely associated with the expedition for nearly a century. Until his death in 1920, Archdeacon Stuck continued to serve and advocate for the interests of Alaska Native peoples., John Fredson (1895-1945) , "Johnny Fred," a top student at St Mark's Mission with strong subsistence skills, supported the ascent team by hauling supplies, hunting wild game, and chopping wood for fuel. At 11,500 feet, when the dogs could no longer help, Johnny returned with them to the base camp. There he famously denied himself the team's precious sugar supply, saving it for the men's return. Fredson earned a Bachelor of Science degree at Sewanee, the University of the South, Stuck's alma mater. He later led the effort to create the Venetie Reserve for the Indigenous people of the Chandalar River region., Esaias George (1896-1920) , Esaias George, the other outstanding St. Mark's student, also supported the early stages of the expedition, establishing the various camps, gathering food and wood, and freighting the outfit forward. With this work accomplished, George returned to St Mark's at Nenana with one of the dog teams. In 1916, he and Fredson were the first students to graduate 8th grade at St. Mark's Mission. George remained in Interior Alaska, working at St. Stephen's Hospital at Fort Yukon and later for the Alaska Road Commission., Harry Karstens (1878-1955) , The rugged and resourceful outdoorsman Harry Karstens was the tactical team leader during the ascent. He planned each day's task and solved crises as they arose. For instance, crevasses on Muldrow Glacier posed deadly threats, a fire destroyed much of their supplies, and later, a jumble of ice and snow boulders on the Northeast Ridge blocked their way to the summit. He and Harper chopped a three-mile-long pathway through the ice along the ridge, which Stuck renamed Karstens Ridge in his honor. Karstens later served as the first superintendent of Mount McKinley National Park, established by President Woodrow Wilson in 1917., Robert Tatum (1891-1964) , Robert Tatum, an Episcopal mission worker at Tanana, joined the expedition as camp cook. At higher elevations, anxiety and altitude sickness sidelined him. He overcame the challenges, however, painstakingly sewed an American flag to raise on the summit, and shared in the team's joy upon reaching their goal. He considered the expedition "one of the greatest privileges" of his life. He later told a reporter that scanning the landscape of Denali's summit "was like looking out of a window of Heaven." Tatum went on to graduate from the University of the South and became an Episcopal priest., Karstens' description of the challenge posed by the Northeast Ridge: "...again and again Walter and I tackled the ridge...fogs and storms would drive us back...you can hardly imagine what a proposition that ridge was...a jumbled up mass of ice...some blocks balancing on the ridge 2 blows of my axe sent one as big as a two story house crashing and roaring into the basin thousands of feet below." , -Karstens to Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon, n.d. (likely 1913), [Left center group photo caption reads] , Team members Robert Tatum, Esaias George, Harry Karstens, Johnny Fred, and Walter Harper., [Bottom right photo caption reads] , Co-leaders of the 1913 Denali Expedition Hudson Stuck and Harry Karstens.