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18-621: The Kuskulana Glacier trends southwest 24 km (15 mi) from Mount Blackburn to its terminus at the head of Kuskulana River , 46 km (29 mi) northwest of McCarthy in the Wrangell Mountains. Kuskulana is an Indian name given in 1900 by T. G. Gerdine of the US Geological Survey . This article about a glacier in Alaska is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about

36-608: A fellow of the Royal Geographical Society , London, in 1914. Keen married George Handy on July 8, 1916, in McCarthy, Alaska , within sight of Mount Blackburn . They settled in West Hartford, Vermont , and operated a farm. The couple divorced after 16 years of marriage. Following the divorce, Keen sold insurance products and continued to travel throughout the world. In 1962, at age 91, she set out on

54-748: A location in the Copper River Census Area, Alaska is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Mount Blackburn Mount Blackburn ( Ahtna : K’ats’i Tl’aadi ) is the highest peak in the Wrangell Mountains of Alaska in the United States . It is the fifth-highest peak in the United States and the twelfth-highest peak in North America . The mountain is an old, eroded shield volcano ,

72-468: Is approached from the Nabesna Glacier , on the north side of the mountain, opposite from Keen and Hardy's route. The route starts from an airstrip on the glacier at an altitude of 7,200 feet (2,200 m). It is a moderate climb by Alaskan standards ( Alaska Grade 2). Dora Keen Dora Keen (June 24, 1871 – January 31, 1963) was an American traveler, Alpinist , and social worker. She

90-423: Is that it is the 50th-most topographically prominent peak in the world. The western of Blackburn's two summits is the mountain's highest point, a fact that was not understood until the 1960s when new USGS maps were published. The first ascent of the west peak, and hence Mount Blackburn, was done on May 30, 1958, by Bruce Gilbert , Dick Wahlstrom , Hans Gmoser , Adolf Bitterlich , and Leon Blumer via

108-570: Is the principal source of ice for the Kennicott Glacier , which flows southeast over 20 miles (32 km) to just above the town of McCarthy . The mountain also contributes a large volume of ice to the north-flowing Nabesna Glacier and the Kuskulana Glacier system. Mount Blackburn is a large, dramatic peak, with great local relief and independence from higher peaks. Its west face drops over 11,000 ft (3,350 m) to

126-813: The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children , the American Society for Labor Legislation, and the Society for Organizing Charity, helping to bring about important reforms. In her travels Keen covered the North American continent from Alaska to Panama , both coasts of South America and the interior of the southern portion, eastern, western, and southern Asia and northern Africa; and she made numerous visits to Europe. Her activity as an Alpinist began with eight ascents of first-class peaks in

144-738: The Alps in 1909–10. Starting with the opportunity to climb the Matterhorn , Keen traveled to Zermatt in the summer of 1909, where she climbed the Zinal Rothorn , the Monte Rosa , the Weisshorn , and the Matterhorn . In the midsummer of 1911, she first attempted to climb Mount Blackburn (16,140 feet) (4919 m) in Alaska. The attempt was unsuccessful as she was inadequately equipped and

162-504: The Kuskulana Glacier in less than 4 horizontal miles (6.4 km). Its other faces drop 8,000–10,000 ft (2,440–3,050 m), all in less than 8 miles (13 km). The toe of the Kuskulana Glacier , less than 12 miles (19 km) from the summit, lies at an elevation of 2,400 ft (730 m), giving a rise of 14,000 ft (4,270 m). While these figures speak to the peak's relief, one measure of its independence

180-528: The North (also called the Northwest) Ridge. This team made the first ascent of Blackburn but did not even know it at the time due to the incorrect identification of the highest point. Blumer's article in the 1959 American Alpine Journal is titled "Mount Blackburn – Second Ascent." Kennedy Peak , or East Blackburn , 16,286 ft (4,964 m), is the eastern summit and was originally thought to be

198-574: The West Peak. Keen went on to write a famous article for the Saturday Evening Post titled, "First up Mount Blackburn." In 1912, Keen and Handy thought they were on Blackburn's highest point. Mount Blackburn represents the heavily eroded core of a shield volcano. Because it is shrouded in permanent ice, its internal structure cannot be determined. It is believed to have a summit caldera, greatly modified by glaciation. The oldest rocks in

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216-411: The area are granites, about 4.2 million years old, representing an intrusive mass. The majority of the mountain is 3.4 million year old granite, intruding between andesite flows. From this it is inferred that a caldera collapse took place between 4.2 and 3.4 million years ago, after which activity ceased. Today's standard route on the peak is the 1958 ascent route, the North (or Northwest) Ridge, which

234-555: The highest point. The first ascent of this summit was made in 1912 by Dora Keen and George Handy via the Kennicott Glacier (on the south side of the mountain) and East Face. This heady exploit was ahead of its time. Dora Keen, driven by a deep desire for the climb, solicited miners from the nearby Kennecott Copper Mines , and forged a route up the heavily crevassed East Face to the East Peak, but did not traverse over to

252-544: The party spent entirely on glaciers, for 20 they were without tents, sleeping in snow caves at low temperatures in extreme storms; and for 10 days they had only candles for fuel. This expedition was immediately followed by a journey of 300 miles (483 km) on foot and by open, camp-built boat across the Alaskan wilderness to the Yukon River ; for 125 miles (201 km) the route lay over Skolai Pass , which Miss Keen

270-424: The planning had been rushed. The expedition wasted 4½ days trying to climb two different glaciers at the mountain base, compared with a total expected climb time of 12 days. Each effort was abandoned as avalanches had rendered the glaciers impassable. Keen returned early in 1912, with only local prospectors for companions, and accomplished the first recorded ascent of the mountain on 19 May 1912. Out of 33 days which

288-491: The second-highest volcano in the U.S. behind Mount Bona and the fifth-highest in North America. It was named in 1885 by Lt. Henry T. Allen of the U.S. Army after Joseph Clay Stiles Blackburn , a U.S. senator from Kentucky . It is located in the heart of Wrangell – St. Elias National Park , the largest national park in the country. The mountain's massif is covered almost entirely by icefields and glaciers and

306-596: Was the first person to reach the summit of Mount Blackburn and would subsequently write an article for The Saturday Evening Post titled "First up Mount Blackburn", along with becoming a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society . She was born on June 24, 1871, in Philadelphia , a daughter of the surgeon William Williams Keen . After graduating from Bryn Mawr College in 1896, she held various positions in philanthropic organizations in Philadelphia, including

324-468: Was the first woman ever to cross. In 1914, with three men, she made scientific observations of the glaciers of Harriman Fjord and College Fjord , Prince William Sound , Alaska, and made the first explorations of the Harvard Glacier , reaching its sources (6100 ft) (1859 m). Keen contributed numerous articles to popular and geographical magazines and lectured on her experiences. She became

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