that elevation only a few sharp crags and 

 seemingly perpendicular cliffs are free 

 from the glistening white mantle. From 

 the valley of McKinley Fork, which is at 

 the north base of the mountain and lies 

 at an elevation of only 1,500 feet, the 

 bare rocks of the lower mountains extend 

 upward for about 5,500 feet, and above 

 them Mount McKinley rises in majestic 



whiteness to a height of 20,300 feet the 



loftiest peak on the continent. 



The upper 13,000 feet of the mountain 

 is clad in glaciers and perpetual snows, 

 thus offering to the mountaineer the high- 

 est climb above snow-line in the world. 

 The rise of 18,000 feet from the lower 

 end of Peters Glacier, north of the moun- 

 tain, to the highest peak is made in a dis- 

 tance of only 13 miles. In no other 

 mountain mass do we find so great a 

 vertical ascent in so short a distance. 

 The peaks of the Colorado Rockies, 

 though wonderful, rise from a high pla- 

 teau, so that at most points from which 

 they can be seen they stand only 7,000 

 or, at most, 8,000 feet above the observer. 

 Mount St. Elias, an 18,000-foot moun- 

 tain, may be seen from sea-level, but the 

 peak stands 35 miles from the coast, and 

 so loses in height to the eye by the dis- 

 tance from which it must be viewed. 



Similarly the high volcanic peaks of 

 Mexico and South America and the 

 world's loftiest mountains in the Hima- 

 layas rise from high plateaus, which di- 

 minish by their own elevation the visible 

 magnitude and towering height of their 

 culminating peaks. 



the artist's color box is surpassed 



Southwest of Mount McKinley, 15 

 miles away from it, stands Mount For- 

 aker, only 3,300 feet lower and almost 

 equally imposing. If it stood alone, 

 Mount Foraker would be famous in its 

 own right as a mighty peak, having few 

 equals; but in the presence of its giant 

 neighbor it is reduced to secondary rank. 



These two dominating peaks, standing 

 side by side and known to the interior 

 natives as Denali and Denali's Wife, far 

 outrank the flanking mountains to the 

 northeast and southwest, among which, 

 however, there are a score of other peaks 

 that rise to heights between 7,000 and 

 14.000 feet, well above snow-line, and 

 that are the gathering ground for many 

 glaciers. 



72 



