With the warmer weather and favorable conditions of summer finally here, climbers from across the nation are preparing to strap on their crampons and head up America's tallest mountain.
Dozens of climbers have already scaled Alaska’s Denali mountain, otherwise known as Mount McKinley, and more than 1,000 have registered to make the ascent in the coming months.
The best time to tackle the 20,310ft (6,190m) mountain is generally considered to be between mid-May and early July, when warmer temperatures and reduced wind provide the best conditions for climbing.
Even in the peak season, climbers face a harrowing journey to the summit and have to overcome steep ice climbing sections and highly crevassed glacier travel. There are also multiple geo-hazardous risks, including the potential for violent landslides, rockfalls, and earthquakes. Avalanches alone have killed more than 40 people on the mountain in the past 50 years.
Among those on Denali so far this season was American skier Anna Demonte, who became the fastest woman to ski the 15,766ft (4,806m) Mont Blanc mountain this time last year.
Demonte was attempting to break the women's fastest known time (FKT) skiing record of 7 hours and 29 minutes, but was forced to abandon her attempt after suffering a knee injury just above base camp. She fell at about 16,404ft (5,000m) and tore her MCL (medial collateral ligament), making it impossible to continue the attempt.
America's tallest mountain was the subject of controversy earlier this year, when newly elected President Trump reversed an order that recognized its indigenous name, Denali, in favor of its previous official moniker, Mount McKinley.
The peak was named in 1896 after then-President-elect William McKinley, who never visited his namesake or even the state of Alaska, nor did he have any cultural connection to the area.
President Barack Obama changed the name from Mount McKinley to Denali in 2015 after more than 40 years of campaigning by Native Alaskans, who say the name Denali has been in use for more than 10,000 years.
Recognizing the previous name was one of President Trump's first actions in office, and spurred widespread criticism from the Alaskan community.
The mountain is now officially known as McKinley in the US, but other countries aren't obliged to recognize the new name.
“I strongly disagree with the President’s decision on Denali,” said Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski at the time in a post on X.
“Our nation’s tallest mountain, which has been called Denali for thousands of years, must continue to be known by the rightful name bestowed by Alaska’s Koyukon Athabascans, who have stewarded the land since time immemorial.”
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