100th Anniversary of Denali Sourdough climb to pass quietly

This Saturday is the one hundredth anniversary of the first successful summit of Mt. McKinley’s north peak.

It was on April 3, 1910 that the so-called Sourdough Expedition made it to the top of the nation’s highest mountain.  The event made headlines across the United States, although there were a few inaccuracies that were later detailed.

Four men from Fairbanks took on a dare, or so the story goes, and in mid winter, made their way cross country from Fairbanks to the base of the north side of Denali.  They spent three months trying to find a way to the summit.

The legend goes that they hauled a fourteen foot spruce pole with a flag up to the top in order for people in Fairbanks to see it and know they successfully summitted.  They didn’t know at the time that the south peak was actually the higher of the two peaks, since the north peak actually appears to be the higher of the two peaks from Fairbanks.

Tom Lloyd, Pete Anderson, Billy Taylor and Charlie MacGongall were the climbing partners in the expedition, although only two of them made it to the top. Many people did not believe the success of the Sourdough Expedition until the south peak was successfully climbed in 1913 by Harry Karstens, Walter Harper, Robert Tatum and Hudson Stuck.

So far, the staff at the Talkeetna ranger station is unaware of any group that is doing a re-enactment of the Sourdough climb this year.