Mount Saint Elias

Did You Know?

• The mountain's first winter ascent was not until February 13, 1996, nearly a century after its first summer ascent in 1897.
• The Tlingit name Yasʼéitʼaa Shaa means 'mountain behind Icy Bay,' and the Yakutat Tlingit occasionally call it Shaa Tlein 'Big Mountain.'

History and features

It is a significant crest of the Kwaashkʼiḵwáan clan, who used it as a guide during their journey down the Copper River. A Tlingit legend holds that Mount Fairweather (Tsalx̱aan) and Yasʼéitʼaa Shaa originally stood together but separated after an argument, and the mountains between them are called Tsalx̱aan Yátxʼi ("Children of Tsalxaan"). European explorers first sighted the mountain on July 16, 1741, during the expedition commanded by Vitus Bering. Some historians contend that Bering named the mountain in honor of Elias I of Jerusalem, while others believe eighteenth-century mapmakers applied the name after Bering left the peak unnamed. In 2007, an Austrian documentary film titled Mount St. Elias was directed by Gerald Salmina, following a team attempting the planet's longest skiing descent; the climbers summited on their second attempt and skied down to 13,000 feet.

Weather

Mount Saint Elias experiences some of the most severe weather of any major North American peak, with prolonged storms, extreme precipitation, and hurricane-force winds. The Saint Elias Mountains region receives between 79 and more than 280 inches of precipitation annually, mostly as snow, and the extreme vertical relief creates powerful orographic lift that forces moisture-laden Pacific air upward, producing intense snowfall. Storm systems can arrive with minimal warning, and conditions can deteriorate from clear visibility to sub-zero temperatures, hurricane-force winds, and complete whiteout in minutes.

Historical climbing accounts document the mountain's notorious weather: a 1992 winter expedition abandoned after storms deposited about 20 feet of snow in under three weeks, and a 1963 expedition endured three consecutive days of rain despite being advised that it never rains in the St. Elias Mountains. The 1946 Harvard Mountaineering Club expedition required multiple air supply drops and eleven camps due to extended severe weather. Winter temperatures drop below -40°F, with wind chills approaching -80°F to -100°F when combined with sustained winds of 60 to 100 mph or greater.

The mountain's latitude of approximately 60°N means winter climbing occurs in near-continuous darkness, contributing to its first winter ascent not occurring until February 1996, nearly a century after its first summer ascent.

Climbing history

The first ascent of Mount Saint Elias occurred on July 31, 1897, by an Italian expedition led by Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi, who also reconnoitered the current standard route on K2 in 1909; noted mountain photographer Vittorio Sella was a member. The second ascent was not until 1946, when a group from the Harvard Mountaineering Club climbed the Southwest Ridge route. The summit party included Dee Molenaar, his brother Cornelius, Andrew and Betty Kauffman, Maynard Miller, William Latady, and Benjamin Ferris; William Putnam was a member but did not summit.

They used eleven camps, eight on the approach from Icy Bay and three on the mountain, supported by multiple air drops of food. The Northwest Ridge was first climbed in July 1965, also by the Harvard Mountaineering Club, which established five camps from July 12 to 27. A heavy wind-slab avalanche struck the team on the way to Camp V, causing no serious injuries but prompting several members to return to base camp. On July 30, starting at 7 am from Camp V, the summit party—including Boyd N. Everett, Jr., Dr. Gordon Benner, Joseph Davidson, Dennis Eberl, Leon Story, and William Van de Graaff—reached the summit twelve hours later; Edwin Bernbaum was a member but did not summit.

They climbed the southwest ridge and followed the "Milk Bowl" variation to avoid 2,000 feet of loose rock on the normal route. Mount Saint Elias is infrequently climbed today due to its lack of easy routes and prolonged bad weather.