The Harvard Route On Mt. Huntington
Climb a classic Alaska alpine test-piece, Mount Huntington’s Harvard Route. Mt. Huntington is an iconic pyramid of stone and ice with imposingly steep cliffs on all sides. In 1965, the climbing world had thought an ascent of a committing technical route in Alaska, such as the Harvard Route, to be impossible. When four young climbers from Harvard College Outing Club, David Roberts, Don Jensen, Matt Hale and Ed Bernd climbed the route it required aerial photos of their footprints on the summit to prove their ascent. Unfortunately this ascent was marred with the tragic accident of Ed Bernd fatally falling at a rappel station, this epic tale is immortalized in David Robert's book, Mountain of My Fear.
The Harvard Route combines challenging mixed climbing, steep snow and moderate ice all with an overnight cold-weather backpack. This route is one of the most sought after alpine routes in the Alaska Range, all at a lower elevation. This route is often planned as at least an 8-day itinerary, taking into account the time to fly into the West Fork of the Tokostina Glacier, establish camp, recon the approach/route, and allow for weather contingency. The climb itself is typically done over the course of 3-4 days with snow conditions often being the determinant of the itinerary.
Advanced technical mixed climbing and steep snow
5.9, M6, A2, 70°, VI
Previous multi-day alpine climbing experience required
Climbers must be efficient WI4 and 5.9 climbers with a high level of fitness
8 day itinerary (Anchorage to Anchorage)
The climb typically takes three 12+ hour days, camp to camp
Denali National Park
Mount Huntington
12,241 ft / 3,444 m
Climb A Classic Alpine Test Piece
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From camp, we are directly below the impressive West Face of Mt. Huntington. The approach to the Access Couloir to gain the route involves 1 hour of crevasse navigation on the lower glacier and then crossing a bergschrund. Once in the couloir we climb about 6 pitches of moderate ice/steep snow. Above this lies the Lower and Upper Park, sections of steep snow climbing separated by a moderate mixed pitch up a narrow rock chimney. Their is a good bivy here nested against a small rock buttress below the Spiral.
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Right out of the bivy site we climb a crux pitch on the Spiral, two pitches of steep granite mixed climbing, around 5.9 in difficulty. The route winds its way around the Bastion, a looming rock buttress with several pitches of moderate mixed climbing and steep snow. The spectacular Nose bivy overlooks the Tokositna Glacier and the rest of the Alaska Range, it comfortably fits a single tent.
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Immediately out of the bivy site we climb the famous Nose pitch, an overhanging granite crack that is aid climbed on lead and the follower ascends a fixed rope. Steep snow climbing and some short mixed steps lead to the Summit Ice Field, a steep and traversing snow slope. We may drop overnight gear near the Summit Boulder bivy to lighten our load as we continue up to the summit. We descend the same path and return to the cached gear at this small bivy site.
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With multiple rappels and some downclimbing we descend the West Face Couloir route, a moderate ice ramp directly below the Summit Ice Field. With around a dozen v-thread abseil anchors, we return to the upper basin above Base Camp and make the short hike around some large crevasses back to camp.
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As with all expedition alpine climbing, it is necessary to have some flexibility and be understanding that weather and conditions dictate the schedule.
Our first day can be a jam-packed whirlwind. Your guide will pick you up from the airport or your hotel in Anchorage and transport you to the town of Talkeetna, a 2 hour drive. After organizing equipment and weighing gear for the flight manifest we play the “hurry up and wait” game for a flight into the mountains. We’ve been using the highly reputable Talkeetna Air Taxi for almost 30 years and fully trust their pilots, we wouldn’t fly with anyone else! The flight into the Alaska Range is incredible, a highlight of all trips. We land on the remote West Fork of the Tokositna glacier, directly below the West Face of Mt. Huntington. We’ll set up basecamp just a short walk from where we land.
The Harvard Route follows the skyline ridge and we have a clear view of the descent route and West Face Couloir route. Depending on conditions, we may opt to recon the entrance pitches on the route on day 2 or let snow settle from recent storms. The climb often takes 2-4 days, largely depending on the team’s efficiency and snow conditions. This climb is a substantial step up in difficulty from other popular guided objectives in the Alaska Range, such as Ham and Eggs or Peak 11,300. There are several crux sections of mixed climbing and lots of terrain to cover between bivy sites. We have several extra days built into the itinerary to allow for stormy weather to settle to set you up for success.
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