Mount Hesperus (Alaska)
Encyclopedia
Mount Hesperus is the highest peak of the Revelation Mountains
, the westernmost subrange of the Alaska Range
. The Revelations are a small, rarely visited range, but they contain dramatic rock peaks, rising from low bases. Mount Hesperus particularly impressive in terms of local relief: for example, it drops over 7,500 feet (2,286m) in less than 2 miles on two sides. Such steepness for this amount of relief makes Hesperus comparable to the best peaks in North America.
Mount Hesperus lies to the north of most of the other peaks of the Revelation Mountains, between two forks of the Big River. To the southwest of the peak lies the Revelation Glacier.
The peak is over 100 miles from the closest significant airport.
The first ascent of Mount Hesperus was on May 2, 1985, by Justin Lesueur (New Zealand) and Karl Swanson, Stephen Spalding (Alaska). They first attempted routes on the northeast side of the peak, and then successfully ascended a route on the southwest face, which involved snow climbing, some rock bands, a frozen waterfall, and an icy, corniced ridge.
Revelation Mountains
The Revelation Mountains are a small, rugged subrange of the Alaska Range in Alaska, United States. They mark the furthest western extent of the Alaska Range. The range is rarely visited because of the flying time necessary to get there and also because of notoriously poor weather conditions that...
, the westernmost subrange of the Alaska Range
Alaska Range
The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 650-km-long mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest end to the White River in Canada's Yukon Territory in the southeast...
. The Revelations are a small, rarely visited range, but they contain dramatic rock peaks, rising from low bases. Mount Hesperus particularly impressive in terms of local relief: for example, it drops over 7,500 feet (2,286m) in less than 2 miles on two sides. Such steepness for this amount of relief makes Hesperus comparable to the best peaks in North America.
Mount Hesperus lies to the north of most of the other peaks of the Revelation Mountains, between two forks of the Big River. To the southwest of the peak lies the Revelation Glacier.
The peak is over 100 miles from the closest significant airport.
The first ascent of Mount Hesperus was on May 2, 1985, by Justin Lesueur (New Zealand) and Karl Swanson, Stephen Spalding (Alaska). They first attempted routes on the northeast side of the peak, and then successfully ascended a route on the southwest face, which involved snow climbing, some rock bands, a frozen waterfall, and an icy, corniced ridge.
See also
- Mountain peaks of AlaskaMountain peaks of AlaskaThis article comprises three sortable tables of mountain peaks of the U.S. State of Alaska.Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a precise mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface. Topographic prominence is the...
- Mountain peaks of North AmericaMountain peaks of North AmericaThis article comprises three sortable tables of major mountain peaks of greater North America.This article defines greater North America as the portion of the continental landmass of the Americas extending northward from Panama plus the islands surrounding that landmass...
- Mountain peaks of the United StatesMountain peaks of the United StatesThis article comprises three sortable tables of the major mountain peaks of the United States of America.Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a precise mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface...