Climatology Wind

"One of the coldest and most savage spots on earth": History and Records of the Automatic Weather Station on Denali

  • By Dr. Lea Hartl
  • Jul 31, 2023

Photo by Tohru Saito. Note from the photographer: The mountain you see is [Mt.] Foraker. The shadow you see is the shadow of Denali around solstice. [This is] the shadow of the tallest mountain when the shadow is shortest. I think the photo was taken early in the am.

On February 20th, 1989, a three-person team of Japanese mountaineers climbing the West Buttress route on Denali reached High Camp at 5243 m.a.s.l. The team leader, Noboru Yamada, was hoping to become the first person to summit the highest peaks of the seven continents in winter and was climbing with two other experienced mountaineers, Teruo Saegusa and Kozo Komatsu, on this occasion. The weather on the 20th had been relatively calm.

You're Not Logged In

Log in to your Weather Band account to access this story, your Weather Band community forum, and so much more!

Log In