Mount Russell is one of the major peaks of the central
Alaska Range, approximately 35 mi (56 km) southwest of
Denali. Though much lower than Denali or its neighbor
Mount Foraker
Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest.
Mount or Mounts may also refer to:
Places
* Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England
* Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish ...
, Russell is a steep, dramatic peak and a significant mountaineering challenge in its own right. To give a sense of its size and steepness, note that its summit rises 6,560 ft (2,000 m) over the
Chedotlothna Glacier to the northwest in only 1.8 mi (3 km), and almost 10,000 ft (3,048 m) above the lower
Yentna Glacier
Yentna Glacier is a glacier in Denali National Park and Preserve in the U.S. state of Alaska. The glacier begins in the Alaska Range between Mount Russell and Mount Foraker, moving southwest. It is the source of the east fork of the Yentna River. ...
to the south in only 8 mi (13 km).
Mount Russell is the highest point in the
Kuskokwim River
The Kuskokwim River or Kusko River (Yup'ik: ''Kusquqvak''; Deg Xinag: ''Digenegh''; Upper Kuskokwim: ''Dichinanek' ''; russian: Кускоквим (''Kuskokvim'')) is a river, long, in Southwest Alaska in the United States. It is the ninth la ...
watershed.
The first ascent of Mount Russell was made on May 28, 1962, by a party led by Hellmut Raithel. The summit party comprised Klaus Ekkerlein, Robert Goodwin, and Peter Hennig.
They ascended the West Face from the Chedotlothna Glacier. The second ascent was in July 1972, by Thomas Kensler, Peter Brown, John Hauck, Dick Jablonowski, and Daniel L. Osborne. That ascent proceeded via the now-standard North East Ridge route, from the high basin of the upper Yentna Glacier to the northeast of the peak. This route is rated at
Alaska Grade 2+, and is made much shorter by the feasibility of landing at around 8,000 feet in the basin, just outside the wilderness portion of the park.
Overshadowed as it is by its larger neighbors, Mount Russell had seen only six recorded ascents by 2001.
However guided climbs of the peak are available.
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See also
*
List of mountain peaks of North America
**
List of mountain peaks of the United States
***
List of mountain peaks of Alaska
*
List of Ultras of the United States
References
External links
Alaska Range
Mountains of Denali Borough, Alaska
Mountains of Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska
Mountains of Alaska
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