Mount Balchen (Alaska)

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Mount Balchen
Mount Balchen, Alaska.jpg
Southwest aspect, from Denali Highway
Highest point
Elevation 11,205 ft (3,415 m) [1]
Prominence 1,990 ft (610 m) [2]
Parent peak Mount Hayes (13,832 ft) [2]
Isolation 4.28 mi (6.89 km) [2]
Coordinates 63°37′25″N146°51′09″W / 63.6236091°N 146.8524182°W / 63.6236091; -146.8524182 [1]
Naming
Etymology Bernt Balchen
Geography
Relief map of USA Alaska.png
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Mount Balchen
Location of Mount Balchen in Alaska
CountryUnited States
State Alaska
Census Area Southeast Fairbanks Census Area
Parent range Alaska Range
Hayes Range [3]
Topo map USGS Mount Hayes C-6
Climbing
First ascent 1974

Mount Balchen is an 11,205-foot-elevation (3,415-meter) mountain summit in Alaska, United States.

Contents

Description

Mount Balchen is a glaciated mountain located on the crest of the eastern Alaska Range. It is the ninth-highest peak in the Hayes Range which is a subrange of the Alaska Range. [3] This remote peak is situated 4.4 miles (7.1 km) west of Mount Hayes and 85 miles (137 km) south-southeast of Fairbanks. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains north into tributaries of the Tanana River and south to the Susitna River. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 3,700 feet (1,128 m) above the Hayes Glacier in 0.65 mile (1 km). The first ascent of the summit was made on April 30, 1974, by Dusan Jagersky and William Q. Sumner via the east ridge. [4]

Etymology

The mountain is named for Bernt Balchen (1899–1973), United States Air Force, Arctic explorer and aviator. [1] The mountain's toponym was officially adopted in 1974 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. [1] There is a Mount Balchen in Antarctica which is also named after him.

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Balchen is located in a subarctic climate zone with long, cold, snowy winters, and cool summers. [5] This climate supports the Hayes, Gillam, and Susitna Glaciers surrounding this peak. Winter temperatures can drop below −20 °F with wind chill factors below −30 °F. The months May through June offer the most favorable weather for climbing or viewing.

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hess Mountain</span>

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Benign Peak is a 7,235 ft (2,210 m) elevation mountain summit located in the western Chugach Mountains, in Anchorage Municipality in the U.S. state of Alaska. The mountain is situated in Chugach State Park, 28 mi (45 km) east of Anchorage, and 4.5 mi (7 km) south of Eklutna Lake. The nearest higher peak is Mount Rumble, 2.2 mi (4 km) to the southwest, and The Mitre is set 2.4 mi (4 km) east-southeast, on the opposite side of the Eklutna Glacier. Although modest in elevation, relief is significant since the eastern aspect of the mountain rises over 5,000 feet above this glacier in approximately one mile. This peak belongs to a group of peaks in the Eklutna River drainage which start with the letter "B", such as Bold Peak, Bashful Peak, Baleful Peak, and Mt. Beelzebub. Benign Peak was so named in 1965 by the Mountaineering Club of Alaska because "nearby Bellicose Peak was a much harder climb, while this one's nature was quite benign since the rock was not too rotten and the weather wasn't too bad." Benign Peak's name was officially adopted in 1966 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. The first ascent of this mountain was made in August 1965 by Art Davidson and John Vincent Hoeman by ascending the East Face, and descending the South Gully.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Gayley</span> Mountain in the Sierra Nevada mountain range

Mount Gayley is a 13,510-foot-elevation mountain summit located one mile east of the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Inyo County, California, United States. It is situated in the Palisades area of the John Muir Wilderness, on land managed by Inyo National Forest. It is approximately 13 miles (21 km) west-southwest of the community of Big Pine, 0.67 miles (1.08 km) southwest of Temple Crag, and 0.5 miles (0.80 km) north-northeast of parent Mount Sill. Mount Gayley ranks as the 59th highest summit in California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Carr</span> Mountain in the country of Canada

Mount Carr is a 2,590-metre (8,497-foot) mountain summit located in British Columbia, Canada.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Mount Balchen". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  2. 1 2 3 "Balchen, Mount - 11,140' Alaska". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  3. 1 2 "Mount Balchen". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  4. Dusan Jagersky, Mounts Balchen and Geist, Alaska Range, American Alpine Journal, 1975, americanalpineclub.org, Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  5. Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11. ISSN   1027-5606.