Mount Hesperus (Alaska)

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Mount Hesperus
Relief map of USA Alaska.png
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Mount Hesperus
Location in Alaska
Highest point
Elevation 9,828 ft (2,996 m)
Prominence 6,978 ft (2,127 m)
Listing
Coordinates 61°48′14″N154°08′41″W / 61.80389°N 154.14472°W / 61.80389; -154.14472 Coordinates: 61°48′14″N154°08′41″W / 61.80389°N 154.14472°W / 61.80389; -154.14472
Geography
Location Bethel Census Area, Alaska, U.S.
Parent range Revelation Mountains, Alaska Range
Topo map USGS Lime Hills D-4
Climbing
First ascent 1985 by Justin Lesueur, Karl Swanson, Stephen Spalding
Easiest route rock/snow/ice climb

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 is particularly impressive in terms of local relief: for example, it drops over 7,500 feet (2,286m) in less than 2 miles (3,219m) on two sides. Such steepness for this amount of relief makes Hesperus comparable to the best peaks in North America.

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 the notoriously poor weather conditions that are prevalent in the range. The highest peak in the range is Mount Hesperus.

Alaska Range mountain range of the North American Cordillera in Alaska, USA and Yukon, Canada

The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 650-km-long (400 mi) 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 highest mountain in North America, Denali, is in the Alaska Range. It is part of the American Cordillera.

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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

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