Since its discovery in the late 1700s, Alaska's Mount McKinley has captivated legions. Native Americans were the first to feel Denali's spiritual power. Mountaineers have striven for its summit. Modern "wilderness tourists" are drawn to its awesome, rugged beauty. In this selective "biography" of Mount McKinley, renowned climber and mountain historian Fred Beckey pays tribute to one of the world's great mountains. Beckey begins by exploring Nature's effects on the surrounding region: the relatively recent geologic development of McKinley within the Alaska Range; the extreme northern climate and latitude; and the influence of the Pleistocene Ice Age, of which there are glacial remnants today. A look at another shaping force - the indigenous peoples - includes the migration of early man across the Bering Land Bridge, and the influx of Russian fur traders and the first American prospectors.
