Mount Blackburn

Mount Blackburn

Rising above a vast wilderness of glaciers in eastern Alaska, Mount Blackburn is the highest mountain in the Wrangell Mountains and one of the most imposing volcanic peaks in North America. Its summit reaches 16,390 feet (4,996 meters) within Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, making it one of the highest major mountains in the United States.

Mount Blackburn is an ancient, deeply eroded shield volcano. Unlike neighboring Mount Wrangell, which remains volcanically active, Blackburn’s eruptive history ended millions of years ago. Since then, glaciers have radically reshaped the original volcano, carving immense walls and filling almost every valley surrounding the massif.

The mountain is also associated with one of the great stories in early American mountaineering. In 1912, Dora Keen and George Handy made a pioneering ascent of what was then believed to be Mount Blackburn’s highest summit. Decades later, improved mapping revealed that the western summit was actually higher—and a 1958 climbing party had unknowingly made the first ascent of Blackburn’s true high point.

Today, Mount Blackburn remains a remote expedition peak where crevassed glaciers, severe weather, altitude, and isolation are often more important than pure technical climbing difficulty.

⚡ Fast Facts

Feature	Details
Country	United States
State	Alaska
Mountain Range	Wrangell Mountains
Protected Area	Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
Elevation	16,390 ft / 4,996 m
Prominence	11,590 ft / 3,533 m
Isolation	60.62 mi / 97.56 km
Parent Peak	Mount Bona
Nearest Higher Neighbor (NHN)	Mount Bona
Coordinates	Approx. 61.732° N, 143.439° W
Mountain Type	Ancient, heavily eroded shield volcano
Ahtna Name	K’a’si Tl’aadi
Highest in Range	Yes — highest peak in the Wrangell Mountains
Historic First Ascent	May 19, 1912 — Dora Keen and George Handy, East Summit
First Ascent of True Summit	May 30, 1958
True-Summit First Ascenders	Bruce Gilbert, Dick Wahlstrom, Hans Gmoser, Adolf Bitterlich, Leon Blumer
Standard Route	North/Northwest Ridge
Notable Distinction	One of the most prominent mountains in North America

🗺️ Where Is Mount Blackburn?

Mount Blackburn lies in eastern Alaska, deep within Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.

The mountain occupies the central-southern portion of the Wrangell Mountains, northwest of McCarthy and the historic Kennecott mining district.

Several enormous glaciers radiate from the massif, making Mount Blackburn appear almost completely surrounded by ice.

Among the most important are:

• Kennicott Glacier
• Nabesna Glacier
• Kuskulana Glacier
• Rohn Glacier and surrounding tributary icefields

The mountain is approximately 25 to 30 miles northwest of McCarthy, but the intervening terrain is anything but straightforward.

Glaciers, rivers, ridges, icefalls, and undeveloped wilderness separate the mountain from the nearest road-accessible areas.

Modern climbing expeditions therefore commonly rely on aircraft to reach suitable glacier landing sites.

👑 Highest Mountain in the Wrangell Mountains

At 16,390 feet, Mount Blackburn is the highest summit in the Wrangell Mountains.

It rises above several other enormous volcanic peaks in the range, including:

• Mount Sanford — 16,237 ft
• Mount Wrangell — 14,163 ft
• Atna Peaks — 13,860 ft
• Regal Mountain — 13,845 ft
• Mount Jarvis — 13,421 ft
• Mount Drum — 12,010 ft

Blackburn is also one of the highest major independent mountains in the entire United States.

Only a handful of American mountains—including Denali, Mount Saint Elias, Mount Foraker, and Mount Bona—rise higher.

Its elevation alone is impressive.

Its prominence is even more remarkable.

📏 An Exceptionally Prominent Mountain

Mount Blackburn has approximately 11,590 feet (3,533 meters) of topographic prominence.

That places it among the most prominent mountains in North America and easily qualifies it as an ultra-prominent peak.

A mountain needs only 1,500 meters of prominence to be considered an ultra.

Blackburn possesses more than twice that amount.

Its key col lies around Skolai Pass, far below the summit.

The mountain also has approximately 60.6 miles of topographic isolation, meaning no higher terrain occurs within nearly 100 kilometers.

These measurements help explain why Blackburn dominates the surrounding landscape despite standing amid other enormous mountains.

🧭 Nearest Higher Neighbor: Mount Bona

Mount Blackburn’s Nearest Higher Neighbor is Mount Bona.

Mount Bona rises to more than 16,500 feet in the Saint Elias Mountains southeast of Blackburn.

It is also Mount Blackburn’s line parent.

The two mountains are separated by approximately 60.6 miles (97.6 kilometers) according to topographic isolation calculations.

That is an enormous distance in mountain geography.

It means Blackburn stands remarkably independent of higher terrain despite being located within one of the most mountainous portions of Alaska.

🌋 An Ancient Shield Volcano

Mount Blackburn is volcanic, but it does not resemble the classic symmetrical cone many people associate with a volcano.

It represents the deeply eroded remains of an enormous shield volcano.

The mountain began developing several million years ago.

Older lava flows associated with the Blackburn volcanic system may be approximately 5 million years old.

Much of the massif contains volcanic rocks associated with large-scale eruptive activity, but the internal geology is unusually complicated.

A major part of Mount Blackburn consists of granite that intruded older andesite lava flows.

The U.S. Geological Survey has interpreted this structure as evidence that a large volcanic caldera may once have occupied the area.

🪨 A Volcano with a Granite Core

Mount Blackburn’s geology is especially interesting because the mountain contains a substantial intrusive granite body.

The oldest identified granite in the massif is approximately 4.2 million years old.

A much larger body of granite around 3.4 million years old intrudes the surrounding volcanic rocks.

Geologists believe the sequence may record the collapse of a large volcanic caldera into a relatively shallow magma reservoir.

Magma remaining beneath the collapsed volcano then cooled slowly underground.

That buried magma solidified into granite.

Millions of years of uplift and glacial erosion eventually exposed portions of the intrusive rock.

The modern mountain is therefore not simply an old volcanic cone.

It is partly the deep internal architecture of an ancient volcano revealed by erosion.

🌋 Is Mount Blackburn Active?

Mount Blackburn is not considered an active volcano in the ordinary sense.

There is no evidence of volcanic activity after approximately 3.4 million years ago, when the major intrusive and caldera-related geological events appear to have ended.

That makes Blackburn very different from nearby Mount Wrangell.

Wrangell has shown geothermal and volcanic activity into comparatively recent times.

Blackburn has instead spent millions of years being dismantled by erosion.

Glaciers have become the dominant geological force shaping the mountain.

In a sense, Mount Blackburn offers a view of what can happen to a giant volcano long after its eruptive life ends.

🧊 A Mountain Buried in Glaciers

The Mount Blackburn massif is almost entirely covered by icefields and glaciers.

Snow accumulates heavily at higher elevations.

Over time, layers of snow compress into dense glacier ice and begin flowing outward under gravity.

Mount Blackburn is a major source of ice for several of the largest glaciers in the Wrangell Mountains.

These glaciers have carved huge valleys into the ancient volcanic massif.

Cliffs have steepened.

Ridges have sharpened.

Weak volcanic rock has been removed.

Harder intrusive rock has remained behind.

The mountain visible today is therefore the product of both volcanic construction and glacial destruction.

🧊 Kennicott Glacier

The Kennicott Glacier is perhaps the glacier most closely associated with Mount Blackburn.

It begins on the southern and southeastern side of the mountain and flows approximately 27 miles toward the McCarthy and Kennecott area.

The glacier played a crucial role in the history of Mount Blackburn climbing.

Dora Keen’s 1912 expedition approached the mountain by traveling up the Kennicott Glacier.

At the time, there was little accurate information about the route.

The glacier contained enormous crevasses, icefalls, snow-covered hazards, and avalanche-prone terrain.

Today, visitors near Kennecott can see the lower Kennicott Glacier without undertaking a mountaineering expedition.

The glacier creates a striking geographical connection between the accessible historic mining district and the remote slopes of Mount Blackburn far above.

🧊 Nabesna Glacier

Mount Blackburn also contributes ice to the enormous Nabesna Glacier on its northern side.

The Nabesna is one of the great valley glaciers of the Wrangell Mountains.

It stretches for many miles through the northern portion of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.

Modern climbers attempting Blackburn’s North or Northwest Ridge may approach through glacier terrain associated with the Nabesna side of the mountain.

Like all major Alaskan glaciers, its surface changes continually.

Crevasses migrate.

Snow bridges form and collapse.

Icefalls advance and retreat.

For expedition climbers, current glacier conditions are therefore far more important than simply following an old route description.

🏔️ Extraordinary Local Relief

Mount Blackburn does not merely rise high above sea level.

It towers dramatically over the glaciers immediately surrounding it.

On the western side, Blackburn rises approximately 11,000 feet above the Kuskulana Glacier within only a few miles.

The toe of the Kuskulana Glacier lies below 3,000 feet while the summit exceeds 16,000 feet.

This produces extraordinary vertical relief.

The mountain can appear less symmetrical than Mount Sanford or Mount Wrangell, but its enormous walls make it arguably more dramatic.

Glacial erosion has cut so deeply into the ancient volcano that portions of Blackburn resemble a gigantic alpine massif rather than a shield volcano.

🏷️ The Ahtna Name: K’a’si Tl’aadi

The National Park Service records an Ahtna name for Mount Blackburn: K’a’si Tl’aadi.

The Wrangell Mountains lie within an Indigenous cultural landscape that long predates American exploration, mining, park designation, and modern mountaineering.

Ahtna Athabascan communities have deep connections with the Copper River region.

Traditional knowledge encompasses rivers, mountains, wildlife, seasonal movement, hunting areas, travel corridors, and important cultural places.

Mount Blackburn’s enormous size makes it an obvious landmark throughout portions of this landscape.

Recognizing Indigenous names such as K’a’si Tl’aadi helps preserve a much older relationship with the mountain than the English name alone conveys.

📜 How Mount Blackburn Got Its English Name

The English name Mount Blackburn dates to 1885.

U.S. Army Lieutenant Henry T. Allen undertook an extraordinary expedition through Alaska’s Copper River region that year.

During the journey, Allen mapped rivers, crossed mountain terrain, met Ahtna communities, and named several of the great Wrangell peaks.

Among the mountains he named were:

• Mount Blackburn
• Mount Sanford
• Mount Drum

Allen named Mount Blackburn for Joseph Clay Stiles Blackburn, a prominent Kentucky politician who served in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.

The name subsequently became established on American maps.

🧗 The Complicated First Ascent

Mount Blackburn has one of the most interesting first-ascent stories of any major American mountain.

For decades, Dora Keen’s 1912 expedition was considered the undisputed first ascent.

Then better maps changed the story.

Mount Blackburn has two major high summits.

The eastern summit—now often called Kennedy Peak or East Blackburn—reaches approximately 16,286 feet.

The western summit reaches 16,390 feet.

Early maps incorrectly suggested that the eastern summit was higher.

Dora Keen therefore climbed what everyone at the time believed was the summit of Mount Blackburn.

Only decades later did surveyors establish that the West Peak was actually about 100 feet higher.

👩 Dora Keen’s Historic 1912 Ascent

In 1912, Dora Keen led one of the boldest mountaineering expeditions of the era.

Keen was 41 years old and already an experienced traveler and climber.

She had previously attempted Blackburn in 1911 but was turned back.

The following year she returned.

Her party traveled onto the Kennicott Glacier with dogs, equipment, food, and supplies.

Conditions were severe.

The expedition spent 33 days on snow and ice, with much of that time lacking the comforts even early-20th-century climbers normally expected.

Snow caves provided shelter during prolonged storms.

Avalanches threatened the route.

Supplies became limited.

Eventually only Dora Keen and George Handy continued to the summit.

On May 19, 1912, they reached East Blackburn.

At the time, their position was believed to be Mount Blackburn’s highest point.

The ascent became a landmark achievement in American mountaineering.

👩‍🦰 Why Dora Keen’s Climb Still Matters

The later discovery that Keen had climbed Blackburn’s slightly lower eastern summit does little to diminish the significance of her expedition.

Her achievement was extraordinary for its era.

Keen organized the expedition herself rather than depending on professional European mountain guides.

She recruited local men from around the Kennecott mining district.

The expedition used dogs for mountain transportation.

The climbers relied extensively on snow caves for shelter.

And Keen completed the ascent at a time when large portions of Alaska’s high mountains remained inadequately mapped.

The National Park Service continues to recognize her as the pioneering first climber of Mount Blackburn in its historical interpretation.

Her story also occupies an important place in the history of women in American mountaineering.

🏔️ Kennedy Peak: East Blackburn

The summit climbed by Dora Keen and George Handy is now generally known as Kennedy Peak or Mount Blackburn’s Southeast/East Peak.

It rises to approximately 16,286 feet (4,964 meters).

Only about 100 vertical feet separate it from Blackburn’s true summit.

That tiny difference was almost impossible to recognize using the surveying techniques and maps available to Keen’s generation.

The two summits are separated by a high ridge and saddle.

Kennedy Peak remains a significant summit in its own right, with several hundred feet of prominence above its connecting saddle.

It should therefore be understood as an important subsidiary peak of the Blackburn massif rather than simply a minor bump.

🧗 The 1958 True-Summit Ascent

On May 30, 1958, another expedition reached Mount Blackburn.

The team consisted of:

• Bruce Gilbert
• Dick Wahlstrom
• Hans Gmoser
• Adolf Bitterlich
• Leon Blumer

They climbed via the North or Northwest Ridge.

The climbers believed they were completing the second ascent of Mount Blackburn, following Dora Keen’s 1912 climb.

Leon Blumer even titled his account in the American Alpine Journal “Mount Blackburn—Second Ascent.”

There was just one problem.

They had climbed the western summit.

Later USGS mapping demonstrated that the West Peak was actually Blackburn’s highest point.

The 1958 expedition had therefore unknowingly accomplished the first ascent of Mount Blackburn’s true summit.

It is a wonderful example of how improvements in mapping can rewrite mountaineering history.

🧗 Hans Gmoser

One member of the 1958 expedition would become especially famous in Canadian mountain history.

Hans Gmoser was an Austrian-born mountaineer who settled in Canada and became one of the leading figures in western Canadian climbing.

He would later help pioneer commercial heli-skiing and establish Canadian Mountain Holidays.

His participation in Blackburn’s first true-summit ascent occurred during an important period of exploratory mountaineering throughout western North America.

The expedition’s use of skis also reflected the practical realities of Alaskan glacier travel.

Long snow-covered approaches can often be completed more efficiently on skis than on foot.

🥾 Standard Route: North/Northwest Ridge

The North or Northwest Ridge remains the route most closely associated with modern ascents of Mount Blackburn.

It approaches the mountain from the northern side through extensive glacier terrain.

Compared with the extreme technical routes on mountains such as Mount Hunter, Blackburn’s normal route may involve less sustained difficult rock climbing.

But the overall expedition is extremely serious.

Challenges include:

• Crevassed glaciers
• Icefalls
• Steep snow and ice
• Avalanche exposure
• High altitude
• Deep snow
• Severe weather
• Whiteout navigation
• Remote aircraft access
• Limited rescue possibilities

A mountain can be technically moderate and still be extremely dangerous.

Mount Blackburn is a perfect example.

⚠️ Crevasses and Glacier Hazards

Glacier travel is central to virtually any Blackburn expedition.

Crevasses may be visible as enormous open cracks or completely hidden beneath snow.

Fresh snow can create deceptively strong-looking bridges over deep openings.

Teams therefore need experience with:

• Rope systems
• Glacier travel
• Crevasse rescue
• Snow anchors
• Route finding
• Hauling systems

Warming temperatures can rapidly weaken snow bridges.

Icefalls may also contain unstable seracs capable of collapsing without warning.

On a mountain surrounded by glaciers from almost every direction, these are not occasional hazards.

They define the entire expedition.

🌨️ Weather on Mount Blackburn

Weather in the Wrangell Mountains can be highly unpredictable.

Moisture from the Gulf of Alaska interacts with the enormous mountain barriers of southern Alaska, producing frequent storms and heavy snowfall.

At 16,000 feet, temperatures can remain bitterly cold even when valleys below are experiencing comparatively mild spring conditions.

Climbers may encounter:

• Heavy snow
• Strong winds
• Whiteouts
• Extreme cold
• Rapid warming
• Avalanches
• Poor visibility
• Delayed aircraft access

A storm can strand a climbing team on a glacier for days.

Successful expeditions therefore require extra food, fuel, and schedule flexibility.

✈️ Accessing Mount Blackburn

There is no road leading to Mount Blackburn.

Most modern climbing parties use ski-equipped aircraft to reach a suitable glacier landing area.

Flights into Wrangell-St. Elias depend on weather and glacier conditions.

Aircraft may be delayed by:

• Clouds
• Wind
• Snowfall
• Poor visibility
• Soft glacier surfaces
• Crevasses
• Changing landing zones

Climbers need to be prepared for the possibility that pickup will not occur on schedule.

That remoteness is one of the characteristics that separates climbing in Alaska from climbing many more accessible ranges.

The expedition is not over when the summit is reached.

It is over when the team safely returns from the glacier.

🎒 Mountaineering in Wrangell-St. Elias

Wrangell-St. Elias contains some of America’s most serious wilderness mountaineering.

The National Park Service notes that its high peaks are heavily glaciated and that major climbs may require extended expeditions.

Climbers should have experience with:

• Glacier travel
• Snow and ice climbing
• Cold-weather survival
• Navigation
• Avalanche assessment
• Wilderness medicine
• Expedition logistics

Those without sufficient experience should consider professional guiding rather than treating Mount Blackburn as simply another high summit.

Backcountry regulations and conditions can change, so current National Park Service information should always be checked before an expedition.

🌿 Flora and Fauna

Mount Blackburn’s summit and upper glaciers are essentially devoid of conventional vegetation.

The environment consists almost entirely of:

• Snow
• Ice
• Rock
• Wind
• Extreme cold

Descending thousands of feet toward the valleys reveals an entirely different world.

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve spans maritime, transitional, and interior climatic zones, producing exceptionally diverse habitats.

The park contains forests, wetlands, river valleys, alpine tundra, glaciers, coastal ecosystems, and high mountain environments.

🌲 Plant Life

The National Park Service has documented approximately 936 vascular plant species within Wrangell-St. Elias, along with hundreds of mosses, lichens, and liverworts.

Lower elevations can support:

• Black spruce
• White spruce
• Aspen
• Paper birch
• Balsam poplar
• Willow
• Alder
• Dwarf birch

Forest floors and wetlands may contain:

• Labrador tea
• Blueberry
• Crowberry
• Shrub cinquefoil
• Sedges
• Grasses
• Mosses
• Lichens

Fireweed produces brilliant summer color in disturbed areas.

As elevation increases, forests become thinner and eventually give way to alpine tundra.

Closer to Mount Blackburn’s upper glaciers, vegetation disappears completely.

🐏 Wildlife

Wrangell-St. Elias supports one of the largest concentrations of Dall sheep in North America, with roughly 13,000 animals occurring within the park’s extensive mountain habitat.

Other mammals include:

• Mountain goats
• Moose
• Caribou
• Grizzly bears
• Black bears
• Wolves
• Wolverines
• Lynx
• Foxes
• Coyotes
• Arctic ground squirrels
• Marmots
• Pikas
• Snowshoe hares
• Porcupines
• Beavers
• River otters

Wildlife becomes increasingly scarce at higher elevations.

Dall sheep and mountain goats may occupy rugged slopes well above the forests, but Blackburn’s high glaciers provide virtually no food.

The summit itself is an ice-covered alpine desert.

🏞️ Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve

Mount Blackburn lies at the heart of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, the largest unit in the U.S. National Park System.

The protected landscape covers more than 13 million acres.

It contains parts of four enormous mountain systems along with glaciers, volcanoes, river valleys, boreal forests, tundra, coastal ecosystems, wildlife habitat, historic mining districts, and Indigenous cultural landscapes.

Nine of the sixteen highest peaks in the United States occur within the park.

Among them are:

• Mount Saint Elias
• Mount Bona
• Mount Blackburn
• Mount Sanford
• Mount Wrangell

Few national parks anywhere contain comparable mountain relief.

🌎 An International World Heritage Landscape

Wrangell-St. Elias also forms part of the Kluane/Wrangell-St. Elias/Glacier Bay/Tatshenshini-Alsek UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The protected landscape crosses Alaska, Yukon, and British Columbia.

Its enormous icefields and mountains preserve some of the world’s clearest examples of:

• Active mountain building
• Glaciation
• Glacier retreat and advance
• Ecological succession
• Large intact wildlife ecosystems

Mount Blackburn stands well inside the American portion of this immense wilderness.

Its glaciers connect into systems that ultimately drain toward both the Gulf of Alaska and the interior river basins.

👀 Seeing Mount Blackburn Without Climbing It

You do not need to climb Mount Blackburn to appreciate its size.

On clear days, the mountain can be seen from portions of the McCarthy and Kennecott region.

The historic Kennecott mining area offers a particularly meaningful perspective because the Kennicott Glacier flows directly from Blackburn’s massif toward the valley.

The mountain may also be visible from portions of the McCarthy Road and surrounding high points when clouds permit.

One excellent hiking viewpoint in the Kennecott area is Donoho Peak, which rises between glacier systems and offers expansive views toward Blackburn.

Flightseeing provides an even better appreciation of the mountain’s extraordinary scale.

From the air, its enormous icefields and deeply eroded volcanic structure become much easier to understand.

⛰️ Nearby Mountains

Mount Blackburn stands among several major volcanic peaks.

Mount Bona

Mount Bona rises above 16,500 feet in the Saint Elias Mountains and is Blackburn’s Nearest Higher Neighbor and parent peak.

It is also the highest volcano in the United States.

Mount Sanford

Mount Sanford reaches 16,237 feet northwest of Blackburn.

Its broad shield-volcano form contrasts with Blackburn’s much more heavily eroded appearance.

Mount Wrangell

Mount Wrangell rises to 14,163 feet and remains an active volcanic system.

Its broad summit caldera and comparatively gentle slopes provide another striking contrast with ancient Mount Blackburn.

Mount Drum

At 12,010 feet, Mount Drum is much lower than Blackburn but possesses exceptionally dramatic local relief.

Glacial erosion has carved its old volcanic structure into steep ridges and cliffs.

Together, Blackburn, Sanford, Wrangell, and Drum illustrate different stages in the evolution of giant Alaskan volcanoes.

🌋 Mount Blackburn vs. Mount Sanford

Mount Blackburn and Mount Sanford are the two highest major mountains of the Wrangell Range.

Feature	Mount Blackburn	Mount Sanford
Elevation	16,390 ft	16,237 ft
Range Rank	1st	2nd
Prominence	11,590 ft	~7,637 ft
Volcano Type	Ancient eroded shield	Shield volcano
Last Known Activity	Millions of years ago	Pleistocene
General Appearance	Rugged and deeply glaciated	Broad volcanic massif
Historic First Ascent	1912 East Peak / 1958 true summit	1938

Blackburn is only about 150 feet higher than Sanford, but it has substantially greater prominence.

The two mountains also show how differently glaciers can reshape large volcanic structures over time.

🌋 Mount Blackburn vs. Mount Wrangell

The contrast with Mount Wrangell is even greater.

Blackburn is older, steeper, and more deeply eroded.

Wrangell retains the broad profile of an enormous shield volcano and still contains geothermal activity beneath its ice-covered summit.

Blackburn appears almost alpine by comparison.

Its original volcanic form has been so heavily modified that it can be difficult to recognize as a former shield volcano at all.

This difference makes the Wrangell Mountains an exceptional outdoor geology laboratory.

Within relatively short distances, visitors can compare volcanoes representing dramatically different stages of erosion and activity.

⭐ Why Mount Blackburn Is Special

Mount Blackburn combines almost every quality that makes Alaska’s mountains extraordinary.

It is 16,390 feet high, making it the tallest mountain in the Wrangell Range.

Its 11,590 feet of prominence places it among the most topographically dominant summits on the continent.

Its nearest higher mountain lies more than 60 miles away.

Beneath its glaciers is the deeply eroded skeleton of an ancient shield volcano—complete with evidence of a former caldera and enormous granite intrusions that cooled inside the volcanic system millions of years ago.

Its human history is just as compelling.

Henry T. Allen named the mountain during his extraordinary 1885 journey through Alaska.

Dora Keen and George Handy fought through weeks of storms and crevasses to reach its eastern summit in 1912.

Forty-six years later, Bruce Gilbert, Dick Wahlstrom, Hans Gmoser, Adolf Bitterlich, and Leon Blumer climbed what they thought was Blackburn’s second ascent—only for improved mapping to reveal that they had actually made the first ascent of its true summit.

Today, Blackburn remains surrounded by glaciers and wilderness in the heart of America’s largest national park.

It is simultaneously an ancient volcano, an enormous glaciated massif, a landmark of women’s mountaineering history, and one of the great high peaks of North America.

🔗 Related Articles

• Mount Bona
• Mount Sanford (Alaska)
• Mount Wrangell
• Mount Drum
• Mount Saint Elias
• Mount Lucania
• Mount Drum – Sanford Plateau Route
• Mount Drum – South West Ridge (Hurricane Ridge) Route

📚 Sources

• National Park Service — Mountains of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
• National Park Service — Guide to the Volcanoes of the Western Wrangell Mountains
• National Park Service — Dora Keen
• National Park Service — Mountaineering in Wrangell-St. Elias
• National Park Service — Human History of Wrangell-St. Elias
• National Park Service — Plants of Wrangell-St. Elias
• National Park Service — Plant Communities of Wrangell-St. Elias
• National Park Service — Mammals of Wrangell-St. Elias
• American Alpine Club — Mount Blackburn—Second Ascent
• American Alpine Club — Dora Keen: Women in High Places
• Peakbagger — Mount Blackburn