America's WORST Mountaineering Disaster | 1967 Mount Denali Disaster

[@ScaryInteresting]

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[@ravenfeader]

I couldn't understand a word you were saying because you were babbling

[@Noikar]

I know it's weird to comment on the sponsor not the content of the video, but recent studies show that Use it or Lose it actually isn't true. Most participants in the study after a small amount of input, quickly returned to a level of capability close to their previous levels. Take this with a grain of salt as I can't remember the study itself as it was in a textbook I used during my second language acquisition course during my linguistics masters, but if anyone knows the study feel free to link it.

[@steveclapper5424]

Very well done.

[@captainquark9116]

Could u put more ads on ur videos?🤡

[@melanieenmats]

why stop giving also km? After the start I couldn't follow anything. Feet means nothing to most of the world. Cutting your own flesh here.

[@cedriclee7110]

why did they try to blame someone for this? it's not a equipment failure issue, these guys decided to climb up the most difficult mountain on earth when it was announced that a storm was imminent. they were given a choice and 6 of them decided to proceed. what happened was unfortunate but these guys made their own decisions.

[@JBTriple8]

and gratefully there was survivors

[@theprogwalrus597]

Part of it is the relationship between Wilcox's group and the Colorado Group. I've read a couple books on this and the two groups really never meshed and bordered on being hostile towards each other as time went on. There's defo a sense that the Colorado Group felt Wilcox's was badly unprepared for Denali and Howard Snyder (the Colorado Group's leader) ripped into Wilcox when he published a book about the events a few years after it happened. There was also heavy criticism against Wilcox from Bradford Washburn, who at the time was *the* biggest name in American mountaineering, especially regarding Denali.

[@windwatcher11]

Right. Coming down on the 17th would have been the plan due to the impending storm. They paid mightily for still being up high on the 18th. Get-there-itis from the super long trek in? It would be hard to turn around....

[@rachiegoodman]

@@theprogwalrus597 So true. I think ego played a large part in many of the men's downfalls.

[@whom382]

It's not the most difficult mountain on earth. That would be something like K2 or Annapurna.

[@classicmicroscopy9398]

I bet the guy who didn't go never expected a car crash to save his life.

[@NikkiDoesStufff]

True. But everyone in his original group lived. So he probably would’ve lived too. They were the more experienced group so they all survived. It was most of the group of newbies that unfortunately perished.

[@EthanIzeta]

@@NikkiDoesStufff there was another guy on the unexperienced group that also got sick and didn't summit.

[@NikkiDoesStufff]

@@EthanIzeta yeah, good shout. him and joe were the only two from the less experienced group to survive I believe.

[@pax6833]

@@NikkiDoesStufff crazy to think him feeling too sick saved his life, but it just goes to show how dangerous summit fever can be. Knowing when to turn back and live another day is hard skill. Think about the 1 guy who didn't even try to summit but didn't turn back when he could though. That is chilling. Dude literally waited all day in camp, no one ever came back. He died alone on the mountain.

[@NikkiDoesStufff]

@@pax6833 totally. Crazy how one little decision can change everything. I feel like I hear about too many people dying because they are too focused on the summit and don’t want to waste all the time, energy, training, money etc that went into the climb so they push themselves to summit when in reality you’ve only reached the halfway mark. You don’t get to tell people about the time you summited such and such mountain if you’re dead. I imagine it’s a different kind of mental strength not just to climb a mountain, but know when it’s time to stop. Can’t imagine the survivors guilt those guys probably faced.

[@MEWOVER9000]

Climbing 3 miles up hill with 220 pounds strapped to you is just insane. The amount of strength and cardiovascular endurance required for that is just nuts.

[@niraku321]

Yea I was thinking it was too much unneeded supplies until they said the group was there for an entire month.

[@junioradult6219]

Most tour companies require you to be able to carry a combined 85 pounds. Some solo groups can carry less or more depending

[@bluesteel8376]

They didn't carry all that weight up. Lots of weight would be left at each camp along the way. 220 is what they brought to base camp.

[@jamman7344]

It's easy I promise.

[@Vorexia]

​@@niraku321 Too often on this channel, there's mountaineers dying from starvation and divers dying of nitrogen narcosis. Glad to see that these were at least prepared. Food was never a problem despite having to hunker down, and they managed to keep each other warm despite the poor weather. They seemed able to endure the worst case scenario, it's just that things were even worse than the worst case. Really sucked that they even took the risk, though. Storms can be unpredictable and happen even earlier than predicted, summiting is not worth that risk.

[@samw2254]

Imagine being so unlucky that you decide to climb a mountain during the exact time the worst storm ever recorded took place.

[@жизненный_опыт]

a death like that only happens once in a lifetime

[@cellokid5104]

@@жизненный_опыт like... all deaths

[@жизненный_опыт]

@@cellokid5104 u rly know how to make a joke funnier

[@draggy6544]

Its the worst ever recorded but storms and snow are none stop for 6-9 months of the year gathering moisture from the largest ocean on earth and slamming right into the alaskan ranges

[@draggy6544]

I doubt we know how much snow these mountains get or how severe the winds get

[@CruJones81]

150 mph winds is a category 4 hurricane. 300 mph is a F5 tornado. I don’t think anyone would be left on the slopes if the winds reached that high.

[@intuitivefugitive8852]

I still think tornados are more dangerous for the one fact that they don’t have a heads up. Maybe a warning when with a hurricane you have time to evacuate and grab your loved ones. People who ride it out are hoarders imo

[@URsooomad8613]

Thankfully they didn't reach 300mph, most likely closer to 200mph or a little under, considering the fastest wind in history was 231mph. Definitely some inaccurate data there

[@NeptunianNeanderthal]

I definitely agree that the 300mph estimate was probably not even close to accurate. One thing to remember though is that at the summit the air density is just over half of what it is at sea level, meaning the effect of the wind is diminished. That’s why airliners can fly through high winds, that wind just doesn’t have as much of an effect as it would at sea level. Still enough to ruin your day (and life) when it hits the levels this group unfortunately experienced though.

[@georgelane6350]

It seems like a unit error. 320kmh would be 200mph.

[@Melanie-Shea]

It’s not an error, a Cessna pilot looking for the climbers during a slight lull in the storm measured his airspeed at 300+ mph while flying past the north peak, and the headwind was pushing him backwards. Denali pass between the two summits funnels and multiplies the wind speed. The climbers were likely on Denali pass at time. Also the accepted wind speed record is total shit. It’s only that speed because it’s too difficult to install an instrument that could take a reading and survive in the locations that could produce a higher wind speed.

[@gfurstnsu]

I was planning to join with this expedition back in 1967. I had climber Mt Blanc and the Matterhorn back in the summer of 1965. I was a grad student at the University of Alaska majoring in the study of Volcanics. I also had a deferment for 2 years from my commissioning in late July of 1965 when I graduated from Lafayette College with a degree in Geology. I had gone through the process to join the expedition but I had to receive permission from the US Army Engineers. The specifically asked in correspondence if this climb was a part of my Masters studies. I had to admit that it was not. They refused to grant permission! That was the end of this attempt, and I must say the Army saved my life. We went on that summer to the aftereffects of the storm on McKinley. A flood hit our cabin and central Alaska and the historic flood of August 1967 filled the valley near the university. To this day I am thankful for not being granted permission to go on this disastrous expedition!

[@Yooperyyy]

Wow, that's lucky! Glad you didn't get permission to climb! Did you consider at the time telling the army it was part of your master study? In my eyes it would have sucked going through the process of joining the expedition to have it turned down by the army.

[@Peyote1312]

I rode the Matterhorn 3 times in one day! I also conquered Pirates of the Carribean & the Indian Jones ride. Summer of '95.

[@tyree9055]

You only missed the experience of a lifetime! 🤣👍 Albeit, a short one... 😂😉

[@j68715]

I'm a science writer and I read part of your Fairbanks thesis, if I have the right person. I needed it as background because the article I had to explain to general readers was written so confusingly.

[@kaoz1238]

I'd say your honesty saved your life, you could've lied and went on the expedition but you didn't.

[@catmeifyoucan4649]

As a person who's lived in Florida all my life, I fully understand the strength of high wind speeds having personally lived through 4 vicious hurricanes directly, In 150 mph winds, you will absolutely be knocked off of a mountain. I can't imagine what they experienced.

[@jimvick8397]

If you weren't blown off you would be flash frozen without some kind of barrier...

[@francislutz8027]

Agreed. Lived in Florida since 1989 and been through some crazy storms. 75mph can knock you off your feet. The other half of my life was in Buffalo, New York. I've seen -26f with windchill. It burns. Any exposed skin stings, your nose runs and freezes to your face, your eyelashes will freeze together from your tears. It's horrible.

[@FrostRare]

As a guy from Connecticut, I have nothing to offer neither this conversation, nor any other conversation which concerns even the most mildly compelling matter.

[@drgirlfriend211]

@@FrostRare 😂😂😂😂. Came to comment as another Floridian, but your comment had me “LOL”ing so hard I forgot what I had to say😂😂

[@zl1David]

Was Ian really as bad as I was led to believe it was ?

[@thejessejoint]

the fact that two people are found frozen standing upright. WTF that is insane

[@bananka4905]

I agree... now that's friggin cold

[@bananka4905]

and the other grasping to a tent pole but no tent .😮

[@martinvanburensleftsidebur5329]

It was never said that they were standing.

[@Tar.o]

It must've been fucking WILD up there!!

[@littlebear274]

@@martinvanburensleftsidebur5329 Yes, I assumed they were sitting or crouched hunched over. Being upright at all is still pretty incredible, but there's no way they'd have been standing.

[@tealosophy]

Denali summit success rate is not lower than Everest because of its terrain, it's lower because Everest has a plethora of Sherpas doing all the hard work for the """mountaineer's""". On Denali you have to be kind of self sufficient, carry all your gear, cook your meals, summit by yourself without two Sherpas pulling you from a rope. It's a mountain for true mountaineers and not a tourist attraction for rich brats trying to complete a bucket list.

[@stevenesbitt3528]

Not that I ever would, or could even, summit but Everest seems to have been spoiled by its commercialisation

[@cdd4248]

Interesting and Valid point.

[@Thejosiphas]

yezzirrrrrrrr

[@blondbraid7986]

I'm glad that when I visited Nepal I got to enjoy the view of Mount Everest the proper way. From an airplane.

[@Username-2]

Agreed.

[@travelingmercies8676]

I really appreciated your use of graphics, it helped me better undestand the logistics of the groups and routes used!

[@woin9361]

That’s a good point! It made visualizing the whole thing much easier

[@stellasdoesstuff]

That's one of the things I love about this channel -- he always uses.really good graphics to illustrate what he's describing

[@wren7248]

I think a video on the Hakkoda mountains incident from 1902 would fit this channel well, it's the most lethal mountaineering disaster in modern history because 193 of the 210 imperial Japanese troops that ascended the mountain died, and most of the survivors had major amputations edit: The actual death toll 199 because another 6 died after being discovered, so in total only 11 soldiers survived out of 210

[@joshuakuehn]

Well let's hope he makes an episode on it!

[@Zaynatsa]

This would make a great video!

[@elliebellie7816]

How awful! Can you imagine how rudimentary their equipment must've been? How ill-prepared considering the time? So sorry to hear this.

[@seanheaney8303]

That sounds like a good one , hope he does that one ! PS - I see your profile is a cat & your user name is wren.. found it funny I have a cat named wren also

[@Dinnyeify]

210 troops: Let's climb the mountain, how hard can it be? Mountain: Lol. Lmao even

[@NotMorganFreeman.]

I don't understand why in circumstances like this, someone always looks to blame someone. As a grown adult, you know the risks, you make your choices, you are responsible for your own destiny.

[@PoochieCollins]

In my experience, avid hikers on aggregate aren't a very emotionally warm bunch.

[@bibrosko]

to cope obvs.

[@silentbliss7666]

The families of the deceased/missing want answers and closures. You wouldn't know how it feels until the same thing has happened to you

[@gaia8840]

​@@silentbliss7666most people know some people who are somewhat like that ( unprepared but love adrenaline etc ). When they get hurt we dont try to blame other people

[@norwegianboyee]

Grief makes people a bit irrational. They need someone to "blame" for the bad thing that happened even if there was no such simple bad guy to point the finger on. Human nature.

[@TheHikingMamaOf5boys]

My husband climbed Denali in 2012 for his 40th birthday. He trained for a year to prepare for it and spent way more than $2000! If I had seen this video back then, I would not have been supportive! Thank you for your amazing content and story telling.

[@PrivateSnow666]

It wasn't an amount of how much it cost today. It was an approximate estimate of what $300 back then would be in today's money. Of course nothing is going to say the same price lol. 😊

[@dallasmckinley]

Don't be a party crasher lady. Your husband must be pure man-cake. DM me?

[@kylebutler7142]

Are you related to William McKinley former president 1897-1901?

[@Torrque]

“Would not have been supportive…” Dang! Aren’t you a special catch. Thinking about the money and not someone’s once-in-a-lifetime’s dream. Well, look at at this way, honey; a select few women are genuinely supportive of the men who support them.

[@TheHikingMamaOf5boys]

@@Torrque I’m sorry if I misrepresented myself! I mean to say that it’s hard to be supportive of things that could kill him quite easily. (But I still do! He’s climbing another big mountain next year. It’s just hard knowing something that horrible could happen. Of course, this is what life is all about!) When the dream of his heart was to move to Europe for 3 years and pursue a doctorate degree, I happily supported that by running our business and taking care of our 5 kids by myself. But I knew he probably wasn’t going to fall of Europe and die! It’s just hard not to worry! Again I’m sorry for not being clear. I hope you have a wonderful day!

[@RickyNemeth-f1s]

Dude been following you since you were in the 10k sub range and the quality of videos were so well done then. Super hyped to see you take off and make the content even better. Very much deserved!!

[@ScaryInteresting]

Thanks for sticking around, Ricky!

[@georgelane6350]

Totally agreed, the stories have always been scary and interesting, but the video composition just keeps getting better.

[@philsey6913]

I totally agree. The only suggestion I would make is to mark photos that are actual images from the event as such. It seemed like some of the "on mountain" images show might have been actually from the expedition, but I couldn't be sure. Some of the graphics (arrows pointing to people, etc.) would indicate that they are from the actual expedition, but I just wasn't 100% sure.

[@CleoPhoenixRT]

Few things are as humbling, as standing with clear skies around you and witnessing the weather visibly change towards the peak of Denali, a beautiful and formidable beast of a formation. My heart goes out to those lost on her, and their families.

[@harpoon_bakery162]

but this is nowhere near Everest. No Death-Zone, etc. How good were tents back in '67? Did Eureka have those really good ones back then? Did any of the survivors of this tragedy suffer from frostbite? Or is that impossible to know?

[@joshuabogert8893]

​@@harpoon_bakery162That mountain is larger and has worse weather than Everest. That is what probably got them.

[@harpoon_bakery162]

@@joshuabogert8893 ah, OK, i wonder if frostbite got any of them. I guess frostbite can go away if you get a warm compress on the skin right away so that nerve damage does not occur.

[@mholder1324]

@@harpoon_bakery162 did you even watch the video? all of this is answered in it...

[@harpoon_bakery162]

@@mholder1324 if there were survivors, the nerve damage might have already occured

[@poughkeepsieblue]

A channel that lives up to its name. Scary and interesting.

[@Mr_Rabbit]

It's scary how interested I am in these videos.

[@hoputius]

I agreed that

[@kimberlyshepherd270]

💯💯

[@aidsface]

Thats gay

[@AdhvaithSane]

Very Scary.

[@ibra5]

I have lead 5 expeditions on Denali and almost everything described here about the mountain is accurate.

[@buffoonustroglodytus4688]

I have led 0 expeditions on any mountains and I can confirm

[@jake12466]

"Led," not "Lead"

[@martinc.720]

@@jake12466You knew what they meant, right?

[@stevenschnepp576]

@@martinc.720 Being able to assume someone meant something doesn't retroactively make a spelling error not an error.

[@elpresidente7569]

@@stevenschnepp576🤓🤓go retroactively get some bitches

[@GoGreen1977]

"Going to the top is optional. Coming back down is mandatory."

[@penkima4923]

Some of them probably didn't come back down.

[@marhawkman303]

@@penkima4923 In THIS case? some of them may have come off the mountain 200+ MpH.... no telling where those corpses ended up.

[@hctaz]

Bruh, you just taught me an important life lesson that I don't think the majority of people know. All my life, people talked about Everest like it was the "tallest mountain," but never once gave the clarifying statement *from sea level. This entire time, I legitimately just thought that, logically, the height and difficulty of a mountain would be measured in the distance from base to peak since that's the distance that people actually have to travel. I know elevation affects things like climate and the density of air, but seriously... Why don't they give that clarifying statement when discussing mountains? Everest can still be the highest mountain from sea level, but giving respect to the highest mountain in terms of base to peak should absolutely be a thing.

[@houseofsolomon2440]

Everest has & always will skate by on a technicality.

[@Melanie-Shea]

Social a lot more complicated because elevation above mean sea level doesn’t actually tell you that much about the density of the air. The distribution of the atmosphere isn’t even and it’s a lot thinner at the poles. So depending on the conditions of the day, the top of Denali can feel like it’s 3,000ft higher or more compared to the atmosphere on a Himalayan peak.

[@KingConfusion]

Base to peak Mauna Kea shits on everest. To be fair most underseaountains and islands dwarfs all of those "Above sea level" plebs

[@snakejuice4300]

@@Melanie-Sheawhy is it thinner at the poles?

[@mistermist634]

Because everybody knows it

[@jamesm3471]

When a polar, bomb-cyclone hits Denali, the ENTIRE PEAK becomes a Death Zone.

[@richardmoore609]

A death zone is just a part of the mountain where the air is too thin to sustain human life for long periods. Denali just isn't high enough atmosphericly to have this zone but that doesn't mean the mountain isn't deadly. The sheer remoteness alone means survival in a bad situation is extremely low.

[@jamesm3471]

@@richardmoore609 yeah, I know. it was just meant to be tongue in cheek. Above 8000 meters or roughly 26,000 ft is called “the Death Zone” because there’s not enough oxygen to sustain life. Those 14 peaks are exclusive to the Himalayas & Karakoram in Asia. People often climb Denali in preparation to climb an 8000er. Some people underestimate Denali because it’s not as high, when in a lot of ways, Denali can be just as deadly.

[@greengoblin876]

@@jamesm3471 So how high is the Danger zone then , and what about the O zone ? I take it that's in between the N zone and the P zone , and can you tell me is the Danger zone as dangerous as the N zone , I mean do you run the same risk of getting tackled by several large men in sports armour and helmets and is the P zone free . Like could I park my Yukon or my Denali or even my Arthur seat special? . I hate to ask but you seem to be the Zone expert ... I bet you work as a parking attendant ..

[@jamesm3471]

@@greengoblin876 All I can tell you about The Danger Zone, is that there’s a Highway to the Danger Zone, and the the first person to reach it was Kenny Loggins back in 1986.

[@billythekid3234]

@@jamesm3471 GREAT SONG!

[@nightowl5475]

Wow! What an incredible story. Lately, I’ve been fascinated with stories like this and Mount Everest, K2. I don’t do cold at all, but just watching and absorbing the story, I feel like I’m right along with them. Can you imagine 5 worn out exhausted individuals huddled in a small tent with wet clothes on, in the dark, listening to that howling monster of a storm raging outside. The wind shaking that little tent back and forth. These guys are freezing and thinking, what if the wind blows this tent away. We’re all gonna die any minute. My God, why would anybody want to put themselves in that situation, just to stand on top of a mountain for a short period of time, then shlep all the way back down. How can they even sleep in those tents when it’s -10 degrees outside?

[@nolsee1176]

You should be very proud of your content, my dude. You're very respectful to the deceased people, and that honestly deserves more credit. I'm so glad I subbed, I'm getting my mates to check out your channel too.

[@gwennorthcutt421]

honestly thats why i've stayed to watch all his videos. I like hearing about these subjects, but I hate the whole "true crime channel" vibe as if it were gossip or a tv show. i like his discretion too, in not showing bodies, and only showing images to illustrate the circumstances like cave maps.

[@petrina4060]

I'm not one to comment on KZbin videos but I just thought you should know that I LOVE everything about your channel, your voice captivates me so much I feel like I am with the people you talk about in your stories. Thank you so much for your excellent work ❤

[@ScaryInteresting]

Thanks, Petrina!

[@EsfingeCinza]

The quality of every video, the editing, the narration, the research... Its so professional. Ô-Ô) and scary for that

[@elen5871]

yeah the editing- which on something like this where it is almost _all_ made from still images is a huge job in and of itself, much less how dang good it looks - is just really well done. a+ typography especially 😙👌

[@ScaryInteresting]

My editor is the best!

[@brandonsavitski]

​@@ScaryInterestingYou're videos are amazing. I love them. I hope you get a ton of 🐱 in your lifetime bro. You deserve it! Keep up the great videos!

[@elen5871]

@@ScaryInteresting honestly the bit about relative mountain sizes vs how much you climb, where it was nice idk etchings? of 8000m peaks with info over in this nice oblique serif (garamond?) made my inner designer so happy. you all are making some seriously professional stuff together that you should be _very_ proud of.

[@CruJones81]

They all got summit fever. They should’ve turned around with the first group that summit. They also summited after the storm already hit so that means they kept going up when the weather was horrible. Just stupid decision after stupid decision.

[@Melanie-Shea]

All right, Mr. knowledgeable. Pretty easy to pass judgment from the chair.

[@ChessJourneyman]

Pretty obvious they were idiots. Inexperienced and reckless.

[@pax6833]

@@Melanie-Shea 1 of them decided to turn back and it saved their life. Point is they knew a storm was coming and were given an opportunity to summit or flee by a small window of good weather. As climbers they should've been more cognizant of the risks.

[@rachiegoodman]

@@pax6833 Yes, but they were all also super young, most in their 20s, and as the narrator said, they did not have experience above 15k feet. Also, it doesn't say this in the video but the more experienced Colorado group that was supposed to supervise the less experienced group were the ones (along with Wilcox) that summited the day before the storm and ended up surviving. The plan was for them to help the less experienced climbers wasn't even followed.

[@Melanie-Shea]

@@pax6833 I agree that going down in that weather window would have saved them, but hindsight is 20/20 and the weather on Denali is just so much more complex than almost anywhere else on earth. It requires an acceptance of a certain amount of risk, it just wouldn’t be possible to run from every storm on Denali. It’s just too big of a mountain, there are locations high on their chosen route that are easier to weather a storm in than lower down. I would not want to try beating a storm down and then get caught by that same storm lower down on karstens ridge or the upper icefall. Going down would likely be my choice and yours, but we weren’t there in that season with our sense othe weather systems after having been on the mountain for weeks. there are so many massive features on Denali that its more useful to think of it as an entire mountain range when talking about weather. Lots of localized weather where it can be a horendous storm in one area and then after cresting a ridge the other side is sunny and warm.

[@robgrey6183]

Did the Muldrow Route some years ago. We went early (April), and had to fly into Kantishna because the road to Wonder Lake was still blocked with snow. Fording the McKinley River was difficult. We skied across Wonder Lake. We were skiers, which had advantages. Early season snow conditions and skis meant fewer problems with crevasses, although I took a winger into a crevasse with my skis on the Harper Glacier. Moving back down after carrying a load was easier on skis, if you knew how to ski roped up. When we hit the summit it was -23 F. We used tents, but used snow caves up high. Built an igloo on the Muldrow. We were stuck in a cave for a couple of days near Denali Pass. Can't imagine trying to wait that storm out in a tent.

[@thomasfelio5081]

How did you feel when you were hunkered down at Denali pass? Where you anxious about your summit window? exhausted? Was it your hardest climb?

[@sterntaler64]

-23F is horrific enough... I'm glad you made it home

[@Melanie-Shea]

I think trying to push down was probably their only long shot for survival. Spent a night of storm sheltered in a large crevasse on the upper Harper, probably around 18k after summiting, pushed down as soon as we were rested, storm be dammed. I did not want to be stuck up there in storm! What year did you do the muldrow? Not a lot of people doing it these days. Skis sound nice, snow shoes were awful😂. It was my motivator to learn how to ski since then.

[@robgrey6183]

@@thomasfelio5081 Just felt tired. Snow caves are very comfortable and quiet. We had to rope up to go out and piss or we'd be blown away into the whiteout.

[@robgrey6183]

@@mountainstream8351 Cold, but not windy. Good clear day. Stayed up there about an hour.

[@hj-ct2qi]

so happy you included the discussion of denali's unbelievable vertical might at the beginning of the video. born and raised in anchorage, i will never not be astonished when i can clearly see the mountain from my hometown despite it being 300 miles away.

[@Mo_Taser]

Not "almost impossible to walk." 150 mph winds would make it impossible to walk for anyone, anywhere, let alone loaded down with gear and on the side of a mountain.

[@bonjouritsready]

Wouldn’t be able to breath in that wind either.

[@mournblade1066]

@@bonjouritsready Huh? That's. . . that's not true.

[@gothmogthrac4457]

​@@mournblade1066have you tried?

[@mournblade1066]

@@gothmogthrac4457 At least three times a week!

[@gothmogthrac4457]

@@mournblade1066 don't forget to bring a dry towel, don't want ya catching no cold

[@baser-3]

Another thing to take into account is the wind chill. Using the governments wind chill calculator at even a 110 MPH (highest the calculator goes) and -30 degrees. That puts wind chill at a whopping -87 degrees!

[@JonathanSladkoTV]

Just a little tidbit, as an Alaskan, it’s just called “Denali”. Mount McKinley is it’s old name, and the new (but also original) name the native Alaskans gave it was just “Denali” which means “Great One” or “High Mountain” or “Tall Mountain” depending on who you ask. I like Great One the most.

[@evanseifert8858]

*its old name

[@barryallworth9954]

In 1967 when the incident took place it was still referred to as McKinley.

[@kixigvak]

There are a number of names for the mountain, most of them in Russian. Several Russian names were considered when they decided to "restore" the original name. But in my opinion Denali was the best choice.

[@gamble8008]

i like Mount McKinley

[@cleverhandle420]

No Alaskan has ever referred to it by McKinley. That’s what always makes me laugh about it bc the only salty ones have no business discussing what it should be called. The only reason there was ever an argument over it was cause McKinley the dude was from a different state and they were all up in arms about it. No Alaskan has ever cared about that guy which is why we never referred to it as Mount McKinley in the first place. All they really did was make the name everybody was using official. And I don’t ever remember anyone referring to it by the Russian names or even discussing it. Russians were also horrible to the Natives, no one cares about them either.

[@Tyrim]

You know shit's gone bad when you hear "frozen upright possibly braced against the wind" These guys froze in their place while walking! :O didn't even fall over or anything...

[@Bishop1664]

They were probably sat back to back bracing, doubt it was upright. Still, scary stuff.

[@davesmith5656]

Methinks thou extracted from a movie called "The Day After". (Think "flash frozen".) Very special effects movie, convincing, about severe and acute weather vortex, kind of like windshear, but with near absolute zero temperature.

[@kimberlyshepherd270]

​@@davesmith5656 I love that movie ❤

[@Tyrim]

@@Bishop1664 yeah, that sound more logical. still crazy to think about

[@ura9390]

there were herds of livestock frozen standing upright in terrible storms in Mongolia 2010

[@betterdaysareatoenailaway]

This is my fav channel on KZbin. I can't believe how many channels are already using AI narration. I'm not a Luddite, I just hate the monotone of AI. This guy actually has inflection in his voice and his videos are always top notch.

[@silentbliss7666]

They were warned by a weather report that a large storm will hit on either the 16th or 17th. It did on the 16th and when the weather cleared temporary on the 17th, they perhaps thought that the storm was over. If only someone sensible and assertive in the group had insisted that everyone descents on the 17th in anticipation of a dramatic worsening weather condition

[@risaolsen9373]

The Colorado group asked several people individually to come down with them instead of trying for the summit.

[@Dayvit78]

I love it when creators go back to their roots. Classic Scary Interesting!

[@JustAnotherBlader]

I was just in Anchorage recently and my first impression of Denali from a distance was “how tf could anyone possibly climb that??”

[@julesnestt]

Those wind speeds are insane.

[@sampsqwantch4612]

i literally have to leave for work in a half hour this timing is perfect

[@Casket_Music]

Have a good day at work

[@tylerm4321]

Holy shit same here bro

[@silvermainecoons3269]

Have fun at work. If that’s possible. 😏

[@KevinUriarte-wc7mv]

Have a good day

[@snakemoron]

Get going dude! Break a leg👍 you got this

[@isugar15]

Been subbed since you were at 50k and I just wanna say the quality of these videos have just completely skyrocketed since then. Love it! Thanks for the awesome content, you really have a great storytelling ability. Keep up the good work!

[@cole1407]

As someone who has worked up in Alaska a lot I worked outside of Sitka laying out a 13 mile road for a couple years and I was in naquisina Bay mountain goat hunting and I went up one of those peaks which was only about a 1500' climb but I almost died doing it because I crossed a slate rock chute and as soon as I crossed it I slipped and I started sliding down that chute and I caught myself about 2 to 3' before the edge and the edge was a 400' vertical drop Down onto boulders below. You couldn't get me to scale in an entire mountain

[@jayyrod1]

How far did you slide down the chute!? A 1500' climb still takes a certain badass when you consider snow and ice. Me personally? I don't do ice climbing no sirree you couldn't pay me to do it. I like my sport climbing. It's safe... Er.

[@cole1407]

@@jayyrod1 about 15ft, it was very narrow ledge me and 2 other guys were skirting along I was the last to cross it which they probably loosened some of the rocks after crossing it. And as well to top everything off I was carrying my gear for staying the night up there and a rifle so that made things exceedingly hard to balance. That night before when we stayed up there we slept in sleeping bags with space blackets over top to help stay dry and mine blew off in the middle of the night and I woke up to it torrential down pouring in a soaking wet sleeping bag, luckily I had a change of clothes.

[@StrangeScaryNewEngland]

As a Cole I can confirm this.

[@greengoblin876]

@@StrangeScaryNewEngland it would be funny if you were under 16 , cos then you'd be a Cole Minor... ( soz )

[@pfury67]

Thumbs up to the park rangers, they didn't mess up on approval requirements or response. Everest is a tourist attraction climb that has endless dead bodies, Denali is not. Anyone who gets a chance to go to Denali National Park, do it in a heartbeat. Denali may be the main feature, but the entire park is absolutely breathtaking.

[@dingowingo7977]

Who is to blame? no one and everyone They ALL new of the dangers of this expedition, to say something like this is 1 persons fault is discrediting the skills and talents of the other people there (and their IQ). This wasnt a class field trip with students

[@MelissaBlue]

I think the issue was that the storm was so bad that anyone up that far in the mountain would not survive, no matter their experience level. Dividing in to 2 groups, leaving the 2nd group without experienced members, definitely strikes me as a poor decision. Unfortunately they would have needed to be clairvoyant to know the weather would turn that badly that quickly. If the 2nd group had abandoned the summit push and left with the 1st group, maybe the outcome would have been different. However, if the entire group had stayed with the second group, the entire expedition would be lost.

[@eggdefender8433]

Yeah, I’d chalk this up to 2/3 poor decision making all around and 1/3 terrible luck. From the top down everyone took risks they shouldn’t have. Even if it was a normal storm, those inexperienced climbers shouldn’t have been summiting separately. That’s on the whole group.

[@R4rd]

21:40 The very human, but petty reflex to immediately look for someone to blame. We need to learn to accept as a human species that sometimes, things happen without anyone wanting them to happen and without anyone making a mistake.

[@Shellieb013]

I absolutely LOVE your mountaineering disaster videos, they are my favourite out of all the things you cover

[@zarasbazaar]

On clear days I can see Denali from high areas where I live. It's beautiful. I can't imagine climbing it. It sounds like the only critical mistake in this disaster was failing to get more experience before attempting Denali. Probably a case of you don't know what you don't know.

[@benkelly7499]

I am legally obligated to wake my gf up and tell her that Scary Interesting dropped

[@simbian5900]

Yes haha, I also always tell my roommate xD

[@kimberlyshepherd270]

My husband does the same 😂

[@dontwanagivit1860]

True love :D

[@martinc.720]

Ok

[@doomerdog1712]

It almost feels like the mountain gave them a chance to turn around with that little break before the worst of the storm. It was letting them go, but they pressed to the peak anyways

[@tdebirds]

I admire how interactive you are with your subscribers/fans. Not everyone does that, so thank you for taking your fans' thoughts and opinions into consideration! Great video, as always.

[@Premislao89]

These mountain stories sound so spectacular but they all hit me 10x stronger since I've read the biography of a polish climber that died in 1989 on Lhotse. Videos or even films can't really convey how challenging this is, and it used to be immeasurably harder before the tech came in. When you read a couple of pages and realise they only moved a small part of the mountain visualised on a picture, you realize the difficulty of what they were doing. The best of the best at that "sport", and adding to that they had to somehow keep their bodies alive by bringing enough food and eating it and then getting rid of what becomes of it which at the temperatures experienced there is no small feat. Just crazy. This kind of story and Shackleton's legendary journey are two that I don't think anyone can really convey in any way other than a book.

[@kixigvak]

These climbers were approximately my age. Since they died I've lived 56 full, rewarding years.

[@blakejones917]

This is perspective

[@theeccentric7263]

Are you flexing on them? 💀

[@Alex-xt9hn]

@@theeccentric7263 I highly doubt he knows what that means.

[@martinc.720]

Yay!!!

[@kixigvak]

You're right, I don't know what it means. @@Alex-xt9hn

[@justinl5368]

I was stationed at Elmendorf AFB in 2001 and fell in love with Alaska, particularly Anchorage. I grew up in Northern Colorado so mountains are what I love. Denali is incredible. I flew for an airline up there and we couldn't fly directly over the mountain because our single-engine service ceiling didn't provide us enough of a drift down clearance of the peak. It's wild. If you want to enjoy its beauty without the danger, go visit Talkeetna. Absolutely gorgeous, as long as it's not raining 😂

[@nicholasadams2374]

When nature shows it's wrath. Denali is astonishing. From base to summit, Denali is over a mile taller than Everest!!! Thanks! Your channel is the best for this type of content. You have the perfect voice for it, and you use the appropriate soundtrack. No gimmicks, no cringey banter. Thrilled I found you, cuz I'm so sick of Mr. Ballen. Lol...

[@manhathaway]

Finally someone said it

[@reganmccarthy8409]

I just wanna say you’re honestly one of my fav channels on YT. Every time I see you’ve uploaded I look forward to watching. I specifically waited till I finished work at 10pm today to listen when I drove home. Your voice, music and the way you explain every detail is awesome. I could listen to you discuss any topic. Keep it up man, big fan from Perth, Australia.

[@SeaJayObe]

I can't tell you how much I love your channel and look forward to seeing notifications of a new video being posted. There is no other channel like yours. Thank you for spending the time making these videos with such detail in your narration and visual aids. It truly makes your channel far more informative and interesting to enjoy! Thank you for keeping me scary interested! 😁🤘🏻❤️

[@Argoth100]

I saw you put up a poll recently about whether people prefer listening or watching your content. I hope this doesnt stop you producing videos as quality as this one as it was engrossing to watch and loads of good information on screen.

[@danielclyde7777]

I’ve found a pattern in the stories you tell. It seems like one group looks at the other group and thinks “that seems strange, they’re doing X where typically they should do Y”. I think with these extreme stories “that seems strange” are the famous last words.

[@OtterpopYT]

Hope this doesn't come off as odd but I absolutely love the intro/opening sequences for each of your videos. The tone, the information, the opening sequence and sound design....you're practically on point with all your videos.

[@harleyspeedthrust4013]

it came off as odd. unfortunately ur hope was misplaced. please try again another day.

[@tezzla6358]

REALLY ODD

[@_Saikya]

You have improved so much in a short period! I love this pace in your narration. It is smoother and easier on the ears. Thank you and congrats on getting sooo many subs already!!

[@gregmeyer9595]

This is an extremely well written and preformed video, it gave such perfect detail and pace that I had an image in my head the whole time. Awesome video, thanks for the hard work.

[@rrringles]

This was beautifully put together. The maps of camp locations and representations of group movements were so useful for understanding what happened.

[@Que.Miras_Bobo-d2j]

I'm glad you explained that important "little" detail about the difference between the total teoretic height of a mountain and the actual climbing portion of the mountain. Many viewers who don't practice this sport, are not aware of this.

[@pederblomker6138]

Love your storytelling. Nice job on explaining the real size of mountains.

[@ProximaCentauri88]

What a very well-narrated and illustrated account of the event! Your mountaineering disasters are the best!

[@johnbailey520]

Though there is not the live footage of more recent climbing disasters, this format was so clear and informative that I found it more helpful in understanding the events.

[@cdgolem]

It's not about the base to the tip measurement. You also need to calculate the YAW. -Randy Marsh

[@TheQueenlucy]

TMI bro 🤣

[@Bea-py6gy]

Do more of this type of narration. One long form story. I really liked this

[@calebmorgan6939]

Wow, I've just gone through perhaps 20 KZbin videos on mountain climbing and this is the first good one. Good sound from mic, good narration, good tone of voice, good graphics, none of those stupid "generic" or stock shots that have nothing to do with it, good timing between narration and what you show, basic grammar and syntax is fine, clear picture, no AI-generated graphics. These things should all be standard but yours is the first competent video I've seen. Keep the shaky cam out, and keep up the good work. Thank you.

[@HoneySonya]

New MUSIC at the start?!?! Lol... I actually went to Denali last year. My fiancé and I flew in a tiny plane around the mountain and I could not IMAGINE the scale. (I'm from Pennsylvania, we don't have mountains) Seeing Denali from the ground, you had to look up way into the sky. Alaska is otherworldly beautiful!

[@derickrae]

I'm Alaskan. I once flew from Anchorage, to Nome, to Kotzebue. Initially I kept looking down at the mountains, "I wonder if that's Denali..." Then I said, "Oh. There it is. It was directly outside my window. 😂😮

[@theresa42213]

Good channel! l dont think people should blame others when someone dies in these conditions. Every _capable_ mountaineer should know the risk of this activity.

[@penkima4923]

The activity in this video was, continuing to climb upward, after a forecast of a big incoming storm. That should be said aloud.

[@owmyeyeseverythingissobright]

I was just thinking that you didnt upload any mountaineering video in a while, nice to see one again. Also love the evolution of your content, really great channel

[@Stratocaster42]

I havent watched your channel for a few months and came back for this video and the quality of editing and pace and storytelling has improved massively! Really impressed and looking forward to catching up on what I missed!

[@michaelrothstein4343]

This videos are getting so good, you should be proud.

[@johnstuarthughes]

During 1976, I was climbing Denali by this same Muldrow Glacier route that the Snyder-Wilcox group was on. We had an uneventful climb until we were moving our camp from Karstens Ridge past the Browne Tower with intent to put a tent camp in at about 15,200 ft on the Harper Glacier. It was the 3d of July. Within 30 minutes the weather deteriorated from a sullen near-calm to the worst wind I have seen before or since! Tents were out of the question, so we 9 climbers split into groups of 3; each hacking with ice axes down about two feet through ice to find an 18- inch thick layer of corn snow that we could hollow out to make a cave, blessedly out of the wind! We spent a day completely hiding out, warm enough, until the storm let up. We were climbing with an abundance of caution, knowing full well of the 1967 disaster, and had trained in Colorado for this possibility. We were glad that we did!

[@jj-or1hy]

"Frozen upright..."

[@simbian5900]

Yeah I raised my eyebrows on that expression...so scary

[@gotworc]

Imagine it being so fucking cold and the wind being so extreme you just get stuck in snow and freeze to death standing up. That's terrifying.

[@cinnababy6331]

The idea of a body being in such terrible condition that it was unidentifiable, despite being in a cold area that would normally preserve a body just fine…

[@risaolsen9373]

The temperatures change drastically. Repeatedly thawing and freezing makes the body decay rapidly.

[@VoltaDoMar]

not a major problem, but just a note- In Alaska nobody would say Mount Denali. It's just Denali. Excellent video. Denali is almost always covered in clouds. I've only seen it clearly a couple times ever.

[@docersatz5228]

My uncle Les Viereck climbed McKinley with three others in 1954. They did the first ascent of I think it was the South Buttress, then descended by a different route, making the first crossing of the mountain as well. On their descent, though, the lead climber slipped and they all fell something like 200 vertical feet before fetching up. The lead man was killed outright, the second was seriously injured, the third was unharmed and the last, who arrested the entire group by falling into a crevasse, had broken ribs. From there it was quite an odyssey to ge the injured man to stabile ground on the glacier, then to get out, get help, and come back to rescue him. It too, is quite a story. What amazes me most about this more recent story is how much is the same: still days and days of slogging in with huge loads, just to get to the mountain! I would have thought that would have changed by the late Sixties.

[@erichobbs4042]

So, when I watch the cave diving videos, my instinct is to say; "Oh hell no! I'd be hard pressed to even enter a dry cave, let alone try diving into an underwater one". But with Mountaineering, I'm like, "Yeah, it looks dangerous, but I have done similar things before. I could see giving that a go." I feel like there were a few mistakes made here, by the team. As soon as they got the word about the storm, they either had to push and try and make the summit at least a day before, like the four strongest climbers did, or give up and try it again the following year. I've never been over 14,000 ft on a mountain, but even at that altitude, you don't mess about in bad weather. Especially in a place like Denali that's infamous for it. I don't think there is anyone to blame, however. Misjudgements were made, but nobody could have expected that it would be as bad as it was. Still, I would have turned back as soon as the first storm hit, if not well before. Next year only exists if you are still alive to see it.

[@bradnewsbear]

I really like when you break down the relevant science and info at the beginning

[@agdoren]

Excellent video about an incredibly sad story. And there's no way anyone could have survived that weather. The only thing they could have done was turn back when they heard about the storm.:(

[@kats9755]

Side note in the intro, thank you for not making weird comments about the mountain being re-renamed. I live in Denver and there are so many comments I've seen on local news posts on social media where people seem to take mountain renaming personally. We just renamed Mt Evans to Mt Blue Sky (inspired by a couple different tribes in the are and also a better, more enticing mountain name) and so many people made such a big stink about it. So, yeah, thank you for being normal about that. Looking forward to watching the rest of the video. Edit: Im sorry, you said WEEKS on one glacier?! I genuinely cannot fathom that. Thats wild.

[@jeremyjames2643]

I’ve been climbing and trekking for some time now, you’d be astounded how fast the wind blows up these high mountains. Even on a good day you can hear a literal howl from the wind, I always carry first aid and emergency sos radio, up there it just takes a slight change in conditions to be deadly. Even the act of sweating too much can be deadly. A lot to consider climbing these mountains, I’ve never experienced a storm like this climbing though it’s the last thing I’d wanna face off against when loaded with gear. Be honest with your skill level and preparation, just takes one mistake to become a deadly trip.

[@Skarbro]

Great job giving us a good feel and understanding of what happened. Enjoyed watching and listening😎🤘🏻

[@draggy6544]

Also denali has a crazy prominence while the Himalayan peaks already start at the absurdly tall Himalayan plateau

[@penkima4923]

Except for Everest.

[@draggy6544]

@@penkima4923 base to summit denali is taller

[@frisk151]

Your coverage leaves pretty much nothing out... Your research is second to none... Thanks!!

[@user-gf5dr5nq6l]

8:16 - a little correction, Everest sits between Nepal and China, not India and China, Everest is around 1,104 kilometers outside of indian border.

[@TwiztedHumor]

Hey dude your production has leveled up to even a new height!

[@elen5871]

the visuals on this - especially the diagrams n shit - are really next level. my best to the editor!

[@blazjurkovic4056]

As an alpinist, I really enjoy your mountaineering stories.

[@misszombiesue]

Omfg this whole time im thinking "oh I learned that Mt McKinley was the tallest..." D'OH. Glad they gave it its proper name back though even if I was late to get the memo. Love the video, feels good (but sad) to remember tragedies like this

[@theresachung703]

Thanks

[@ScaryInteresting]

Thanks so much for watching and supporting the channel!

[@matthewcollins5344]

I camped at Wonder Lake at the end of the parks road and learned you can not trust the weather predictions. Denali produces its own weather and barely peaks thru the clouds that’s surround it. While working at the front part of Denali National Park I would get many sad guests who didn’t see the mountain because of clouds.

[@ianc9843]

You are absolutely killing these visuals man. Incredible.

[@stefan.5987]

Very informative. Thanks i didn't know about that case. 👍

[@Nyitemare]

Bro went and upped the production value! Great job man, this is super well done!

[@ericastapleton7042]

Thank you Sean! RIP for those who passed. Very sad. But I suppose they were doing something they loved at least ⭐

[@louiseogden1296]

Aha. My mum is a retired geography teacher and I enjoy teasing her with geographical brainteasers pver Whatsapp. You have given me another idea with your explanation of how Denali is effectively taller than Everest.

[@Haydini69]

I lived in Alaska for 6 years and have been to basecamp at Denali and it’s pretty insane. I grew up in TN and had learned about McKinley but after I move to Alaska, nobody there called it that. A few years after I moved the name was officially changed back to Denali. I just thought it was interesting that no one there seemed to call it McKinley

[@Dreamweaver94]

I grew up there in the early 1990s and had never heard anyone call it Denali, including in school.

[@anneharrison1849]

I’d argue for the 1981 avalanche on Mount Rainier being the worst, 11 people died, 1 guide and 10 clients. It happened on a common climbing route and the Mount Rainier guides really know that mountain and will turn back if they identify a risk. The 2014 loss of 2 guides and 4 clients was very sad and likely also an avalanche, but it was on a harder route and should increase our respect for the mountain. It even managed to get Willi Unsold after he’d summited over 200 times.

[@bucketheadistheman]

This is a great video. Better than anything hollywood has made in years.