Why Few Survive a Climb Up Alaska's Frigid Denali

For many climbers, Mt. McKinley presents the alluring chance to reach the top of our continent. But the dangers involved in doing so are very real and sometimes very sudden.
From: AERIAL AMERICA: Alaska
bit.ly/1zwwDE6

[@matthewviramontes3131]

Nobody really talks about it, but the top of Denali mountain is one of the coldest places on Earth. Even colder than Everest.

[@idgaf3231]

1:49

[@jcfc8197]

I reached the summit of Denali on July 11, 2008. It was cold, hard, windy. It was the hardest 21 day expedition of my climbing career. 2 men from 2 other climbing died. One on July 4th on the summit and the other one on July 8th during his descend. I still dream of climbing Everest, but I don’t think it’s in the cards after blowing my knee out while snow skiing. I can live with just going backpacking and hitting the 14ers in Colorado.

[@MihaiRUdeRO]

Thank you for the insight, Jesus Christ Football Club

[@jcfc8197]

@@MihaiRUdeRO lol, you’re so close. I love your guess. Come follow me, and I’ll make you a fisher of man. Jesus Christ Fishing Company.

[@jamesmurray8558]

I climbed Mt.Rainier good for I.I am from Birmingham and Black.

[@jcfc8197]

@@jamesmurray8558 Congratulations on climbing Rainier. I wish more people of color would get into mountains climbing, but it’s few and far in between. I’m brown and not many of us climbing. I live in Austin TX.

[@jcfc8197]

@@rocklobster5074 you know for a fact I’ve never climbed in my life? Are you willing to beat your life on your comment?

[@mariorobe4805]

Basically Denali is harder than Everest because mountaineers carry their own supplies...like they should do.

[@ceciliapreziose3783]

yep no sherpas

[@Jojo-vt7dv]

Difference in altitude..

[@xxxYYZxxx]

@@Jojo-vt7dv The difference in altitude can be off set by oxygen-toting sherpas.

[@Rubin250]

Denali is a colder mountain. Temperatures can plummet to negative 150° Celsius in an instant from negative 40°. Each body reacts to the cold in their own way, some can do the climb and maintain the heat. Some can't and freeze to death. Otherwise it's an easy mountain. Land on a glacier, a month long trek mostly up easy pitched snow. Otherwise camping in cold. It is NOT harder then everest. Even without sherpas. Also, if climbers attempted to carry their own gear and not pay for a sherpa on everest, they'd be beaten off everest. If not beaten to death by the sherpas themselves. Two climbers tried that a few years ago. Didn't go over well. Those people feed their families with that money. It's the same risk crab fishermen take to feed their families. Underwater welders, saturation divers, the list goes on. Some of you people need to do some research lol

[@Rubin250]

"Easy mountain" being relatively compared to 8000m peaks found in the Himalayas.

[@dckatyx9577]

Smithsonian: “Few survive!” Sources with honor, integrity, and truth: “99% survive.”

[@jefftickleschitz1265]

97%.

[@reynoldfrancis6060]

I've been higher than Denali. For that matter even higher than Everest. For about 8 hours straight . And I can tell you one thing most certainly. And this fact will surprise most mountaineers. That I enjoyed every moment when I was at that elevation in a British Airways flight. With Gin and tonic water.

[@beesmongeese2978]

Made me laugh out loud. Good one sir

[@GTFBITK]

I did one from Boston to Seoul back in 1992 that took 15 hours. I was only 7 so I only got juice, no gin.

[@andrewe360]

Stationary derivative

[@EasyGrowin420]

Sometimes we all lose track of how high we are off the snow

[@TheCorpusDelicti]

Can confirm. Currently have no idea how high I am off the snow (I say while living in a desert city).

[@chrisdingley9277]

until you look at your bank account

[@nl5580]

*sniff* no idea

[@stevenvitali7404]

I was well high !

[@iguillo]

All he had to say was "temperatures get to minus 100 degrees farenheit" to know that's a mountain that I'll be admiring from afar. LOL!

[@billybob-ro6qf]

yeah coldest this FL. boy ever been in was 4 degrees ABOVE zero.

[@iguillo]

@@billybob-ro6qf I've actually been in -5 before, but I can't even imagine what -100 would be like. I just know, I have no desire to experience it. LOL!

[@BraulioMontelongo]

I live in Wasilla and just back home from Denali today. Didn't climb it but right towards the base. its amazing and breathtaking. words, nor videos, nor pictures could do it justice.

[@johnnyvivic8730]

I went snowmachining recently at Petersville and rode to the Dutch Hills. It was too cloudy to see the mountain, but as I understand it, we were close to the base. It was a fun time.

[@rocklobster5074]

Uh huh. Sure.

[@hoohoomcdoodleman1238]

I’ve seen some unique landings strips.

[@jasonbrown9388]

Some require a bush plane.

[@just_cade]

But are they on top of shifting crevasses?

[@arcticdragon104]

You need some special moves to 'land' there

[@Hfgv281]

@@just_cade I'd say yes. Rhythmic motions.

[@LSMG2004]

The best kept ones are sometimes worth paying for, but with skills, even pristine strips welcome a visit

[@Strategic_Reformer]

Fun fact: Denali has the most vertical rise of any continental mtn on the planet, with 18,000 ft, toping Everest by over 6,000 ft (50%)

[@udipta21]

Beautiful shots

[@vickdabooproductions]

My son’s name is originated from this mountain. Such a beautiful name and the meaning behind its name is amazing

[@drunkdonkey1009]

Fatality rate is 3.08 deaths/1,000. Which comes out to a 0.308%. Very low

[@rextuller3498]

What is Everest death rate?

[@KalOrtPor]

​@@rextuller3498 1.165% deaths/attempts excluding this year....Pretty impressive considering Everest base camp is only a few thousand feet lower than the summit height of Denali and the climb has 3k feet of elevation gain after the death zone above 26k feet where body tissue begins to break down and too little oxygen to sustain life functions beyond a short time. It's no doubt due to the commercialization owing to its world's highest status which attracted enough volume and frequency to make it easier and less hazardous to climb than it would otherwise. With Denali, there's no team of Sherpas for everything, and Everest is as close to the tropics as Denali is to the Arctic Circle. But 29k feet is 29k feet, if you could teleport to the top without a month to acclimate you'd die within the hour, and support for any kind of trouble at height is mostly nonexistent. 1% in the Himalayas is exceptional.

[@hni7458]

@@KalOrtPor Yes indeed, good summary by you mate. We all (?) don't like the commercialization of E, but it's silly to belittle the effort of summiting it - ESPECIALLY via alpine-style climbing. Some routes are still to be climbed to my knowledge.

[@KalOrtPor]

@@hni7458 I agree, in spite of all the modern accommodations it's still risky and physically demanding, and no casual hike that anybody can do the way some people portray it. Purists dislike the idea that with enough money, Everest is less difficult and reachable to a wider audience. It's true there are a larger number of less inexperienced climbers jamming up the routes, and some are not respectful of others or keeping the mountain clean. But it helps benefit a poor region, and not just anyone can afford the money and time commitment to do it. The other 8Kers are still there, still as challenging, and there's nothing stopping anyone from taking the less traversed routes and climbing how it was done in decades past. If not Everest, those commercial expeditions would just end up someplace else.

[@grimlund]

Thats 3 deaths of 1000 summit attempts. Thats not really so interesting. Its more interesting to see the rate between climbers who dies and the ones who actually reach the top. Then the death rate will rise much higher. Look at Annapurna. The deadliest of all the 8000:ers. There you have one dead for every three who reach the summit. A death rate of about 30%. About 100 people have died on Denali over the years. How many has reach the summit? That would be interesting to know.

[@BrotherXFactor]

Everest is Everest But Mt K2 is the NEVEREST!

[@ForzaMonkey]

Annapurna 1 could also be neverest.

[@bhatkat]

@@ForzaMonkey So what mountain contains the most climbers bodies?

[@gotahgemini6415]

@@bhatkat whichever mountain people try the most i.e. Everest. K2 and Annapurna however are reserved for elite climbers because they are so so so difficult to climb, not to mention the crazy weather conditions that change suddenly. Aptly named by the previous two as Neverest hahaha

[@xxxYYZxxx]

What intrigues me is the climb from the Denali base camp seems roughly the same elevation gain as the climb from the Everest base camp, assuming the climbing parties fly in.

[@DisasterAstor]

The base of Everest is already about 14k above sea level. The base of Denali is only about 2k.

[@revolutioninthespiri]

And Everest base camp is at roughly 17,000 feet, meaning that you have a total of 12,000 feet elevation gain. With Denali, the base of the mountain is at about 2000 feet. I’m not sure where people plant their base camps but it’s close to that elevation. So that means for the 20,000 foot Summit, you are doing 18,000 feet of elevation gain.

[@m0chi218]

Omg my name is Denali!

[@ogloc4478]

🍪🏆

[@asdfoifhvjbkaos]

you have an awesome name

[@ponyrang]

I will always cheer for you in Korea I'm looking forward to a great video. Have a nice day.

[@hni7458]

Obviously it isn't a >8,000m peak, so not the O2 problem, but isn't Denali the tallest mountain in the world from base to top - please correct me if I'm wrong.

[@Epic-Gamer50]

You are correct.

[@theguywhoasked5591]

Kinda, Maunakea, in Hawaii USA, is the tallest mountain on earth from its base to its summit (top), sitting at around 33,500ft, but around 19,700 ft of it sits below sea level. Thus Maunakea is technically an island. This brings us to Denali. Denali is the tallest mountain on earth from its base to its summit (top) that sits entirely on land. It’s in fact around 4,000 ft taller than Everest in this regard. Everest is only the tallest mountain above sea level. Above sea level Everest is around 29,000 ft. But from its base to its summit It’s only about 14,000 ft. This is because Everest as well as the rest of the Himalayas and the Karakoram rage sit on the Tibetan plateau, which the Tibetan plateau is raised to about 14,000 ft. So because of this, the Tibetan Plateau doubles the height of Everest as well as the Himalayas above sea level.

[@jakecollins3669]

Denali for President 2020!

[@kaishabain4224]

I live in Alaska and I can't wait to see Denali up close

[@billybob-ro6qf]

visited Alaska a couple times on a Cruise ship. Sadly, never been to Denali but would love to see it & Mount McKinley.

[@kaishabain4224]

@@billybob-ro6qf Denali is the same as mt. McKinley. Denali is its true name, mt McKinley is the non indigenous name.

[@billybob-ro6qf]

@@kaishabain4224 I thought Denali was the name of the national park that Mt McKinley was in? Good to know.

[@kaishabain4224]

@@billybob-ro6qf yeah its Denali national park and then the mountain is also Denali. there has been a lot of debate over the name but it was changed back to Denali

[@ahmyb6412]

Mt. Denali is the tru name that Alaskans call their mountain

[@jessiebarnes4671]

yes, this video is old. they changed the name recently

[@dannyh8288]

Perhaps liberal Alaskans do, but real AMERICANS call it McKinley

[@asdfoifhvjbkaos]

@@dannyh8288 republican alaskan senators asked trump to keep the name as Denali

[@Scyllax]

@Luke Brown In Inuit, it means “The Big Guy”.

[@xviper2k]

@@dannyh8288 Conservatives who think they're the only "real" Americans are the most un-American people in this country. And its official name is Denali, whether you like it or not.

[@WilliamHenson-zp6or]

I managed to get within a about 800 vertical feet of the summit but had to turn back...close but no cigar. Temperature 35 below zero...night ascent

[@Hfgv281]

-100 degrees in winter 😳

[@matthewviramontes3131]

Yep. And to put that into perspective, carbon dioxide freezes at -109. So it's just about cold enough for dry ice to exist naturally.

[@rkusuma6852]

@@matthewviramontes3131 how many degrees of Celsius is that

[@matthewviramontes3131]

@@rkusuma6852 -78 Celsius

[@danielluca9964]

It cant be because the record low on earth was around -85 F

[@Epic-Gamer50]

@@danielluca9964 it definitely gets colder than that at the peak. I’ve watched measurements of it

[@N.A525]

It’s already over 20,000 ft. Go Denali!! It’s going to maybe…the new Mt. Everest👍🏽

[@ianrichardmuffraw1758]

Everest is about 11,500 feet tall, the Tibetan Plateau just gives it a boost of some 17,000 feet, pushing Everest to an altitude of 29k feet. Denali is 18,000 feet atop a 2,000 foot plateau. Denali is already more than 50% taller than Everest.

[@JIMIIXTLAN]

What do you mean the next garbage dump

[@JBSPlayz]

Actually, Mount Everest Stands At 29,032 ft.

[@Nyhiak]

Many summit Denali, including winter climbs. Just isn’t easy when you don’t have sherpas to do all the work.

[@icicle1029]

"-40 degrees fahrenheit or celsius?" Yes.

[@iwantcartonsofchocolatemil6999]

Yohanni they are the same

[@icicle1029]

@@iwantcartonsofchocolatemil6999 hence, "yes."

[@ohioflyer_12]

Same either way

[@billybob-ro6qf]

who cares either way far too cold for this FL boy. Anything below zero NOT FOR ME!

[@anoncrazynonevilgooddecent7631]

My GMC Yukon Denali SUV truck is named after this mountain

[@kenreville9134]

I soloed the West Rib from the 14K camp (The "Riblet) in 11 hours from camp to camp on May 9th, 1989. I was on the mountain for only 12 days. I was the only one up there on summit day.....looking back it was pretty ballsy.

[@jessiebarnes4671]

what is the best time of year to go do this? what are the costs? can someone share some info or if you climbed it before? I want to do this SO BAD while I'm still young and in good health!!

[@marcusbult2938]

I summitted July 10th 2018. I'd say with a guide + gear you are looking at 7-10 grand. Without a guide (which I did) it was about 3-4 grand but I had all the gear from previous climbs.

[@xxuncexx]

@@marcusbult2938 is that the travel costs plus any permits and food? Anything else?

[@marcusbult2938]

@@xxuncexx food was probably 300-500. Depends how fancy and good you want to eat...I definitely went for a variety of tasty stuff I love. High elevation you want stuff you know you'll eat kind of thing... I think the permit was 320$

[@xxuncexx]

@@marcusbult2938 oh so food, permit, airplane/travel, equipment = 3-4 grandish

[@staticalphabetsoup637]

@@xxuncexx Or about 13,000$ Canadian with the Adventure consultants expedition outfitter.

[@Frisbieinstein]

Denali is pretty safe as far as big mountains go. Annapurna is the most dangerous. Global warming brought terrible avalanches. Russian roulette.

[@KanyeTheGayFish69]

Global warming doesn’t cause avalanches

[@eggrollsoup]

denali isn’t that safe lol. it’s extremely cold and it has the greatest base to height distance

[@acadiant2756]

I dunno i think kilimanjaro might be a bit easier but just a hunch

[@sarahhein4678]

🗻

[@latoyagandy7533]

I was born in Alaska in Fairbanks 😊😊it’s the truth 😊😊

[@Kbcqw]

Is it denali or mckinnley? I was always taught mckinnley is school here in canada.

[@deandennison4687]

Both, either, whatever!

[@xxxBradTxxx]

It was McKinley, but some Ohio senators were blocking bills to rename it to what Alaskans call it. So Obama found some regulation that allowed his administration to rename it if the bill sat in congress for too long. The bill sat in congress for 30 years so that's probably long enough to take executive action.

[@sachemofboston3649]

Officially it is Denali, but it was McKinnley a few years ago. Denali is it’s traditional name but it was renamed McKinnley in the early 1900s.

[@JETZcorp]

My understanding is it was named "McKinley" in order to drum up support for McKinley's presidential election campaign. Not even named after a former president, it was a publicity stunt! Could just as well have been Mt. Perot. I'm glad they changed it back to Denali.

[@martinpetkovski6009]

Easy nontechnical mountain, you should just acclamatize to the height and that's it

[@fredericp64]

I'm all about intensity, but frostbite is no joke and completely turns me off. Let me know when there's 10 million $ at the top. Then we can talk :P

[@WanderingSoleTV]

That's preposterous. The vast majority survive.

[@leonardebron6032]

Those bodies must be well preserved.

[@toypoodles8868]

for sure my guy

[@billybob-ro6qf]

LIKE A GLOVE

[@mohammedjamaluddinch.2163]

It is very tall .

[@billybob-ro6qf]

taller than your mama?

[@LoganCharlesII]

I like it that the people who climb Denali don't have Sherpas waiting on them hand and foot, unlike the spoiled brats who climb Everest.

[@dannyh8288]

Jealous are you?

[@michellemarie6784]

Listen ya still need balls to hike Everest they are pretty brave but yeah at least most of them should carry their own supplies

[@HMcod]

K2 annapurna nanga parbat?

[@lowk3ychris484]

@@michellemarie6784 a 13 y/o climbed Everest, but he also happened to climb Denali at 11 🤣

[@lordbabun]

lol, can you climb a molehill champ?

[@ihsanbajwa3974]

الاسکا میں موجود Denali کی چوٹی McKinley کے نام سے مشہور ہے ۔۔۔۔۔کیا یہ معلومات درست ہیں؟؟؟؟؟

[@stargazeronesixseven]

Bol'šája Gorá = Big Mountain = Denali = Mount Densmore = Mount McKinley = Mount Denali ( 2015 Official ) ... 🌷🌿🌍🕊

[@bilsid]

no sherpas to do the hard work for them here lol

[@dannyh8288]

McKinley sure is a beautiful mountain

[@vindictivetiger3958]

It's Denali. It was named Denali 1000 generations ago.

[@dannyh8288]

@@vindictivetiger3958 Yep, and a war was fought and the natives lost. Its now McKinley. Deal with it.

[@akindumarasinghe131]

@@dannyh8288 It's official name is Denali. No one recognizes it officially as Mt McKinley anymore. Deal with it.

[@dannyh8288]

@@akindumarasinghe131 I do deal with it. I call it what it is: Mt McKinley. As an added bonus it ticks off America haters.

[@ForzaMonkey]

@Danny H the mountain was renamed to Denali on August 30, 2015. Before 1917, it was also called Denali. living in the 80s still, are ya?

[@emmvee1678]

Why was name changed?

[@vindictivetiger3958]

Because europeans think they've discovered everything, even when there have been people living in Alaska for 1000 generations who have already named that mountain.

[@dannyh8288]

Because liberals decided they hate America so they changed the name.

[@dannyh8288]

@@vindictivetiger3958 Lets see, a war was fought. The natives (who by the way became 'native' after winning their own battles with previous 'natives') lost. The winners thus get naming rights. Mt McKinley it is!

[@johnwaas4864]

@@vindictivetiger3958 it wasn’t natives who first climbed it or did a detailed survey of it though. Usually first climbers or surveyors Get those rights and that would go to the guy who chose to name it Mt McKinley who had surveyed the area first.

[@sachemofboston3649]

@@dannyh8288 well the “winners” changed it back to its original name, so no, it’s not McKinnley.

[@leemoz]

Why ? Then why people taking risk to go there ?

[@Shadowfax-1980]

As the old mountaineer saying goes: “Because it’s there.”

[@dylansmith7077]

Also, this video is a little sensationalized. While Denali is a difficult mountain to climb, with quickly changing weather and pretty harsh conditions, it actually has a decently low fatality rate. About 0.308%

[@kateelra7352]

Would be 100 per cent for me from the couch if I went there to climb it...

[@dennisreynolds6196]

Someone’s gotta do it

[@billybob-ro6qf]

@@Shadowfax-1980 that's what I tell my brother when he asks me why I want to walk on every pier at the beach...because it's THERE I SAY!!!! But a pier isn't life threatening so THINK I'LL PASS ON THIS

[@channelsurfstuff]

They're nuts

[@rkpetry]

Why isn't there a slot for each wheel-tire to stick through its ski...? -40°F = -40°C and carbon-dioxide freezes out, leaving 'pollutionless clean air' (there)... -100°F is -73°C still 62 C° too warm for high-temperature superconductors...

[@juikloik]

The freezing point of CO2 at 1 atm is -78 C. Since -73 C is higher than the fp AND the atmospheric pressure is below 1 atm at Denali AND the vapor pressure and partial pressure of CO2 is already very low at STP, your statement is insanely wrong. Also, CO2 isn't pollution.

[@mountaingoat595]

@@juikloik CO2 is not good or bad, but it can be too high or too low

[@babygirl4ever189]

I have to watch this for school lol

[@TrayDyer38]

No thank you. Not my type of challenge.

[@xxuncexx]

WHAT IS YOUR NAME?? Denali... Denali Kinte *WHIP* Your name is Mt McKinley!

[@monsieurlaflamme995]

😂👌🏾

[@fbksfrank4]

Orient express, claim more.

[@Ferretts89]

they called it Mt. Mckinnley... based

[@FredPilcher]

"Most unique"? I'd expect literacy from the Smithsonian.

[@AJRabies]

Right? First words on the clip & they make a mistake.

[@DPImageCapturing]

This would not be for me! What is the point of risking life just to get to the top of a mountain?! What is the END result?!

[@FreeFlightGuy]

Hahaha

[@michaeldeierhoi4096]

If you have to ask then obviously mountain climbing isn't for you.

[@dennisreynolds6196]

A great view and a life changing experience.

[@caseycandice]

Because it's there.

[@ahmyb6412]

Mt. Denali

[@jessiebarnes4671]

note the date of the video

[@whoopdattrick9390]

Crevaaaaaaaas

[@Xxbeast30xX]

*Denali

[@jefftickleschitz1265]

What a BS title. Denali has a 3%death rate. Hardly anyone dies. I expect better from this channel.

[@kevinbutler1114]

So you pay thousands of dollars to fly over snow, land on snow, and climb a snow-covered mountain so that you can get to the top and see...more snow. To each their own.

[@patrickcoyne1292]

yeah stay away from alaska

[@kevinbutler1114]

@@patrickcoyne1292 Sure, as long as you STAY in Alaska.

[@DavidMcQueen-mh6wp]

I stopped listening or watching Smithsonian and Discovery because of things like this. Most climbers survive but most dont succeed. They should change the name to be more factual.

[@AJRabies]

It is not "most unique"! It is either unique or it is not unique. Smithsonian, you should know better.

[@David_a_journeyman_curmudgeon]

Uniquest

[@frankblangeard8865]

The title is ridiculous. Smithsonian has no shame.

[@itdidnotworkmichael]

No kidding. 32,000+ attempts with 60% success and less than 200 recorded deaths on the mountain. Mt Washington in NH has more recorded deaths than Denali....

[@ianelliot1127]

@@itdidnotworkmichael yes but Denali has far fewer attempts than Washington

[@asdfoifhvjbkaos]

@@ianelliot1127 either way, the title says "few will survive" which implies attempting the climb is a death wish