Harry Karstens

Harry Karstens
Personal information
Harry Karstens in 1927 as superintendent of Mount McKinley National Park.
Main discipline	Mountain climber
Born	(1878-09-02)September 2, 1878 Chicago, Illinois
Died	November 28, 1955(1955-11-28) (aged 77) Fairbanks, Alaska
Nationality	American
Career
Notable ascents	Denali (June 7, 1913)

Henry Peter Karstens (September 2, 1878 – November 28, 1955) was the first superintendent of Denali National Park, from 1921 to 1928. He was the guide and climbing leader of the first complete ascent of Denali in 1913, with expedition members Hudson Stuck, Walter Harper and Robert Tatum. John Fredson and Esaias George were two young Gwich'in Alaska Natives who supported the party.

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What's the point of climbing a mountain? What lessons are you, or others, really supposed to gain from the experience? For four men 100 years ago on June 7, 1913, it may have been about earning distinction as the first to reach the summit of Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America. Denali is not a highly technical climb, but it can be among the most challenging big peaks on earth because the wind and weather can be so cold and unpredictable. To this day, only about half the people who try make the top. Now imagine making the attempt a hundred years ago in 1913, four years before Congress created Mount McKinley National Park. Prior to 1913, eight previous expeditions failed to reach the summit. They included accomplished climbers, adventurers, and a scoundrel or two. What set the team of 1913 apart was that they were all hardened travelers of vast distances of Alaska wilderness in winter. For these pioneer climbers, there would be no modern, 40-minute flight from Talkeetna to a base camp on the Kahiltna Glacier at 7,200 feet. Their journey to the top and back would not be over within today's average of 17 to 21 days. Instead, the Stuck-Karstens expedition began with 90 miles of overland travel by dog team from Nenana, then up the Muldrow Glacier relaying ever higher more than a ton of supplies. From their base camp, they cut and hauled firewood thousands of feet above tree line. They hunted Dall sheep and caribou to make hundreds of balls of pemmican, a slow cook dinner that would sustain them for much of their 77 days on the mountain. On the whole, their journey amounted to 93 days, from winter, through spring, and into summer. The expedition faced challenges beyond the mountain and fierce conditions. The team leaders quarreled, sometimes stridently. A fire in a supply cache torched silk tents, clothing, critical supplies, precious film and camera equipment. An earthquake the year before destroyed what had been an easier route for earlier expeditions. Instead of a relative stroll at one point, they spent weeks chopping a staircase more than three miles long through shattered ice boulders and debris. And then on the night before the summit, three of the climbers were beset by bad cooking by the fourth. After only a few hours of attempted rest, the men set out at three o'clock in the morning when the temperature was 21 below zero. A bitter north wind that day very nearly blew them off an icy slope. But after ten hours of slow, exhausting work, they achieved their goal. Clearly, the Stuck-Karstens expedition staked a place in achievement lists and history books. But what else can we try to learn from their venture? When it came to homework and legwork the leaders of this climb managed plenty of both. They sought out the experience of others, and studied mistakes to avoid making them their own. They settled upon a best approach, and paid close attention to detail. When much of their supplies went up in smoke, they responded to the setback with ingenuity. Rising above panic and despondence, one group traveled to base camp and back for reserves while another cobbled together what they could from the remains. They sewed together a new tent from canvas. They found a way somehow to make due, and move forward. When they found their route was blocked by the work of an earthquake, they persevered. Despite severe storms and the crushing enormity of what they faced, they hacked footholds for themselves up more than three miles of broken ice. At this point in their journey, there simply was no other way around but through. The composition of this climbing team proved that diversity works. One was an Episcopal Archdeacon, born in England, who had spent time as a teacher and cowboy in Texas. Another was a gold prospector, mail carrier, and legendary outdoorsman who eventually would be appointed the first superintendent of Mount McKinley National Park. Another was a mission volunteer from Tennessee, and was noted for strong character. And the fourth was a young Alaska Native whose strength and relationship to the landscape proved invaluable time and again to the survival and success of the group. If anything, this group might teach us a little something about respect. On the day of the summit, expedition co-leader Harry Karstens chose to leave Walter Harper out front, a challenging position that Harper had performed admirably for most all of the climb. So now history records that a 21-year-old Alaska Native earned distinction as the first person to set foot at the top of a great mountain. Within two days of the summit, they all made it safely back down to base camp where a loyal assistant had been waiting and tending camp without word for weeks longer than anyone expected. By June 20, their accomplishment was sealed when word was cabled to newspapers in Seattle and Fairbanks. Over the years, the climbers acknowledged that this trip changed their lives. What now are you going to draw from the experience?

Early life

Harry Karstens was born in Chicago, Illinois on September 2, 1878.^[1] His parents were Emma Terveen and John Jacob Karstens, an immigrant from the Duchy of Holstein. His father owned a feed store and livery. Harry was the fifth born of seven children in his family.^[2]^: 17–18

Career

Like many young men, Karstens went North for adventure to Dawson City, Canada during the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897; he was nineteen. There, he mined on Seventymile Creek and helped lay out the town of Eagle, Alaska. He also carried freight and mail with Charles McGonagall via dog teams among the frontier towns of Fairbanks, Valdez and Kantishna, being paid $75 per month.^[3] He gained his nickname as the "Seventymile Kid" after working for the post office.^[4]

He also worked as a packer, hauling miners' supplies over the Chilkoot Pass on his back, usually in 50-pound packs. In winter, the ice leading to the summit was cut into 1500 steps, which travelers climbed in single file.^[5] Authorities required each "stampeder" (the persons intending to stay and mine) to bring in two tons of supplies to provide for himself for a year in the camps.

Karstens ran dog teams on the frontier, as well as riverboats when the rivers were navigable.^[6]

Drawing on his skills developed on the frontier, from 1906 to 1908, Karstens accompanied Charles Sheldon, a hunter, conservationist, and naturalist, on hunting trips into the Toklat River region. Sheldon, the chairman of the influential Boone and Crockett Club,^[7] successfully campaigned with Congress to have the area set aside as a national park. In 1917, Denali National Park was established as Mount McKinley National Park.^[8]

Denali expedition

On March 27, 1912, Hudson Stuck, Episcopal Archdeacon of the Yukon, sent Karstens a letter inviting him to join an expedition to climb Denali. Stuck emphasized the financial value of the trip, saying, "if we succeed in the ascent, the expedition will not be without the likelihood of financial value, and that there will be return to you for the time and labour."^[9] Karstens accepted.

While Stuck had been traveling in Alaska for several years for his work and had experience mountain climbing, Karstens had the greater experience, which he applied as guide to the small expedition. Its other members were Walter Harper and Robert Tatum, both 21 at the time.^[10] In addition, two Gwich'in youths from Stuck's mission school, Johnny Fredson and Esias George, supported the party by managing its dog teams, and in base camp by hunting for meat and organizing supplies.^[11] (Fredson later became the first Alaska Native to graduate from college and was a lifelong leader of the Gwich'in people, founding their Venetie Indian Reserve in 1941).

The expedition party left from Nenana on March 17, 1913, and proceeded up the Tanana River valley. The first day, they hiked 30 miles (48 km) up the Tanana with two sleds of supplies pulled by fourteen dogs. The 110-mile (180 km) trip up the river to Eureka took eight days; there, they replenished supplies and celebrated Easter.^[12]

After leaving Eureka, the terrain became rougher, and the expedition's pace slowed to about 10 miles (16 km) a day. At an elevation of 2,000 feet (610 m), the party established base camp near the tree line of the mountain, where they encountered temperatures as low as −46 °F (−43 °C). They set off again, up the crevasse-filled, steep Muldrow Glacier. While they were camping at the top of the glacier, a tent full of supplies and food was accidentally burned. It took three weeks for Harper and Fredson to go to and return from base camp to replace their supplies.^[12]

The next step was the northeast ridge (later named the Karstens Ridge in the guide's honor). A previous expedition had called it "step [sic], but practicable,"^[13] so Karstens and Stuck were surprised to find huge chunks of rocks and ice in their path. These had been upturned by an earthquake the previous summer.^[13] The expedition's progress slowed considerably while they maneuvered under, over, or sometimes through the debris. They camped on the ridge for three days, where temperatures ranged from 50 °F (10 °C) during the day to −21 °F (−29 °C) at night. It took them three weeks to dig a road three miles long through the blockage of materials in their path.^[13] The party the year before had passed this area easily before the earthquake.^[14]^: 229

After that, they climbed the upper glacier. Looking at the North Summit through field glasses, they saw a flagstaff set up by Thomas Lloyd and three other men; his party had reached it three years earlier.^[13] Known as the "Sourdough Expedition", Lloyd's party had found their achievement doubted because others had not witnessed it.^[12]^[15]

On June 6, the Karstens-Stuck party made their final camp at an elevation of 18,000 feet (5,500 m). At the time, it was the highest camp ever established in North America. At 4:00 the next morning, the group left camp for their final attempt at the summit. Around noon, they stopped briefly in a small shelter. The remaining 1,000 feet (300 m) went very slowly because the thin air made breathing difficult; they had to stop every few steps to catch their breath. At about 1:30 P.M., they reached the summit of Denali, an elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190 m).^[16] They spent an hour and a half on the summit, during which Robert Tatum planted the American flag he had made earlier from red, white, and blue handkerchiefs. Tatum said, "The scenery was of indescribable beauty...It was like looking out of a window of heaven."^[12]

After reading their instruments and calculating the altitude, they began their descent. In contrast to the 50-day journey up the mountain, the trip back to base camp took only two days. The expedition returned to Tanana on June 20, three months and four days after they left.^[12] While they were still at base camp, Stuck sent out a messenger to announce their success, claiming credit as leader of the expedition, and it was published in The New York Times on June 21.^[13] According to Tom Walker's 2013 biography of Karstens, he and Stuck had a falling out a short time after the climb was completed, and cut off relations, Karstens even calling him an "absolute paresite [sic] & liar." Karstens' role in the expedition became obscured, and Stuck received most of the publicity.^[2]^: 266^[17]

Later life

Highly recommended by Charles Sheldon, Karstens was appointed as the first superintendent of the newly established Denali National Park, serving from 1921 to his resignation in October 1928. The park received no funds for administration until that year.^[14]^: 244 During his tenure, Karstens developed improved infrastructure, such as roads in the park.^[18] He organized ranger patrols to reduce poaching of game. He also supervised the construction of cabins for use by the rangers, of which the Riley Creek Ranger Cabin No. 20 is an example.^[14]^{: 279–280} Built in 1931 after Karstens had left, it has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[19]

Legacy

In 1913, Stuck named the Karstens Ridge in the guide's honor. It is located in Denali National Park, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) east of the summit of Denali.^[20]^[21]
In 1946, climber Bradford Washburn named the Karstens Col in his honor. The 10,930-foot (3,330 m) high pass is located between Mount Koven and the Karstens Ridge.^[21]

References

^ "Karstens, Henry Peter". The Karstens Library. July 29, 2008. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
^ ^a ^b Walker, Tom (Jan 25, 2013). The Seventymile Kid: The Lost Legacy of Harry Karstens and the First Ascent of Mount McKinley (1st ed.). Mountaineers Books. ISBN 978-1-59485-729-4.
^ Moore, Terris (1981). Mount McKinley: The Pioneer Climbs. The Mountaineers Books. p. 108. ISBN 978-1-59485-522-1.
^ Wetherbee, Karina (April 19, 2013). "The Seventymile Kid: The Lost Legacy of Harry Karstens and the First Ascent of Mount McKinley". Summit Daily. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
^ "The Trails". National Postal Museum. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
^ Reece, Daphne (1983). Historic Houses of the Pacific Northwest. Chronicle Books. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-87701-272-6.
^ Brown, William Edward (1991). A History of the Denali-Mount McKinley, Region, Alaska. Santa Fe, New Mexico: National Park Service. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
^ "Denali National Park". The National Parks. National Park Service. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
^ "Hudson Stuck 1912 correspondence with Harry Karstens". American Alpine Club. Archived from the original on September 20, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
^ Beckey, Fred (1993). Mount McKinley: Icy Crown of North America. The Mountaineers Books. pp. 118–119. ISBN 0-89886-362-7.
^ Campbell, Diana (February 2013). "A Granddaughter's Tale" (PDF). Alaska. Denali 2013: 34–35. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 25, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Moutoux, John T. (May 22, 1932). "Ascending the Steep Roof of the Continent Just to 'Look Out the Windows of Heaven'". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. Knoxville, Tennessee: Denali 2013. Archived from the original on September 25, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Dr. Stuck scales Mount M'Kinley" (PDF). The New York Times. June 21, 1913. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c Borneman, Walter R. (2003). Alaska: Saga of a Bold Land. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-186527-5.
^ O'Flynn, Barry (September 2007). "The Sourdough Expedition to Mount McKinley". Irish Mountaineering Club. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
^ Newell, Mark (September 2, 2015). "New Elevation for Nation's Highest Peak" (Press release). USGS. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
^ "An incredible sextet in Fairbanks, Alaska". American Alpine Club. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved September 22, 2013.
^ "Henry P. Karstens Collection Description". UAA/APU Consortium Library. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
^ This article incorporates public domain material from Feature Detail Report for: Karstens Ridge. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
^ ^a ^b Orth, Donald J. (1967). Dictionary of Alaska Place Names. Vol. 567. United States Government Printing Office. p. 497.

External links

Henry Karstens, Peakbagger.com
The Papers of Henry Karstens at Dartmouth College Library

This page was last edited on 30 May 2024, at 02:06

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