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Shop nowDenali’s Howl
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Learn moreDenali's Howl is the white-knuckle account of one of the most deadly climbing disasters of all time.
In 1967, twelve young men attempted to climb Alaska's Mount McKinley—known to the locals as Denali—one of the most popular and deadly mountaineering destinations in the world. Only five survived.
Journalist Andy Hall, son of the park superintendent at the time, investigates the tragedy. He spent years tracking down survivors, lost documents, and recordings of radio communications. In Denali's Howl, Hall reveals the full story of an expedition facing conditions conclusively established here for the first time: at an elevation of nearly twenty thousand feet, these young men endured an "arctic superblizzard," with howling winds of up to three hundred miles an hour and wind chill that freezes flesh solid in minutes. All this was without the high-tech gear and equipment climbers use today.
As well as the story of the men caught inside the storm, Denali's Howl is the story of those caught outside it trying to save them—Hall's father among them. The book gives readers a detailed look at the culture of climbing then and now and raises uncomfortable questions about each player in this tragedy. Was enough done to rescue the climbers, or were their fates sealed when they ascended into the path of this unprecedented storm?
Andy Hall grew up in the shadow of Denali. He is the former editor and publisher of Alaska magazine. He lives in Anchorage.
Jim Manchester is a retired English and theater teacher in Rhode Island. He has directed and acted in many theatrical productions over the years and has done voice-over work in the Providence area. Jim resides in the lovely seaport town of Bristol, Rhode Island.
Reviews
“Twelve men went up the slopes of North America’s highest mountain in the summer of 1967. Only five made it back. The ill-fated Wilcox expedition to Denali finds an able chronicler in Andy Hall’s gripping account of mountain majesty, mountain gloom, and human doom.”
“Everest gets the publicity, but Alaska’s Mount McKinley—also known as Denali—can be equally nasty, writes Hall, former publisher of Alaska magazine, in this exciting account of a 1967 climbing debacle…After one team reached the top, a brutal, week-long, once-in-a-century storm caught and killed seven others as they prepared to ascend. Matters might have ended differently, but Hall is less interested in affixing blame than telling the story. It was not Krakauer’s Into Thin Air but Maurice Herzog’s Annapurna that launched the genre of mountaineering expeditions that end in disaster, and Hall delivers his own skillful, heartrending contribution.”
“Quickly engages listeners…This book offers a fresh perspective on the disaster itself along with revelations about attempts to close Denali to climbing in the aftermath.”
“A vivid revisitation of a historic Alaskan mountain climbing expedition…Hall delivers this tragic event through his recounting of recorded radio conversations, journal entries, and pages of grisly detail…A dramatic and respectful homage to twelve intrepid mountaineers who sought to master not only the tallest mountain in North America, but ‘arguably the biggest mountain on the planet.’”
“A haunting, meticulously researched account of twelve men’s encounter with the awesome fury of nature.”
“In this straightforward, balanced account of the greatest mountaineering disaster in Alaskan history, Andy Hall allows the full tragedy of that episode to emerge. In resisting the facile urge to lay blame, his narrative captures with gripping immediacy the intersection of seemingly small human decisions with one of the most powerful storms ever to descend on Denali.”
“The ill-fated Wilcox expedition to Denali finds an able chronicler in Andy Hall’s gripping account of mountain majesty, mountain gloom, and human doom.”
“One of those couldn’t-put-it-down books! This harrowing story of a more than forty-year-old mountaineering tragedy is raw and immediate as it marches relentlessly towards the final, devastating end.”
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