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The Hall of the Mountain King: The True Story of a Tragic Climb
Snyder, Howard H. The Hall of the Mountain King - The True Story of a Tragic Climb. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973. Octavo. X, 207 pages. Illustrated. Original Hardcover with illustrated dustjacket in protective Mylar. Near Fine condition with only minor signs of external wear. Story of the tragic Mount McKinley climb of 1967. Includes for example the following Preparation / The Muldrow Glacier / Karstens Ridge / The Harper Glacier / The Descent / etc.
207 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 18, 2021
About 1967, 4 friends from Colorado aspire to climb Denali (then Mt McKinley). They are close climbing partners and make all the "right" progressive stages of decisions and conditioning to get up a big mountain including CO 14ers, then the 3rd highest mountain in North America, in Mexico (Orizba).
Then they lose 1 man to injury at a time when the National Park Service insists on a minimum party of 4. What to do? They are suggested to join forces with a more loosely "organized" group of 9, somewhat less experienced, and cobbled together in a way very similar to how some groups assemble using the Internet, except using paper.
The result was a controversial trip of 12 with a sizable loss of life, and 2 more books by the designated leader, well known climbers falling on either side over an extended period of time. Both authors would rather put these events behind them.
Experienced climbers would side with Howard H. Snyder. His writing organization follows trusted climbing book lines and traditional self-organized expeditionary thinking. Some years after publication of this clear book, the other surviving large party leader Joe Wilcox wrote his version of events White Winds: America's Most Tragic Mountaineering Expedition and a separate book with point by point editorial review of The Hall of the Mountain King: The True Story of a Tragic Climb. Unfortunately for Wilcox, although he had climbers on his wide (most notably Wayne Merry who with Harding did the first ascent of the Nose on El Cap in Yosemite), some of Wilcox's evidence shoot himself in the foot, in particular a letter he wrote to Brad Washburn, one of the foremost climbers on Denali and mapper of Denali and Everest, in an attempt to seek out sources of funding (hard to do in the USA), especially following the 1963 American Mt. Everest Expedition (AMEE).
Everyone wants to put these events behind them.
Then they lose 1 man to injury at a time when the National Park Service insists on a minimum party of 4. What to do? They are suggested to join forces with a more loosely "organized" group of 9, somewhat less experienced, and cobbled together in a way very similar to how some groups assemble using the Internet, except using paper.
The result was a controversial trip of 12 with a sizable loss of life, and 2 more books by the designated leader, well known climbers falling on either side over an extended period of time. Both authors would rather put these events behind them.
Experienced climbers would side with Howard H. Snyder. His writing organization follows trusted climbing book lines and traditional self-organized expeditionary thinking. Some years after publication of this clear book, the other surviving large party leader Joe Wilcox wrote his version of events White Winds: America's Most Tragic Mountaineering Expedition and a separate book with point by point editorial review of The Hall of the Mountain King: The True Story of a Tragic Climb. Unfortunately for Wilcox, although he had climbers on his wide (most notably Wayne Merry who with Harding did the first ascent of the Nose on El Cap in Yosemite), some of Wilcox's evidence shoot himself in the foot, in particular a letter he wrote to Brad Washburn, one of the foremost climbers on Denali and mapper of Denali and Everest, in an attempt to seek out sources of funding (hard to do in the USA), especially following the 1963 American Mt. Everest Expedition (AMEE).
Everyone wants to put these events behind them.
May 14, 2025
After moving to a small town, I attended a presentation in 2018 in which Mr. Snyder recounted the events of his experience climbing Denali, known in 1967 as Mt. McKinley. While I found the lecture and slides interesting, I did not fully appreciate the full extent of this tragedy. It is well known among outdoor enthusiasts, and to date is the deadliest disaster to occur on North America's tallest peak. The Hall of the Mountain King delineates several factors that influenced the fatal outcome of this expedition, and the character of the 10 men on the team, three of whom survived. It is a fascinating read.
July 11, 2018
Yet another account of the tragic Denali climb of 1967, this time told by one of the climbers who participated in the expedition. It was interesting to get his point of view. He must have been a meticulous journal-keeper, as his descriptions were very detailed. However, since he is an engineer and and a mountaineer, and not a writer (or maybe because I had read two books about this expeditions before this one), the book didn't really capture me.
October 11, 2025
Excellent book written by one of the survivors of the Denali disaster that occurred back in 1967. It’s helpful if a person also reads Denali‘s Howl by Andy Hall, which is about the same incident. Andy Hall is the son of the man who was the superintendent of Denali National Park at the time of the tragedy.
September 22, 2008
The Hall of The Mountain King is Howard Snyder's first person account of the tragic 1967 Wilcox McKinley Expedition in which 7 young men died. It also refers to Mount McKinley itself, where the bodies of those young men still rest on its glacial and windswept upper peaks. It is a sad and compelling book.
Howard Snyder was the leader of a small group of Colorado climbers that was basically forced by the National Park Service to combine with the larger Wilcox group. His book details the tensions that developed from the beginning, with the groups differing on everything from food to climbing speed. Synder is fairly critical of the Wilcox group, throwing out a laundry list of criticisms, some significant and some trivial. The Wilcox group included climbers who were insufficiently experienced or out of condition. Wilcox himself was overly concerned with publicity, and made decisions without consulting other group members. The Wilcox group's food was not nutritious and palatable enough. Snyder is particularly and almost obsessively critical of the fact that the Wilcox food included chili, mentioning this at least four times. He complains that Wilcox group members abused their equipment, climbed too slowly, wasted precious good weather time, and ignored bad weather warnings.
Synder's book ends with a section entitled Reflections, in which he gives his read on why the expedition went so tragically wrong. Given his long list of criticisms, it is less harsh than might have been expected. He acknowledges that climbers as or more inexperienced, and as or more out of shape summitted and returned safely. He acknowledges that other groups made equally poor decisions, and came back to tell the tale. And he acknowledges that the storm which overwhelmed the climbers was long and particularly dangerous. It seems to be his view that the group might have survived all their shortcomings if conditions were less harsh, but that groups climbing a mountain that can become extraordinarily dangerous in the blink of an eye must be well prepared and conditioned in order to weather such emergencies. This is where the Wilcox group fell short.
The Hall of The Mountain King is a haunting story of how bad luck can come together with wrong decisions to result in tragedy. It is sad to reflect on the high hopes with which these young people set out on what they thought would be a grand adventure, and how a series of wrong steps led them to disaster. It would seem that sometimes the most essential piece of equipment for such a journey would be something that none of us has: a crystal ball. Had the group which perished known exactly when the storm would hit, and how long it would last, they would have made different decisions. But sadly, fate, free will, and chance intersected to leave them forever in the hall of the mountain king.
Howard Snyder was the leader of a small group of Colorado climbers that was basically forced by the National Park Service to combine with the larger Wilcox group. His book details the tensions that developed from the beginning, with the groups differing on everything from food to climbing speed. Synder is fairly critical of the Wilcox group, throwing out a laundry list of criticisms, some significant and some trivial. The Wilcox group included climbers who were insufficiently experienced or out of condition. Wilcox himself was overly concerned with publicity, and made decisions without consulting other group members. The Wilcox group's food was not nutritious and palatable enough. Snyder is particularly and almost obsessively critical of the fact that the Wilcox food included chili, mentioning this at least four times. He complains that Wilcox group members abused their equipment, climbed too slowly, wasted precious good weather time, and ignored bad weather warnings.
Synder's book ends with a section entitled Reflections, in which he gives his read on why the expedition went so tragically wrong. Given his long list of criticisms, it is less harsh than might have been expected. He acknowledges that climbers as or more inexperienced, and as or more out of shape summitted and returned safely. He acknowledges that other groups made equally poor decisions, and came back to tell the tale. And he acknowledges that the storm which overwhelmed the climbers was long and particularly dangerous. It seems to be his view that the group might have survived all their shortcomings if conditions were less harsh, but that groups climbing a mountain that can become extraordinarily dangerous in the blink of an eye must be well prepared and conditioned in order to weather such emergencies. This is where the Wilcox group fell short.
The Hall of The Mountain King is a haunting story of how bad luck can come together with wrong decisions to result in tragedy. It is sad to reflect on the high hopes with which these young people set out on what they thought would be a grand adventure, and how a series of wrong steps led them to disaster. It would seem that sometimes the most essential piece of equipment for such a journey would be something that none of us has: a crystal ball. Had the group which perished known exactly when the storm would hit, and how long it would last, they would have made different decisions. But sadly, fate, free will, and chance intersected to leave them forever in the hall of the mountain king.
July 5, 2016
Snyder's by the numbers recollection of the doomed '67 Wilcox Expedition of Mount McKinley/Denali is enthralling, infuriating and shockingly tragic, and benefits from Snyder's wit and a intelligent writing. Still, the scientific and well documented narrative leaves much to be desired in the way of exploring and understanding the tragedy. In some ways this is beneficial: Snyder avoids the pitfalls of personal bias and philosophizing, but misses out on some profound illuminations of harsh realities; this is less of a criticism though, and more of a preference. It's a worthwhile read that's an absolute must for those interested in mountaineering, and has surely influenced the likes of Krakauer and more.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews