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To the Top of Denali: Climbing Adventures on North America's Highest Peak
Complete with historic and contemporary photos and maps, this exciting collection of stories brings alive the challenges and triumphs of climbing North America's highest peak.
347 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 25, 2024
Bill Sherwonit documents the history and challenges of climbing North America's highest mountain. Denali's far northern latitude confronts climbers with sub-zero temperatures in the summer and wind chill temperatures that can drop below -100 degrees in the winter. He starts with the history of the pioneering climbs of Denali from 1910 to 1932 and then moves on to his first person experience climbing to the summit of Denali as part of a guided expedition in 1982.
After sharing his personal experience of climbing Denali he moves on to the stories of climbers who climbed Denali in the winter as teams and solo climbers. He also details some of the tragic expeditions where severe storms took the lives of climbers.
A good mountaineering narrative.
After sharing his personal experience of climbing Denali he moves on to the stories of climbers who climbed Denali in the winter as teams and solo climbers. He also details some of the tragic expeditions where severe storms took the lives of climbers.
A good mountaineering narrative.
September 30, 2017
Loved it! Great short stories of the historic and present day adventures to the summit of Denali. It's current up to 2012, so it also addresses the guided groups and the difficulties of trash maintenance. Inspiring and full o details and statistics. Even if you're not a mountaineer, which I am not, you will find this a great read if you are interested in the challenges and rewards of mountain climbing.
May 28, 2020
A pretty decent book by Bill Sherwonit.
Equal parts memoir and history lesson, Mr. Sherwonit offers us an average joe’s perspective on Denali and the tradition of climbing the High One.
Relating historical ascents while sharing his own experience on the mountain, Mr. Sherwonit takes us on a beautiful tour of North America’s highest point.
Worth reading if you’re considering a trip to Alaska.
Equal parts memoir and history lesson, Mr. Sherwonit offers us an average joe’s perspective on Denali and the tradition of climbing the High One.
Relating historical ascents while sharing his own experience on the mountain, Mr. Sherwonit takes us on a beautiful tour of North America’s highest point.
Worth reading if you’re considering a trip to Alaska.
June 25, 2025
I read this 20 years ago, and with a Denali trip coming up, I wanted a revisit. I bought this used because it was out of print, only to discover the author is on his third edition.
Fantastic novel about the history of Denali and all the climbers who have risked it all to reach the summit.
Fantastic novel about the history of Denali and all the climbers who have risked it all to reach the summit.
July 14, 2024
Very fascinating history of climbing Denali.
April 18, 2016
Bill Sherwonit's To the Top of Denali is the classic introduction to the history and general information about climbing to the highest point in North America. This is the 3rd edition of the book, released in 2012 with updates on the rules and regulations for being on the mountain, as well as the logistics of modern-day expeditions, most of which are done through vetted guide services. However, the accounts of the most significant climbs of Denali, including the key first ascents, remain as gripping as ever, even to the reader familiar with some of them from other sources. The author does an excellent job synthesizing the essentials of the first expeditions and solo ascents, without getting bogged down in the details or controversy accompanying the more famous incidents, but still using a style that is surprisingly addictive.
As an active mountaineer, I appreciated learning about the major accomplishments on Denali in a chronological order, which is not always the case for other mountains. I was most unfamiliar with the early history of exploration and attempts, which culminated with the true first ascent in 1913. I found these stories fascinating and utterly compelling, given that the equipment used in those days is considered primitive by modern standards. Not only that, but some of the pioneers had no climbing experience or knowledge of the mountain, so their efforts were done entirely in unknown conditions and were powered primarily by indomitable spirit rather than technical prowess.
When Bradford Washburn, widely acknowledged as the all-time greatest explorer of Denali, established the West Buttress route in 1947, he correctly guessed this would soon become the fastest and safest way to ascend The Great One. Almost seventy years later, his prediction remains true, with 90% of climber traffic using this route. While most of the subsequent 'firsts' where achieved using the West Buttress, including the incredible first winter ascent in 1967, Sherwonit also does a good job presenting ascents using other routes, such as the Cassin Ridge and the West Rib, in addition to the Muldrow Glacier/NE Ridge, which was the standard in the first half of the 20th century and which also played host to the deadliest expedition incident (the much analyzed 1967 Wilcox party disaster).
To the Top of Denali is not perfect, to be sure. While most of the narrative is presented chronologically, as mentioned, Sherwonit inserts his own personal experience of reaching the top in the chapter on Washburn's opening of West Buttress, somewhat anachronistically. There is also a lot of attention paid to guide Vern Tejas, who made the first successful solo winter ascent in 1988, and who also happened to be Sherwonit's guide in 1986. Tejas's experiences in these climbs, as well as in a later incident that resulted in the death of a client who was allowed to push herself too far, are recounted in far greater detail than other stories, going against the generally economical style of the book. And finally, the very important first winter ascent of the Cassin Ridge, completed in 1982 and featuring tremendous challenges as well as team conflict, curiously only gets a few mentions here.
For those thinking about making an attempt or those content with following from the armchair, To the Top of Denali serves as an excellent resource in getting familiar with the mountain through the lessons learned, sometimes in the most extreme conditions and at the price of human life, over one hundred years of exploration on North America's undisputed monarch.
As an active mountaineer, I appreciated learning about the major accomplishments on Denali in a chronological order, which is not always the case for other mountains. I was most unfamiliar with the early history of exploration and attempts, which culminated with the true first ascent in 1913. I found these stories fascinating and utterly compelling, given that the equipment used in those days is considered primitive by modern standards. Not only that, but some of the pioneers had no climbing experience or knowledge of the mountain, so their efforts were done entirely in unknown conditions and were powered primarily by indomitable spirit rather than technical prowess.
When Bradford Washburn, widely acknowledged as the all-time greatest explorer of Denali, established the West Buttress route in 1947, he correctly guessed this would soon become the fastest and safest way to ascend The Great One. Almost seventy years later, his prediction remains true, with 90% of climber traffic using this route. While most of the subsequent 'firsts' where achieved using the West Buttress, including the incredible first winter ascent in 1967, Sherwonit also does a good job presenting ascents using other routes, such as the Cassin Ridge and the West Rib, in addition to the Muldrow Glacier/NE Ridge, which was the standard in the first half of the 20th century and which also played host to the deadliest expedition incident (the much analyzed 1967 Wilcox party disaster).
To the Top of Denali is not perfect, to be sure. While most of the narrative is presented chronologically, as mentioned, Sherwonit inserts his own personal experience of reaching the top in the chapter on Washburn's opening of West Buttress, somewhat anachronistically. There is also a lot of attention paid to guide Vern Tejas, who made the first successful solo winter ascent in 1988, and who also happened to be Sherwonit's guide in 1986. Tejas's experiences in these climbs, as well as in a later incident that resulted in the death of a client who was allowed to push herself too far, are recounted in far greater detail than other stories, going against the generally economical style of the book. And finally, the very important first winter ascent of the Cassin Ridge, completed in 1982 and featuring tremendous challenges as well as team conflict, curiously only gets a few mentions here.
For those thinking about making an attempt or those content with following from the armchair, To the Top of Denali serves as an excellent resource in getting familiar with the mountain through the lessons learned, sometimes in the most extreme conditions and at the price of human life, over one hundred years of exploration on North America's undisputed monarch.
February 10, 2014
I was a bit skeptical of a book that was just stories about one mountain, but the author did a great job of combining deep research with interesting yarns. Some of the stories here are mountaineering classics and although I had read about them elsewhere, they were told very well here. There are also other stories that I have never heard before, but were compelling and interesting (and valuable for telling the story of the mountain). The book was also valuable to me in that it led me to rethink Denali as a climbing goal, even though it has been on my bucket list for two decades. The realistic depictions of the cold, the risk, and the struggle were enough to send me packing. The only down points for the book were three unnecessary chapters at the end that discuss some of the modern climbing debates including costs of rescues, trash, guiding, etc which reflected too much of the author's personal views and didn't flow well with the rest of the book.
August 29, 2015
Incredible! And scary too! Bill does an amazing job of recounting extraordinary stories of brave souls who dared to climb this mountain. I love the vivid details and in-depth history too. I went to Delani recently and I really appreciate it even more after reading this awesome book. Highly recommend this especially if you like to read about unbelievable adventures from the comfort of your couch while sipping some hot chocolate instead of going to the Mountains in the snow. I promise this book will lift your spirits on what is humanly possible;)
December 17, 2010
I was curious about what expeditions up Denali are like after visiting Alaska this past summer. This was a good book that contains lots of stories and summaries of a variety of trips, from the early 1900s to the last 15 years.
February 24, 2013
I love mountaineering. For a variety of reasons, I read more about it now than actually go. My palms still sweat though
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews