Mount Hayes

Mount Hayes
Highest point
Elevation13,832 ft (4,216 m)[1]
Prominence11,487 ft (3,501 m)[1]
Listing
Coordinates63°37′15″N 146°42′55″W / 63.62083°N 146.71528°W / 63.62083; -146.71528
Geography
Mount Hayes is located in Alaska
Mount Hayes
Mount Hayes
Location in Alaska
LocationSoutheast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, U.S.
Parent rangeAlaska Range
Topo mapUSGS Mount Hayes C-6
Climbing
First ascent1941 by Bradford Washburn, Barbara Washburn, Benjamin Ferris, Sterling Hendricks, Henry Hall, William Shand[2]
Easiest routesnow/ice climb (Alaska grade 2+)

Mount Hayes is the highest mountain in the eastern Alaska Range, in the U.S. state of Alaska. Despite not being a fourteener, it is one of the largest peaks in the United States in terms of rise above local terrain. For example, the Northeast Face rises 8,000 feet (2,440 m) in approximately 2 miles (3.2 km). This large vertical relief contributes to Mount Hayes being the 51st most topographically prominent peak in the world.[3]

The mountain was named in 1898 by W. J. Peters and A. H. Brooks of the U.S. Geological Survey for Charles Willard Hayes (1858–1916), a geologist with the Survey from 1887 through 1911.[4]

On 29 July 1941 Bradford Washburn, Barbara Washburn,[5] Benjamin Ferris, Sterling Hendricks, Henry Hall, and William Shand reached 12,650 ft. via the North Ridge but a storm was approaching and, with the summit only a little over 1000ft higher and just half a mile away, the party decided that they should descend to safety. On August 1, 1941 the party made another attempt, Hall remained in camp but the others were successful in making the first ascent of Mount Hayes.[6] The route up the North Ridge wasn't repeated until 1975, it "is considered one of the great landmarks of Alaskan mountaineering because of its great technical difficulty at the time".[7]

Today's standard climbing route is the East Ridge (Alaska Grade 2+). Mount Hayes is not frequently climbed due to its remoteness and the resulting access difficulties.[citation needed]

  1. ^ a b "Alaska & Hawaii P1500s - the Ultras" Peaklist.org. Retrieved 2012-03-03.
  2. ^ "Mount Hayes Alaska". bivouac.com. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  3. ^ "World Top 100 by Prominence". peakbagger.com. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  4. ^ "Mount Hayes". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  5. ^ Borneman, Walter R. (2003). Alaska : saga of a bold land (1st ed.). New York, NY: HarperCollins. p. 323. ISBN 0-06-050306-8.
  6. ^ Washburn, Bradford (1942). "The Ascent of Mount Hayes". American Alpine Journal. #4 (14): 323–324. ISSN 0065-6925. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  7. ^ "Mount Hayes". Tok Air Services. Retrieved 15 October 2024.