 Harper in 1913. | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Main discipline | Mountain climber |
| Born | 1893 Tanana, District of Alaska |
| Died | October 25, 1918 (aged 24) Lynn Canal, Territory of Alaska |
| Nationality | American |
| Career | |
| Starting age | 20 |
| Notable ascents | Denali (June 7, 1913) |
Walter Harper (1893 – October 25, 1918) was a mountain climber and guide of mixed white and Alaska Native ancestry. On Saturday, 7 June 1913, he was the first person to reach the summit of Denali (Mount McKinley), the highest mountain in North America.[1] He was followed by the other members of the small expedition team, guide Harry Karstens, Episcopal archdeacon Hudson Stuck, who had organized the effort, and Episcopal missionary Robert Tatum.
After gaining more formal education, Harper married in 1918 and planned to attend medical school in Philadelphia. He and his wife took the steamer SS Princess Sophia from Skagway to Seattle for their honeymoon before setting off cross-country. The ship ran aground on a reef in a snowstorm, and was broken up in a gale, sinking on October 25. All 268 passengers and 75 crew were lost.
- ^ "Yukon Indian opens Coney Island eyes" (PDF). The New York Times. June 1, 1914. Retrieved 21 July 2013.