READING 1 Climbing Denali

Climbing DENALI

Read the following article. Pay special attention to the words in bold. 11.1

We often hear about people climbing Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. What about the tallest mountain in the United States?

The highest peak1 in the United States is Denali in Denali National Park in Alaska. If you measure it from the base to the peak, it’s actually much higher than Mount Everest. The base of Mount Everest is at 17,000 feet above sea level. It is 12,000 feet from the base to the top of Mount Everest. The base of Denali is at 2,000 feet above sea level. It is 18,000 feet from the base to the top of Denali.

Denali is one of the most difficult challenges in the Western Hemisphere for mountain climbers. Denali is closer to the North Pole than other tall mountains. This means that the air is thinner, so it’s harder for climbers to breathe. June is the busiest month for climbers. The deadliest season was May 1992, when 11 climbers died. The first group of climbers reached the top of Denali in 1909. Two other groups were successful after that. The next group reached the top in 1947. This group included a husband and wife team, Bradford and Barbara Washburn. Barbara was the first woman to successfully climb the mountain. The Washburns were not climbing for sport; they were explorers. In the field of mountain mapping, Bradford Washburn was one of the best. The Washburns mapped many mountains and the Grand Canyon. Bradford dreamed of mapping Mount Everest. Finally, in 1981, the Washburns worked on the Mount Everest project. They produced the most detailed2 and most accurate3 map ever made of Mount Everest.

30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 Sea level

DENALI

20,320 ft

Base to peak 18,000 ft

EVEREST

29,029 ft

Base to peak 12,000 ft

1 peak: the top of a mountain 2 detailed: full of small bits of information 3 accurate: exact

A mountain ranger climbs on Denali. Every year, mountain rangers of the Denali National Park Service help climbers in need.