MOUNT DENALI

Named Mount McKinley until 2015, Mount Denali (meaning "the highest" in Athabaskan), is the snow-capped jewel of Denali National Park and the highest peak in North America, topping out at 6,194m. Approximately 1,200 climbers attempt to climb it each year. Its ascent is an event and a trophy for those who attempt it. People such as an 11 year old boy, a 62 and 64 year old couple or a blind man have succeeded in the feat but they are part of the 50% who succeed when 50% fail. It is possible to try the experience alone or with a guide. Information is available from the Denali Park Rangers.

It was during a 2015 visit to Alaska that former President Barack Obama officially renamed Mount McKinley with its ancestral name "Denali." McKinley was the 25th president of the United States and died assassinated in 1901. In tribute, the mountain was named after him in 1917 by the U.S. government. However, the indigenous populations living for centuries on this territory have always called this mountain "Denali". This is why the State of Alaska first requested in 1975 that Mount McKinley be named Mount Denali. But many senators and other U.S. representatives had then formally opposed this idea, not wishing to disgrace the honor of the 25th president of the United States. 40 years later, Obama finally made the decision to rename it Denali, during a visit to Alaska in September 2015.