Revelation Mountains

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The Revelation Mountains are a small, rugged subrange of the Alaska Range in Alaska, United States. They mark the furthest western extent of the Alaska Range. The range is rarely visited because of the flying time necessary to get there and also because of notoriously poor weather conditions that are prevalent in the range. The highest peak in the range is Mount Hesperus (9,828 feet/2,996 m).

The Revelation Mountains are located approximately 140 miles (225 km) west-northwest of Anchorage, and approximately 130 miles (210 km) southwest of Mount McKinley. They are accessed by small plane; the closest airports to the range are near Anchorage and in Talkeetna, which is also approximately 130 miles (210 km) away. This makes access to the range very expensive; the weather also creates the potential for delays in reaching the range (both to drop off climbers and to pick them up).

The principal peaks of the Revelation Mountains are granite spires, rising out of relatively low-elevation glacial valleys. The high vertical relief in the Revelations makes the range a very dramatic place and also creates challenging climbing conditions, despite the low absolute elevation of the peaks.

The Revelations are drained on the northwest by the Big River, one branch of which flows from the Revelation Glacier, which is the main glacier of the core of the range. On the southwest they are drained by the Swift River, while the valleys of the southeast side feed the Stony River. The east and northeast slopes lead to the Hartman and South Fork Kuskokwim Rivers.

The first recorded visit to the range occurred in July, 1967 by David Roberts, et al. Roberts and his party achieved a few first ascents, and subsequently named the range and many of its notable peaks. In his American Alpine Journal article, Roberts writes of extremely bad weather, including very high winds that frequented the range, and also of challenging climbing conditions. The Roberts party spent 52 straight days in the range.

[edit] Selected peaks in the Revelation Mountains

• Mount Hesperus (9,828 feet/2,996 m)
• The Apocalypse (9,345 feet/2,848 m)
• The Angel (9,265 feet/2,824 m)
• Mount Mausolus (9,170 feet/2,795 m)
• The Four Horsemen (8,600 feet/2,621 m)
• Golgotha
• South Buttress (9,345 ft). First ascent August 28th, 1967 (Fletcher, G. Millikan, R. Millikan).
• Mt. Patmos (~ 9,000 ft). First ascent August 22nd, 1967 (Hale, Roberts).
• Hydra Peak (~ 7,800 ft). First ascent July 29th, 1967 (Fletcher, Hale, Roberts).
• The Sylph (~ 7,600 ft). First ascent August 20th, 1967 (Roberts).
• The Cherub (~ 7,300 ft). First ascent August 4th, 1967 (G. Millikan, R. Millikan, Roberts).
• Sentry Peak (~ 7,294 ft). First ascent August 3rd, 1967 (Hale, Roberts).
• Century Peak (~ 7,100 ft). First ascent July 28th, 1967 (Fletcher, Hale, Roberts).
• Babel Tower
• P8351 (8,351 feet/2,545 m)

[edit] Sources

• David S. Roberts, "First Ascents in the Revelation Mountains", American Alpine Journal 44(Vol. 16), 1968.
• Michael Wood and Colby Coombs, Alaska: a climbing guide, The Mountaineers, 2001.
• Revelation Mountains on Topozone
• Stephen Spaulding, "Hesperus", American Alpine Journal 60 (Vol. 28), 1986.