The Firn Line

Nestled in the heart of the Alaska Range, lies what many believe to be one of the most beautiful mountains in the world: Mount Huntington. Rising on all sides to form a 12,241 ft symmetrical pyramid of rock, snow and ice, Huntington has captured the imagination of bold and dedicated alpinists for decades. • When the French Ridge was first climbed in 1964, the mountaineering world took notice. Then just a year later, when a young David Roberts and crew climbed the stunning west face, the mountaineering world was shocked. Both of these climbs raised the standard of what could be done in Alaska’s mountains, as well as setting a precedent for what future alpinists could expect on Huntington: remoteness, sustained, hard climbing, total commitment. • By 2016, most of Huntington’s major features had been climbed. But one line, perhaps the most committing of them all, had yet to be ascended: The complete south ridge. • Rising nearly 7,000 feet, the south ridge follows a serpentine spine of four jagged sub-peaks,