Foraker

A 5,304-metre peak in the Alaska Range, fifteen kilometres southwest of Denali. Foraker is the third-highest peak in the United States, after Denali and Saint Elias. The mountain is named for Joseph Benson Foraker, an American senator from Ohio in the late 19th century. The local Athabascan name is Sultana — "the woman" — referring to Denali's wife in the Athabascan tradition. The mountain forms a striking visual companion to Denali; from any viewpoint south of the range, Foraker and Denali appear together as a paired massif.

The first ascent came in 1934 by an American expedition led by Charles Houston, the same climber who would later lead the K2 expeditions of 1938 and 1953. Houston's team reached the summit via the Northwest Ridge after a long approach from the Kahiltna Glacier — the same glacier now used for the standard Denali approach. The route Houston pioneered involves sustained ice climbing on the upper ridge, technical mixed sections, and a long summit day from a high camp at 4,400 metres.

What separates Foraker from Denali in climbing terms is technical commitment. The Northwest Ridge is more sustained than any of the standard Denali routes, and the mountain has no equivalent to the West Buttress — the broad, glaciated route that has made Denali accessible to commercial expeditions. Every route on Foraker is technical alpine. The fatality rate is correspondingly higher when measured against the lower altitude. The mountain has been climbed perhaps a few hundred times in total, compared to thousands of Denali ascents.

For climbers in the Alaska Range, Foraker represents the next objective after Denali. The peak demonstrates whether a climber's accumulated experience translates to the kind of sustained alpine climbing that Denali's standard route does not require. The summit views toward Denali — six kilometres of horizontal distance, one kilometre of vertical — are among the great paired views in mountaineering.