Devils Thumb
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| Devils Thumb | |
|---|---|
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| Elevation | 9,077 feet (2,766 m) |
| Location | Southeastern Alaska, USA |
| Range | Stikine Icecap, Boundary Ranges |
| Coordinates | |
| Topo map | USGS Sumdum A-2 |
| First ascent | 1946 by Fred Beckey, Clifford Schmidtke, Bob Craig |
| Easiest route | rock/snow/ice climb |
Devils Thumb is a mountain in the Stikine Icecap region of the Alaska-British Columbia border, near Petersburg. It is named for its projected thumb-like appearance. It is one of the peaks that marks the border, and is also listed on maps as Boundary Peak 71.
Devils Thumb is a very challenging climb even for advanced mountain climbers. A description of the mountain can be found in Eiger Dreams, a collection of articles by Jon Krakauer, who successfully climbed the mountain early in his career. Krakauer also chronicles his climb of Devils Thumb in chapters 14 and 15 of his book Into the Wild.
[edit] Location
Devils Thumb is part of a group of striking, difficult rock peaks on the western edge of the Stikine Icecap. The Stikine Icecap occupies the crest of the Coast Range, spanning the United States-Canada border, north of the mouth of the Stikine River. Other peaks in the area include the Cat's Ears and Witches Tits (part of the western ridge of the Devils Thumb massif itself), and Mount Burkett and Burkett Needle, a pair of spires about eight miles (12 km) to the northeast.
[edit] Notable features
The most famous feature on the Devils Thumb is its unclimbed Northwest Face, which rises 6,700 feet from the Witches Cauldron at its base to the summit, at an average angle of 67 degrees. This is unparalleled steepness for a face this size in North America. Unfortunately, the conditions prevalent on this face make it into perhaps the most dangerous climbing proposition on the continent as well.
[edit] Climbing history
The first ascent of the Devils Thumb was a landmark in North American mountaineering. Fred Beckey, along with Clifford Schmidtke, and Bob Craig, climbed the East Ridge, a route that combined technical difficulty equal to anything ever climbed on the continent to that time with great remoteness and terrible weather conditions.
The infamous Northwest Face has seen only failed attempts starting in 1977 (possibly earlier), through the present; at least three teams have died on the face.
[edit] Notes
- ^ The peak's official name carries no apostrophe; see the USGS GNIS: Devils Thumb.
[edit] Sources
- Michael Wood and Colby Coombs, Alaska: A Climbing Guide, The Mountaineers, 2001.
- Jonathan Krakauer, Eiger Dreams, Anchor, 1997.
- American Alpine Journal, 2004, 2005.
