Walter Harper and the Summiting of Denali, Part 2

Summary

Stuff You Missed In History Class

Episode: Walter Harper and the Summiting of Denali, Part 2

Release Date: December 17, 2025
Hosts: Holly Frey & Tracy V. Wilson
Podcast: iHeartPodcasts

---

Episode Overview

This episode, the second part on Walter Harper and the 1913 expedition to summit Denali (then known as Mount McKinley), delivers a richly detailed retelling of the expedition led by Hudson Stuck, with a spotlight on Walter Harper—the first person to reach Denali’s summit. The hosts, Tracy and Holly, cover the grueling challenges, unexpected disasters, personal dynamics, and Harper’s later tragic end, while giving historical perspective to the Alaskan wilderness, early mountaineering, and the lives/legacies of the expedition members.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Makeup and Method of the Expedition

• Expedition Members:
  • Walter Harper
  • Hudson Stuck (funded expedition, leader)
  • Harry Karstens (planner, field leader)
  • Robert Tatum
  • John Fredson
• Logistics: Each day, three men scouted and marked the trail with willow shoots, typically led by Harper and Karstens, while the other two moved gear with sled dogs.
  • Stuck credited Harper for his morale-boosting presence and endurance (03:30):

    “He took gleefully to high mountaineering, while his kindliness and invincible amiability endeared him to every member of the party.”

• Advance Warning: Tracy notes Harper’s death was “sudden and tragic and at a very early age," preparing listeners for an emotional turn (03:08).

2. Dangers and Hardships on Muldrow Glacier

• The terrain became increasingly hazardous; after sending a party member, Esayas George, back with a dog team, smaller sleds had to be maneuvered over or around obstacles.
• Crevasses were the major hidden danger—often only detected by subtle signs in the snow, and often completely invisible in poor light.
  • Stuck's chilling description (05:12):

    “Every step of the way up the glacier was sounded by a long pole... The open crevasses were not the dangerous ones. The whole glacier was crisscrossed by crevasses completely covered with snow... In the half light of cloudy and misty weather, these signs failed and there was no safety but in the ceaseless prodding of the pole.”

• Notable Incident: Lead dog Snowball fell through a snow bridge; Harper braved a rope descent for the rescue (06:12).

3. A Catastrophic Fire (07:27 - 10:12)

• Exhaustion led the team to camp at a cache; a discarded match set fire to precious supplies.
• Quote from Stuck (08:00):

  “All our sugar was gone, all our powdered milk, all our baking powder, our prunes, raisins and dried apples, most of our tobacco, a case of pilot bread, a sack of woolen socks and gloves, another sack full of photographic films—all were burned. Most fortunately, the food provided especially for the high mountain work had not yet been taken to the cache... But it was a great blow to us and involved considerable delay at a very unfortunate time.”

• They lost most food and their main camera—documentation would depend on Harper's simpler one.

4. Innovative Survival and Resourcefulness

• Adapted to discomfort by building a snow block supply structure, making tent floors from crate wood, covering with caribou/sheep hides (10:12–10:50).
• Makeshift gear repair and improvisation: Karstens made socks out of his sleeping bag lining; efforts to keep dry and protect from constant damp.

5. The Earthquake-Transformed Terrain (14:13–16:31)

• Previous expeditions’ reports turned out misleading; in 1912, a massive earthquake had shattered the Denali landscape, leaving a jumble of rocks and ice.
• Realization: Had the earlier party not turned back, they likely would have been killed (15:29).

6. Three Weeks of Stair-Carving and Endurance

• The party spent weeks carving “stairs” into miles of hazardous ice to bypass the earthquake's destruction—Harper and Karstens shouldered most of the load (16:31–17:36).
• Supplies dwindled: they ran out of sugar, affecting morale and diet; they ran low on wood for cooking and warmth (17:36).

7. The Final Push and Summit Day

• Reached a new high camp, occupying a tiny, crowded tent (“if one of them wanted to turn over, they all had to agree to do it at once”—20:10).
• Harper’s only criticized move: making undercooked flour noodles as a stew thickener, getting everyone but himself sick (23:16).
• Summit bid began June 7, 1913, at 3AM, amidst altitude sickness, pain, and extreme cold.
• Memorable moment (23:52–25:19):

  “Walter was the only one feeling entirely himself. So Walter was put in the lead and in the lead he remained all day.”

  “Walter, who had been in the lead all day, was the first to scramble up. A native Alaskan, he is the first human being to set foot upon the top of Alaska's great mountain, and he had well earned the lifelong distinction.”

• Brief prayer and flag-raising on the summit: "so soon as wind was recovered, we shook hands all round, and a brief prayer of thanksgiving to Almighty God was that he had granted us our heart's desire and brought us safely to the top of his great mountain." (26:01–26:18)

8. The Descent and Aftermath

• Rushed down amid thawing conditions, risking new dangers to relieve a waiting John Fredson at base camp (29:26–31:33).
• Fredson’s loyalty: saved sugar for the returning team (31:33):

  “There are not many boys of 15 or 16 of any race who would voluntarily have done the like.”

• Reported their success from Chena; Stuck refused to sensationalize the expedition for the press (31:49–32:20).

---

The Later Life and Death of Walter Harper

9. Harper’s Short but Impactful Life (32:20–38:21)

• Attended Northfield Mount Hermon in Massachusetts but struggled academically and felt homesick.
• Returned to Alaska for more missionary work and tutoring—long-term plan: attend medical school and serve his people.
• Met and became engaged to missionary nurse Frances Wells.
• Faced with the possibility of military service in WWI.
• Married Frances in 1918. Shortly after, the couple boarded the SS Princess Sophia for travel to Philadelphia.
• Tragedy: The Princess Sophia struck a reef and sank; both Walter and Frances died, along with all other passengers (38:21).
  • Only survivor: a dog who swam to shore (38:21).
• Grave marked by a moving Bible passage:

  “They were lovely and pleasant in their lives and in their death they were not divided. 2 Samuel 1:23.” (38:42–39:30)

10. The Legacy of the Expedition Members (39:30–42:34)

• Hudson Stuck deeply mourned Harper, dedicating his book A Winter Circuit of Our Arctic to him.
• Harper referenced far more in Stuck’s later works.
• Memorial fund honored Frances with a solarium for tubercular care.
• Stuck died in 1920; Karstens became Denali National Park’s first superintendent; Tatum became a priest; Fredson became a leader in Native political and linguistic work.
• Reflection on Harper’s lost potential for leadership among the Koyukon Athabaskan people.

11. 20th–21st Century Recognition

• In 2013, Talkeetna Ranger Station was renamed to honor Walter Harper.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Harper’s leadership and morale:

  “He took gleefully to high mountaineering, while his kindliness and invincible amiability endeared him to every member of the party.” —Hudson Stuck, quoted by Tracy (03:30)

• Describing glacier danger:

  “The open crevasses were not the dangerous ones... In the half light... there was no safety but in the ceaseless prodding of the pole.” —Stuck, read by Tracy (05:12)

• After the summit:

  "Walter, who had been in the lead all day, was the first to scramble up. A native Alaskan, he is the first human being to set foot upon the top of Alaska's great mountain, and he had well earned the lifelong distinction." —Stuck, quoted by Tracy (25:19)

• Solemn tribute on Harper and Frances’s grave:

  “They were lovely and pleasant in their lives and in their death they were not divided.” —Gravestone / 2 Samuel 1:23 (38:42)

• On John Fredson saving sugar:

  “There are not many boys of 15 or 16 of any race who would voluntarily have done the like.” —Stuck, quoted by Tracy (31:33)

---

Important Segment Timestamps

• [02:50–04:25]: Introduction; expedition structure; note on Harper’s impending tragic death
• [04:25–07:27]: Glacier travel, hazards, and rescue of Snowball the dog
• [07:27–10:12]: Fire destroys crucial supplies, consequences for documentation
• [14:13–16:31]: Earthquake-altered terrain, historic context
• [16:31–21:27]: Weeks of stair-carving, supply shortages
• [23:16–25:19]: Final ascent, summit reached, Harper leads and is first atop Denali
• [29:26–32:20]: Return to base, Fredson’s stewardship, expedition reporting
• [32:20–38:21]: Harper’s post-expedition life, marriage, Princess Sophia tragedy
• [39:30–42:34]: Legacies of Stuck, Fredson, Karstens, and Tatum
• [42:34–43:10]: 21st-century recognitions

---

Episode Tone & Style

• Language: Narrative, respectful, direct; blends quote-heavy history with warm commentary and asides.
• Hosts’ Tone: Alternately factual, admiring, and sometimes wry—especially when discussing discomforts, disasters, or the expectations of sensationalism in historical reporting.

---

For First-Time Listeners

This episode offers both a thrilling account of historical adventure and a moving homage to an under-remembered Alaskan Native explorer. Walter Harper’s story is personal, tragic, and inspirational—foregrounded by the achievements and difficulties faced by a diverse group of mountaineers in the face of one of the earth’s most formidable natural obstacles. The narrative adds dimension to early 20th-century exploration, Indigenous history, and the legacies rippling through the generations.

---

Note:
This summary excludes ad breaks, promotional material, and closing remarks unrelated to the main discussion.

Transcript

[Tracy V. Wilson]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human and now superhuman shack.

[Sleep Apnea PSA Narrator]

I keep telling them not to say that. I'm no superhuman. Believe it or not, I struggle with moderate obstructive sleep apnea or OSA in adults with obesity. Moderate to severe OSA is a condition where breathing is interrupted during sleep with loud snoring, choking, gasping for air, and even daytime fatigue. Let's just say it can sound a lot like this. Sound familiar? Learn more@don'tsleeponosa.com this information is provided by.

[Commercial Voice]

Lilly, a medicine company.

[Holly Fry]

Alienware's biggest sale of the season lets you unleash peak performance at Cyber Monday savings. Get the best prices of the year on select Alienware PCs like the groundbreaking Alienware 16 Area 51 gaming laptop, taking performance to the next level with Intel Core Ultra processors. Plus you can save on all the latest accessories and displays like the Alienware 32 4K QD OLED gaming monitor. Visit alienware.com deals before the lowest prices of the year go dark.

[Commercial Voice]

My perfect day has sand, salt water and friends, but my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis can take me out of the moment. Now I'm all in with clearer skin thanks to skyrizi risen Kizumab RZA, a prescription only 150mg injection for adults who are candidates for systemic or phototherapy with Skyrizi. Most people saw 90% clearer skin and many were even 100% plaque free at four months. Skyrizi is just four doses a year after two starter doses.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Don't use if allergic to Skyrizi. Serious allergic reactions, increased infections or lower.

[Holly Fry]

Ability to fight them may occur before treatment.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Get checked for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor about any flu like symptoms or vaccines.

[Commercial Voice]

Thanks to Skyrizi. There's nothing on my skin and that means everything.

[Podcast Advertiser/Promoter]

Nothing is every day.

[Commercial Voice]

Ask your doctor about Skyrizi, the number one dermatologist prescribed biologic in psoriasis. Visit skyrizi.com or call 1-866-Skyrizi to learn more.

[Podcast Advertiser/Promoter]

Hey audiobook lovers, I'm Kalpin, I'm Ed Helms. Ed and I are inviting you to join the best sounding book club you've ever heard with our new podcast, Irsay The Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club.

[Commercial Voice]

Each week we sit down with your favorite iHeart podcast hosts and some very special guests to discuss the latest and greatest audiobooks from audible.

[Podcast Advertiser/Promoter]

Listen to Earsay on America's number one podcast network iHear. Follow Earsay and start listening on the free iHeartradio app today.

[Holly Fry]

Welcome to Stuff youf Missed in History Class, a production of iHeartradio.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. Wilson.

[Holly Fry]

And I'm Holly Fry.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

This is part two of our podcast on Walter Harper and the Summiting of Denali. In addition to Walter Harper at this point, this expedition to the summit of Denali included Hudson Stuck, who funded the expedition, Harry Karstens, who was the planner and led them out in the field, and Robert Tatum and John Fredson. So every day, three men would go ahead and they would stake out a trail using willow shoots that they had brought up from lower elevations. And then two of those three men were typically Karstens and Harper. And then while they did this, the other two men would work with the sled dogs to move all of their gear along that trail. Stuck described Harper as running close to Karstens in strength, pluck and endurance. And Stuck credited Harper with keeping the party's morale up. So, in Stuck's words, quote, he took gleefully to high mountaineering, while his kindliness and invincible amiability endeared him to every member of the party. We don't usually, like, give a heads up that the person that we are talking about in an episode is going to die, because this is a history podcast and that's inevitable. But Walter Harper's death was sudden and tragic and at a very early age. And I felt like without that heads up, it just came as a gut punch out of nowhere. So just be aware it's coming.

[Holly Fry]

As the expedition continued across the Muldrow Glacier, the terrain they were crossing got progressively steeper and more irregular. Regular. After sending Esayas George back to Nenana with one of their sled dog teams, they went from using large sleds pulled by teams of seven dogs to smaller sleds pulled by three dogs each. These sleds were lighter and more maneuverable, but Karstens and Harper still had to find ways for them to get around obstacles and cross chasms on the surface of the glacier. Sometimes they could find an existing way to get across, like a natural bridge. But sometimes they had to build a bridge, starting by finding a spot that had a stable enough ledge below it and then carving blocks of ice or hardened snow to stack on top of that ledge.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

This is obviously dangerous. Some of it sounds really terrifying. We've been reading a lot from Stuck's account of this expedition, and in Stuck's words, quote, every step of the way up the glacier was sounded by a long pole, the man in the lead thrusting it deep into the snow while the two behind kept the rope always taut. More than one pole slipped into a hidden crevice and was lost when the vigor of thrust was not matched by the tenacity of grip. More than once, a man was jerked back just as the snow gave way beneath his feet. The open crevasses were not the dangerous ones. The whole glacier was crisscrossed by crevasses completely covered with snow. In bright weather, it was often possible to detect them by a slight depression in the surface or by a faint shadowy difference in tint. But in the half light of cloudy and misty weather, these signs failed and there was no safety. But in the ceaseless prodding of the.

[Holly Fry]

Pole, when I was reading this passage earlier to review it, I was like, this is a big old Nopalope. Yeah, clearly I am a land child. At one point, one of the lead dogs named Snowball broke through a snow bridge and slipped out of his harness. Snowball landed on a ledge below, and Walter Harper had to be lowered down by rope to get him. After being rescued, Snowball was described as being scared, understandably, but not injured.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

In addition to being treacherous, all of this was hard work. Those three dog teams didn't have as much pulling power as a larger team of sled dogs would, so climbing steep ascents required the men and the dogs to work together. And that was something that was so. So physically difficult that the men often felt overheated, especially if they were in the direct sunlight in Stuck's description. Quote, sometimes it was bitterly cold in the mornings, insufferably hot at noon, and again bitterly cold toward night. It was a pity we had no blackbulb sun maximum thermometer amongst our instruments. For one is sure, its readings would have been of great interest.

[Holly Fry]

When they were about halfway across Muldrow Glacier, the expedition had its first and really only major disaster. They had been too tired to reach their planned stopping place for the night, and instead they stopped and camped by one of the caches that they had made. The next day, they covered up that cache and they relayed some of their supplies to their next campsite. Then they took a break. They ate and they went back for another load. But when they approached the cache where they had slept the night before, they saw smoke.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

At first they thought another person had found their camp somehow, like maybe there was another route up the mountain that they didn't know about. But then they realized their cache was on fire, in Stuck's words. Quote we left the dogs and the sleds and hurried to the spot. Some things we were able to save, but not much, though we were in time to prevent the fire from spreading to our far hauled wood, and the explanation was not far to seek. After luncheon, Carstens and the writer had smoked their pipes, and one or the other had thrown a careless match away that had fallen unextinguished upon the silk tents that covered the cache. Presently a little wind had fanned the smoldering fabric into flame, which had eaten down into the pile of stuff below, mostly in wooden cases. All our sugar was gone, all our powdered milk, all our baking powder, our prunes, raisins and dried apples, most of our tobacco, a case of pilot bread, a sack of woolen socks and gloves, another sack full of photographic films. All were burned. Most fortunately, the food provided especially for the high mountain work had not yet been taken to the cache, and our pemmican herbswurst, chocolate, compressed tea and figs were safe. But it was a great blow to us and involved considerable delay at a very unfortunate time.

[Holly Fry]

In addition to the loss of crucial gear and supplies, Stuck and Carstens were embarrassed that one or the other of them had been careless enough to start that fire. Stuck's writing about the incident makes it clear that both of them ought to have known better, since the entire party knew that the dry air and wind made fire a much bigger risk in Alaska in the winter and in the summer.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

They still had a camera and some film, but it was a small camera belonging to Walter Harper, rather than the more sophisticated one that they had brought along, planning to document the journey with it. They also learned only after developing their pictures that they needed a longer exposure time at the bright light and high altitude of the summit for their pictures to really be clear.

[Holly Fry]

This fire happened when they were not far from the head of the Muldrow Glacier, at an elevation of about 11,500ft. Once they got to the head of the glacier, they made a camp that would serve as an upper base camp, including building a structure out of snow blocks to store their supplies in, with a snow block wall around it. They also dismantled the wooden crates that their food had been stored in to make a floor under the tent to try to protect themselves from the damp, which had been an issue at their earlier camps. They covered this wooden surface with the dried hides of caribou and sheep that they had killed earlier in the journey.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

After that, Harper and Fredson went all the way back down to their original base camp to retrieve some of the things they had left there to support their return journey, including socks and sled covers they planned to use those sled covers to make basic tents While they were gone, Carsten took some time to make additional socks out of the lining of his sleeping bag and to repair some of their gear. This also gave Carstens the chance to stay out of the sun for a bit. He was used to being clean shaven and he was having issues with ingrown hairs as his beard grew back in. His efforts to treat that had only made things worse. And then being in continual sun exposure was not helping.

[Holly Fry]

After Harper and Fredson returned with supplies, Stuck, Tatum and Fredson all went back to their lowest glacier camp with their dog teams and from there Fredson took the dogs back to the lower base camp by himself for the rest of the expedition. He would be responsible for caring for and feeding the dogs at base camp so they would be ready to leave.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

The mountain when they parted ways. Stuck told Fredson that he'd see him again in about two weeks. That is not what happened. We will have more after a sponsor break. Did you know Tide has been upgraded to provide an even better clean in cold water? Tide is specifically designed to fight any stain you throw at it. Even in cold butter. Yep. Chocolate ice cream. Sure thing. Barbecue sauce. Tide's got you covered. You don't need to use warm water. Additionally, Tide pods let you confidently fight tough stains with new coldzyme technology. Just remember, if it's gotta be clean, it's gotta be tied.

[Podcast Advertiser/Promoter]

So let me get this straight. Your company has data here, there and everywhere, but your AI can't use the data because it's here, there and everywhere? Seems like something's missing. Every business has unique data. IBM helps your AI access your data wherever it lives. To change how you do business, let's create Smarter Business, IBM.

[Commercial Voice]

And now Superhuman Shack.

[Sleep Apnea PSA Narrator]

I keep telling them not to say that. I'm no superhuman. Believe it or not, I struggle with moderate obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA in adults with obesity. Moderate to severe OSA is a condition where breathing is interrupted during sleep with loud snoring, choking, gasping for air, and even daytime fatigue. Let's just say it could sound a lot like this. Sound familiar? Learn more@don'tsleeponosa.com this information is provided by.

[Commercial Voice]

Lilly, a medicine company and Doug. What a horrible call.

[Holly Fry]

Hey ref.

[Commercial Voice]

Open your eyes, ref.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

You're really not gonna call that?

[Holly Fry]

Come on. Hey ref, why don't you customize your.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Car insurance with Liberty Mutual and save money?

[Commercial Voice]

I don't think you get what we're doing.

[Holly Fry]

Sure I do. We're all just giving him advice. You guys on sports, me on saving money.

[Sleep Apnea PSA Narrator]

Nope, that's not it.

[Commercial Voice]

Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty.

[Podcast Advertiser/Promoter]

Liberty.

[Holly Fry]

Liberty.

[Podcast Advertiser/Promoter]

Liberty.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

In part one, we talked about several previous attempts to summit Denali in the early 20th century. One in particular, the 1912 Parker Brown Expedition had almost gotten to the summit, and they probably would have if they had not been faced with a blizzard that they could not see through when they were almost at the top. Their account had described this final ascent to the South Summit as, quote, a steep but practicable snow slope. They'd also printed a photograph that lined up with that description. So based on all of this, the Karstenstuck expedition thought they would be able to make that final ascent over relatively easy terrain in just a couple of days.

[Holly Fry]

But when they got to the area the earlier expedition had described, the landscape was dramatically different from what the Parker and Brown expedition had seen. In Stuck's words, the upper one third of it was indeed as described. But at that point there was a sudden sharp cleavage, and all below was a jumbled mass of blocks of ice and rocks in all manner of positions, with here a pinnacle and there a great gap. Moreover, the floor of the glacier at its head was strewn with enormous icebergs that we could not understand at all.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

It did not take long for them to make the connection between this unexpectedly jumbled terrain and an earthquake that had struck the denali region on July 6, 1912. People knew about this earthquake. Members of the earlier expedition had described the earth shaking. There were at least 3:30 other reports of people feeling it around Alaska. This included reports on the other side of Alaska on the western coast. But no one else is known to have seen this spot. In between those two expeditions, Stuck and Karstens quickly realized that if the earlier expedition had not turned back when they did, they almost certainly would have been killed, either crushed by the falling boulders and debris or stranded. With no way to get across this newly disrupted landscape and no food, the mountain was also still unstable, and the men frequently heard the sounds of avalanches in the distance.

[Holly Fry]

So the Stuck Karstens party had two choices at this point. To give up or to find a way through. So over the next three weeks, they used their axes to carve steps over about three miles of ice. Although everyone in the expedition was part of this effort, most of it fell to Walter Harper and Harry Karstens.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

They couldn't work on carving stairs into the mountain. Every day, though, the expedition spent a lot of time waiting out bad weather Stuck spent some of their time waiting tutoring Harper, who was still hoping to continue his education. They worked on a number of subjects including reading and writing, geography, history and physics. As we said in part one, Robert Tatum was a postulant, meaning that he was working toward being ordained. So he spent his time studying religious works. Karstens spent some of his time working on a new motorboat design. And he also just continually checked and rechecked all of their gear and supplies to make sure everything was prepared for the summit.

[Holly Fry]

During this weeks long stair carving effort and their time waiting for the weather to change, the expedition started running out of supplies. One of the first things they ran out of was sugar. In Stuck's words quote, our cocoa became useless. We could not drink it without sugar. Our consumption of tea and coffee diminished. There was little demand for the second cup and we all began to long for sweet things. We tried to make a palatable potation from some of our milk chocolate, reserved for the higher work and labeled for eating. Only the label was accurate. It made a miserable drink. The milk taste entirely lacking, the sweetness almost gone. We're grateful that they had brought up so much wood. But also it started to run short near the end.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

As they slowly made progress up the mountain, the terrain got even more treacherous. There were massive impassable ice boulders everywhere. When they managed to find a snow covered slope that seemed more traversable, it often sheared off and slid down the mountain. So they mostly had to stick to the area that was covered in things like ice boulders. They would chop stairs over or around them or break them down into rubble that they could get through. Or they would tip the ones that were precariously balanced down into crevasses below. I will take a moment and say please do not tip boulders off of mountains. It is very dangerous. You don't know who is below you. But this was into crevasses in a glacier. They knew there was nobody down there. Sometimes they would hack their way through a boulder of ice only to find that there was no way out from the other side to another safe spot. They couldn't find a safe place to make camp in this disordered terrain. So every day involved a lot of backtracking to to get from where they finished their work to where they could sleep at night.

[Holly Fry]

One day, desperate to cut down on that long backtrack, they decided to load up everything they could carry and get to a tiny flat spot they'd found and make a new camp there. Before long they realized they had been way too ambitious in how much they could carry. Even Karstens, who was the most experienced person on the team and the person most used to this kind of work, really started to struggle when a snowstorm blew in and forced them to turn back. They were all a little relieved. The next day they tried again, carrying smaller loads and doing a relay from point to point.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

On May 25, the expedition finally established a new camp at an elevation of about 13,000ft. It was about 500ft above the glacier floor. They were all sleeping together in one very tiny tent, which was apparently so small that if one of them wanted to turn over, they all had to agree to do it at once. Stuck described this as oddly pleasant, since it was the first time they had really been cozy in a while, with all of them packed together, all of their body heat in a confined space with direct sunlight. The camp was also a little bit warmer than some of their earlier bases, and the ground was not nearly as damp.

[Holly Fry]

They continued to work their way through the area that had been affected by the earthquake, with Karstens and Harper making and marking the way, and Tatum and Stuck relaying food and supplies from one cache to the Next. And on May 27, Harper and Karstens finally got past the last big cleavage made by the earthquake. But then they faced another delay, this time dangerous winds that they just had to wait out. And they ran out of another food source. They had been making a sourdough style bread, and the cold killed the microorganisms that allowed the dough to ferment.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

On May 30, they were able to see the Grand Basin, which Stuck later named the Harper Glacier. They had to make a treacherous crossing to get there, in which three of the four men all had to be on the same snow slope at the same time, with only one of them on more solid ground. That meant if the snow gave way under them, there would be no way for that one man to save all the others. He would be pulled off with them. Harper and Karstens had made this passage with just the two of them with no problems. But with all four of them together, it was a lot more challenging.

[Holly Fry]

They made it, though, and after this crossing, they were on a part of the mountain that had not been torn up by the earthquake. Stuck named the final ridge that they would need to cross Karstens Ridge.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Stuck started really struggling with the altitude. As they got closer to the summit, he and Karstens both smoked pipes, and Stuck started cutting back on his smoking. He eventually quit entirely. That did not seem to make much of a difference, though. Stuck attributed his difficulties to the fact that he was almost 50. He was the oldest man on the team. Karstens was 32 and Tatum and Harper were about 21.

[Holly Fry]

On June 6, the expedition moved their camp for the last time, close to the base of the final ridge at an elevation of about 18,000ft. They had about two weeks of supplies left, which they thought they could stretch to three weeks if they had to wait for a storm to clear.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

But it seemed like they might not.

[Holly Fry]

Need to wait at all. The weather was bright and clear. They decided they would get up at 3am the next day before the sun was up, but during the pre dawn twilight so they could still see and try to go all the way to the summit.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

That night though, Harper did one of the few things that Stuck really criticized in his book. They had been hauling around 10 pounds of flour, but without their sourdough starter which had died, or their baking powder which had been burned up in a fire, they didn't have a way to make it into bread. They wanted to try to use it up though, and Harper made a stew and used the flour to make noodles to thicken it. But he apparently made these noodles too big and they did not cook thoroughly. Everybody but Harper got sick after eating it.

[Holly Fry]

In spite of all that, they all Left camp at 3am the next morning as planned, carrying only their scientific instruments, Harper's camera and some lunch. In Stuck's words, quote, we were rather a sorry company. Carsten still had internal pains. Tatum and I had severe headaches. Walter was the only one feeling entirely himself. So Walter was put in the lead and in the lead he remained all day.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

It was bitterly, bitterly cold and they all lost feeling in their fingers and toes by 11am they thought the cold might be something that would actually force them to turn back. They all agreed that if one of them thought that their fingers or toes were actually freezing, that they would all turn around. But by that point everything was so numb that they didn't really have a way of knowing whether that was happening. I think it would be understandable for any of them to also be reluctant to be like, hey, let's turn around now, right?

[Holly Fry]

The ridge they were on was shaped like a horseshoe and once they got around the curve and into the sun, they all started to feel a lot warmer. They stopped for lunch and drank some hot tea from their thermoses and after that they were confident that they could make it to the summit that day. Stuck started experiencing shortness of breath as they climbed, and Harper offered to carry some of his load.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Finally, though, they saw the summit as stuck, wrote quote with keen excitement we pushed on. Walter, who had been in the lead all day, was the first to scramble up. A native Alaskan, he is the first human being to set foot upon the top of Alaska's great mountain, and he had well earned the lifelong distinction. Karstens and Tatum were hard upon his heels, but the last man on the rope, in his enthusiasm and excitement somewhat overpassing his narrow wind margin, had almost to be hauled up the last few feet and fell unconscious for a moment upon the floor of the little snow basin that occupies the top of the mountain.

[Holly Fry]

Stuck continued Quote so soon as wind was recovered, we shook hands all round, and a brief prayer of thanksgiving to Almighty God was that he had granted us our heart's desire and brought us safely to the top of his great mountain. Robert Tatum raised a US Flag.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

We'll talk about what happened after reaching the summit after a sponsor break.

[Podcast Advertiser/Promoter]

So you're telling me that the AI that's meant to make everyone's job easier to manage just adds more to manage? On top of the thousands of apps the IT department already manages? Funny how that works. Any business can add AI. IBM helps you scale and manage AI to change how you do business. Let's create Smile to Business, IBM.

[Commercial Voice]

And now Superhuman Shack.

[Sleep Apnea PSA Narrator]

I keep telling them not to say that. I'm no superhuman. Believe it or not, I struggle with moderate obstructive sleep apnea, or osa. In adults with obesity, moderate to severe OSA is a condition where breathing is interrupted during sleep, with loud snoring, choking, gasping for air, and even daytime fatigue. Let's just say it can sound a lot like this. Sound familiar? Learn more@don'tsleeponosa.com this information is provided by.

[Commercial Voice]

Lilly, a medicine company, and Doug. Here we have the Limu IMU in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug Limu.

[Commercial Voice]

Is that guy with the binoculars watching us? Cut the camera.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

They see us.

[Commercial Voice]

Only pay for what you need@liberty mutual.com.

[Holly Fry]

Savings Fairy underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance.

[Commercial Voice]

Company and affiliates excludes Massachusetts these days, it seems like AI agents are just about everywhere you turn, every field and every function. But without identity, you can't trust they'll serve your business instead of jeopardizing it. Fortunately, Okta helps you get identity right by securing your AI agents identities, giving you a single layer of control, a single standard of trust. So whether an AI agent supports a single user or your entire enterprise. With Okta, you'll turn risk into opportunity. Secure every agent. Secure any agent. Okta secures AI.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Standing on the summit of Denali on June 7, 1913, the Carsten stuck expedition set up an instrument tent. They took various readings and measurements. They estimated their altitude. Their estimate was 23,300ft. They also took photographs, although as we said earlier, after developing those photographs, they realized they had needed a longer extreme exposure time for them to really be capturing the scene. Stuck described the view from the summit as splendid and said that they also saw Denali's wife for the first time during their ascent. This became another piece of evidence that Frederick Cook had not gotten to the summit as he had claimed, since his account did not say anything about being able to see the other mountain, which could only be seen from the top of Denali, not on the way up.

[Holly Fry]

They had reached the summit at about 1:30pm and they left just after 3pm they got back to their camp about two hours later and they decided to get back down the mountain as quickly as possible, caching a lot of their surplus gear and supplies along the way in case some future expedition needed them.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

It also sounds like some of it they more just abandoned, like, we don't need this anymore. We're not carrying it. They left it there.

[Holly Fry]

I don't want to carry this.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

As the elevation decreased, the temperatures got a lot warmer and things were starting to thaw. When the team needed to cross that field of chasms and ice bridges, it would have been safest to wait until night when everything was most frozen. But they knew that John Fredson was waiting for them at the base camp and they were weeks behind when they had told him to expect them. The longer it passed, the more time it might be for him to either try to come after them or think they must have died and leave. So they just pushed on.

[Holly Fry]

They also ran into an unexpected annoyance, and that was mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are a known problem in Alaska in the warmer months. But the expedition had not expected to be on the mountain late enough into the spring to encounter any of them, so they hadn't brought anything to try to deal with them.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Although it had been more than a month, or about a month since they parted ways, the foreman did eventually get to base camp and reunited with Fredson. While they had all been gone, Fredson had hunted mountain sheep and caribou. He had kept the dogs fed, and he had also saved the best cuts of the meat for the human members of the expedition. On their return, Fredson had also saved his own ration of sugar, knowing that the rest of the team's supply had been destroyed in that fire. So the men all had some coffee sweetened with sugar, which Stuck described as luxurious. He really praised Fredson for having saved his own sugar for them, saying, quote, there are not many boys of 15 or 16 of any race who would voluntarily have done the like.

[Holly Fry]

The next day, the men made pack saddles out of canvas for the sled dogs to wear, since they were too far into the thaw for dog sleds to be workable. They took their time preparing to go, and they took the opportunity to wash themselves in a thawing creek.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

They left base camp on June 10, and they reached China 10 days later. From there, they sent a telegraph message to a Seattle newspaper reporting their successful expedition. Stuck said he got a reply from the newspaper asking for 500 more words describing narrow escapes. And he did not answer that because there really had not been any. Maybe he also did not just want to talk about the fire. That may have been his fault.

[Holly Fry]

I'm just laughing to myself here because it's like, even at this point, it's very. If it bleeds, it leads. Like, oh, sure, they just want sensationalism. After becoming the first person to summit Denali, Walter Harper left Alaska to continue his education. He went to Massachusetts to attend Northfield Mount Hermon, which is a college preparatory school that was founded by evangelical preacher Dwight Moody. On the way there, he stopped at Coney island, where he attracted the attention of a reporter from the New York Times. The resulting article described Harper as hitting one of those test your strength carnival attractions at Luna park so hard that the bell rang twice and the mechanism broke. He also went to shoot at balls and hit them all. There was also a dunk tank with a black man sitting on the platform inside. The New York Times article refers to him exclusively by his race. Harper had three balls, and he hit the target all three times. Then he went to the beach and made a model of Denali out of sand and traced the route they had taken to the top.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Harper studied at Northfield Mount Hermon until 1916, and he had some struggles there. Although Stuck had tutored him for years, Harper really had not had a lot of formal education. And he was also really homesick. So in 1917, when Stuck proposed that Harper return to Alaska to accompany him on a mission trip around the Arctic coast, with Stuck continuing to help him prepare for college while they traveled, Harper agreed.

[Holly Fry]

The Arctic coast had been part of Stuck's commission when he was named Archdeacon, but he had never actually visited there, and he hadn't met many Inuit people who speak languages from a different family than the Athabaskan speaking peoples that Stuck was most familiar with. In Stuck's words, his purpose with this journey was, quote, an inquiry into their present state, physical, mental, moral and religious, industrial and domestic, into their prospects, into what the government and the religious organizations have done and are doing for them and what should yet be done.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Stuck planned to take this trip by dog sled, which meant they had a schedule to keep. They needed to get back home before the spring thaw, but Harper got typhoid about three weeks before they were supposed to set out. Replacing Harper was just not an option, both because Stuck needed somebody that he knew he could travel and live with over this kind of a journey, and because tutoring Harper so he could go to college had been part of this whole deal. Fortunately, Harper recovered a lot faster than the doctor predicted he would, and they were able to leave only a few days after Stuck had originally planned. Along the way, during this journey along the coast, they met various people who had known Arthur Harper, who all spoke very highly of him. And Walter was really pleased about that, since he had never known his father.

[Holly Fry]

Stuck and Harper were both working toward the goal of Harper going to medical school and then returning to Alaska to be a doctor in his own Athabaskin community. So their teacher student relationship was ongoing. During this trip, Stuck said of him, quote, walter displayed an eagerness to learn and a new sharpened quickness of apprehension that made teaching him a delight.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

But some things also happened that had the potential to affect that med school. Plan one was World War I. The United States became directly involved in the war in April of 1917, and the selective Service act was passed, setting up a draft that May. Although the Selective Service act applied to all men, regardless of whether they were US Citizens and regardless of whether they lived in a state or in a territory, in practice, most men with Native ancestry who tried to register in Alaska were rejected. But on this trip, Harper met a man whose two sons had been accepted into the service even though they were Native. Harper started talking about trying to enlist in the Army Air Service and maybe going to college afterward.

[Holly Fry]

Back at Fort Yukon, Harper had also met Francis Wells, a missionary nurse from Philadelphia who was stationed there, and they had quickly formed an attachment. Toward the end of this journey, Harper let Stuck read his journal, which is when Stuck learned that the two were engaged. Stuck was conflicted about all of this. He thought both military service and marriage could interfere with Harper's education and his future medical career. But at the same time, indeed so far as the enlistment was concerned, I was proud that without any urging, he saw it as his duty and as soon as he saw it, resolved upon it. I was proud too, that he had won the heart of a cultivated gentlewoman.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Walter and Frances had not initially planned to get married until after Walter finished medical school. But after Harper and Stuck returned from the Arctic coast to Fort Yukon on April 27, 1918, the couple started talking about getting married sooner. The possibility of Harper joining the army and going off to war surely played a part in this decision making. They got married at Fort Yukon on September 4, 1918, with Hudson stuck conducting the ceremony. After they got married, Frances and Walter went on a three week hunting trip together.

[Holly Fry]

Not long after that, Walter and Frances boarded the SS Princess Sophia, bound for Vancouver. They planned to travel from there to Philadelphia so that Walter could meet Frances's family. Then he would either join the air service or enroll in college, depending on what was happening in the war. At that point, it seemed like it might be over soon.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

On October 24, the Princess Sophia struck a reef and it became lodged there. About 40 hours later it was swept off of the reef and it sank. The only known survivor was a dog who managed to swim to safety covered in oil. We have an episode on this which will be our next Saturday classic.

[Holly Fry]

Walter and Frances were buried in Juneau, Alaska. Their grave was marked with a stone that eventually became illegible. In more recent years, a plate has been placed over the stone like a picture frame and it contains the original inscription which reads, here lie the bodies of Walter Harper and Francis Wells. His wife drowned on the Princess Sophia. 25 October 1918. May light perpetual shine upon them. They were lovely and pleasant in their lives and in their death they were not divided. 2 Samuel 1:23. That Bible passage is a reference to Saul and Jonathan. Quote, Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives and in their death they were not divided. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Hudson Stuck, who had come to see Walter Harper as a son, was truly grief stricken. His book recounting their final journey together was published in 1920 as A Winter Circuit of Our Arctic A Narrative Journey with Dog sleds around the entire Arctic coast of Alaska. This book is dedicated to Walter Harper, quote, companion of this and many other journeys, strong, gentle, brave and clean, who was drowned in the Lynn Canal when the Princess Sophia foundered with her entire company. 25th October 1918. Perhaps because this is the book Stuck wrote after Harper had died. It mentions him by name vastly more times than any of his earlier works. Even though Walter Harper played a similarly important role in Stuck's Missionary Travels and the Summoning of Denali, the other things he had also written books about. This book also includes a lot of stuff about, like, their discussions about Shakespeare. Like, a lot of it is not strictly related to what Stuck was doing in the missionary work. A lot of it is really about Walter Harper.

[Holly Fry]

A memorial fund was established in honor of Francis Harper to support the construction of a hospital as well as the Francis Wells Harper Solarium. This was a facility to try to treat tuberculosis through sunshine exposure while protecting patients from the biting insects that are prevalent in Alaska in the warmer months.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah, that was before the development of antibiotics to treat tuberculosis, obviously. Hudson Stuck died of pneumonia at Fort Yukon on October 10, 1920. Esaias George died of influenza that same year. Harry Karstens became the first superintendent of Denali national park and Preserve after it was established in 1917. He died in Fairbanks, Alaska on November 28, 1955. Robert Tatum was eventually ordained as an Episcopal priest and he later returned to Tennessee, where He died on January 27, 1964.

[Holly Fry]

John Fredson left Alaska and attended school at Northfield Mount Hermon and then went on to the University of the south, also called Sewanee, graduating from there in 1930. This made him one of the first Alaska Natives to earn a college degree. Stuck had sponsored him for admission into the college. After graduating, Fredson returned to Alaska where he was a teacher, a leader and a political activist. This included working with linguists and ethnographers to document the Gwichin language and culture and working with the Gwich' in people to try to attain self governance after the passage of the Indian Reorganization act of 1934. He died on August 22, 1945. There is some natural speculation about whether Walter Harper would have had a similarly important role among the Koyukon Athabaskan people if his life had not been cut tragically short.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

In 2013, the Talkeetna Ranger Station was renamed Walter Harper Talkeetna Ranger Station. This is the ranger station where people who hope to climb Denali or other peaks in the Alaska Range stop to get their climbing permits. And that is Walter Harper. The disaster of the SS Princess Sophia was a tremendous loss to Alaska and adjacent parts of Canada and to the Alaska Native communities. There's more on that in that episode, which will be the next Saturday classic.

[Holly Fry]

Do you have listener mail for us?

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I do. This is another email from October and it's referencing an earlier episode and it is from Caroline. Caroline wrote hello Holly and Tracy. Love your work, especially the way you continue to speak from your hearts and support. Spotlight the history we don't know but need to Longtime listener who may have emailed a time or two I started listening to your William Firth Wells and Mildred Weeks Wells episode a while ago and got interrupted. At the time I couldn't think why the UV light treatment sounded so familiar. Today, I had time to finish it and remembered a story about Chicago's wastewater treatment using it to clean up the water that has returned to the Chicago River. See a story below. I know it's not air treatment, but I hope you'll find it interesting. Speaking of Chicago, I visited the Art Institute recently to see the Gustav Caillebot exhibit, which closes on October 5th and was great and discovered Elizabeth Catlett, whose art is not only stunning, but her life is so interesting. Her Exhibit closes on January 4, 2026. Could she get added to a future episode list? I hope you'll get to visit Chicago and see it for yourselves. I've included a photo of her statue Pensive, a teaser from the exhibit, Love her glasses, along with my usual suspect Pet tax Penny. And then there is an article link to an article about the UV disinfection for the wastewater in Chicago. Yes, there are lots of things that UV light can be used to sanitize and disinfect. In addition to the air that we talked about in the William Firth Wells and Mildred Weeks Wells episodes. This sculpture picture is very intriguing. This is not an artist who I know anything about at all and so I will see. Maybe this will be an episode we'll see. And then a puppy dog on a couch with his face resting on a pillow looking for Lauren. I want to give this dog some snuggles.

[Holly Fry]

Is this dog not a boy? Is it Penny?

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Okay, I'm sorry. She looks like a very good girl.

[Holly Fry]

It jumps out to me because I immediately go it's time for a Penny.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Cartoon because oh yeah, yeah, sure.

[Holly Fry]

Because I love some Pee Wee's Playhouse.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah. So if you would like to send us a note about this or any other podcast, we're history [e-mail] I'll try not to misgender your pets. You can subscribe to our show on the iHeartRadio app and anywhere else you like to get your podcasts. Stuff youf Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. This is Sophie Cunningham from Show Me Something. Do you know the symptoms of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea or OSA in adults with obesity? They may be happening to you without you knowing. If anyone has ever said you snored loudly, or if you spend your days fighting off excessive tiredness, irritability and concentration issues, it may be due to osa. OSA is a serious condition where your airway partially or completely collapses during sleep, which may cause breathing interruptions and oxygen deprivation. Learn more at don'tsleep on OSA.com this information is provided by Lily, a medicine company.

[Commercial Voice]

My perfect day has sand, salt water and friends, but my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis can take me out of the moment. Now I'm all in with clearer skin thanks to Skyrizi Risankizumab RZA, a prescription only 150mg injection for adults who are candidates for systemic or phototherapy. With Skyrizi. Most people saw 90% clearer skin and many were even 100% plaque free at four months. Skyrizi is just four doses a year. After two starter doses.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Don't use if allergic to Skyrizi. Serious allergic reactions, increased infections or lower ability to fight them may occur before treatment. Get checked for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor about any flu like symptoms or vaccines.

[Commercial Voice]

Thanks to Skyrizi, there's nothing on my skin and that means everything.

[Podcast Advertiser/Promoter]

Nothing is everything.

[Commercial Voice]

Ask your doctor about Skyrizi, the number one dermatologist prescribed biologic in psoriasis. Visit skyrizi.com or call 1-866-Skyrizi to learn more.

[Holly Fry]

Toyotathon is on so stop by your local Toyota dealer for incredible year end deals on the cars, truck and SUVs known for their legendary reliability like the stylish and efficient Camry, the Ready for anything RAV4 or check out a rough and rugged Tacoma or Tundra, all with great financing and lease options available to qualified customers. Visit buyatoyota.com to find out more. Toyota let's go places.

[Podcast Advertiser/Promoter]

Hey audiobook lovers. I'm Kalpen.

[Commercial Voice]

I'm Ed Helms.

[Podcast Advertiser/Promoter]

Ed and I are inviting you to join the best sounding book club you've ever heard with our new podcast, Hearsay, The Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club.

[Commercial Voice]

Each week we sit down with your favorite iHeart podcast hosts and some very special guests to discuss the latest and greatest audiobooks from audible.

[Podcast Advertiser/Promoter]

Listen to HearSay on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Follow EarSay and start listening on the free iHeartradio app today.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.