Hey Folks,
Here’s another unnamed mountain in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. I skied up the Lakina River a ways to take this photo. I’m looking forward to skiing further up the river and exploring the drainage a bit more – it’s a great place to look around, and doesn’t get too many folks visiting – particularly in the winter. There wasn’t even a snow machine trail up here, which in Wrangell St. Elias National Park in the winter is pretty rare.
The light here was really cool, slightly diffused by a building storm, but still strong enough to make the the peak somewhat dramatic. The wind was whipping up around the peak, churning up the fresh snow, which was kinda cool to watch. Even better, it wasn’t too windy down lower where I was at. 🙂
I converted the image to black and white when I got home, which I preferred to the original color version. I think this is the first photo of this mountain I’ve posted, but the mountain is one of the Crystalline Hills, which I think I posted an image or 2 of last spring. The Crystalline Hills are the southern end of the Wrangell Mountain Range , and run east-west, parallel to the McCarthy Rd. This peak is pretty much the eastern end of the Hills. The mountain is officially unnamed, but known locally as either ‘Mom’s Mountain’, or ‘Collins’ Mountain’. Mom’s Mountain by one family that lives nearby, and the kids’ mother has a classic view of the mountain out her bedroom window – so they call it ‘Mom’s Mountain’. Another family east of there, the Collins’, who live near Long Lake, refer to the mountain as ‘Collins’ Mountain’, as its out their backyard. I smell a feud. 🙂
Cheers
Carl
PS – the above info was given me by a long-time resident of the area, and he assures me it’s correct. I make no promises other than I’ve communicated his story here accurately, and that, officially, the mountain is not named.
Pretty sure this is Mt. Donohue.
I like Guy’s name!
Hey Guy,
You know there’s already a ‘Donoho Peak’ in the park? I’d hate to turn the park into a something like ‘Jimmy Lee Farnsworth’s Bibleland, from Fletch Lives. We can’t have ALL the mountains named after me.
Hey Ron,
Did you mean you like the name Guy tossed out here, or that you like Guy’s name? I’m pretty sure there’s no ‘Mt. Guy’ in the park, so that one’s open.
Funnily enough – the park policy is, in the spirit of keeping the park ‘wilderness’ no new names for features and places are granted. What is officially unnamed will remain unnamed. I’m not sure if I think this is good or bad. Nevermind, of course, that the Ahtna, the Eyak and the Tlingit people lived here for at least several thousand years and had names for mose places, mountains, rivers, lakes, etc in the area.
Cheers
Carl
No, I just like Guy’s name. 🙂 Donoho Peak is even a cooler looking mountain then this one – maybe you should change the spelling of your name.
Didn’t know they weren’t going to name anymore features. I don’t understand how that keeps with the wilderness, it isn’t like they are putting neon signs next to the named features. You need a way to describe where you are going, where you have been, or what you are climbing so I think inevertably there will be a bunch of unofficial names. Could make search and rescues a bit more challenging – “yeah I’m by that little lake at the base of that steep mountain – you know, the one with all that rock and ice”
Sweet image Carl. Who are we to think we have the right to place a name on anything? As if we owned it!
Hey Ron,
Guy does have a cool name .. 6 letters in total, and his name is done .. Guy Tal .. that’s about as easy as it gets, I reckon.
Mark and Ron,
On the issue of names, I see both sides of it – it does make the places a little more ‘unknown’ when they’re not named .. but it’s certainly reasonable to call them something. I think if we named them descriptively, some name that fits the actual mountain/river/glacier etc, rather than naming them after some person it maintains the integrity of our relationship with place a little more. That way, the features kinda name themselves, perhaps.
Cheers
Carl (sitting in the log lodge by the paved windy bumpy road covered with ice in the mountains north of where I live).