Denali

I climbed seven of the eight Seven Summits in 2010/11. It took 18 airlines, 58 flights, 116,112 miles flown, 120 time zones and 201 nights away from home over 322 days to raise awareness and research funds for Alzheimer’s, and to honor my mom, Ida Arnette, who was taken by this disease in 2009. Read the 7 Summits overview.

Climbed June/July 2011 (reached 17,500' stopped by hurricane winds on summit)

North America: Denali (20,320'/6194m)

Denali is the native American name for the mountain but it was changed to Mt. McKinley in honor of President McKinley and the surrounding park was named Denali National Park by the National Park Service in 1980. In 2015, the name of the mountain was officially changed to Denali. It is in central Alaska – 300 miles South of the Arctic Circle and 200 miles East of the Bearing Sea. Denali offers some the the largest vertical gain of any mountain on Earth. With base camp at 7,200′ and the summit at 20,310′, this 13,110′ of gain over twelve miles is larger than Cho Oyu (8,407) or even Everest (10,535). The biggest threat on Denali is the weather. It is well known for socking you in for days with high winds and snow. 50,867 climbers have attempted Denali with 26,358 summiting, a 52% success rate . Almost 100 have died including 11 in 1992.

The second highest mountain in North America is Mt. Logan in Canada’s Yukon at 19,551’/5959m and is 385 miles southeast of Denali. Similar to Denali it is a huge massif but with eleven peaks. Logan is believed to have the largest base circumference of any mountain. The normal route is consider straightforward but weather is a huge problem for Logan like it is for Denali in addition to being so remote.

Here’s a look at the summit stats for the popular West Buttress route from 2000 to 2025 along with the most popular summit day:

Denali West Buttress Route source: National Park Service
Year	Total Summits	%	Top Summit Date	#
2026	582	60	June 3	83
2025	272	27	June 5	62
2024	523	52	June 8	77
2023	290	30	June 13	44
2022	745	70	June 18	102
2021	490	52	June 12	56
2020	CLOSED FOR COVID
2019	726	63	June 20	87
2018	463	44	June 8	67
2017	461	41	May 31	54
2016	647	60	June 16	83
2015	589	57	June 15	87
2014	404	35	June 4	99
2013	729	68	May 27	56
2012	460	40	May 27	56
2011	623	55	May 27 & 30	45
2010	630	56	June 21	54
2009	649	60	June 7	77
2008	652	58	May 30	91
2007	513	47	June 12	77
2006	545	52	May 29	50
2005	716	59	June 15	101
2004	628	54	June 4	71
2003	556	58	June 12	115
2002	575	53	June 13	56
2001	670	60	June 4	69
2000	556	53	June 3	71

Denali Resources

I have climb on Denali three times. You can read about my climbs thru these links:

Memories are Everything^®

Alan Arnette is an Alzheimer’s advocate for individuals, their families and anyone impacted by this disease through his professional speaking, climbing and website.

His objectives for the Memories are Everything^® climbs are:

Educate the public, especially youth, on the early warning signs and how to prepare
Increase awareness that Alzheimer’s Disease has no cure
Raise research money for Alzheimer’s non-profits

He has completed two major projects:

NO CURE, always fatal
No easy, inexpensive method of early detection
3rd leading cause of death in the US
New case every 68 seconds, 4 seconds worldwide
Impacts more than 5+m in US, 25m+ worldwide
Devastating financial burden on families
Depression higher for caregivers
Issues are increasing rapidly as population ages

The Alzheimer’s Immunotherapy Program of Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy and Pfizer Inc. funded my climbs for the 7 Summits campaign and ongoing efforts between November 2010 and November 2012. All money I raised then and now from donations goes directly to the organizations I have selected. During the campaign, content posted here was my own but subject to certain limitations in conjunction with the support of the AIP.

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