All language subtitles for Secrets of the National Parks Series 1 5of5 Denali National Park 1080p HDTV x264 AAC MVGroup org

(gentle music)

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] A land as
rugged as it is magnificent.

(insects chirping)

Dominated by monumental forces of nature.

Towering above it all is Mount McKinley.

Nowhere else on the entire
continent of North America

has the earth pushed itself so high

and so dramatically into the sky.

In the next hour, we'll
discover a back country Mecca

for all who seek solitude,

a vast open tundra where
wildlife roam free.

We'll rappel up the icy
edge of a glacial crevasse

and take to the air over a river of ice.

We'll raft down a raging rapids

and cruise a river bed

to uncover a frontier glorious and wild.

(upbeat music)

And we'll let you in on the many secrets

of Alaska's Denali National Park.

(gentle music)

Stretching across 6 million acres

in the central part of the
nation's largest state, Alaska,

Denali National Park remains a wilderness

remote and mostly unexplored.

Where snows and avalanches,
deep cold and darkness

rule this sub-Arctic region

seven to eight months of the year.

Thaws in spring and summer
bring up to 24 hours of light

to this land of the midnight sun

and some of the warmest
weather in all Alaska.

The Alaska Range, a
majestic 650 mile-long chain

of mountains divides the park
into two distinct climates.

On the north side, much of
the lower area of the park

is covered by a spruce
forest mixed with aspen,

poplar and birch called taiga,

a Russian word for the
woodlands of the far North.

At higher elevations, the
treeless alpine tundra takes over.

Hosting a variety of dwarf shrubs

and plants that have adapted
to a short growing season,

the tundra provides a habitat

for the park's abundant wildlife.

In contrast, the South
side of the Alaska Range

is wet with rain and year-round snow,

as hundreds of glaciers or rivers of ice

moving slowly under the force of gravity

carve out the valleys and gorges.

- One of the unique advantages

of working in Alaskan parks
is they're large enough

where you can see both sides
of an ecosystem process

where you see the before and after,

where a glacier is and where it has been,

and where it's forming.

So you can actually study what a process

looks like as it's happening

and it's a perfect natural
laboratory for that.

(gentle music)

- [Narrator] Rising above
it all is Mt. McKinley,

the highest peak on the
North American continent.

The first humans to set foot

in what is now Denali National Park

were the Athabascan people,

who called the mountain,
Denali, meaning the high one.

Soaring to an elevation of
20,320 feet at the summit,

it lives up to its name.

You'd think the view of one of the largest

single objects on Earth
would be hard to miss.

And on a clear day,

the mountain is visible
for over 150 miles.

But finding a clear day is not so simple.

The mountain creates
its own weather system,

with storms that shroud it in clouds,

two thirds of the time.

But when Mt. McKinley does
appear, the view is astounding.

(bright music)

Chugging along the
tracks between Fairbanks

and Anchorage to Denali,
the blue and yellow cars

of the Denali Express are
a welcome sight year-round.

Visitors hop aboard for a ride
through the Alaskan country

that makes getting there half the fun.

Two dome-roofed cars offer panoramic views

and nobody's in a rush.

The Denali Star slows
down about 25% of the time

to let visitors take in the scenery.

Onboard, you'll meet some well-versed

local high school students

who act as tour guides
in the summer months,

a time when the park receives
the majority of its visitors.

(bright music)

Carving a railroad
across a remote territory

with extreme weather was a daunting task.

After private investors failed,

the US government took over the job

that required importing
absolutely everything.

Eight years and $60 million later, in 1923

President William Harding
drove a golden spike

into the track at the town of Nenana,

50 miles north of the park

and officially opened the railroad.

It truly was a railroad
through the wilderness.

In the first year of operation,

only 62 passengers traveled by train.

Today, thousands of
people make the same trip,

following the flat terrain
leading to the point

where the Alaska Range
majestically comes into view.

(bell ringing)

The destination, the Denali
Park Station inside the park

where travelers either meet tour buses

or make their own way to
the main visitor center

to hook up with the
park's shuttle bus system.

- Thank you.

- [Narrator] Their ticket

to experiencing the great outdoors.

(gentle music)

Near the visitor center,
a piece of park history

is preserved at headquarters,

where the original 1920s and 30s

log buildings are still in use.

Among them you'll find one

of the most popular places, The Kennels.

In a land with an emphasis on winter,

these Alaskan huskies are a
star attraction year-round,

complete with individual doghouses

that sport their own names.

They're actually bred for temperament

and that's a good thing
since the Denali Park Kennel

draws nearly 50,000 visitors each summer.

(gentle music)

This park has been home
to sled dogs since 1922

when Harry Karstens, the
first park superintendent

brought in the dogs as a means

of patrolling for game poachers.

(gentle music)

Today between October and April,

sled dogs are the only
transportation permitted

over one third of the park lands,

apart from snowshoeing or skiing.

Karen Fortier leads
Denali's dog sled program.

- Now some of you still may wonder,

isn't there greater means
of transportation today?

What are some reasons you think

we might still want to use them today?

- [Woman] Don't have noise pollution.

- Yeah, noise.

Two million acres of the park

is designated as wilderness land.

So within those wilderness areas

we don't use mechanized vehicles.

And it's sort of to keep
that natural silence

in the world today that's
kind of a shrinking resource.

(dogs barking)

- [Narrator] Breeding
and training the dogs

is all done at the park.

A musher is likened to a
coach who puts together a team

to complement canine
strengths and weaknesses.

- It's all voice command.

So when you say gee, they
gonna go to the right

and when you say haw,
they're gonna go to the left.

When you say whoa, you're
hoping that they stop.

But that's the hardest
command to teach any sled dog.

- Think they like what they do?

- Yeah.
(audience laughing)

- There is nothing in the
world that they love more

than to run and pull a sled

and you can kinda see that
as how excited they get

and they even do this three times a day.

And if you can multiply
that level of excitement

by about 100, that's what they
look like in the wintertime.

- [Narrator] The dogs
of Denali are distinct.

A larger freight-style of
dog with a heavier coat

makes them more like a
breed found in these parts

earlier in the 20th century.

Their long legs are suited for running

through untracked snows

and they have an excellent memory

for routes that lead to
shelter from year to year.

(gentle music)

While these natural-born runners

vie for any opportunity to sprint,

they're also perfect hosts.

When the spring snows melt
and the crowds come in,

they take time off to mingle

and enjoy the dog days of summer.

Each year an estimated 300,000 people

venture to Denali National Park

in search of one of the last frontiers.

Yet they're only able to cover
a tiny fraction of a place

where a lone road through the
middle of a vast landscape

is one of a few hints of civilization.

The park banned vehicles in the 1970s

in order to protect the wildlife.

And with the exception
of the first 15 miles,

today it's Denali by bus.

(gentle music)

The gateway to the park is
the Denali Visitor Center.

Here you see firsthand the
park's role in regulating travel,

from campsites to back
country permits, mapping

and mandatory training.

Venturing out into this
wilderness requires pre-planning.

Once on the bus, drivers
become your guides.

- Good morning.

Hopefully you have food
and water with you.

There's no place to get
water out in the park.

On the side of the building here,

left of the phones, there's a spigot.

You can fill a water bottle at this time

if you need to do that.

- [Narrator] The bus makes
frequent stops along the road

to pick up or drop off backpackers

heading out where the only
trails are animal trails.

(slow music)

At Savage River,

the dueling architects of water

and ice are apparent.

Here a glacier-carved U-shaped valley

meets a water-carved V-shaped valley.

Along the Savage River Trail,
one of a few in the park,

a hardworking group of
volunteers are mastering the art

of trail building on what
is called a social trail.

(gentle music)

Because it's close to the road,

so many visitors climb
Savage Rock that the park

has opted to build a single
trail to minimize the impact.

(hammering)

A crew of five to eight people

take an average of 16 to 29 hours

to build 10 feet of trail by hand.

It's slow going but
for those who volunteer

it's more than a job.

- There's a spiritual
component in it for me.

There's something euphoric

and something meditative about

hearing the chinking on the rocks,

hearing the mew gulls making their sounds

and just the wind.

The weather is always
really, really beautiful

since we've been up here.

Yeah, there's something
spiritual about it.

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] The Savage River
check-in station is symbolic.

From here, traffic is
limited to park buses.

Other vehicles can only
proceed by special pass.

For those who venture on,
the character of the road

changes from paved to gravel
as the land becomes wilder

but it's not just about wildlife.

(slow music)

Denali's rugged back country
calls to the more adventurous.

People step off the road

and they're almost immediately

immersed in a pristine

and at times inhospitable country,

much like the first
explorers who ventured here.

- We're gonna head on down this way.

- [Narrator] For those
who find trail-less travel

too intimidating, a discovery hike

led by a ranger is the way to go.

Although this tundra may look barren,

shrubs growing knee to waist high

give the bush country its name

and there's much more to it.

- [Ranger] If you guys wanna see

what caribou tracks look like,

here's some good ones right over here.

Now we can tell that it has a hoof,

because of these two different parts

of the track.
(river flowing)

(gentle music)

- [Narrator] As the land
becomes more winding

and wild, several natural
phenomena might catch your eye.

The valleys of mud, gravel

and silt are a result of glacial carving.

Melting ice, snow

and rain form braided rivers

or rivers that meander

from bank to bank in several channels.

Their patterns change during

the course of a day with the weather.

Anyone traveling on them needs to be aware

the levels can also change dramatically.

Approaching the Polychrome Pass,

once nicknamed Poison Point

'cause one drop will kill ya, the twists

and turns lead to a view

that's a multicolored sight to behold.

And it offers another glimpse
into Denali's geologic past,

a past that stretches
back millions of years.

The array of hues are a
result of volcanic eruptions

that once dominated the region.

Volcanoes are just one of Earth's forces

that shape this spectacular place.

Frequent earthquakes speak to
a land still in the making.

According to Phil Brease,

the chief geologist at
Denali National Park,

Alaska is one of the most

active earthquake areas in the world

and Denali is located in the northern end

of the seismic action.

An ongoing series of
earthquakes are monitored.

- They're often quite deep too

because the earthquakes
are usually happening

where the plate sub
ducting beneath Alaska.

- [Narrator] Where climbers
up on Mount McKinley

have reported feeling
the shake of a quake,

most quakes go unnoticed

because they occur at
depths of 100 kilometers

beneath the earth.

A seismograph in Eielson Visitor Center

can be the only visible sign of trauma.

Located at the 66 mile marker,

Eielson is a main check in
point along the park road

and it bustles with activity.

- We call this dewclaws.

- Do they serve any purpose?

- [Narrator] From ranger demonstrations,

- Raise your right hand,

- [Narrator] To the swearing
in of junior Rangers,

- As a junior Ranger,

- As a junior Ranger,

- I promise--

- [Narrator] It also offers an opportunity

to get a closer look at Mount McKinley.

Like the quakes, the answer

to the question of what makes
this mountain so massive

can be found beneath the earth.

- Here in Alaska is we're
sort of a receiving end

of kinda a big kind air belt

that we think of as the Pacific plate

or Pacific ocean plate

and that plate is migrating northward

at rates of four to six
centimeters per year

and slamming into Alaska

and crunching it against the Arctic basin,

kind of like a big accordion.

So it's getting pushed up by that crunch.

- [Narrator] While the
mountain is uplifting,

at a rate of two millimeters per year,

on the surface, massive

and powerful erosion devices
in the form of glaciers

and rivers constantly carve the rock away.

The secret to McKinley's height

is its resistance to weathering.

- [Phil] It's made of
very hard granite rock

and it's surrounded or intruded into

sedimentary rock that's
very soft all around it.

So the sedimentary rock
actually weathers away faster,

exposing more of the granite.

- [Narrator] The road winds its way

to the Kantishna district

where you'll find another
piece of park history.

91 miles from what is
now the park entrance.

There was gold in DeMatha hills.

In 1905, two prospectors
struck gold at Glacier Creek

and the gold stampede was on.

Tales of big strikes lured
hoards of prospectors

to the area.

Mining camps sprung up overnight.

- But only about 15

minors had the claims along Glacier

and Eureka creeks, which were

where the paying quantities
of gold were found.

And so pretty soon, it dissipated

but in the meantime, towns grew up

and here on this site
was the town of Eureka

and later to Kantishna.

- [Narrator] The gold
rush played a pivotal role

in the establishment of the park.

One of the early
founders, Charles Sheldon,

was concerned about the killing of game

to feed the mining camps.

So in 1917, Mount McKinley
National Park was set aside,

not to protect the gold or the miners

but as a game preserve.

In 1980, an additional 4
million acres was added

and mindful of its native American past,

the name was changed to Denali
National Park and Preserve.

Today, Kantishna is part of the park,

where you'll find
remnants of the gold rush.

The two-storey original Roadhouse,

built in 1905, once provided food, lodging

and supplies to the 2,000
miners who camp nearby

and the old recorder's cabin

was the place where miners
came to register their claims.

Joe Quigley, one of the first

and most successful miners
met his wife, Fannie

in Kantishna.

When the Quigleys
divorced, Fannie stayed on.

Her cabin, where she
hosted both prospectors

and park visitors for over 30 years

has been restored by the park.

Inside time is turned back.

A wood burning stove for heat

and simple furnishings are reminders

of a hard life in the wilderness,

as well as a tribute to Fannie Quigley

who was said to garden with a vengeance,

hunt like a man

and entertain like a queen.

Her pioneering spirit
made her a local legend.

All mining operations in the park

were halted in 1985 with one exception.

- You're gonna pick up a scoop of water

and you're gonna mix it up

and be prepared 'cause the water's cold

and you're gonna mix it up

and then you're gonna dump it off.

- [Narrator] Visitors are
permitted to pan for gold.

So if you wanna try your luck,

pick up a pan

and head for the chilly
waters of Eureka Creek

to get a lesson in panning for gold

from an Alaskan gold
miner's granddaughter.

- Now gold is denser than
anything else in this pan,

so it's gonna sink to the bottom.

So don't be afraid about
it being on the top

'cause it's gonna sink.

So you just keep doing this
over and over and over again

and every time, you dump off water,

you gotta dump off a little bit of dirt

until you get down to this fine stuff.

- [Narrator] Just like the
prospectors of yesteryear,

the boom is a bust

and most leave empty handed,

except for a few shiny souvenirs.

(gentle music)

The Kantishna Roadhouse provides cabins

and a welcoming lodge

where visitors come for
lunch or longer stays.

All set in a spot that
grimes with gold rush history

and something more.

Owned and operated

by the first human inhabitants
of the park, the Athabaskans,

this is the place to learn
about local native culture.

(native singing)

- Here in the interior,
The Athabaskan Indians

have for centuries roamed this land

and actually Kantishna is
an Athabaskan Indian word,

which means heart.

The Athabaskan people were nomadic.

They followed the caribou,
they followed the fish.

They didn't settle in communities,

they just followed the food basically

and so this is where they
came to do the moose hunting.

(gentle music)

- [Narrator] Just up the road
from the Kantishna Roadhouse,

Camp Denali is a remote
wilderness hostelry.

(gentle music)

Founders, Celia Hunter

and Ginny and Morton Wood,
offered their guests a tent

and one of the first ever
eco tourism experiences

back in the '50s.

Today, extended stays of three
to four days are required

to give guests time to delve
deeper into the back country.

One of the original tenants is left intact

so guests can see

what it was like to stay
out here in the '50s.

This is no ordinary tent,

more like a cabin,

it came with a Coleman stove,
furnishings, provisions

and bunk beds.

(gentle music)

Camp Denali has grown to 17 log cabins.

Accommodations at this getaway are cozy

and still relatively basic

and it's the only place to
stay indoors in the park

that offers a view of Mount McKinley,

although that, depends on the mountain.

On any given day,

the weather from one end
of the park to another,

is a constant variable.

In the summer months, it rains
more than half of the time,

yet Alaskans never let
it get in their way.

- If you're prepared for
it, you'll love the changes

because the park changes,
the light changes.

There's always something wonderful to see

no matter what the weather is.

You wanna come with
clothes that are layered,

that you're able to take on and off

because you might see
some rain, sunshine, wind,

even a tad of snow perhaps

but it only adds to the experience.

It doesn't take away from it.

The Denali Back Country
Lodge offers equipment

and instruction for a variety
of activities, rain or shine,

and there are plenty
of places to kick back

and enjoy the moment.

(dramatic music)

The mountains and shimmering lakes

of Denali National Park in Alaska,

provide the backdrop

for one of the premier
places on the planet,

to spot wildlife.

High above the timber
line, the doll sheep.

The only species of wild
white sheep in the world,

add a pastoral grace to a rough country.

From their strategic view,

these elusive cliff dwellers

use their eyes to detect
most signs of danger.

Their strong legs are made
for speed in steep country.

When they do come down from
the mountain sides to migrate,

they do so with extreme caution.

That's when they're most
vulnerable to predators.

Around the park, caribou
are another common site.

While they may look
peculiar, truth be told,

they spend much of their time

on the move feeding and
fleeing the parasitic flies

that plague them.

Caribou often take to the
road with a swinging trot,

traveling alone, in small groups

or in bands of 200 to 2,000 in winter.

The Denali caribou are unique

because their entire migratory range

of some 3,900 miles is included within

the boundaries of the park.

Unlike moose or other
members of the deer family,

it's more difficult to tell
who's who by their head gear,

since both sexes sport
their own rack of antlers.

As with any wildlife, keeping
a respectful distance is key.

At this rest stop,

it's very clear who has the right of way.

Denali is also bear country.

Black bears that inhabit
the deep forest areas

are rarely seen in the heart of the park.

Unlike a grizzly, they
can climb trees with ease

and they tend to stay
clear of the open range.

The park road cuts
through a grizzly habitat,

so the farther you venture out,

the more likely you are
to spot a grizzly bear.

While spotting a bear from
a safe distance is awesome,

when exploring this country on foot,

no creature sparks as much fear.

Bears can be dangerous to humans.

Back in the '80s, Denali National Park

had a high rate of bear
encounters per back country user.

Now, it's a model for
successful bear management,

although the Rangers say,

it's more accurate to
call it human management.

A program that begins
with mandatory education

before anyone hits the back country.

Since hikers are required to carry

bear resistant food containers

and trash containers

have been retrofitted
with bear resistant lids,

most bears have gotten the message.

There's no payoff for
encounters with humans

and humans are monitored as well.

- What we have here is a
bull caribou that was killed

right about here, about a
half a mile off the road,

there's a sauna cub on it right now.

- And it's right down on the gravel bar?

- It is on the gravel bar.

- If we have a kill,

somewhere where we know there
will be a lot of people,

if there's a travel corridor
to a back country unit

or an area where we know
there's gonna be a lot of

day hikers, we'll close an area

to keep people out of there.

And we do that for a number of reasons.

One is, for safety of the humans

because if someone
happens to get too close

to a bear that's on a kill,

it poses a dangerous
situation for those people.

As well as, to keep disturbance
to the animals to a minimum.

- [Narrator] Rangers try
to minimize outside impact,

so bears can focus strictly
on their own survival.

Survival, that has been
the subject of study

by the park since 1991.

Monitoring the bears has led
to some Denali bear facts.

There are an estimated 350 grizzlies

that roam some 80 to 270
square miles of parkland.

While a bear can live into its twenties,

one female has reached
the ripe old age of 35.

The amount of bears varies
from season to season.

Sadly, 70% of all cubs

die before the end of their first year.

The study revealed lifespan
in this sub-arctic region

has a lot to do with
the physical condition

of the mother bear.

(bright music)

These three young cubs
set off down the hill,

while their mom was working
her way through a berry patch

but they weren't out of
sight or out of mind.

Once scent determines there's no danger,

everyone is called back to the berries.

(bird chirping)
Beyond bears,

wildlife at Denali includes
167 species of birds.

Some migrate to the park from
as far away as South America.

Smaller critters give the area
much of its wild character

and round out the food chain.

Out of its elaborate
system of underground dens,

this marmot flattens out on a rock.

Camouflaged from predators,
it catches some rays.

The marmot's whistle warnings

alert an array of species,

including the arctic ground squirrel.

It stands at attention, with good reason.

They're small bite size,

makes them a source of meat to
many of the parks predators,

including this fox who's
out looking for a meal.

(gentle music)

In the many ponds and creeks,

there's plenty of evidence of beavers

and their cooperative projects.

One of their dams at Wonder Lake,

actually raised the lake level

a record two feet in the '60s.

Although they're mostly nocturnal,

in the late afternoon,
they can be out and about.

These large rodents weigh up to 60 pounds.

Their back feet make excellent paddles.

This beaver is busy multitasking,

using its front feet as
hands to feed on a twig,

it glides through the water.

The secret to spotting a moose,

is to stay away from the open tundra.

Look for tree-lined habitats

that provide both food and cover.

Near the entrance to the park,

a bull moose trims the trees.

Moose are herbivores,

meaning they eat the branches, twigs

and bark of trees

and, they eat a lot of it.

Weighing over a thousand pounds,

a large moose can consume up
to 50 pounds of willow a day.

They're also tolerant to people.

They'll stand 75 to a 100 feet away

and go about their business.

Yet for humans, the very sight of a moose,

can cause a moose jam.

Only the males called bulls, grow antlers

that begin popping up in late winter

and grow for several months

before turning to dense
bone by the end of summer.

The bulls use their
antlers to attract cows

or females during mating season

and to defend their right to mate.

- Antlers are weapons

and bull moose use them to
fight with other bull moose.

Say, engage antlers

and they push

and they twist

and they fight by using these weapons,

there are sharp points on the antlers

and occasionally bulls inflict
a lot of damage on them.

to the point where occasionally bulls die

during rutting fights.

- [Narrator] After mating season's over,

the bulls shed these
potential lethal weapons.

Wildlife biologist, Vic Van Valkenburgh,

is the parks resident expert on moose.

He says people have a
lot of misconceptions

about these mammoth mammals.

- I think people think they're big

and dumb and slow and ungainly

and all those kinds of things,

and to me, they're none of that.

I mean, they are big but they're fast.

They can run 35 miles an hour.

They're not dumb.

They're intelligent to the point

where they make decisions as to,

what they're going to do on a daily basis

in order to survive.

(slow music)

- [Narrator] Denali is considered
to be the premier place

to study sub-arctic mammals.

One of them foremost researchers
of ecology, Adolph Murie,

spent his summers living
in a one room cabin

on the East Fork river.

His observations of the parks
wildlife for over 40 years,

changed the way wildlife
biologists view predators.

Especially the wolf, who he thought

was just out making an honest living.

Dr. Gordon Haber claims
he studies the descendants

of the same wolfs that Murie
began observing in the '30s.

Unlike Murie, Dr. Haber takes to the air

to follow the wolves of Denali.

With a tracking device,

he's able to monitor the wolf populations

across a much broader area

than he could possibly cover on foot.

Back on the ground, he's
well aware of the location

of their remote dens.

While he isn't exactly what
you call a wolf whisperer,

he does seem to speak their language

(howling)

and the wolves howl back in response.

(wolves howling)

According to Dr. Haber,

it's a misnomer to say
wolves live in packs.

They're social creatures who
live in large family groups

and wolves are extremely bright.

- I guess the best way

to visualize it,

is thinking of the most
intelligent dog you've ever known.

The most expressive, intelligent,

emotional dog you've ever known.

That's nothing but an average wolf

and of course, wolves have
to be more intelligent

and expressive than all the rest

because they have a much
harder life than a dog does.

- [Narrator] These
carnivores hunt in groups,

feeding on the weakest sheep, moose

and caribou and other creatures.

- They have to be very selective

in order not to kill
when they enter tangle

with these bigger, stronger critters.

- [Narrator] wolves and other predators

are now viewed as an important link

in the cycle of natural selection.

Denali National Park
became a national park

to preserve wild life.

And it remains one of the
best places, to stand back

and get a glimpse of the animal world.

(slow music)

At Denali National park in Alaska,

the gently sloping
tundra of the sub-arctic

meets the pinnacle of North
America, Mount McKinley.

(slow music)

Around the park on any
given day during the summer,

you'll see professional photographers

in search of the most beautiful sites.

Following them will inevitably lead you

to the shores of Wonder Lake,

85 miles into Denali National Park.

It is the closest one
can get to the mountain

from the park road

and its beauty can speak to the soul.

On a glorious August day,

one photographer mounted
his camera on a kayak

to capture the lake

and the mountain in the distance.

But for him, the real
payoff is just being there.

- It gives you just a feeling,

it's like I guess like a religion.

You come here

and it's just very mellow

and very nice

and just beautiful everywhere you look

and if it's cloudy in
the mountains, not out,

you've got wildlife all over.

It's just a wild place.

- [Narrator] Wonder lake
is another aftermath

of the ice age.

A receding glacier carved out
this two and a half mile long,

280 foot deep natural wonder,
some 14,000 years ago.

It's surrounded by all sorts
of vibrant wild flowers

and bushes filled with berries.

Following the road to the
East leads to Reflection pond

where on the rare days when
the water is perfectly still

and the sky is clear, the pond is a mirror

for Mount McKinley.

At sunset, the Northern light blades

the Alaskan range in a
vibrant pinkish effect,

known as the Alpenglow.

This picture perfect moment

has become one of the classic images

of the American wilderness.

While most are content
to gaze upon mountains,

others are called to conquer them.

(soft guitar music)

At the onset of the 20th
century, Mount McKinley,

the largest peak on the
North American continent,

began drawing daredevil
adventurers from all over the world

and with them, came stories
of triumph and tragedy.

In 1906, explorer Dr.
Frederick Cook's second attempt

to summit Mount McKinley was
a highly publicized event.

After wandering around on Ruth Glacier,

named after Cook's daughter,

Cook and a packer parted
ways with their expedition.

He returned claiming to
have made it to the top

within an unbelievably short two weeks

and he offered up a
photograph to prove it.

For Dr. Cook, a picture was his undoing.

Poor cropping left the
corner of a peek exposed.

An expedition in 1910
found Cook's fake peak,

placing him 11 miles away from the summit.

Cook's hopes inspired a
ragtag group of local miners

nicknamed the Sour Dose,
to attempt an ascent

with only crude climbing implements.

Where knowledge of the geography

and gumption, contributed
to their phenomenal feet,

they mistakenly climbed to
the top of the North peak,

850 feet below the true summit.

Finally, in 1913, a climbing expedition

that included Harry Karstens,

who would become the park's
first superintendent,

reached the highest peak.

It's fitting that the
first person among them

to set foot on the summit of Denali,

the high one was Walter Harper,

a native Alaskan of Athabaskan descent.

Approximately 1,200 people
attempt the climb each year.

As they step off the
plane onto the glacier,

their bodies immediately undergo changes.

Thin air and the elevation
make breathing difficult.

And no matter what you
eat, you'll lose weight.

An average climber burns
5,500 calories a day.

Climbing this mountain,

also means traversing
glaciers filled with crevasses

hundreds of feet deep.

It only takes one look into this abyss

to know that your next
step could be your last.

Long poles are used to route find

or search for hidden crevasses.

If you punch through to feel air,

then you know to take a detour.

Yet there are limits to
what you can see or feel.

- You can't tell how

strong all the snow bridges are.

So we need to have a backup
safety system in place,

and that's where the harnesses, the ropes,

us being spread out on a rope team,

the majority of big crevasse falls

translates directly to slack in the system

and someone wasn't
walking at the exact pace

of the person in the
front of the rope team.

And that's the challenge is that you can't

walk at your own pace.

You need to walk at the pace
of the person in the front.

- I'm gonna go down into
this hole, into this crevasse

and ascend up the line

and this is how I can self rescue myself

if I were to fall in a
hole in a real situation.

- [Narrator] Climbers must train

for every eventuality on the mountain.

Using a device called an Ascender

and a series of knots

that act as pulleys, allows a person

to shimmy up the icy edge of a crevasse.

If all else fails, climbers
have to be hauled out

by their rope team.

- It's always a good feeling
get out on top again.

- [Narrator] Yet the biggest
challenge on the mountain

isn't crossing the glaciers.

It's the erratic weather.

During climbing season, May through July,

snow storms can create
whiteout conditions.

Temperatures can drop to
50 degrees below zero,

with ferocious 80 to
100 mile an hour winds.

And the higher you go, the
more problems you have.

- We have frostbite injuries

just 'cause of the extreme cold,

with a huge amount like
this that's so far North.

We have altitude injuries
or altitude illnesses.

- [Narrator] At 18,000 feet,

the air contains only 50% oxygen.

Breathing it can cause loss
of strength, sleep, appetite

and reasoning.

Park Rangers say, inexperience

and bad judgment account for
90% of all climbing accidents.

- When you're on the top of Denali,

you have about 50% of the mental capacity

you do as at sea level.

And it's probably true for most people.

I know I was asked a simple math problem

when I was up there this year

and they say I was always off
from getting the right answer

but I've never been a mathematician.

- [Narrator] When extreme
weather conditions

trigger climbing accidents,

the drama begins.

(man speaking on radio)
(dramatic music)

A drama that included one

of the world's highest short haul rescues.

In 1998, two British climbers
were lifted off the mountain

by the park services
high altitude helicopter

at 19,000 feet.

In spite of the heroic efforts,

there are fatalities on the mountain,

among the many happier endings.

In a year with good weather,

half the climbers share the
euphoria of reaching the top

and there are always new
mountaineering milestones.

In 2001, Galen Johnston,

an 11 year old from the
nearby town of Talkeetna,

was the youngest person ever to summit.

Galen began climbing at age two.

Mountain climbing with the
Johnston's is a family affair.

His father Dave, breathed
minus 148 degree weather

in the first winter
ascent of Denali in 1967.

Like all expeditions, training
to tackle Mount McKinley

began on lower altitude mountains.

- It started with going to Naipaul

to see if I did well at altitude

and that was in '99

and so we just went up
in the Everest region

and saw that I did fine at 18,000 feet.

So I figured that was pretty good trial

and came back

and next year went up.

- [Narrator] And success
for the Johnston's

was dependent upon the weather.

- Our summit day was so just clear

and relatively warm,

10 degrees but... (laughs)

and no wind.

It was on father's day.

So as my dad says, it's the
best father's day present

I have ever given him.

It was just really powerful

to be up there as a family

and look back at our house

and be able to now think
that I've been up there.

- [Narrator] Radiant and daunting,

Mount McKinley stands among the
world's superlative summits.

(gentle music)

In the millions of acres of open country

surrounding Denali
National Park and Preserve,

distances are deceptive.

What appears to be 10
miles, may in fact be 50

and the land unfolds in front of you

for as far as the eye can see.

(helicopter whirling)
(gentle music)

Beyond the parks boundaries,

adventurers take to the air

to cover more ground.

Hella hiking, offers an
opportunity for a bird's eye view,

before setting out on foot.

Since a helicopter doesn't
need a long landing strip,

there are more options
for drop-off points.

To allow deeper discovery
of the Alaskan interior,

guides lead day trips

or you can head out on your own.

(gentle music)

The helicopter will
return to take you home.

Needless to say, the
pickup is one deadline

you won't want to miss.

(river flowing)

Other adventure seekers take to the water.

Several Outfitters located
near the entrance to the park,

provide gear, instruction

and transportation to the river's edge.

Rafting this far North
requires both a wetsuit

and a lecture on what to do
if you fall out of the boat.

- If you start drifting
away from the boat,

it's going to take some
real aggressive swim strokes

to get back to the boat.

You gotta get back.

If the current's grabbing you

and you can't swim back to the boat,

then we wanna see you get in
a defensive swimming position.

You gonna be on your back,

your feet are gonna to be going downstream

and you want your feet on
the surface of the water.

Pretty much looks just like that.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] Once you hit the water

with temperatures averaging
36 degrees in the summer,

you'll be glad for the gear

and the expertise.

The ride down the raging the Nenana river

is an exhilarating one.

(group cheering)

If you wanna get there
with even less effort,

Denali Sightseeing Safaris
offers a thrill ride.

These customized monster
trucks with 64 inch wheels

weigh in at 14,000 pounds.

They're not only designed to
travel through rugged terrain,

they can cruise down
the gravel filled beds

of the braided rivers.

Riding high and dry in the cab,

keeps everyone above the
fray of the Alaskan bush

and getting to the back
country outside the park

is made easy, especially if
the weather isn't the best.

On the South side of Denali National Park,

surrounded by a chorus of icy peaks,

a scenic flight is the
way to get a sweeping view

of one of the most spectacular sites,

Ruth Glacier.

Here the snowfields

that blanket McKinley

and surrounding mountains year-round,

give way to colossal rivers of ice

that flow 20 to 30 miles

through the deepest
gorge in North America.

- The Ruth Glacier is one of the deepest,

temperate glaciers measured
outside of Greenland

and Antarctica.

It's over 3,000 feet thick of ice

but from the bottom of the gorge

to the top of the neighboring mountain

is over twice the size of
El Capitan in Yosemite park.

So it is a very interesting glacier

and one of the fastest
moving glaciers in the park.

Moving about three feet a day.

(plane engine roaring)

High up on Ruth Glacier,

sits one of the park's top secret spots,

the Mountain House.

On the way up to this
house, watch your step.

This is a glacier

where crevasses are
always a potential threat.

(gentle music)

At this modest one room shelter hut,

you have to bring all your own gear

and book a night well in advance

but it offers a view you
won't find anywhere else

in the world.

(gentle music)

From this incredible site,
a 360 degree panorama

of massive 10 to 12,000 foot peaks

surround the roof amphitheater.

Just how this rustic outpost
made it to the glacier,

is a story in itself.

It was built in 1963 as a safe haven

by one of the most legendary
of all bush pilots.

Don Sheldon, the man who
earned his reputation

as a daring aviator,
beginning in the '50s.

Flying both people and
cargo, he was the pioneer

of high altitude glacier landings.

- He was my inspiration.

He showed me the places
to land on the mountain

and I sorta worked into it

by following him around with my aircraft

and he would always give
me some baggage to carry,

his climbers whether they
were going in or coming out.

So I had a wonderful time with Don

and he was just a perfect
example to follow.

(plane engine roaring)

- [Narrator] Bush pilots, at the controls

of small one prop planes are
the folk heroes of Alaska.

They're one of the few ways
to get people in and out

of the distant parts of
the nation's biggest state

and on and off the mountains.

Lowell Thomas Jr. first flew over Alaska

while producing a film

for his father's television
series, "High Adventure".

(plane engine roaring)

After serving as Alaska's
Lieutenant governor,

he began flying commercially in the '80s.

- Then with this airplane,

which is standing right behind me here,

I was able to make some 12
rescues up at 14,200 feet.

But rescues, you're fighting the winds

and the visibility

and sometimes you just have to back off

and can't do it.

But I've done quite a few of them

and we all do.

If we're flying climbers,

we're sooner or later gonna have to rescue

some of those guys.

(plane engine roaring)

- [Narrator] Outside the
South side of the park,

60 flying miles from the
summit of Mount McKinley,

you'll find the quirky,
artsy town of Talkeetna.

Population, 770.

The town is the home base
for launching mountaineering

and rescue missions

and for any type of flight seeing.

In fact, Talkeetna owes
much of its history

and livelihood to the
community of brave bush pilots.

- All the pilots here
are seasoned veterans.

They do what they have
to do to help people.

If you're in the bush

and you're sick

and you need somebody to come get ya,

some pilots can step up to
the plane, come and get ya.

(gentle music)

- [Narrator] The Talkeetna
Historical Society Museum,

chronicles over a
century of man's attempts

to conquer the mountain.

A topographical map of Mount
McKinley details a rugged

and unforgiving country.

On the museum grounds,
the props of down planes

are a memorial to the lives lost

and the courage of the bush pilots

who are a part of the spirit of this town.

Denali National Park and Preserve

offers as many wonders as it does dangers.

This place is the product of millions

of years of geologic change

and the earth continues to transform.

For many, it's simply a
place to contemplate nature

and observe natural processes

undisturbed by modern man.

200 years since the first
European settlements,

Denali remains a mostly
unexplored wilderness.

- It is a link in some ways
maybe to the future for some,

because we need to have places where

in this increasingly
urbanized, mechanized,

bustling landscape, places
where we can find the quiet,

the solitude and the slowness of pace.

- [Narrator] It's here animals roam free

and a vast landscape just
unfolds seemingly forever

and its size is overwhelming.

From Denali by bus to
the back country on foot.

From camping out, to
taking on the mountain,

Denali has secrets around every turn.

(lively music)

People who enter this grand
space try to capture it

but only for a moment.

(gentle music)

Ecologist Adolph Murie,

described the Northern
exposure experience best.

"We come to Denali to watch,

"to catch a glimpse of the primeval.

"We come close to the
Tundra flowers, the lichens

"and the animal life.

"Each of us will take
some inspiration home.

"A touch of the tundra
will enter our lives

"and deep inside make us poets

"and kindred spirits.

"Our national parks here
in the North are set aside

"not only for Alaskans or for Americans,

"but for all humanity."

(bright music)