Mount Miller
Encyclopedia
Mount Miller is an isolated peak of the Saint Elias Range in Alaska
, United States
. It is notable for its position among spectacular icefields, its distance from any inhabited place, and its large rise above local terrain. It is over 65 miles (110 km) from McCarthy
, the nearest habitation, and over 105 miles (170 km) away from Yakutat, the nearest significant town. Exemplifying the size of the mountain, the south flank rises 9000 feet (2743 m) above the Duktoth River valley to the south in approximately 9 horizontal miles (14.5 km).
Mount Miller is the high point of the east-west trending Barkley Ridge, located on the south side of the Bagley Icefield
, one of the largest icefields in North America
. The Bering Glacier
flows from the Bagley Icefield at the western end of the ridge, while the southeast slopes of the ridge head the Yahtse Glacier
. The only side of the ridge that is not completely glaciated is the south side, where the Robinson Mountains lie between Barkley Ridge and the Gulf of Alaska
.
Since Mount Miller is so isolated, and is not of extraordinary absolute elevation by Alaskan standards, it was not climbed until very recently. The first ascent of the peak was made in 1996 by Charlie Sassara, Ruedi Homberger, Reto Ruesh, Paul Claus, and Carlos Buhler, via the West Ridge.
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is notable for its position among spectacular icefields, its distance from any inhabited place, and its large rise above local terrain. It is over 65 miles (110 km) from McCarthy
McCarthy, Alaska
McCarthy is a census-designated place in Valdez-Cordova Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 42 at the 2000 census.- Geography and location:...
, the nearest habitation, and over 105 miles (170 km) away from Yakutat, the nearest significant town. Exemplifying the size of the mountain, the south flank rises 9000 feet (2743 m) above the Duktoth River valley to the south in approximately 9 horizontal miles (14.5 km).
Mount Miller is the high point of the east-west trending Barkley Ridge, located on the south side of the Bagley Icefield
Bagley Icefield
The Bagley Icefield in southeastern Alaska is the largest nonpolar icefield in North America. It was named after James W. Bagley, a USGS topographic engineer who developed the Bagley T-3 camera and mapped Alaska prior to World War I...
, one of the largest icefields in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. The Bering Glacier
Bering Glacier
Bering Glacier is a glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. It currently terminates in Vitus Lake south of Alaska’s Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, about from the Gulf of Alaska. Combined with the Bagley Icefield, where the snow that feeds the glacier accumulates, the Bering is the largest glacier...
flows from the Bagley Icefield at the western end of the ridge, while the southeast slopes of the ridge head the Yahtse Glacier
Yahtse Glacier
Yahtse Glacier is a 40-mile-long glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. It begins on the southeast slope of Mount Miller and trends southeast along the north border of Guyot Glacier to Icy Bay, just east of Guyot Hills and 70 miles northwest of Yakutat. The western extent is an icefield....
. The only side of the ridge that is not completely glaciated is the south side, where the Robinson Mountains lie between Barkley Ridge and the Gulf of Alaska
Gulf of Alaska
The Gulf of Alaska is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the east, where Glacier Bay and the Inside Passage are found.The entire shoreline of the Gulf is...
.
Since Mount Miller is so isolated, and is not of extraordinary absolute elevation by Alaskan standards, it was not climbed until very recently. The first ascent of the peak was made in 1996 by Charlie Sassara, Ruedi Homberger, Reto Ruesh, Paul Claus, and Carlos Buhler, via the West Ridge.