Mount Balchen (Alaska)

Mount Balchen
Mount Balchen
	Southwest aspect, from Denali Highway
Highest point
Elevation	11,205 ft (3,415 m)
Prominence	1,990 ft (610 m)
Parent peak	Mount Hayes (13,832 ft)
Isolation	4.28 mi (6.89 km)
Coordinates	63°37′25″N 146°51′09″W / 63.6236091°N 146.8524182°W
Naming
Etymology	Bernt Balchen
Geography
	Mount Balchen Location of Mount Balchen in Alaska
Country	United States
State	Alaska
Census Area	Southeast Fairbanks Census Area
Parent range	Alaska Range; Hayes Range
Topo map	USGS Mount Hayes C-6
Climbing
First ascent	1974

Mount Balchen is an 11,205-foot-elevation (3,415-meter) mountain summit in Alaska, United States.

Description

Mount Balchen is a glaciated mountain located on the crest of the eastern Alaska Range. It is the ninth-highest peak in the Hayes Range which is a subrange of the Alaska Range.^[3] This remote peak is situated 4.4 miles (7.1 km) west of Mount Hayes and 85 miles (137 km) south-southeast of Fairbanks. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains north into tributaries of the Tanana River and south to the Susitna River. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 3,700 feet (1,128 m) above the Hayes Glacier in 0.65 mile (1 km). The first ascent of the summit was made on April 30, 1974, by Dusan Jagersky and William Q. Sumner via the east ridge.^[4]

Etymology

The mountain is named for Bernt Balchen (1899–1973), United States Air Force, Arctic explorer and aviator.^[1] The mountain's toponym was officially adopted in 1974 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.^[1] There is a Mount Balchen in Antarctica which is also named after him.

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Balchen is located in a subarctic climate zone with long, cold, snowy winters, and cool summers.^[5] This climate supports the Hayes, Gillam, and Susitna Glaciers surrounding this peak. Winter temperatures can drop below −20 °F with wind chill factors below −30 °F. The months May through June offer the most favorable weather for climbing or viewing.

Gallery

The Hayes Range. L→R: Mt. Balchen, Mt. Hayes, Moby Dick, Mt. Shand
South aspect of Mount Balchen centered. Mt. Giddings to left, Mt. Skarland to right, and part of Mt. Geist behind Balchen.
Bernt Balchen

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Mount Balchen". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Balchen, Mount - 11,140' Alaska". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
^ ^a ^b "Mount Balchen". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
^ Dusan Jagersky, Mounts Balchen and Geist, Alaska Range, American Alpine Journal, 1975, americanalpineclub.org, Retrieved 2023-11-28.
^ Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11. ISSN 1027-5606.

External links

Account of first ascent: American Alpine Journal
Mount Balchen: Weather forecast

[gnis-1] "Mount Balchen". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2023-11-28.

[listsofjohn-2] "Balchen, Mount - 11,140' Alaska". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2023-11-28.

[peakbagger-3] "Mount Balchen". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2023-11-28.

[4] Dusan Jagersky, Mounts Balchen and Geist, Alaska Range, American Alpine Journal, 1975, americanalpineclub.org, Retrieved 2023-11-28.

[Peel-5] Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11. ISSN 1027-5606.

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