Skip to content
Outside
  • Watch
  • Learn
  • Podcasts
  • Maps
  • Events
  • Shop
  • New NFTs
  • O+

Become a Member

Get access to more than 30 brands, premium video, exclusive content, events, mapping, and more.

Join Outside+ Create Free Account
Already have an account? Sign In
Outside Watch
Premium Films and Live TV
Campfire
Outside Learn
Expand your Skills with Online Courses
Podcasts
The Outside Podcast
Maps
Get the Free Gaia GPS App
Get the Free Trailforks App
Events
Find Your Event
New NFTs
Discover NFT Market
Outside+
See Membership Programs
Shop
Discover Outdoor Products
Advocacy
Find Your Good

Become a Member

Get access to more than 30 brands, premium video, exclusive content, events, mapping, and more.

Join Outside+ Create Free Account
Already have an account? Sign In

Brands

Outdoor
  • Backpacker
  • Climbing
  • Fly Fishing Film Tour
  • Gaia GPS
  • National Park Trips
  • Outside
  • Outside Watch
  • Ski
  • Warren Miller Entertainment
Healthy Living
  • Clean Eating
  • Oxygen
  • Vegetarian Times
  • Yoga Journal
Endurance
  • Beta
  • Peloton Magazine
  • Roll Massif
  • Trail Runner
  • Triathlete
  • VeloNews
  • Women's Running
Industry
  • athleteReg
  • Bicycle Retailer & Industry News
  • FinisherPix
  • Idea
  • NASTAR
  • Outside Business Journal
  • Outside Shop
  • VeloPress
  • VeloSwap
Outdoor
  • Backpacker
  • Climbing
  • Fly Fishing Film Tour
  • Gaia GPS
  • National Park Trips
  • Outside
  • Outside Watch
  • Ski
  • Warren Miller Entertainment
Healthy Living
  • Clean Eating
  • Oxygen
  • Vegetarian Times
  • Yoga Journal
Endurance
  • Beta
  • Peloton Magazine
  • Roll Massif
  • Trail Runner
  • Triathlete
  • VeloNews
  • Women's Running
Industry
  • athleteReg
  • Bicycle Retailer & Industry News
  • FinisherPix
  • Idea
  • NASTAR
  • Outside Business Journal
  • Outside Shop
  • VeloPress
  • VeloSwap

Get 25% Off Outside+

The One Subscription to Fuel All Your Adventures

SAVE NOW

Outside Online
  • Search
  • Gear
  • Adventure
  • Health
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Food
  • Long Reads
  • Videos
  • Podcasts
  • Business Journal
  • Gear
  • Adventure
  • Health
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Food
  • Long Reads
  • Videos
  • Podcasts
  • Business Journal
Outside Online
  • Gear
    • Gear News
    • Cars & Trucks
    • Apparel
    • Biking
    • Camping
    • Climbing
    • Hiking
    • Running
    • Snow Sports
    • Water Sports
    • Tools & Tech
    • Gear Picks
  • Adventure
    • Exploration & Survival
    • Environment
    • Everest
    • Biking
    • Climbing
    • Hiking
    • Snow Sports
    • Water Sports
  • Health
    • Nutrition
    • Training & Performance
    • Wellness
    • Running
  • Travel
    • Destinations
    • Travel Advice
    • Essays
    • News and Analysis
    • National Parks
  • Culture
    • Active Families
    • Books & Media
    • Essays
    • Love & Humor
    • Opinion
  • Food
    • Recipes
    • Drinks
    • Cooking Equipment
    • Food Culture
  • Long Reads
  • Videos
  • Podcasts
    • Daily Rally
  • Business Journal
    • Advocacy
    • Brands
    • Issues
    • Opinion
    • Retailers
    • Trade Shows & Events
  • Outside Feed
  • Home
  • Member Exclusives
Travel Destinations

17 Days on North America’s Second-Highest Peak

Text by
Steve Ogle
Twitter Icon
Image
(Steve Ogle)

To celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary, my friends and I tried to summit our nation’s highest peak, Mount Logan, in the Yukon. At 19,551 feet, it’s the second-highest summit in North America. Only 759 feet shorter than Denali, Logan is the largest mountain on the planet by circumference and is protected by the world’s largest nonpolar ice fields. Best of all, it’s remote and crowd-free compared to Denali: Parks Canada listed only 53 climbers in the permit system for 2017.

Six of these climbers—our group, plus one solo Argentine—were on the mountain when a large earthquake and an even bigger storm hit the area on May 1, forcing a rescue of the Argentine climber, destroying part of our camp, and nearly thwarting our own summit dreams.

Due to the cold, altitude, and wicked weather, only half of those who attempt Mount Logan make it to the summit. We were fortunate enough to reach the top via the standard King’s Trench route after 15 days on the mountain.

Photo: Pro skier Chad Sayers, 38, braced against gale-force winds while trying to dig out the tent.

Image
(Steve Ogle)

Alex Frankel, a 46-year-old writer from San Francisco, got acquainted with how Canadians stay warm in winter during our supply stop in Whitehorse.

Image
(Steve Ogle)

Photographer Kari Medig, 43, had to sort out how to lash down gear on his about-to-be loaded toboggan, which we used to haul everything into Camp 2, Beyond that we carried everything on our backs. 

Image
(Steve Ogle)

The shuttle to the bush-plane airport at Kluane Lake, in the southern part of the Yukon, travels one of the most stunning roads in the country.

Image
(Steve Ogle)

Our pilot, Tom Bradley, gave us the first view of our challenge.

Image
(Steve Ogle)

The heliocourier dropped in for a landing at the base of the King’s Trench, the most-trafficked route on Mount Logan. The rest was up to us.

Image
(Steve Ogle)

Sunset at 11 p.m. This view is looking down the King’s Trench on our first night at camp. It never really got dark. 

Image
(Steve Ogle)

It didn’t take us long to realize that hauling loads at high elevation is seriously tiring. Here, we took a break from the slog on day two.

Image
(Steve Ogle)

Sayers and Medig worked hard to shuttle gear up to Camp 3, at about 15,700 feet. North America’s ninth-tallest summit, King’s Peak, at 16,972 feet, loomed in the background.

Image
(Steve Ogle)

Medig after a day spent in temperatures hovering around 10 below.

Filed to:
  • Photography
  • Yukon

Read this next

Shralping the Fiberglass Ceiling

By: Kaelyn Lynch

Shralping the Fiberglass Ceiling

By: Kaelyn Lynch

Photographer Chris Rainier Captures Sacred Outdoor Places

By: Isabella Rosario

The Best Sand Dunes in the U.S.

By: Amelia Arvesen

Outside+

Outside Magazine January/February 2023 cover

Join Outside+ to get Outside magazine, access to exclusive content, 1,000s of training plans, and more.

Learn More
Facebook Icon Twitter Icon Instagram Icon
Outside
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Terms of Use
  • Licensing & Accolades
Healthy Living
  • Clean Eating
  • Oxygen
  • Vegetarian Times
  • Yoga Journal
Outdoor
  • Backpacker
  • Climbing
  • Fly Fishing Film Tour
  • Gaia GPS
  • National Park Trips
  • Outside
  • Outside TV
  • SKI
  • Warren Miller
Endurance
  • Beta MTB
  • CyclingTips
  • Fastest Known Time
  • Peloton
  • Pinkbike
  • Trailforks
  • Trail Runner
  • Triathlete
  • VeloNews
  • Women's Running
Industry
  • athleteReg
  • Bicycle Retailer & Industry News
  • FinisherPix
  • Inkwell
  • Nastar
  • Roam Media
  • Outside Books
  • Outside Events Cycling Series
  • Outside Shop
  • VeloSwap

© 2023 Outside Interactive, Inc