The United States largest National Park, the Wrangell/St. Elias, waits in splendid isolation. Its scale is awesome: 13.2 Million acres, the size of Costa Rica. The peaks of this Park are little known only because Denali to the west is a tad higher, a feature which has earned it a preemptive share of print and myth. But the Wrangell Range, dominated by three extinct volcanoes, and the more angular St.Elias - with greater vertical relief than the Himalayas - are imposing by any measure. Six of North Americas ten highest peaks rise in this one National Park, and 16 Yosemites could fit within its boundaries.
This is essential Alaska. In 16 years guiding here, I have never seen another climbing party during one of our expeditions. We have lead climbs on mountains never before scaled, backpacked in valleys and canyons totally unknown, accomplished first descents of raucous rivers, and explored immense beautiful glaciers.
A World Heritage Site, the Wrangell/St. Elias
is grouped with the Grand Canyon and the Pyramids of Egypt
Grizzly bear, moose, caribou, bison, wolves, and Dall sheep grace this parkland. It has been declared by the United Nations as a World Heritage Site, a designation reserved for only a few areas on the planet, including the Grand Canyon and the Great Pyramids of Egypt.