Frederick A Cook

In 1902, after returning from the Erik relief expedition, Dr. Cook married Marie Fidele Hunt, a widow he had met several years before. The estate of Marie’s first husband was substantial, and the couple settled in a large home in Brooklyn. Dr. Cook had a new medical office and his practice was thriving. Though Marie had a young daughter, Ruth, she fully supported Dr. Cook’s interest in exploration, envisioning herself as a participant, much like Josephine Peary.

A report in the January 1903 issue of the National Geographic Magazine set forth a detailed plan for ascending Mt. McKinley. Located in the interior of Alaska, and well known by the native people, the mountain had only been recognized as a colossal massif in 1896. Its height had been estimated at 20,000 feet, making it the highest peak in North America. Dr. Cook envisioned that his experience in the high latitudes would be applicable in the high altitudes, and he assembled the funding and the people that would enable him to undertake this expedition. Mrs. Cook would be a significant financial contributor to the expedition.

On June 9, 1903, the expedition departed Seattle on board the steamer Santa Ana. On June 25th, the crew began the overland journey to Mt. McKinley. “We had now come five thousand miles only to find that the enormous task of getting to the base of the great mountain had but just begun.”11_Dr. Cook’s new wife had accompanied the group thus far, but decided not to continue on the overland part of the journey and decided instead to remain in Valdez. By mid-August, Cook’s team found themselves in position for an attempt up the south west ridge of Mt. McKinley.

“In fifty-four days we had marched a tortuous course of five hundred miles through swamps and forests, over glacial streams, up and down mountain sides, through a trackless country.”12_After two failed attempts to climb to the summit of McKinley, ascending as high as 10,800 feet, the party acknowledged defeat, and descended to 8000 feet on September 1. Over the next 25 days, they continued their decent, and, four months after they had begun, the group arrived at Tyonek on September 26th. Although they did not succeed in climbing to the summit of Mt. McKinley, they did circumnavigate it – a feat that would not be repeated again for 75 years.