Music of Denali Lines- Walter

HARRY: Indeed, he played a large part in helping to get the legislation passed to create this beautiful national park and then he became its first superintendent.

The second gentleman was Walter Harper. Walter’s father was a Caucasian trapper from the lower forty-eight, and his mother was an Athabaskan Indian, one of the local native peoples. He was a very bright young man who had been Reverend Stuck’s right hand for some time. As a result, he was highly educated, and well read. The fourth man to round out the team was Robert Tatum, a brother in the priesthood, but many years the junior of Reverend Stuck. These four men were the first to set foot on the summit of Denali and that is our story. It is all documented in Reverend Stuck’s book, “The Ascent of Denali”.

HARRY: Well, what have we here?

It appears to be yet another neophyte alpinist.

HARRY: Yeah, or maybe he’s one of them greenhorn climbers.

That’s what I said.

HARRY: Lookie here, Walter, just ‘cause you got all that book learnin’ don’t mean you can’t talk like reg’lar folk!

“Doesn’t mean”, Harold, not “Don’t mean”.

HARRY: What? Oh, shut your trap! And don’t call me Harold, dagnabbit! (Examines DAN’s backpack) Say, I’ve never seen a pack like this before.

And I’ve never seen a booklike this either.

(Thumbs through the book and smiles when he sees a picture of the two of them)

Well I’ll be; look at this, Harry, we must be famous.

HARRY: They got my bad side.

I didn’t know you had a good side.

It seems our friend is waking up.

HARRY: Ya done broke through the ice. It’s your own durn fault for not takin’ the right… what’s the word…

Precautions?

DAN: (examines himself slowly) I remember falling… I should be hurt… Who are you?

This is Harry Karstens, and I’m Walter Harper.

DAN: (begins to laugh) Yeah… Sure… Those guys have been dead for nearly fifty years!

Woooooooh!

HARRY: Now take it easy, son. It’s not all that bad and it’s not all it seems. This land is full of mystery.

Harry’s right. Relax. Mystery reveals itself very slowly sometimes. The Athabaskan people have their own explanations for the mysteries of this land, even for Denali’s creation. You see the Athabaskans believe that Raven was the one who gave us life, who created the earth and all of its beings.

In distant time, when Raven was a man, he paddled across a vast expanse of water to ask for the hand of a beautiful maiden. She refused him, so he made her disappear. This didn’t set too well with the maiden’s mother, so she enlisted the help of two big brown bears to drown Raven.

The bears ripped and tore the rocky shore, creating mighty waves to capsize Raven’s canoe. But ole’ Raven was crafty. He utilized his magic to create a shiny path through the tumultuous water.

After a while, though, he began to grow very weary and, as a final effort to gain control, he threw his harpoon with a mighty force… and with a wave of his palm, the waves were calmed. Exhausted from the effort, he then collapsed.

An eagle spoke, and he awoke as morning broke around him. He saw that the waters had solidified into a majestic forest, and there, where once was the huge wave in which his harpoon had landed, stood a stately giant, bold and defiant, a mountain great and grand. It stands there still to this very day, beneath the Midnight Sun, directing us, protecting us. DENALI! THE GREAT ONE! This is why we respect the mountain, and the trees and plants, and of course all the animals. We believe that everything here has spirit. This is Athabaskin Legend, friend

HARRY: There’s a lot you got to learn yet about Alaskan women.

This territory is legendary for its strong females.

DAN: This is all great, but I still haven’t figured out where I am or what’s happening to me. And since the sun never goes down, I can’t even figure out what time it is.

Yes. Perpetual sunlight can play havoc with your internal clock.

DAN: Just tell me this: who made it there first? (Everyone reacts with a groan) Yeah, that’s what I really want to know!

That’s all anyone ever wants to know.

HARRY: Many a man tried to climb this mountain before we climbed it in 1913.

A lot of good men – good climbers – failed.

HARRY: That’s right!

Taught me everything I know.

HARRY: (to Dan) It was the Reverend Stuck who organized and financed our climb.

The Reverend had been a climber since he was a boy.

HARRY: But he was no spring chicken, so Walter here looked after him. He was his student, attendant, and interpreter, mushing his dogs for him in the winter… and… what’s that word? Mushing his boat for him in the summer.

Harry, that’s nav-i-gat-ing.

HARRY: Walter, you’re ag-gra-vat-ing.

The Reverend also recruited Robert Tatum and two young

Athabaskin boys.

HARRY: That’s right, Johnny and Esias… I’ll never forget the look in their eyes the mornin’ we set out!

There we were, the six of us, two sleds, and 14 dogs. We left Nenana headed for Kantishna on St. Patrick’s Day and on Easter Sunday, the Reverend conducted the first public worship ever in Kantishna.

KITTY: Ya know, Harry, you do tell that story an awful lot.

That’s true, Molly is not entirely incorrect.

ANGEL: Like that time in Hatcher Pass.

At least twice in Polychrome.

HARRY: (jumps up, in a rage) Dang women never let me finish…

(Ad libbed) Harry! Harry! HARRY! Come on, Dan, let’s go get him. He acts like this sometimes. Harry, they were only fooling.

HARRY: Now, remember, we had just set up base camp and found ourselves staring up at that north ridge. Big problems there.

Earthquake.

HARRY: The ridge had been shattered by an earthquake the year before, creating a huge climbing obstacle

Bad weather.

HARRY: We were stuck in base camp just twiddling our thumbs.

And NO SUGAR!

HARRY: Don’t tell him about the sugar, that ain’t important right now!

Well it was at the time. The closest sack of sugar was all the way back in Kantishna.

HARRY: Oh yeah! That north ridge was a craggy mess. Took us three weeks ‘cause we had to chisel a staircase three miles long into the shattered ice.

There were ice falls and avalanches.

HARRY: Every step was treacherous.

And yet, even though the odds were against us…

HARRY: We knew that every inch gained brought us closer to the top.

Closer to the top.

HARRY: We finally got our chance and rejoiced as the great basin between the two summits opened up before us.

Spirits were high.

HARRY: So was that south summit.

But we could see it right there before us.

HARRY: That’s when the Reverend…

The poor man was sick.

HARRY: He was having trouble breathing.

We were pretty worried.

“To the Top” Ends

Yes, it was cold, alright, but clear… and so… beautiful.

HARRY: Old Reverend Stuck was just gasping for his last breath. Tatum and I had to carry him. I thought he was a goner.

We could see the summit.

HARRY: Old Reverend Stuck was just gasping for his last breath. Tatum

and I had to carry him. I thought he was a goner.

We could see the summit.

DAN: So it was you, Walter. You were the first one on top of Denali.

We were all there first. I couldn’t have done anything without our team.

HARRY: Kinda fittin’ though, don’tcha think? A native Alaskan being the first to set foot on the summit? When we got the Reverend to the top, he collapsed for a few moments, and then he praised and thanked God for our safe journey. And then… we just… looked.

There were no words to describe what

we saw and felt. We had been allowed to visit a most high sacred

place that no one had ever been privileged to see before.

HARRY: We were just… mesmerized.

And then… we heard the music.

“Music of Denali (1)” Ends

Alaska is a place that tests your strengths. We all like to think that we have the ability to confront any situation that arises in our lives, but the truth is, very few of us have ever had to experience a baptism by fire.

KITTY: Then go, and share the spirit of Alaska. And savor the moment. As if you have stood in the presence of God.

Dan! Dan!

RANGER 1: Any sign of him yet?

Here he is!! I found him! Over here!

ANGIE: Oh Dan.

Hey, where did you get this? It must be worth a fortune!

RANGER 1: What is it?

An autographed picture of Walter Harper and Harry Karstens

RANGER 1: (looks at photograph) I’ll be. Look, they got Harry’s good side.

Come on, let’s go let the others know we found him.