http://news.yahoo.com/north-americas-hi ... ector.html (http://news.yahoo.com/north-americas-highest-peak-not-tall-once-thought-045443297--sector.html)
Mount McKinley, as well as a good part of Alaska, has been resurveyed, and the old height of 20,320 feet calculated back in 1952 turns out to be only 20,237 feet. It used to be a big deal for scrappy mountaineers to climb that peak, but now I guess just about any wuss could climb it. Well, there's a lot of land up there, much of it seldom used, although Denali Park, home to McKinley is extremely popular. Well, as popular as things get in Alaska, anyway.
But what I found unusual in this article was the following statement:
QuoteWhile the new radar-compiled data shows a difference between the 1952 measurement and the new measurement, the USGS "takes no position in favor of either elevation," the agency said.
:wtf: It's your survey! Is it accurate or not? Me? I prefer the old measurement. In fact, they ought to make it a few feet higher, just to make it more challenging for climbers.
Boy howdy. After climbing 20,000+ feet, that last 83 feet is a bitch. Lost it? Next time somebody brags to me about scaling McKinley, which has happened like never, I will certainly throw that in their face.