Taku Towers is a 6,653+ ft (2,030+ m) double summit mountain located in the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains, in the U.S. state of Alaska.[2] The two north and south peaks, 0.2 mi apart with 6,653+ and 6,605-ft elevations respectively, are situated in the Taku Range of the Juneau Icefield, 21 mi (34 km) north of Juneau, Alaska, and 5.5 mi (9 km) east-southeast of The Snow Towers, on land managed by Tongass National Forest.[3] The Taku Range is a north-south trending ridge on the edge of the Taku Glacier. The mountain's name was in local use when first published in 1960 by the U.S. Geological Survey.[2] Several landforms in the vicinity bear this Taku name, which all ultimately derive from the Taku people. The first ascent was made in 1949 by Forbes, Merritt, and Schoeblen via the west ridge.[4] Daniel Reid and party made the first ascent of the difficult east face of South Taku Tower in 1973.[5]
| Taku Towers | |
|---|---|
 Taku Towers, centered, east aspect (Emperor Peak to left) | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 6,653+ ft (2,030+ m)[1] |
| Prominence | 1,103 ft (336 m)[1] |
| Parent peak | Emperor Peak |
| Isolation | 1.2 mi (1.9 km)[1] |
| Coordinates | 58°35′58″N 134°22′24″W / 58.59944°N 134.37333°W[1] |
| Geography | |
  Taku Towers Location in Alaska | |
 | |
| Interactive map of Taku Towers | |
| Location | Tongass National Forest Juneau Borough Alaska, United States |
| Parent range | Coast Mountains Boundary Ranges Juneau Icefield[1] |
| Topo map | USGS Juneau C-2 |
Climate
editBased on the Köppen climate classification, Taku Towers is located in a subpolar oceanic climate zone, with long, cold, snowy winters, and cool summers.[6] Weather systems coming off the Gulf of Alaska are forced upwards by the Coast Mountains (orographic lift), causing heavy precipitation in the form of rainfall and snowfall. Winter temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. The month of July offers the most favorable weather to view or climb Taku Towers.
Gallery
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Taku Towers with Cathedral Peak (right)
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "North Taku Tower, Alaska". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
- ^ a b "Taku Towers". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
- ^ "South Taku Tower, Alaska". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
- ^ "AAC Publications - First Ascents on the Dukes, Taku Tower, and Mendenhall Towers".
- ^ "AAC Publications - North America, United States, Alaska, South Taku Tower, East Face".
- ^ Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11 (5): 1633. Bibcode:2007HESS...11.1633P. doi:10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007. ISSN 1027-5606. S2CID 9654551.
External links
edit- Taku Towers weather forecast
- Climbing Taku Towers: YouTube
- Taku Towers east aspect: Flickr photo
- Aerial view from north: Flickr photo