Keen, Dora, 1871-

Variant names
Dates:
Birth 1871
Death 1963-01-31

Biographical notes:

One of the world's first female mountaineers, Dora Keen (born 1871), defied social norms of the day by taking up mountain climbing and traveling and becoming the first person to climb the peak of Mount Blackburn, the highest peak in the Wrangell Mountains range, Alaska. Keen's 1911 expedition to Mount Blackburn was a groundbreaking trip in several ways; it was the first expedition to use dogs on a mountain, the first to succeed without Swiss guides, the first to camp in snow caves, and the first to make a prolonged night ascent. Her first expedition to the peak was undertaken with only four gold-miners (Charlie McGonagall, Pete Anderson, Billy Taylor and Tom Lloyd) and a team of sled dogs. After multiple attempts to reach the summit via various routes, inadequate supplies and bad weather forced the party to turn back after two weeks. Keen returned to Mount Blackburn with George W. Handy; they successfully reached the summit on May 19, 1912 (by way of the Kennicott Glacier and East Face). The couple would marry four years later. In 1960, it was discovered that the eastern peak (now called Mount Kennedy) climbed by Keen, was the shorter of the two peaks of Mount Blackburn.

From the description of Dora Keen photograph collection, 1911 [graphic]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 294330950

Links to collections

Comparison

This is only a preview comparison of Constellations. It will only exist until this window is closed.

  • Added or updated
  • Deleted or outdated

Information

Permalink:
SNAC ID:

Subjects:

  • Glaciers
  • Mountaineering
  • Mountaineering expeditions
  • Mountains
  • Snow and ice climbing
  • Women mountaineers

Occupations:

not available for this record

Places:

  • Alaska (as recorded)
  • Wrangell Mountains (Alaska) (as recorded)
  • Blackburn, Mount (Alaska) (as recorded)