Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Filmed on a clear, sunny summer day around 1940, this footage captures stunning views of Denali -- then officially known as Mount McKinley. Towering at 20,310 feet, Denali is the tallest peak in North America and a defining landmark of Interior Alaska. The mountain is often shrouded by clouds formed by its own weather systems, and famously reveals itself to only about 30 percent of visitors to Denali National Park. This rare glimpse offers a striking look at the iconic peak on a day of exceptional visibility.
These scenes may have been filmed by Tony Ross, and were collected and described by Archie M. Truesdell. Truesdell was a professor of mathematics and civil engineering at the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines—now the University of Alaska Fairbanks—when it first opened its doors in 1922. He later became a building and bridge engineer for the Alaska Railroad in the 1930s (Color/Silent/16mm film).
From AAF-23916 of the Archie M. Truesdell Collection, donated by the Colette Family and held by the Alaska Film Archives, a unit of the Alaska and Polar Regions Collections & Archives Department in the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks. For more information please contact the Alaska Film Archives.
The Alaska Film Archives appreciates your support. Your donation in any amount will help us continue important preservation work. Please visit the “About” section of our YouTube channel to learn how you can help today. Thank you! For more information please contact the Alaska Film Archives.
Filmed on a clear, sunny summer day around 1940, this footage captures stunning views of Denali -- then officially known as Mount McKinley. Towering at 20,310 feet, Denali is the tallest peak in North America and a defining landmark of Interior Alaska. The mountain is often shrouded by clouds formed by its own weather systems, and famously reveals itself to only about 30 percent of visitors to Denali National Park. This rare glimpse offers a striking look at the iconic peak on a day of exceptional visibility.
These scenes may have been filmed by Tony Ross, and were collected and described by Archie M. Truesdell. Truesdell was a professor of mathematics and civil engineering at the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines—now the University of Alaska Fairbanks—when it first opened its doors in 1922. He later became a building and bridge engineer for the Alaska Railroad in the 1930s (Color/Silent/16mm film).
From AAF-23916 of the Archie M. Truesdell Collection, donated by the Colette Family and held by the Alaska Film Archives, a unit of the Alaska and Polar Regions Collections & Archives Department in the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks. For more information please contact the Alaska Film Archives.
The Alaska Film Archives appreciates your support. Your donation in any amount will help us continue important preservation work. Please visit the “About” section of our YouTube channel to learn how you can help today. Thank you! For more information please contact the Alaska Film Archives.
