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In June 1913, Hudson Stuck and Harry Karstens led the first expedition to the summit.<ref>Woodside, Chris, "[http://chriswoodside.com/who-led-first-ascent-denali Who led the first ascent of Denali?]"</ref> In a book published in 1918, Stuck argued that the name of the mountain should be changed to "Denali," which he claimed was the traditional Indian name of the mountain.<ref>Stuck, Hudson, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=9c55AAAAMAAJ&dq= The Ascent of Denali (Mount McKinley): A Narrative of the First Complete Ascent of the Highest Peak in North America].'' (1918)</ref> There are seven Alaskan languages with native names for the mountain. None of them use a name that corresponds to "Denali" exactly.<ref>The closest is Koyukon. In this language, the mountain is called ''Diinaalii'' ("the tall one") and pronounced dee·nah·lee. As of 2007, about 300 people could speak Koyukon. (Krauss, Michael E. 2007. "Native languages of Alaska", In: The Vanishing Voices of the Pacific Rim, ed. by Osahito Miyaoko, Osamu Sakiyama, and Michael E. Krauss. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Table 21.1, page 408))</ref> In 1972, Sylvain Saudan skied down the mountain's sheer southwest face, earning the title "skier of the impossible."

In June 1913, Hudson Stuck and Harry Karstens led the first expedition to the summit.<ref>Woodside, Chris, "[http://chriswoodside.com/who-led-first-ascent-denali Who led the first ascent of Denali?]"</ref> In a book published in 1918, Stuck argued that the name of the mountain should be changed to "Denali," which he claimed was the traditional Indian name of the mountain.<ref>Stuck, Hudson, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=9c55AAAAMAAJ&dq= The Ascent of Denali (Mount McKinley): A Narrative of the First Complete Ascent of the Highest Peak in North America].'' (1918)</ref> There are seven Alaskan languages with native names for the mountain. None of them use a name that corresponds to "Denali" exactly.<ref>The closest is Koyukon. In this language, the mountain is called ''Diinaalii'' ("the tall one") and pronounced dee·nah·lee. As of 2007, about 300 people could speak Koyukon. (Krauss, Michael E. 2007. "Native languages of Alaska", In: The Vanishing Voices of the Pacific Rim, ed. by Osahito Miyaoko, Osamu Sakiyama, and Michael E. Krauss. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Table 21.1, page 408))</ref> In 1972, Sylvain Saudan skied down the mountain's sheer southwest face, earning the title "skier of the impossible."

In 1975, the State of Alaska requested that the federal government change the name of the mountain to Denali. The U.S. Board on Geographic Names has authority over U.S. geographic names, but it rarely rejects a state's request for renaming. However, if a name is under discussion in Congress, it won't act on its own accord. By biannually introducing a bill,  Ohio Congressman [[Ralph Regula]] was able to use this little-known procedure to keep Alaska's request on hold for years: it wasn't necessary to vote on such a bill, it was sufficient that it was ''discussed''.  Finally acting on the 1975 request, President [[Barack Obama]] announced in 2015 that the mountain would be renamed.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/31/us/mount-mckinley-will-be-renamed-denali.html "Mount McKinley Will Again Be Called Denali,"] ''New York Times'', 30 August 2015.</ref>  

In 1975, the State of Alaska requested that the federal government change the name of the mountain to Denali. The U.S. Board on Geographic Names has authority over U.S. geographic names, but it rarely rejects a state's request for renaming. However, if a name is under discussion in Congress, it won't act on its own accord. By biannually introducing a bill,  Ohio Congressman [[Ralph Regula]] was able to use this little-known procedure to keep Alaska's request on hold for years: it wasn't necessary to vote on such a bill, it was sufficient that it was ''discussed''.  Finally acting on the 1975 request, the Secretary of the Interior [[Sally Jewell]] used her prerogative to decide on naming in cases when the U.S. Board on Geographic Names doesn't act in a ''timely manner'', and issued the order to change the name to Denali in 2015, whcih  President [[Barack Obama]] announced.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/31/us/mount-mckinley-will-be-renamed-denali.html "Mount McKinley Will Again Be Called Denali,"] ''New York Times'', 30 August 2015.</ref>  

"Denali" is the Secret Service code word for [[Sarah Palin]].<ref>[http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2008/09/palin-code-name-denali.html Palin Code Name: 'Denali'], ''Washington Post'', September 10, 2008.</ref>

"Denali" is the Secret Service code word for [[Sarah Palin]].<ref>[http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2008/09/palin-code-name-denali.html Palin Code Name: 'Denali'], ''Washington Post'', September 10, 2008.</ref>