Female Climber Sets Speed Record on Denali

(Newser) – In what has been a tough year for climbers on Alaska's Mount Denali, a female American climber has just set a speed record, reports Outside magazine. Katie Bono, 29, left base camp at 6am on June 13, reached the summit in 40-below temperatures, and returned to camp 21 hours and 6 minutes later. That's not only the women's speed record but the third-fastest time, period, for North America's largest peak. Stormy weather this year has resulted in 70% of climbers failing to reach the summit, up from the usual 50%. (The 20,310-foot mountain was for years known as Mount McKinley.)