Mount Salisbury is a mountain peak in Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Alaska at about 3,610 m (11,844 ft) above sea level. It is part of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. The nearest town is Juneau, about 182 km (113 mi) away (Mount Salisbury lies WNW of town).
Mount Salisbury is a 12,170-foot (3,709 m) peak in the Fairweather Range of Alaska, six miles (10 km) southeast of Mount Fairweather. Its east slopes feed one of the northern branches of the Johns Hopkins Glacier, which flows into Glacier Bay. On its western side is a large cirque, shared with Mount Fairweather, Mount Quincy Adams, and Lituya Mountain, which heads the Fairweather Glacier; this flows almost to the Pacific coast at Cape Fairweather. Though not exceptional in terms of absolute elevation, Mount Salisbury does possess great vertical relief over local terrain: for example, the southwest side of the mountain drops over 10,000 feet (3,048 m) to the Johns Hopkins Glacier in only five miles. Mount Salisbury is not often climbed, partly due to its proximity to the higher and better-known Mount Fairweather, and partly due to difficult access and the typically bad weather that...From the Wikipedia article “Mount Salisbury”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Mount Salisbury the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 38° (NE) at the June solstice and 138° (SE) in late December. Sunset moves from 323° (NW) in June to 222° (SW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 55° in summer but only 8° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:12 AM | 89° E | 7:24 PM | 272° W | 31° | 12h 12m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 3:58 AM | 38° NE | 10:26 PM | 323° NW | 55° | 18h 27m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:55 AM | 88° E | 7:11 PM | 272° W | 31° | 12h 16m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 9:02 AM | 138° SE | 3:15 PM | 222° SW | 8° | 6h 13m |
Azimuth is measured clockwise from true north (90° = east, 270° = west). Computed for 2026; values change by less than a degree from year to year.
Golden hour & blue hour by month
Summits catch first and last light — alpenglow can turn rock pink or orange minutes before sunrise and after sunset while valleys stay in shadow.
| Month (15th) | Blue hour starts | Sunrise | Golden hour ends | Golden hour starts | Sunset | Blue hour ends | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:59 AM | 8:49 AM | 10:14 AM | 2:25 PM | 3:50 PM | 4:40 PM | 7h 01m |
| February | 7:02 AM | 7:44 AM | 8:45 AM | 4:04 PM | 5:05 PM | 5:47 PM | 9h 21m |
| March | 6:46 AM | 7:26 AM | 8:20 AM | 6:19 PM | 7:12 PM | 7:52 PM | 11h 46m |
| April | 5:12 AM | 5:56 AM | 6:51 AM | 7:29 PM | 8:24 PM | 9:08 PM | 14h 27m |
| May | 3:41 AM | 4:40 AM | 5:44 AM | 8:30 PM | 9:33 PM | 10:32 PM | 16h 53m |
| June | 2:35 AM | 3:59 AM | 5:13 AM | 9:09 PM | 10:23 PM | 11:47 PM | 18h 24m |
| July | 3:15 AM | 4:24 AM | 5:33 AM | 8:59 PM | 10:08 PM | 11:17 PM | 17h 44m |
| August | 4:42 AM | 5:30 AM | 6:28 AM | 8:02 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:48 PM | 15h 29m |
| September | 5:59 AM | 6:40 AM | 7:33 AM | 6:39 PM | 7:32 PM | 8:12 PM | 12h 52m |
| October | 7:06 AM | 7:47 AM | 8:44 AM | 5:08 PM | 6:05 PM | 6:45 PM | 10h 18m |
| November | 7:15 AM | 8:02 AM | 9:16 AM | 2:34 PM | 3:48 PM | 4:35 PM | 7h 47m |
| December | 8:03 AM | 8:57 AM | 10:40 AM | 1:31 PM | 3:14 PM | 4:08 PM | 6h 17m |
Local time (America/Juneau), including daylight saving time. Golden hour runs from about −4° to +6° solar altitude, so the morning golden hour begins during blue hour, before sunrise.
Milky Way & night sky
The Milky Way's bright core (in Sagittarius) barely clears the southern horizon at this latitude, so focus on winter Milky Way, aurora or star trails instead.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | -11° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | -5° | — |
| March | Below 10° in darkness | — | -2° | — |
| April | Below 10° in darkness | — | -3° | — |
| May | Below 10° in darkness | — | -1° | — |
| June | No darkness | — | — | — |
| July | No darkness | — | — | — |
| August | Below 10° in darkness | — | 0° | — |
| September | Below 10° in darkness | — | -4° | — |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | -5° | — |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | -10° | — |
| December | Below 10° in darkness | — | -21° | — |
Window when the galactic core is at least 10° high during astronomical darkness on the 15th of each month. Pick nights within a few days of the new moon. Plan exact nights with the Milky Way planner.
Estimated sky darkness: 1 Bortle 1 — Excellent dark-sky site. The Milky Way casts faint shadows; zodiacal light and airglow are obvious. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.95 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 0.5+ to show low on the northern horizon here.
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show April as the clearest month (about 74% average cloud cover) and December as the cloudiest (81%). August is the warmest month and March the coldest, which matters for gear, snow access and how long batteries last at night.
Average cloud cover (%)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High °F | 43 | 41 | 44 | 47 | 54 | 68 | 69 | 68 | 60 | 51 | 46 | 42 |
| Low °F | -3 | 0 | -2 | 15 | 28 | 35 | 40 | 43 | 37 | 21 | 5 | -1 |
| Precip. (in) | 17.8 | 14.5 | 11.6 | 10.8 | 9.2 | 7.1 | 8.7 | 13.2 | 18.8 | 20.2 | 19.7 | 20.0 |
Monthly climatology for the surrounding 1° grid cell from NASA POWER (MERRA-2). Mountain sites can be colder and cloudier than the cell average.
Photography tips for this mountain peak
- Long lenses compress ridgelines; shoot the peak from several miles away to make it look massive.
- Afternoon thunderstorms are common in summer at high elevations — plan summit hikes for early morning.
- Snow on the summit holds detail best when you expose for the highlights and lift shadows later.
- Alpenglow lasts only a few minutes; set up and focus beforehand.
- Clouds around the summit add drama — a clear blue sky is often the least interesting condition.
- Check road and trail conditions with the managing agency before you go.
Season: Early summer keeps snow on the peaks with green valleys below; autumn adds aspen or larch color in many ranges.
Suggested gear: Telephoto lens, Lightweight tripod, Warm layers, Microspikes in shoulder seasons. Work out exposures with the depth of field, ND filter and NPF rule calculators.
Nearby photo spots
Other locations within 25 km of Mount Salisbury, closest first.
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GlacierFAQ
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Sources
Location data: Wikidata, USGS GNIS / GeoNames, Wikipedia. Sun, moon and Milky Way times are computed by LWPhoto Atlas for 2026. Climate: NASA POWER. Sky darkness is a population-based estimate (Walker's law), not a measurement. See data sources & licenses.