Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Chugach Mountains stretch across southern Alaska as the northernmost segment of the Pacific Coast Ranges. This massive geological formation spans roughly 150 miles in length and averages about 30 miles in width.
An annual average of over 1500 centimeters falls as snow upon these mountains each year. This amount exceeds any other location on Earth by a significant margin due to cold air masses meeting warm maritime currents from the Gulf of Alaska.
Mount Marcus Baker stands as the highest point within this rugged landscape despite most summits maintaining an average elevation that is not exceptionally high compared to other major ranges.
Illumination begins each year around Thanksgiving and continues until Christmas Day with Airmen from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson maintaining the structure today. The tradition started in approximately 1960 when the US Army first installed the lights near the old Nike missile Site Summit location.
United States Army captain William R. Abercrombie spelled the name Chugatch in 1898 and applied this designation to the mountain range during his survey work. The name originates from the Chugach Sugpiaq people who inhabit the Kenai Peninsula.