inside the Mount Rainier Visitor Center and the friendship flourished on the climb in spite of their contrasting personalities. Walt was a “witty humorist, tactful conciliator and lubricator of organizational gears,” Joe Wilcox wrote in his memoir. Russell was confrontational and “wanted to be viewed as independent,” according to Wilcox. Physically, the two men were well matched, and until they reached the upper mountain, both were among the strongest climbers in the group.
Jerry Clark and Mark McLaughlin had been friends before the climb, and that bond continued. They climbed together when they could and often tented together. Mark was in superior physical condition but was happy to slow down and let his slower-moving friend set the pace. Short and unassuming Hank Janes gravitated to tall and outgoing Denny Luchterhand. Neither their personalities nor their frames matched, but they spent as much time as they could together both climbing and relaxing in camp. Luchterhand also befriended Walt Taylor, and the two men developed the habit of calling out when they spotted each other.Calls of “Muthah” often echoed back and forth across the icy expanses as the two men maintained this inscrutable dialogue all the way up the mountain.
Though Steve Taylor had a less promising start, his calm handling of Lewis’s topple into the crevasse revealed unexpected reservoirs of strength and presence of mind. In Wilcox’s opinion,“As the trip progressed he gained confidence and strength. By the time we got to Karstens he was leading many rope teams. On Karstens Ridge I can honestly say that Steve was a stronger climber than I.” He was affected by the altitude but had a strong summit drive.
But as the ascent quickened on Karstens Ridge the inescapable effects of altitude began to take their toll on everyone. One of the steepest parts of the ridge, known as the Coxcomb, was crusted with wind-packed snow slab and underlain with several feet of powder on July 10. Breaking trail was hellish, but John Russell led for five hours and reached Browne Tower at 14,600 feet before he and his team cached their loads and turned back for Camp V.
“John gave it all he had for twelve hundred vertical feet. He really burned himself out,” Walt Taylor reported to Wilcox on the morning of July 11. And for several days, “John was not his usual overbearing self.”
Among what was at times a discordant band of brothers had grown, as a result of their physical exertion in Denali’s thin, remote air, a special kind of enduring bond. Some want no more from life.
CHAPTER 6
A RUN FOR IT
L uchterhand, Janes, Schlichter, and McLaughlin finished breaking trail past Browne Tower at the top of Karstens Ridge and traversed Parker Pass onto the lower Harper Glacier to establish Camp VI at 15,000 feet on Tuesday, July 11, and by the evening eight men had moved up. The team had started gaining altitude at a much faster rate and the resulting fatigue was an increasing factor in their decision making. Everyone rested on Wednesday, but by Thursday, July 13, the entire team had moved up to the 15,000-foot Camp VI. Several days of clear weather had prevailed, and that evening they began plotting where they would place their high camp and how they would make their summit bid. Along with a fellowship born of arduous mutual endeavor, a sense of urgency grew.
From Camp VI, the 20,320-foot south summit was visible, just 5,000 feet higher and 5 miles distant. The goal was within striking distance, but here the mountain could be its most vicious. If the weather changed, if whiteout conditions arose, if the wind came howling, the human body had far fewer resources to cope.Obvious symptoms of acute mountain sickness (AMS) were becoming evident in some of the climbers. Wilcox thought Steve Taylor and Schiff were the most likely to be affected, but altitude is the great equalizer in the mountains, treating the strong and weak with equal disdain. Headaches and vomiting
Jerry Clark and Mark McLaughlin had been friends before the climb, and that bond continued. They climbed together when they could and often tented together. Mark was in superior physical condition but was happy to slow down and let his slower-moving friend set the pace. Short and unassuming Hank Janes gravitated to tall and outgoing Denny Luchterhand. Neither their personalities nor their frames matched, but they spent as much time as they could together both climbing and relaxing in camp. Luchterhand also befriended Walt Taylor, and the two men developed the habit of calling out when they spotted each other.Calls of “Muthah” often echoed back and forth across the icy expanses as the two men maintained this inscrutable dialogue all the way up the mountain.
Though Steve Taylor had a less promising start, his calm handling of Lewis’s topple into the crevasse revealed unexpected reservoirs of strength and presence of mind. In Wilcox’s opinion,“As the trip progressed he gained confidence and strength. By the time we got to Karstens he was leading many rope teams. On Karstens Ridge I can honestly say that Steve was a stronger climber than I.” He was affected by the altitude but had a strong summit drive.
But as the ascent quickened on Karstens Ridge the inescapable effects of altitude began to take their toll on everyone. One of the steepest parts of the ridge, known as the Coxcomb, was crusted with wind-packed snow slab and underlain with several feet of powder on July 10. Breaking trail was hellish, but John Russell led for five hours and reached Browne Tower at 14,600 feet before he and his team cached their loads and turned back for Camp V.
“John gave it all he had for twelve hundred vertical feet. He really burned himself out,” Walt Taylor reported to Wilcox on the morning of July 11. And for several days, “John was not his usual overbearing self.”
Among what was at times a discordant band of brothers had grown, as a result of their physical exertion in Denali’s thin, remote air, a special kind of enduring bond. Some want no more from life.
CHAPTER 6
A RUN FOR IT
L uchterhand, Janes, Schlichter, and McLaughlin finished breaking trail past Browne Tower at the top of Karstens Ridge and traversed Parker Pass onto the lower Harper Glacier to establish Camp VI at 15,000 feet on Tuesday, July 11, and by the evening eight men had moved up. The team had started gaining altitude at a much faster rate and the resulting fatigue was an increasing factor in their decision making. Everyone rested on Wednesday, but by Thursday, July 13, the entire team had moved up to the 15,000-foot Camp VI. Several days of clear weather had prevailed, and that evening they began plotting where they would place their high camp and how they would make their summit bid. Along with a fellowship born of arduous mutual endeavor, a sense of urgency grew.
From Camp VI, the 20,320-foot south summit was visible, just 5,000 feet higher and 5 miles distant. The goal was within striking distance, but here the mountain could be its most vicious. If the weather changed, if whiteout conditions arose, if the wind came howling, the human body had far fewer resources to cope.Obvious symptoms of acute mountain sickness (AMS) were becoming evident in some of the climbers. Wilcox thought Steve Taylor and Schiff were the most likely to be affected, but altitude is the great equalizer in the mountains, treating the strong and weak with equal disdain. Headaches and vomiting
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