Denali's Howl: The Deadliest Climbing Disaster on America's Wildest Peak
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Smith, Blaine, 185, 203–213
Smith, Deb, 213
Snyder, Howard
attempt to rescue second group, 131–133, 140–141
Camp I hike, 57–58
Camp V establishment, 76–77
Camp VI after summit ascent, 117–118, 129–130, 140–141, 143
Camp VII ascent and stay, 90, 107
climbing gear, 63
conflict with expedition members, 64
descent from summit, 117–118, 143–144, 167–169
first meeting of Wilcox, 37
first view of Denali upon arrival, 48
group photo, 75
July 18 weather conditions, 128
life after tragedy, 196
Muldrow Glacier crevasse field passage, 69–70
music memories, 45
road trip to Alaska, 38
on Russell’s altitude sickness, 116
on Russell’s arrival at Camp VII, 113–114
ski conflict joke, 61
summit ascent, 110–113
summit ascent plans, 87
summit ascent preparation, 107–108
on Wilcox Expedition tragedy, 169–170
on Wilcox’s altitude sickness, 117
Wilson Expedition merger, 32, 33
Sourdough Expedition, 15, 18, 54
South Buttress, 78
Springgate, Richard, 174, 175
Stove fires, 71, 74, 88–89
Stuck, Hudson, 17–18, 87–88
Susitna River, 16
Tanana River, 12
Tatum, Mount, 59
Tatum, Robert, 17–18
Taylor, Beth, 172, 176–177
Taylor, Perry, 172–173, 176–177, 182–183
Taylor, Steve
altitude sickness, 84, 115, 116–117, 118
background of, 43–44
Camp I hike, 56–58
Camp VII ascent and stay, 110, 113–115
Camp VII stay during second group’s summit ascent, 118, 124–125, 129
expedition membership, 32
family’s arrival in Anchorage to await search party, 172
mental state of, 57, 80–81
mountaineering experience, 37
Mount Rainier training, 33
Muldrow Glacier crevasse field passage, 68, 70
road trip to Alaska, 39
speculation about death of, 176–177, 184–185, 190
stove fire, 88–89
summit ascent plans, 86
Wilcox’s phone call to parents informing them of his death, 164
Taylor, Walt
background of, 44
Camp II establishment, 60
Camp V establishment, 76–77
Camp VII ascent and stay, 110, 113–115
descent from summit, 129
expedition membership, 32
expedition preparation, 39
on expedition team, 54
friendship with Luchterhand, 80
frustration with rain, 59
identification of dead body as, 172
Mount Rainier training, 35, 36
personality of, 80
physical and mental strength, 114–115
road trip to Alaska, 39
Russel-Schiff conflict mediation, 79–80
on Schiff’s food pack load responsibility, 68–69
stove fire, 88–89
summit ascent, 118–126
summit ascent plans, 86
on Wilcox’s leadership, 47
Taylor, William, 15, 87
Thayer, Elton, 22, 78
Thomas, Lowell, Jr., 136
Tlingit people, 21
Traleika Glacier, 10, 59, 77
Upper Icefall, 87, 105
US Geological Survey, 10
Vancouver, George, 11
Van Der Laan, Hans, 197
Vietnam War, 72
Washburn, Barbara, 189
Washburn, Bradford
on climbing popularity, 203
on Denali hazards published in guide, 68, 87
National Park Service critique meeting participation, 189, 190, 193
speculation about deaths of climbers, 182–183
Wilcox correspondence and conflict, 26–31, 32, 44, 48, 49, 53–54, 195–196
Washington, Mount, 19
Weather forecasts and conditions, 91–94, 127–131, 136–137
West Buttress, 54, 102, 128, 130–131, 137, 148–149, 169, 204, 208
Western States Expedition, 128, 130–131, 137, 141–142, 148–149
Wickersham, James, 12–14
Wickersham Wall, 10, 14
Wilcox, Cheryl, 23, 33, 195
Wilcox, Joe
altitude sickness, 85, 113, 117, 140, 143
attempt to rescue second group, 131–133, 140–143
Camp III establishment, 71
Camp V establishment, 76–77
Camp VI after summit ascent, 117–118, 129–130, 139–141
Camp VII ascent and stay, 90, 107, 117–118, 129–130, 139–141
descent from summit, 117–118, 143–144, 167–169
expedition planning, 23–33, 40–41
leadership, 47, 61–62, 64–65, 109–110
life after tragedy, 193–196
National Park Service critique meeting absence, 190
personality of, 24
phone calls to parents of dead climbers, 164, 165
radio contact, 119–121
recuperation at Merry’s home after descent, 163–164
rescue call, 145–147
road trip to Alaska, 39, 40, 46
stove fire, 71
on summit, 1–2
summit ascent, 110–113
summit ascent plans and preparation, 85–86, 108
Vietnam War deferment, 72
Washburn correspondence and conflict, 26–31, 32, 44, 48, 49, 53–54, 195–196
Wilcox McKinley Expedition
Camp I, 56–60
Camp II, 60–65, 68, 71–74
Camp III, 71, 73–76
Camp IV, 76
Camp V, 77–81
Camp VI, 81, 83–84, 91, 118
Camp VII (high camp), 90–92, 107–108, 110, 114–115, 117–118, 129–130, 139–141, 155, 161
conflicts among members, 56–58, 60–64
cost per person, 25
descent of first group, 117–118, 143–144, 148, 167–169
discarded equipment found by MCA expedition, 104, 105
fatalities, 155–156, 161, 164, 165
group photos, 75–76
Humanitarian Climb to recover clues about fatalities, 174–177
leisure activities, 72
loss of contact with second group, 131–133
MCA Expedition rescue of first group, 143–144
MCA Expedition’s search for second group, 151–157
memorial service for dead climbers, 174
merger with Colorado expedition, 36–37
Mount Rainier training, 35–36
Muldrow Glacier crevasse field passage, 67–71
planning of, 24–33, 40–41
rescue efforts, 132, 134–137, 145–149, 151–163, 173, 178–180, 190–193
road trip to Alaska, 38–49
route, 54–56
speculation about deaths of climbers, 178–188
stove fires, 71, 74, 88–89
summit ascent by advance group, 107–115
summit ascent by second group, 118–126
summit ascent planning, 85–88
Wonder Lake campground, 51–54
Wonder Lake, 40–41, 48, 51–54, 68, 128, 131, 163, 168
Wonder Lake log, 134, 141, 145, 146, 148
Worthington, Ethel, 112
Howard Snyder
The Muldrow Glacier route to the summit of Denali drawn by Howard Snyder.
Howard Snyder
Sunshine filled the Muldrow Glacier valley on the Fourth of July, and the Wilcox Expedition took advantage of it, posing for a group photo. From left to right, Steve Taylor, Joe Wilcox, Howard Snyder, Dennis Luchterhand, Mark McLaughlin, Paul Schlichter, Jerry Clark, Jerry Lewis, Anshel Schiff, Hank Janes, John Russell, and Walt Taylor.
Howard Snyder
Jerry Lewis pauses while following John Russell across the first flowing channel of the McKinley River. The men are using bamboo probe poles to aid in the river crossing.
Howard Snyder
Camp I pitched at McGonagall Pass at the edge of the Muldrow Glacier. The relatively level glacier would be their path into the heart of the Denali massif.
Howard Snyder
Paul Schlichter, left, and Jerry Lewis alongside Lewis’s Dodge Power Wagon near the intersection of the Richardson and Denali Highways on the way to Mount McKinley National Park.
Mark McLaughlin/Howard Snyder Collection
Jerry Lewis peers into a crevasse after being hauled out of it. While waiting for rescue he saw a huge blue-walled cavern and an icy lake beneath him.
Jerry Lewis/Howard Snyder Collection
Jerry Clark crossing a snow bridge over one of the huge crevasses in the Great Icefall on the Harper Glacier.
Howard Snyder
Joe Wilcox ascends the crest of Karstens Ridge at 11,500 feet. Orange-flagged bamboo wands for trail marking are strapped to the top of his pack. He also carries a reel of black polypropylene waterski rope to be used as a fixed line higher on the ridge.
Howard Snyder
Wind peels snow from the crest of Karstens Ridge on July 10 as the advance team of Janes, McLaughlin, Schlichter, and Luchterhand near 12,850 feet. Just visible as four dots on the upper ridge.
Howard Snyder
Walt Taylor, Steve Taylor, Jerry Lewis, and John Russell leaving Camp VI at 15,000 feet on the Harper Glacier. Archdeacon’s Tower is on the skyline, to the left of center.
Howard Snyder
The tent fire at Camp VI destroyed one tent and left Walt Taylor, seated, with a singed beard. On the left, Wilcox surveys the damage, McLaughlin stands behind Taylor, and Russell is on the right.
Howard Snyder
The summit team takes a break on the summit ridge at an elevation of 20,150 feet. Jerry Lewis is lying down, Paul Schlichter stands, and Joe Wilcox is seated. Mount Foraker is in the background.
Howard Snyder
Paul Schlichter, Joe Wilcox, and Jerry Lewis leave Camp VII at 17,900 feet for the summit on July 15, 1967. Lewis carries wands for trail marking strapped to his pack.
Howard Snyder
Joe Wilcox on the summit of Denali on July 15, 1967, holding a pennant from his alma mater, Kansas State College of Pittsburg.
Howard Snyder
Jerry Lewis on the summit. During his radio conversation with rangers at Eielson Visitor Center he spoke with his neighbor from Colorado who happened to be visiting the park.
Howard Snyder
Paul Schlichter sets off a smoke flare on the summit of Denali while rangers and visitors at Eielson Visitor Center in the park below observed the smoke.
Jerry Lewis/Howard Snyder Collection
Howard Snyder on Denali’s summit. The team carried a CB radio and with it held one of the first direct radio conversations between the summit and the rangers in the park.
Gayle Nienhueser
The storm-blasted high camp as encountered by the MCA team on the morning of July 28. Rather than survivors they found a corpse gripping a tent pole, wrapped in the wind-shattered yellow tent. The gear bags in the foreground appeared to be propping up the tent.
Howard Snyder
Leaving Camp VII at noon on July 17, 1967. Paul Schlichter is closest to photographer Howard Snyder. Behind him from left to right, Anshel Schiff, Mark McLaughlin, Hank Janes, and Walt Taylor.
Denali National Park and Preserve Museum Collection. Dena 13611 Folder 108.
John Russell’s bamboo staff, flagged with the remains of the burned tent, stood alone in the snow a few hundred yards below Camp VII after the storm. A sleeping bag and shell containing wool socks and a pair of down booties was wrapped around the shaft. The pack that can be seen in the image belongs to the MCA rescue team.
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* Blaine Smith’s sense of humor is revealed by his behavior in a cross-country ski race in which we both competed in 2011. Moments before the starting gun, he pushed me over. He has a more philosophical side. After we talked about the storm he survived, he said, “There is no reward without risk. I can’t imagine living life without it.”
* Information compiled from Joe Wilcox’s White Winds (Los Alamitos, CA: Hwong Publishing Company, 1981); Howard Snyder’s The Hall of the Mountain King (New York: Scribner, 1973); DENA13611 1967 Wilcox Expedition Folder, and an undated letter to Joe Wilcox from Mark McLaughlin.
* “Eskimo” is commonly used in Alaska to refer to all Inuit and Yupik people of the world. It is considered derogatory in many other places because it was given by non-Inuit people and was said to mean “eater of raw meat.” Linguists now believe that “Eskimo” is derived from an Ojibwa word meaning “to net snowshoes.”
* A Prusik is a friction knot used to attach a loop of cord around a climbing rope. The Prusik grips the rope under pressure but can slip when the pressure is relieved. Two Prusiks are used in tandem on one rope, allowing a climber to ascend by shifting weight from one Prusik to the other. While one Prusik holds the climber’s weight, the other is moved higher on the rope; then weight is transferred to that one, allowing the other to be loosened and moved up the rope.