Denali's Howl: The Deadliest Climbing Disaster on America's Wildest Peak (23 page)

“What a blunder, I thought”
:
Wilcox,
White Winds
,
122.

“We did not inspect”
 . . . “We chose to follow these wands”:
Narrative report by Joe Wilcox, Alaska Mountain Rescue Group files.

“It was not well wanded”
:
Author telephone interview with Howard Snyder, January 2014.

“I remember we got”
:
Schlichter telephone interview, February 2013.

“On this day the summit ridge”
:
Snyder,
The Hall of the Mountain King
, 104.

“How far now to the summit?” . . . “All kinds of them”:
Cassette tapes of radio transmissions from the collection of Michael Sfraga, PhD, transcribed by author.

“When the party Russell was with”
:
Letter from Howard Snyder to Vin Hoeman, September 11, 1967, Grace and John Vincent Hoeman papers, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska–Anchorage.

“While the first party of eight”
:
Ibid.

“I think we’ll just wait”
:
Wilcox,
White Winds,
131.

Jerry Lewis’s condition continued to worsen
:
Snyder,
The Hall of the Mountain King,
113.

whenever he’d try to eat, he’d throw up
:
Ibid., 114.

“I knew John was sick”
:
Snyder interview, October 2012.

“Anshel had a realistic view”
:
Wilcox interview, March 2012.

“Lewis asked specifically”
:
Snyder to Hoeman, September 11, 1967.

“He was so damn sick”
:
Snyder telephone interview, October 2012.

“I was tired after staying up”
:
Wilcox interview, March 2012.

“I’ll stay here”
 . . . “That really won’t be necessary”:
Wilcox,
White Winds,
131.

“I felt that I should stay”
:
Wilcox to Hoeman, October 25, 1967.

fuel that had been left outside and lost
:
Wilcox McKinley Expedition partial log by Howard Snyder, Grace and John Vincent Hoeman papers, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska–Anchorage.

“Don’t take any chances”
 . . . “Don’t worry”:
Wilcox,
White Winds,
132.

the expedition’s only complete shovel
:
Snyder telephone interview, October 2012.

“We could see the camp”
:
Schlichter telephone interview, February 2013.

and 150 wands for trail marking
:
Wilcox to Hoeman, October 25, 1967.

the only food they carried was lunch
 . . . “It is possible”:
Snyder telephone interview, October 2012.

“ETA is approximately forty-five minutes” . . . “Thanks very much. KHD6990 Unit One clear”:
Cassette tapes of radio transmissions from the collection of Michael Sfraga, PhD, transcribed by author.

“I could imagine him”
:
Wilcox interview, March 2012.

one that was narrow but apparently bottomless
:
Snyder,
The
Hall of the Mountain King,
104.

CHAPTER 9:
Split Apart

“
Radio contact with Eielson”
:
Copy of Joe Wilcox’s journal, Grace and John Vincent Hoeman papers, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska–Anchorage.

“As feared, the weather turned foul”
:
Louis Reichardt journal from the July 1967 Western States Expedition, courtesy Louis Reichardt.

“Mountain clear from 6:30”
:
Wonder Lake logbook, Denali National Park and Preserve Museum Collection, DENA26382.

a saucerlike lenticular cloud
:
Author telephone interview with Howard Snyder, May 2013.

“Light snow and fog all day”
:
Boyd N. Everett Jr., “The A-67 M. McKinley Expedition 1967,” Alaska Mountain Rescue Group archive.

since they carried no intact shovels
:
Snyder telephone interview, October 2012.

“Listen
 . . . I hear voices”:
Wilcox,
White Winds
, 140.

“Wed. July 19. Strong winds”
:
Wilcox journal.

“The wind picked up”
:
Reichardt journal.

“Lloyd’s prognosis was favorable”
:
Lloyd Price was a member of the expedition. He went on to work as a ranger in Yosemite. E-mail exchange with Louis Reichardt, December 28, 2013.

“Denali visible briefly”
:
Wonder Lake logbook, Denali National Park and Preserve Museum Collection, DENA26382.

“The failure to establish radio contact”
:
Narrative report by Joe Wilcox, Alaska Mountain Rescue Group files.

“We knew they got to the top”
:
Schlichter telephone interview, February 2013.

“How long should we wait”
 . . . “Two days”:
Wilcox,
White Winds,
144.

foot-deep powder
:
Wilcox McKinley Expedition partial expedition log, 14 July through 26 July, written by Howard Snyder in Anchorage, evening of July 29, 1967, Grace and John Vincent Hoeman papers, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska–Anchorage.

“With our trail obliterated”
:
Wilcox,
White Winds,
144.

“We stood still”
:
Snyder,
The Hall of the Mountain King
, 128.

“I thought he shouldn’t have left it”
: Snyder telephone interview, January 2014.

“He said I was not to leave her”
:
Hall, Griffen interview, June 3, 1999.

“The ranger said to me”
:
Ibid.

“At about noon Wilcox exp.”
:
Wonder Lake logbook.

By 4:30
P
.
M
., Hansen had received his briefing:
Alaska Rescue Group diary written by Gary Hansen, Howard Snyder collection.

“The same spirit of preparation”
:
E-mail exchange between author and Gary Hansen, January 2013.

“the ARG had been alerted”
 . . . “a ‘go-ahead’”:
Log of Wilcox Expedition rescue by Wayne Merry, Denali National Park and Preserve Museum Collection, DENA13611, 1967 Wilcox Expedition, Folder 108.

“If a flight is required” . . . “Report from the mountain”:
Hansen ARG diary.

stripped-down bare aluminum Cessna 180
:
Don Sheldon was so conscious about the weight of his aircraft when flying in the mountains that he didn’t paint many of them, saving as much as 80 pounds.

Sheldon, who reported poor weather:
Hansen ARG diary.

50 miles per hour with gusts to 65
:
Merry, Wilcox Expedition rescue log.

“The storm, which had been battering”
:
Wilcox McKinley Expedition partial expedition log.

“The day was cold and clear”
:
Reichardt journal.

“Unfortunately, the weather did not break”
:
Ibid.

“Storm appears to be roaring”
 . . . “We build huge snow walls”:
Babcock journal.

“When visibility improved”
:
Draft of report by Bill Babcock, undated, Denali National Park and Preserve Museum Collection, DENA13611, Folder 113.

“I knew there was a problem” . . . “I didn’t know what it was”:
Babcock telephone interview, March 2013.

“You know
 . . . I think to not try the summit”:
Wilcox,
White Winds,
148.

“We Gotta Get Out of This Place”
:
Snyder telephone interview, May 2013.

“I remember thinking, It’s only a matter of time”
:
Schlichter telephone interview, February 2013.

having difficulty moving his hands
:
Snyder telephone interview, May 2013.

three sick men who couldn’t care for themselves
:
Snyder,
The Hall of the Mountain King,
150.

“Not more than one of us would feel like going up”
:
Wilcox,
White Winds,
154.

“We have three people”
:
Ibid., 151.

“They understand that they were the closest”
:
Wonder Lake logbook.

“It was such a surprise” . . . “A few hundred yards”:
Reichardt journal.

“Climbing alone unroped”
:
Wilcox,
White Winds,
157.

“When Lewis would fall”
:
Snyder, The Hall of the
Mountain King,
155.

“You’ll just have to leave me”
:
Ibid.
,
159.

“We see a party of 5”
:
Grace Jansen Hoeman’s journal, Grace and John Vincent Hoeman papers, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska–Anchorage.

“They literally drank”
:
Babcock telephone interview, March 2013.

CHAPTER 10:
An Ice Ax in the Snow

he urged Joe Wilcox to call an all-out rescue
:
Babcock journal.

“To me, it was blatantly obvious”
:
Babcock telephone interview, March 2013.

“Bill will go up in forced ascent”
:
Hoeman journal.

“Wilcox reached MCA”
:
Wonder Lake logbook, Denali National Park and Preserve Museum Collection, DENA26382.

“Somehow, there was the idea”
:
Wilcox interview, March 2012.

“I got the sense that”
:
Author interview with Frank Nosek, Anchorage, May 2013.

was worried about the cost
:
Nienhueser interview, August 2012.

“There’s a full-scale rescue”
:
Snyder,
The Hall of the Mountain King
, 162.

“Merry again recommended”
:
Wonder Lake logbook, Denali National Park and Preserve Museum Collection, DENA26382.

“I remember we mobilized”
:
Nosek interview, May 2013.

“You have to be moving faster”
 . . . “You simply can’t get it down”:
Author interview with Chuck Sassara, Anchorage, October 2013.

“He just wanted to take off”
:
Babcock telephone interview, March 2013.

“Winds began to pick up”
:
Babcock journal.

“MCA report good flying weather”
:
Wonder Lake logbook.

dropping a radio and food 500 feet below
:
Itemized account of hours flown for reconnaissance and search, Wilcox Expedition, bill submitted to the ARG for reimbursement on September 2, 1967 by Don Sheldon’s Talkeetna Air Service, Grace and John Vincent Hoeman papers, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska–Anchorage.

“We awoke at 3:30
A
.
M
.”
:
Reichardt journal.

“Would you like to see the storm?”
:
Author interview with John Papineau, Meteorologist, NOAA, National Weather Service, Anchorage, October 2011.

“They were where the wind”
 . . . “the worst when people were on it”:
Fathauer interview, October 2012.

“Spent several hours digging”
:
Babcock journal.

“We were still planning to relay”
 . . . “I had been very happy”:
Babcock telephone interview, March 2013.

“The going was extremely difficult”
:
Draft of report by Bill Babcock, undated, Denali National Park and Preserve Museum Collection, DENA13611, Folder 113.

“Never should have done it”
:
Babcock journal.

“We had this crazy way”
 . . . “Today, you can have a conversation”:
Babcock telephone interview, March 2013.

Sheldon spent two hours searching
:
Talkeetna Air Service invoice, September 2, 1967.

“Bill exhausted”
:
Babcock journal.

the A-67 Expedition spotted Sheldon’s shiny Cessna
:
Everett, “The A-67 Mt. McKinley Expedition.”