During my ski-train ride from Denver to Winter Park, I saw a copy of this article laying on a train seat. The photos are nice. It seems that Joe is custom-writing articles for papers around the country and custom picking local state HPs.
- John M.
"A 5-year journey to hit all 50 summits"
on the The Daily Camera Web site:
Glickman Article on $35,000 Spent Highpointing in 150 Days Starting in Texas
January 17 2004, 11:51 PM
The Guadalupe Mountains inspired an ambitious quest to summit the highest peaks in all 50 states
By Joe Glickman Special to the Express-News
Web Posted : 01/18/2004 12:00 AM
In the annals of mountaineering, standing on top of all 50 state high points ranks right up there with, say, crossing America on a unicycle. It's ambitious, physically and logistically difficult, and more than a bit off the wall. There's even a club for it. When a friend and I began our esoteric pursuit six years ago, 58 people had climbed all 50 state pinnacles. By the time we completed our final high point last July — the 20,320-foot Mount McKinley — the number had nearly doubled. The Highpointers Club (see "Hanging with the Highpointers," page 3M) likes to point out that more people have climbed Mount Everest than made it to the top of all 50 state summits.
While many of the high points are accessible to anyone with a car and the ability to put one foot in front of the other, standing on top of all 50 is surprisingly hard: You need time, money, mountaineering skills and amble motivation. Not to mention a good car stereo.
To accomplish our goal, Nels Akerlund, a 31-year-old photographer who came up with this enormously impractical project, and I drove approximately 12,000 miles and flew about as far again to Alaska and Hawaii. Tallying gas, motels, airfare and food, we spent roughly $30,000 — and 150 days — over the course of five years. Nels took pictures, I took notes, and together we produced a book documenting our journey called "To the Top" (NorthWord Press, $24.95).
But it all started in Texas. Why? Nels lives in Rockford, Ill.; I live in Brooklyn, N.Y. After talking it over we came up with a plan: I was competing in the U.S. Marathon Kayaking Team Trials on the Colorado River in Austin, and we would meet there to begin what would become our lengthy and costly quest. After the race, barely pausing to rest, we struck out for the Trans-Pecos, through the endless rolling hills of Central Texas, adorned with vivid fields of wildflowers http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=720&xlc=1114196&xld=720
Climb Every Mole Hill
The highest points in heartland states like Kansas and Iowa aren't much to look at, but when you knock off seven of them in a four-day, 3,000-mile blitz . . . well, let's just say the little bastards have a way of kicking back.
By Rob Story
DAWN WAS BUT A RUMOR on the eastern horizon when our climbing team set off from base camp, heading north toward a mountain so elusive it wasn't even named until 1998. By 11:30 a.m., after a morning of steady advancement, our party of seven had gained the summit ridge. No one was showing signs of edema; we pushed for the top...
Suddenly, a large creature stormed our right flank. Crowned by a woolly gray mane, it walked erect and emitted humanoid noises. "Egad!" I exclaimed, flinching. Was this the fabled yeti, terrorizing another doomed high-altitude expedition?
No. It was retired farmwife Donna Sterler, who emerged from her white clapboard house with a hearty midwestern hello.
"Welcome to our home," she chirped. "And the highest point in Iowa!" She passed out plastic key chains that read HAWKEYE POINT, ELEV. 1,670 FT., and then pointed toward some farm buildings and a million ears of corn. "The summit is over there," she said. "To the right of the cattle trough."
This message has been edited by dipper on Mar 17, 2004 1:34 PM
Headline: hitting the HIGH points
Odyssey to the 50 states' summits takes the low with the lofty
Writer: Don Holmes Contributor
Published: October 8, 2000
Page Number: 1G
Summary: Towering Mount McKinley in Alaska and a trailer park off Ebright Road in Delaware share a claim to fame.
They're the highest points in their respective states.
They share that status with Mount Rainier, Wash.; Mount Hood, Ore.; and Guadalupe Peak, Texas, to name a few. Some of the high spots are reserved for experienced mountain climbers. Others can be reached by driving within a few yards of state summits. More than half require no more than a short walk.
I knew you had a thread for collecting newspaper article posts, but I couldn't find it. When I try to locate threads or topics I find it difficult (feeble attempt most likely the cause). The search feature is about as efficient as going back through the pages of past posts.
Maybe a new menu item (web page) would be good
In any case, I'd like to take this opportunity for again thanking you Roger for such a WONDERFUL website and all the time you put into it!! Well done, my friend!
You can divide America's high points into four categories: drive-ups, easy walks, hard hikes and serious challenges.
Here's a more subjective breakdown of highs and lows around America:
MOST DIFFICULT: Alaska's 20,320-foot Mount McKinley. Heavy loads, unrelenting cold, fierce storms and thin air make this 18- to 21-day climb the toughest of them all.
TALLEST IN THE LOWER 48: At 14,494 feet, California's Mount Whitney in the John Muir Wilderness Area is a strenuous two- to three-day hike. You need a permit to climb the mountain, and you'd better heed the warning signs about leaving food in your car. A nosy bear sniffed out an unopened bag of popcorn in our trunk and wreaked havoc on the car.
LOWEST OF THE LOW: The 345-foot Britton Hill in the panhandle of Florida. You'll have to negotiate several steps - they may be wet - which lead to an incline even more precipitous than a shuffleboard court.
MOST TECHNICAL: Montana's stark 12,799-foot Granite Peak is known for its violent thunderstorms and is the only high point where climbers must tackle multiple pitches of vertical rock.
LONGEST APPROACH: From the trailhead to the summit, the arduous 25-mile one-way hike into Wyoming's remote and picturesque Wind River Range leads to the glaciated summit of the 13,804-foot Gannett Peak. Along with Mount Rainier in Washington, Harney Peak in South Dakota and Mount Elbert in Colorado, Gannett was one of the most beautiful mountains we climbed.
MOST ELUSIVE: Rhode Island's 812-foot Jerimoth Hill. For years this short stroll in the woods was guarded by an antisocial homeowner, who treated hikers the way a guard dog would a cat burglar. However, since 1988, the Highpointers Club has struck a deal with the homeowner so that there are a handful of open dates each year.
BACKPACKER Magazine - - 4 Part Series starts in MAY 2004!!
March 1 2004, 7:03 PM
Watch for the Backpacker magazine issues coming up later this year. They are publishing a four-part guide to the state highpoints, starting with the May issue which is being prepared now (March).
- John M.
Yesterday I recieved an advance copy of the May issue of Backpacker and the Highpoint article looks great! Joe Glickman discusses the Eastern HPs state-by-state and the centerfold is quite a graphic work of art.
Get your subscription now so you get this issue. Watch the magazine stands and collect a set to donate to your local hiking club library.
BP's HP Series: installments appear in 3 of next 5 issues
May 18 2004, 12:23 PM
May - East
June - none
July/Aug - Midwest
Sept - none
Oct - South
Nov/Dec - West
The advance scoop is that the centerfold map for the Midwest is spectacular. I am anxious to see it. The current issue (June) has lots of good stuff too.
The second in a four-part series is being received now by subscribers to Backpacker magazine. The August 2004 issue covers the Midwest highpoints. The article starts out with a two-page centerfold-out showing the states and various information. Joe Glickman's article follows the foldout map.
There's mention of a contest at www.backpacker.com/hp
The newspaper has a huge photo. The website has a fun photo. The article explores Wendy's travels as a state and county highpointer and examines why Wendy does it.
Outside magazine - May 2004 - HP Club member wins contest!
April 8 2004, 11:21 AM
Check out the upcoming issue of Outside magazine for this amazing accomplishment! An article from winner Charlie Zerphey will appear in the next Club magazine.
- JohnM
Charlie Zerphey is one of the 3 winners. This coming June he's climbing McKinley as the oldest person to do so. The May issue of the HP Club magazine will have an article by Charlie.
Gear junkie: Companies cater to peak baggers
By Stephen Regenold
GEAR JUNKIE
Each of the 50 U.S. states has a high point of elevation, be it a towering mountain peak or a nondescript knoll in a cornfield. To a small group of climbers who call themselves highpointers, every one of these summits is geographically significant.
The goal is to climb all 50 high points in a lifetime. To date, according to http://www.Highpointers.org, only 125 people have done it. But many more are trying, and two companies have jumped into the sport with products that cater specifically to the highpointing crowd.
Gear Junkie: Highpointers find each state's good points
BY STEPHEN REGENOLD
Special to the Pioneer Press
Each of the 50 states has a high point of elevation, be it a towering mountain peak or a nondescript knoll in a cornfield. To a small group of climbers who call themselves highpointers, every one of these summits is geographically significant.
The goal is to climb all 50 high points in a lifetime. To date, according to http://highpointers.org, only 125 people have done it. But many more are trying, and two companies have jumped into the sport with products that cater specifically to the highpointing crowd.
Silva's 50 High Peaks package ($40, www.silvacompass.com http://www.silvacompass.com includes a Silva Explorer compass and mapping software from Maptech. A Windows-compatible CD-ROM contains detailed topographic maps of each of the highest peaks in all 50 states.
The maps come in both 1:24,000 and 1:100,000 scales, and Maptech has a 3D mode that simulates the mountain topography onscreen. You can zoom in, rotate, annotate and print the maps to take along for the climb. Other features let you load map data onto a GPS device.
I found the software helpful on a recent climb of California's Mount Whitney. The 3D mode is especially handy for visualizing your climb. However, there are no climbing routes loaded into the maps, so I had to buy an additional guidebook on Mount Whitney to get the more specific route information of the climb.
"Highpoint Adventures" ($16, http://www.mountaineersbooks.org , a highpointing guidebook by authors Charlie and Diane Winger, includes brief descriptions of each of the 50 state summits. There are basic maps and pictures of each climb, as well as concise route descriptions.
Overall, the book is a good introduction to highpointing, and the included driving directions and trail maps are all you'll need for about 70 percent of the high points. For the remaining mountains — peaks like Washington's Mount Rainier, California's Mount Whitney and Alaska's Denali — the book's descriptions work better as overviews. Serious mountaineers will definitely need to supplement "Highpoint Adventures" with mountain-specific guidebooks that go into every bit of detail on climbing from base camp to the summit.
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Maptech (Amesbury, MA) - Are you ready to map your way to the highest peak in each of the 50 states? Maptech's new CD-ROM, Terrain Navigator 50/50, gives you detailed USGS topographic maps for the highest peak and the surrounding area. Plan your hike, print the maps, and even download routes to a GPS. Explore new heights. Know what to expect before heading out. It's easy and fun to use and it retails for $9.95 - a $400 value!
Major Mapping Features:
Comes with Maptech's award winning software, Terrain Navigator.
Plan your adventure. Visualize the challenge with over eighty detailed USGS topo maps.
Value bonus: the equivalent USGS paper topos would cost over $400.
Print your own topo maps in 2D and 3D. Create one seamless maps from four quads.
Instantly create 3D views for a better understanding of the terrain.
Elevation profile tool shows a clear view of how difficult the climb might be.
Measure distance and areas with just a mouse click.
Line of sight tool helps locate the sweet spot for great photo shots.
GPS Ready - hook a compatabile GPS to your PC for automatic route and track transfers.
Works great with a compass too - lat/long or UTM coordinates clearly displayed.
P. 25 has a write-up about highpointing by Stephen Regenold. The author also features "a few favorites that can be turned into one-day adventures," including CA (Mountaineer's Couloir), SD, VT (Long Trail), MN (trail run) & CO.
No obstacle too high
Deaf Oregon State graduate three summits from a dream
Her dream is so vivid, so persuasive and has such a vice-grip on Miriam Richards' psyche that no obstacle has been too great.
Not the mid-life onset of multiple sclerosis.
Not lifelong deafness.
Not even a 600-foot plunge from an ice shelf on Mount Hood that left her with a shattered jaw, a damaged right eye, torn ligaments, myriad bruises and rehabilitation that lasted more than a year.
At first, as she lay in a hospital bed in critical condition nine years ago, the Oregon State University student told her parents via sign language that her third failed mountain ascent would also be her last. Her love of the outdoors would be limited to working for the National Park Service, interpreting nature for deaf people and traversing less-hazardous wonders like the Pacific Crest Trail.
Yet even as Richards nursed serious injuries, visions of mountaintops and reaching heights no deaf person had ever attained continued to flash in her mind's eye.
"I changed my mind," she says. "I won't give up my dream."
Fast forward to today, and Richards, now 39 and an OSU graduate in forestry, is sitting at a table, her eyes glistening as she recounts her life story by "signing" interpreter M'Leah Woodard using rapid-fire hand gestures.
Corvallis Gazette-Times (Login dipper) Forum Owner
Profile of Miriam Richards Seeking to Be First Deaf 50 Completer
May 26 2004, 11:43 AM
Deaf Oregon State graduate three summits from a dream
Her dream is so vivid, so persuasive and has such a vice-grip on Miriam Richards' psyche that no obstacle has been too great.
Not the mid-life onset of multiple sclerosis.
Not lifelong deafness.
Not even a 600-foot plunge from an ice shelf on Mount Hood that left her with a shattered jaw, a damaged right eye, torn ligaments, myriad bruises and rehabilitation that lasted more than a year.
At first, as she lay in a hospital bed in critical condition nine years ago, the Oregon State University student told her parents via sign language that her third failed mountain ascent would also be her last. Her love of the outdoors would be limited to working for the National Park Service, interpreting nature for deaf people and traversing less-hazardous wonders like the Pacific Crest Trail.
Yet even as Richards nursed serious injuries, visions of mountaintops and reaching heights no deaf person had ever attained continued to flash in her mind's eye.
"I changed my mind," she says. "I won't give up my dream."
Fast forward to today, and Richards, now 39 and an OSU graduate in forestry, is sitting at a table, her eyes glistening as she recounts her life story by "signing" interpreter M'Leah Woodard using rapid-fire hand gestures.
In the past six years, Richards has been to the "Roof of Africa," 19,340-foot Mount Kilimanjaro. She has summitted the highest point in South America, 22,840-foot Mount Aconcagua.
She has even conquered her fears on 11,239-foot Mount Hood, Oregon's highest peak.
Now, she is preparing for her ultimate quest: To become the first deaf woman to ascend the highest point in all 50 states.
In the next week, Richards, Woodard and hired guides plan to climb 14,410-foot Mount Rainier, making it 48 down and two to go. Last on the list are Wyoming's 13,804-foot Gannett Peak in August and, the granddaddy of them all, Alaska's 20,320-foot Denali in June 2005.
"I'm really motivated," she signals to Woodard, who spends half of her years as an interpreter and the other half as a wilderness ranger with the U.S. Forest Service.
"I want to overcome my perceived limitations. This is a challenge for me. It's a physical and mental challenge."
At first glance, Richards doesn't evoke images of a mountain climber. She is short, heavy-set and looks more like someone who sits behind a desk all day than a woman who has conquered difficult climbs and once did a 50-mile solo hike for 14 days on the Wonderland Trail at Mount Rainier's base.
Yet overcoming lack of physical strength pales compared to her lifelong challenges with deafness and, now, the multiple sclerosis diagnosed last year after she struggled with bouts of dizziness.
"She has toughness, endurance and determination, and a very positive, can-do attitude — all of which can get you a long way on non-technical climbs," says Kathy Cosley, the guide who led Richards up Argentina's Mount Aconcagua in 1999. "I admire Miriam's perseverance and courage."
Though Richards always had a passion for the outdoors while growing up in Victoria, B.C., and then while attending Gallaudet University for the deaf in Washington, D.C., she never gave "highpointing" a thought until first learning about it seven years ago. She was instantly intrigued by the realization that fewer people have reached the top of all 50 states than have climbed Mount Everest, and none of the 129 who've done it is deaf.
Only 10 of the 50 high points are over 10,000 feet, but the effort have made it a chore for all but the most dedicated — even for so-called members of the "highpointers" club.
"I'm really surprised at how many people involved in highpointing don't succeed," says Richards, a part-time sign-language instructor at Western Oregon University who also works odd jobs around Corvallis.
Her initial ascent remains her most meaningful.
The 1997 climb of 8,749-foot Guadalupe Peak in west Texas was her first since the accident on Mount Hood two years earlier. She was joined by her 65-year-old father, who at first resisted going because of sizzling summer heat but was ecstatic upon reaching the summit.
The exhilaration forged a father-daughter bond and further motivated Richards to continue climbing.
She has since zigged and zagged around the country — "like a grasshopper," she says — even climbing six high points in two days in the southeast in 2000.
On 23 climbs, she has hiked solo. On 22 others, she has traveled with friends.
She required guides only on the more technical Mount Hood and Montana's Granite Peak.
Idaho's Borah Peak and Nevada's Boundary Peak were "pretty scary."
Her biggest climbing challenges lie ahead, not because of her deafness, which has not proven a significant hindrance on the slopes, or her multiple sclerosis, which is managed by medication, but because many guides remain hesitant to climb with a deaf person.
Never mind her successes on Hood and Aconcagua.
Guides fret about communication and liability, and worry about how to handle another fall.
Enter Woodard.
Richards requires an interpreter for her final guided climbs. In Woodard, she has found the rare combination of someone who knows sign language and also can climb technical mountains.
"The idea was thrilling for me," Woodard said. "I feel like sometimes I had two lives, interpreting and the outdoors. This is a great way to meld them. It'll be interesting to see how it goes."
On Aconcagua, Colsey, Richards and another deaf climber typically communicated through writing. They also used hand gestures.
"The only real problematic thing was that it was really hard for them to join in the general conversation, so they did not really form part of the group, socially," Colsey said. "I did learn some sign from them and enjoyed that a lot. It was very rewarding for me."
Because they will be climbing at night and in the snow on Rainier, Woodard plans to wear black gloves so that her gestures can be seen. They'll also make their gestures more emphatic.
"So many people have been willing to work with me in terms of gestures, but this will be a new experience in Rainier," Richards said. "We'll see how easy this can be. Hopefully other deaf people after me will have an easier time."
Truth be known, an even larger concern is Denali because the outfitter is reluctant to take her with a group. They have offered to take her alone, but the cost is $23,000 — far more than she can afford on income limited to part-time work because if she's employed full-time she loses Medicare.
Richards plans to meet with the outfitter later this month to negotiate an agreement.
One way or another, she figures, she'll get it done and move on to a life traveling the country, sharing her experiences with deaf people and helping others understand the challenges for the deaf and victims of multiple sclerosis.
After all, she's come too far to let an obstacle as small as $23,000 halt her now.
"Even this, I'm not going to let it block my dream," Richards said.
THe Corvallis, Oregon, Gazette Times reports that Miriam Richards wants to climb the last three states (Rainier/Gannett/McKinley) in 2005. She also has MS. She has to raise $30,000 to climb McKinley because of special arrangements have to be made -- noting that guides are reluctant to take her on.
More: http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2004/12/10/news/top_story/fri01.txt
High winds nearly blew her off the Guadalupe Mountains in Texas, and a couple of wild turkeys chased her on a hill near the Mississippi River.
Undaunted, Wendy Hecht -- a Madison social worker -- went to Virginia, where she hiked along the Appalachian Trail to reach another destination.
On that particular journey, she traipsed through a field of wild horses, enjoyed the view of miles of rhododendrons in full bloom and convinced a black bear that she meant no harm.
"I've always enjoyed the outdoors and challenging my body physically," Hecht says.
So it seemed like a natural fit for this UW alumna to pick up the hobby of highpointing six years ago. Many consider this activity to be more of a sport, and, indeed, hiking to the highest point of elevation in states and counties can be strenuous, even dangerous.
"Interestingly, I have a fear of heights," Hecht says. "A couple of state highpoint climbs have been somewhat challenging because of the dropoffs and elevations, but the scenery has been breathtaking."
There's an international Highpointers Club (www.highpointers.org) with a quarterly newsletter and 2,500 members. Annual fees are $15 in the United States.
Technical climbers with mountaineering skills tackle the highest summits on the seven continents, but most highpointers use guidebooks and topographical maps that focus on state and county elevations.
For example, Hecht has been to 22 state highpoints -- her highest peak at 14,494 feet is Mount Elbert in Colorado -- and she can claim all 72 county highpoints in Wisconsin.
"You never quite know what you're going to find off the beaten path," she says.
"I've seen beautiful landscapes and tons of wildlife. Along the way, I've also met a lot of interesting people who are real excited about the land and its beauty."
If you've been near the tower in the cornfield behind Brigham Park, then you've been on Dane County's highest point.
Another popular highpoint is near the hilltop field of Blue Mounds State Park. Picnickers who have walked that huge field can probably claim the highpoint of Iowa County.
"Highpointing attracts people who have a fascination for travel and like to read maps," Hecht says. "Listmakers are driven to write about the highest points of our national parks, the highest points of Civil War battlefields or the lowest point of every state.
"But I'm a little more casual about it. I don't have a burning desire to remember every single highpoint I've been on. I keep enough notes, though, to know what I've accomplished."
Hecht says that she keeps highpointing in the right perspective, making it an enjoyable part of the bigger adventure of life.
With more than 25 years of experience working with people with disabilities, Hecht started her own nonprofit agency -- called Teamwork Associates -- last year. She has a small staff that provides case management services to adults with developmental disabilities.
"In my free time, I like having a focus and purpose to my travel," says Hecht, referring to her hobby of highpointing.
"I also enjoy hiking and being quiet in nature -- it's an interest that my father instilled in me at an early age."
Hecht often posts her trip reports online at www.cohp.org to help other county highpointers with their own travel preparations.
"About 25 percent of the county highpoints in Wisconsin are on public land," Hecht says. "Four are ski resorts. One is on the reservation in Menominee County.
"Diversity is one of the exciting things about highpointing -- you never quite know what you'll find until you roll up."
Often a sizable hike is required to claim a highpoint. Other locations may simply require knocking on a farmer's door for permission to stand in a nearby cornfield. State highpoints typically have benchmarks on the spot.
What's tricky -- especially with county highpointing -- is that there can be several highpoints of equal elevation. Monroe County, for example, has 25 spots that need to be visited to claim its highpoint.
So in claiming the 72 counties in Wisconsin, Hecht has stood on 200 highpoints.
"Our highest elevation in Wisconsin is Timms Hill -- at 1,951 feet -- in Price County," Hecht says. "Rib Mountain is the second highest point in the state, even though a plaque mistakenly indicates it's No. 1."
Either location is a far cry from Alaska's highest point -- Mount McKinley, which stands at 20,320 feet.
McKinley isn't on Hecht's "to do" list, but she is planning to claim eight more state highpoints on a trip to the Northeast later this year.
Some of her travels have been with other highpointers, including John Mitchler of Colorado, editor of the Highpointers Club newsletter.
On a Wisconsin trip, Mitchler and Hecht used topographical maps and compasses to negotiate the four highpoints of Rusk County, "which is like an enchanted forest, and we had no bread crumbs," Hecht quips.
For one of the highpoints in Ozaukee County, the owner of a shooting range had people stop practicing for an hour so Hecht could climb the hill.
Last year Hecht traveled to the state highpoint of Iowa, where she helped to scatter ashes of Jack Longacre, founder of the Highpointers Club, who had requested that his ashes be scattered on all 50 state highpoints after his death.
"Every highpoint has its own beauty, and taking the time to enjoy that beauty is important," Hecht says.
Highpointer Wallet Card Show on May 23 NBC Dateline Show on 2002 Hood Disaster
June 4 2004, 12:00 PM
Many thanks to Paul M. for passing this along.
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Dateline news show on NBC on sunday May 23 they had a pretty lengthy news summary of the rescue on Mt Hood from a couple of years ago ? This was one where people slid down into the bergschrund on the South side. Then the Air Force helicopter crashed etc. They talked about the Highpointers who had summited then got swept in with the other group . They showed the Highpointer wallet card with all the summits etc. In the end I believe 2 or 3 people got killed. No one in the helicopter was killed. The video of the helicopter crashing was unbelievable.
Charlotte Observer Article on 50 Completer Douglas Butler
June 6 2004, 4:35 PM
High points of their lives
Select few tackle highest peak in each state
JACK HORAN
Special Correspondent
CRUMPLER - The temperature was below zero. The 100-mile view was magnificent. But the 20-day trek up Alaska's Mount McKinley was, to say the least, rigorous.
Reaching the summit in 2003 was, well, a high point for Dr. Douglas Butler of Ashe County, 120 miles northwest of Charlotte. With the ascent a year ago Saturday, June 12, Butler accomplished a feat shared by few: He had reached the highest point in all 50 states.
Butler became the 118th "completer" since 1936 and the only N.C. (or S.C.) resident, according to the Highpointers Club. The list now has 129 names.
"We just shook each other's hands," Butler said of reaching the top. "You think of the people who have helped you and your family. Take pictures. You try to look at the view and enjoy it and make sure it gets registered in your mind for the rest of your life."
Butler, 49, has walked America's roof, from McKinley to Florida's Britton Hill, at 345 feet the lowest high point. His conquests include North Carolina's Mount Mitchell, 6,684 feet, and South Carolina's Sassafras Mountain, 3,560 feet.
A Greensboro native, Butler took up mountaineering in 1991. A few years later, visiting his 10-year-old son in Iowa, he said, " `Let's go find the high point in Iowa.' Just to have sort of a kick with him."
"The high point in Iowa is at the end of a feed trough (on a farm)," he said. "The (landowner) was so nice. She gave Jon a coloring book and me a key chain."
Chalk up one high point, elevation 1,670 feet.
Butler became a dedicated high-pointer in 2000. That's when he left his position as emergency room director at a Taylorsville hospital. He took up a lifestyle as a temporary physician for hospitals on Indian reservations in the West. Between assignments, he would travel two to four weeks at a time to climb high points and visit nearby museums and historical sites.
"It was sort of a way to see the country and a unifying theme," Butler said. "... I thought that the 50 peaks would be a good mountaineering challenge."
For some, like Delaware's Ebright Azimuth, the challenge is to find a parking spot, step out of the car and photograph a sign.
The club's web site, www.highpointers.org, flags high points with restrictions or issues, such as North Dakota's: "There have been incidents of people leaving their farm gates open and permitting their cattle to get out. The Van Daeles are asking that you pay a $20 fee."
Scaling the Rockies, Sierras and other mountains, however, requires the skills of a Mount Everest climber. "To get them all done, you need to be a proficient rock climber, ice climber, expeditioneer, mountaineer, winter camper and a good backpacker," Butler said.
The approach to Wyoming's Gannett Peak, for example, is 20 miles. Then hikers follow a rock-and-glacier route to the 13,804-foot-high summit.
McKinley, the highest peak in North America and also called Denali, is the most difficult. "Denali's a big, cold mountain you have to live on for three weeks," he said. On many days storms shut down treks.
Expeditions begin at a 7,200-foot-high base camp. Climbers, roped together, move up wearing crampons or snowshoes and towing gear on sleds.
Butler and over a hundred other climbers reached the summit on a clear, sunny day. "They were lined up like a human chain," Butler said. "It was not a wilderness experience."
Highpointer Dan Bennett, 34, of Asheville has reached 49 state high points. He lacks only Mount McKinley.Bennett got his 49th (Oregon's Mount Hood) when he was 18. He comes from a family of high-pointers. "It's how we would spend our family vacations," he said. Bennett and brother Tom Bennett, 33, of Cleveland, Ga., a "49er" himself, intend to summit McKinley, too.
Recently there was a 15 minute broadcast interview of the Johnston family of Talkeetna about highpointing (they are the first family to complete 50) and about Galen's climb of McKinley (he was youngest to reach summit and youngest to complete the 50). It was either the Discovery or Travel channel. Does anyone know?
I watched that program about 3 weeks ago on a Travel Channel special on Denali National Park and Preserve. The piece on the Johnstons was one of the few excerpts where the show really talked about climbing the mountain; the rest was focused on wildlife, park management, history, etc. (which, don't get me wrong, was really interesting). They have an interview with Galen, and it was really interesting to hear his take on climbing the highest point in North America.
Landfill expansion proposal - "will become the highest elevation in Indiana"
June 23 2004, 2:00 PM
Landfill opponents warn of 'mountain'
By SETH SLABAUGH [email protected]
WINCHESTER - Randolph Farms Landfill will become the highest elevation in Indiana and one of the largest landfills in the state if its proposed expansion is approved, opponents told the Board of Zoning Appeals of Randolph County Monday night.
The front page of the Travel section in today's Boston Globe is devoted mostly to a highpointing article by Joe Glickman. The tiny space at the bottom is left to a description of the "Extra Miler Club," people who try to visit every county in the U.S. Sadly, no mention of COHP-ing.
Highpointers go for the top in every state -- even the flat ones
Eleven-year-old Galen Johnson, son of the famed Alaskan mountaineer, Dave Johnson, in 2001 became the youngest person to have climbed all of the United States' high points. The oldest, 77-year-old Cal Dunwoody, started with the country's highest point, 20,320-foot Mount McKinley in Alaska, and nine years later, in 1999, finished up with the lowest, Florida's 345-foot Britton Hill.
...
More than a few of the 2,834 members of the Highpointers Club are highly goal-oriented. The rest are a diverse group of climbing nerds, enjoying a seemingly endless road trip with a vertical orientation.
The 8.22.04 article is about highpointing nation-wide. Someone please send a copy.
Having a hardcopies in the archive is superior to an archive of just web links (which will change) or an archive of web printouts which don't include the hardcopy photos.
Your copies of the Boston article arrived in fine shape. One will reside in the archives and the other copies will be put to good use. The hardcopy versions are much better than the on-line versions. Thanks!!!
photo of Linda Brubaker
USA map of state HPs
table of state HPs
map of Kane County HP
interview with Linda Brubaker, Jerry Bresnahan, and John Mitchler
PublicationKane County Chronicle
DateOctober 10, 2004
Section(s)Main
Page
By GRANT MILLER
Shaw News Service
Charles Mound is a crop-covered hill 1,235 feet
above sea level and is the highest point in
Illinois.
The summit is named for Elijah Charles, who
built a nearby home in 1828. Near the western
summit sits a farmhouse, and cows roam the
hillside. Mountain climbers sometimes are
surprised to see bovine atop the peak.
John Mitchler grew up in Oswego, attended the
University of Illinois and today lives among the
Rockies in Colorado. He climbed Charles Mound
about 10 years ago.
The memory of that journey lives with him today.
"The farmhouse is at the bottom of the mound,
and you had to pay the lady $2 to enter their
property," Mitchler said. "It's not a mountain,
but it's a hike."
Mitchler helps run the Highpointers Club, an
international organization of mountain climbers
and hikers who try to reach the highest peak in
all 50 states. The club has nearly 3,000
members, including a few from the Fox Valley.
Some peaks, such as Alaska's Mount McKinley --
at 20,320 feet above sea level is the highest
point in North America -- test the ability of
the most experienced climbers. Others, such as
Illinois' Charles Mound -- a 75 foot vertical
climb -- are laughably easy.
The 50 states' high points range from Florida's
Britton Hill, which is a mere 345 feet above sea
level, to Mount McKinley.
Kane County's high point
Considering that Mitchler reached the top of
McKinley last year, it is amazing that he
remembers Charles Mound at all. He said climbers
sometimes frown upon the Midwest, but not him.
In addition to climbing the highest point in all
50 states, Mitchler is believed to be the first
and only person to summit the highest point in
every Illinois County.
That is 102-not-very-high, high points
throughout the state, including Kane's high
point, 1,065 feet above sea level. The high
point is a bump just north of the Plato and
Tower road intersection near Burlington Central
High School. Mitchler said that on clear days,
climbers can see the Sears Tower in Chicago.
Mitchler said he understands that people are
curious why he would want to climb all of
Illinois.
"All sorts of people are into all kinds of
things," he said. "There are people who want to
go the tallest point or the lowest point or the
highest man-made point. You're virtually
unlimited in what people are interested in."
Although Illinois' highest peaks are not on par
with the Rocky Mountain states, Mitchler said
Charles Mound is well-known to most
Highpointers. Few other state peaks are on
farmland and even less are inhabited by dairy
cows.
"It's a little weird to be walking up this hill
and to see cows walking around through the
trees," Mitchler said.
Charles Mound is not far from Galena near the
Wisconsin border in northwest Illinois. Mitchler
said that even though climbing the mound is
easy, Highpointers take pride scratching another
peak off their list.
"All of them are satisfying to reach because you
have a goal or reaching all 50, but as far as
effort, some require more skill than others,"
Mitchler said.
'It's almost God-like'
Mitchler is one of 130 Highpointers who have
completed all 50 states. Linda Brubaker of
Geneva in on 32.
Brubaker, 65, began climbing in 1991. She
already has ruled out climbs in Alaska but has
her eyes set on a few more difficult climbs in
the lower 48.
Brubaker's next challenge is Guadalupe Peak in
west Texas. The mountain is 8,749 feet above sea
level and a 2,950-foot vertical climb. Brubaker
said the climbs bring her to places she never
read about in tourist brochures.
"Some people do it just to complete the 50
states, but I do it for a different reason,"
Brubaker said. "I do it because it takes me to
remote parts of the country. It gives you a
really spiritual feeling. It's almost God-like.
You are there all by yourself and you have this
huge broad vista beneath you. It's exhilarating
and yet serene."
Like Mitchler, Brubaker grew up in a relatively
flat state -- Ohio -- but was bitten by the
climbing bug after reading about the
Highpointers. She began with easier climbs, but
began tackling tougher climbs as she gained
confidence.
She said a key to good climbing is knowing
personal limits. Brubaker said that if the hike
requires truly technical climbing, she will not
do it. To her good fortune, only a handful of
high points in the United States are like that,
among them McKinley, Mount Rainer in Washington
and Mount Whitney in California.
Because many of the high peaks are grouped along
mountain ranges, Brubaker said a handful of
climbs easily can be grouped over a weeklong
trip.
"Sometimes, I may only climb one in a year, but
some are so close together, you can get three or
four out of the way at a time," Brubaker said.
"It gives me a reason for exploring and seeing
the country."
'Really just a stroll'
Jerry Bresnahan of Algonquin was highpointing
before he even joined the club. Before he joined
the Marines as a young man, Bresnahan, 58, and a
friend climbed Mount Elbert, the highest point
in Colorado.
"At the time, I didn't know it was the highest,
but I was in pretty good shape," Bresnahan said.
"It was difficult. About as tiring as running a
marathon, but it wasn't impossible."
Since then, Bresnahan has topped 27 state peaks.
He attempted Rainer last year, but a leg injury
from his days as an Illinois State Police
trooper cropped up and forced him to turn back
before he reached the summit.
Bresnahan joined Highpointers last year when the
group held its convention at Charles Mound.
Because Charles Mound is on private property,
there are difficulties associated with reaching
the summit that are not climbing-related.
"(The family that owns the property) only opens
it four times a year -- I guess they've had some
problems with people showing up at all times of
the night throughout the year," Bresnahan said.
"But climbing (Charles Mound) is really just a
stroll -- Rainier is a three- or four-day climb,
and reaching McKinley is a monthlong trip."
Mitchler, who said he is afraid of heights, said
his experience puts him at total ease in nature.
It is something he does not take for granted.
The physical training only is half of the
preparation for extended climbs, Mitchler said.
"Few of us are prepared to do the exact same
thing day after day for three or four weeks. But
when you climb (McKinley), that's what you do,"
Mitchler said. "You wake up and you climb. I
didn't take my clothes off for three weeks. I
wasn't naked once on the climb. That never
happens at home, but that's the stuff you think
of when you're on the climb."
Mr. Miller misquoted me a few times in this article. The main mistake is the part about me climbing Mt. Elbert before I joined the Marines, as a young man. Actually I was 37, almost 20 years after joining the Marines, when I climbed Mt. Elbert with a fellow State Trooper and former Marine. We were both runners and moved quickly, reaching the summit in just under 3 hours.
I also mentioned to Mr. Miller that I still have a fear of heights even though I parachuted in the military. In the article he says that John Mitchler is afraid of heights. That is either a misquote, or maybe John has a fear of heights too. If so, that would make me feel a little better knowing that a 50 completer like John is also afraid of heights. It might give me a little more confidence next time I try some of the more difficult, big climbs. If John could do it, maybe I can to!
Taking the high road (article on County Highpointers)
September 17 2004, 5:54 PM
For County Highpointers there’s nothing like a peak experience, and given enough time, they hope to climb the high spots in all 3,142 U.S. counties
The last shadows of dusk fade as the four hikers switch on their headlamps at the Pamelia Lake trailhead. This scenic trail through ponderosa pine and Douglas fir eventually will lead the hikers to 10,497-foot Mount Jefferson, the steepest and most difficult climb in Oregon.
"Why climb the mountain? Because it’s there," said Dennis Poulin, 57, of Medford.
Which is more or less the mantra for Poulin and other members of the County Highpointers, a nationwide organization whose confederation of hikers attempts to hike the highest natural point of land in each of the country’s 3,412 counties.
With just 200 members nationwide, the organization is gaining a foothold nonetheless thanks to the Internet and a book called "County Highpoints of the United States," written by member Andy Martin of Tucson.
Charlestown WV Profile of 50-Completer Frank Buffum
October 30 2004, 7:05 PM
He's got nowhere
to go but up
Spencer man travels
to highest point in every state
George Gannon
Daily Mail staff
Thursday October 28, 2004
SPENCER -- Frank Buffum has some interesting views on America.
The 69-year-old physicians assistant has seen the country from its highest points -- all 50 of them.
Breathtaking vistas are there, but Buffum knows what's important. It's true that nature's glory was in full view from the top of Mount Mansfield in Vermont (4,393 feet above sea level), but the grocery store near Lakeland, Fla. (345 ft.) has the coldest beer.
Luara, the young lady who helped him ascend Gannett Peak (13, 804 ft.) in Wyoming was the prettiest guide. The best piece of pie came from a store en route to Eagle Mountain (2,301) Minn. -- the same peak where he encountered the most mosquitoes.
"It's a lot of fun just going and seeing the places and talking to people and visiting," Buffum said.
To celebrate his achievement, which ended on Sept. 25 at Boundary Peak (13,143 ft) in Nevada, Frank and his wife Debby -- who has ascended 43 peaks -- hosted a "High-Points" Party last weekend.
The get together marked more than a half-century of mountaineering for the Buffums.
According to Buffum's "High Points Notebook," Frank Buffum's first ascent was in 1952 when he and some campmates trekked up Mount Washington (6,288) in New Hampshire. As they walked up the trail they were passed by a singing group of young ladies from another camp -- none of whom were wearing shirts.
"Things like that turn guys into mountain climbers for the rest of their lives," Buffum writes.
Not all of his climbing experiences were quite that lurid.
In the summer of 1967, Buffum and group of friends scaled Alaska's Mount McKinley (20,320 ft.), the highest point in the country.
"I'd do them all again, but McKinley would give me a little pause," he said, a quick laugh following the comment.
The two-week trip started in Talkeetne, Alaska, where Buffum and his crew were stranded for several days due to bad weather. When they got a break, a bush pilot flew them and their 2,000 pounds of gear onto the glacier.
Fog was bad, but the team began their ascent via the West Buttress Route. The fog was so thick, Buffum said he couldn't see his shoes.
"There were big crevasses all over the place and we could hear the avalanches but couldn't see anything because of the fog," he said.
After several days of climbing and camping, they made it to the top and back down again. The trip was so physically demanding, each man shed 25 pounds despite downing over 4,000 calories a day. Buffum managed to fly back to Reno, NV, but ran out of money and had to hitchhike home to California.
Some of the peaks involved actual technical climbs, others were steep trails and long hikes and others, like West Virginia's own Spruce Knob (4,683 ft.) in Randolph County, were a nice drive off the main road.
Buffum has been a mountaineer all his life and worked with mountain rescue crews in California, but his goal to top all 50 peaks didn't start until the late 1990s.
In 1998, the Buffums made it to the top of Clingman's Dome (6,643 ft.) in Tennessee. It was all down hill after that. Their record is three peaks in one day -- a feat Frank Buffum attributes to good planning on his wife's part.
"She does the hard part," he joked.
In addition to navigating narrow, mountain passes and winding, rocky routes, the Buffums' life has taken some interesting turns. They've been around the world and worked as missionaries at a children's home in India. Frank Buffum worked as physicist with the navy and later became a warfare analyst, specializing in air-to-air and air-to-surface weaponry.
After 40 years with the government, he retired, spent "15 minutes cutting down the roses," then went looking for his next challenge.
He couldn't bum around mountains in the winter, so he joined a local ski patrol. Through his work there, he took first aid and medical courses and later began volunteering in a nearby hospital's emergency room.
"Mostly, I was holding down drunks," Buffum said.
He was looking to further his career in the medical field and becoming a doctor seemed like too much of time investment, so Buffum decided to become a physicians assistant.
He interviewed with a few schools in California, but, because of his age, he was never accepted. Then Buffum, who has master degrees in mechanical engineering and public administration, decided to give Alderson-Broadus College in Philippi a call.
A few months later, he was enrolled and became the elder statesmen of his class.
Debby Buffum, a retired teacher, passed the time by planning their next mountaintop expedition, cooking big meals and then inviting her husband's classmates over for dinner.
"I walked into one of his classes one day, and a fella said ‘You haven't had me over for dinner yet,'" she said.
After graduation, he found a job in Spencer at the Roane County Family Health Care -- and that's where they've settled, for now anyway.
They've thought about moving back to California and spent some time trying to figure out what there next challenge is going to be.
Work takes precedence for now, and Frank Buffum said he'll miss chasing the altitude, but even more than the trek up the hill, it's everything that surrounds the trip that will be hard to give up.
During a recent flight out of O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, the Buffums spent the better part of four hours in standing, sitting and sleeping in a line of 400 people. When they finally got to the front of the line, the airline said there would be no more flights to West Virginia, but they would put them up in a hotel for the night.
They ended up sleeping in a huge bed in the penthouse suite.
"It's those type of experiences that make this whole thing sort of fun," Buffum said. http://www.dailymail.com/news/News/2004102811/
Highpointers to descend — or rather ascend —
on Asheville in 2006
By Becky Johnson • Staff Writer
When a small film canister of ashes arrived in Sherman Stambaugh’s mailbox last summer, it was a bittersweet moment. He was charged with scattering the ashes of Jack Longacre from the top of Mount Mitchell, the highest point in North Carolina.
It was Longacre who 17 years ago started a loose-knit association of hikers called the Highpointers Club, a group founded on a fascination for bagging the highest peak in each of the 50 states.
When Longacre passed away, Stambaugh was one of 50 Highpointers — one in each state — assigned with the task of scattering the ashes from their state’s highest peak. He took fellow Highpointer Don Walton along. It was unifying for the Highpointers nation-wide to collaborate on such a tribute to their founder, Stambaugh said.
Stambaugh was among those with an easy chore, however. He could drive to the top of Mt. Mitchell on a paved state park road. The same cannot be said for Alaska’s Mount McKinley. Also known as Denali, the icy 20,320-foot peak requires days of ice climbing. Stambaugh’s job was easier than that of some of his midwestern counterparts, too, such as those in Nebraska. The highest point in that state is in the middle of a remote, privately-owned cattle ranch.
The Highpointers Club is a natural outgrowth of the note comparing typical among hikers. When loitering at the summits of hiking trips over the years, Longacre noted a fascination among hikers with the highest point in each state. When perusing trail logs, Longacre realized he wasn’t the only one who researched these summits and kept track of how many he had visited. On the trail register, hikers would make a note beside their name of how many other high points they could claim in their hiking repertoire.
Thus, the Highpointers Club was born.
Membership is not strict. Having visited all 50 high points is not a requirement. In fact, only 125 of the club’s 2,834 members can claim all 50. Another 227 members can claim all high points in the lower 48.
Some members are actively striving to touch down at all 50 high points. Others are plodding their way through the summits in the course of their regular travels. Others have no intention of ever traversing all 50 high points but merely like the concept.
“There are five that are extremely challenging,” Walton said, citing Alaska and a few Rocky Mountain states whose high point would require climbing gear, ice picks and crampons.
Stambaugh said the pursuit of high points gives traveling a fun twist and has taken him on delightful off-the-beaten path excursions to places he would otherwise never have gone.
Walton agreed, adding the allure of a challenge appeals to some members.
“It’s not something you can do easily. Visiting all 50 states is a chore,” Walton said. “If you like to travel, it gets you to everywhere.”
There is no burden of proof required for those who have reached all 50 high points, however, a photo from each summit is encouraged. The association holds meetings in a different part of the country each year. Stambaugh has missed only one annual convention since joining the club.
Stambaugh and his daughter, Sharmon, also a Highpointer, landed the 2006 annual Highpointers convention. It will be held in Asheville.
Hundreds of hiking enthusiasts will arrive here, with excursions to Mt. Mitchell and Clingman’s Dome. For the more ambitious who want to knock out two high points, Walton and Stambaugh will pitch the Mountains to Sea Trail challenge. A 210-mile stretch of the Mountain to Sea Trail connects two high points: Clingman’s Dome in Tennessee and Mount Mitchell in N.C.
Some Highpointers will make a week-long trip out of the convention and hit all the highpoints in the region, including Sassafras Mountain in South Carolina, Brasstown Bald in North Georgia and Mount Rogers in Virginia.
Stambaugh was roped into the group by two hiking friends, Sjaak and Lidy VanSchie, from the Netherlands. Stambaugh met the pair in Bryce Canyon one year and bonded through their mutual interest for hiking. Stambaugh’s Dutch friends made annual hiking pilgrimages to the States, and stopped in Stambaugh’s neck of the woods for a trek or two in the Smokies. One year, Sjaak roped Stambaugh into the Highpointers concept. Stambaugh can claim three converts: his daughter, Sharmon, Walton, and another Carolina Mountain Club member, Dan Bennett. Bennett claims 49 with only the big daddy — Alaska’s Denali — remaining unconquered.
Stambaugh served as the Highpointer Club’s N.C. liaison for many years. The role has now been turned over to Walton, who is also the Carolina Mountain Club president.
For more information about the Highpointers Club, go to www.highpointers.org.
This message has been edited by dipper on Nov 11, 2004 7:26 PM
AP Interview with Don Holmes on Dennis Purchase of White Butte
November 11 2004, 7:12 PM
Couple buys North Dakota's topographical giant
By JAMES MacPHERSON Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press - Thursday, November 11, 2004
Access to North Dakota's topmost point is no longer up in the air.
Daryle and Mary Dennis have purchased White Butte in Amidon, and they are allowing unlimited access to it.
The couple bought the butte and about 1,000 acres of farm and ranch land from the heirs of Angeline Van Daele, who owned White Butte for 45 years. After she died in October 2003, the sale of the land ended up in probate court, which handles wills and estates.
A year of uncertainly over access to the state's highest peak had troubled the 2,700 members of the Highpointers Club, said Don Holmes, the group's president. The club's members have a goal of reaching the tallest points in all 50 states.
"We are very relieved that we got it resolved," Holmes said Thursday.
If new owners had denied access to the butte, it would become the only state high peak closed to climbers, Holmes said. Only five of the peaks are privately owned, he said.
Mary Dennis said she and her husband leased ranch land from Van Daele for years.
"We already had been renting from Angie, so buying it made sense," Mary Dennis said. The couple would not disclose terms of the deal or say when it was finalized.
Mary Dennis said she and her husband bought the property to give their cattle room to graze, not to tout the state's topographical giant.
"We're not going to get rich off of it," she said.
Van Daele used to charge $20 a carload for climbers. The new owners will accept donations.
"If some of them want to leave a donation, they can," Mary Dennis said. "It's the honor system."
White Butte, which measures 3,506 feet above sea level, rises only 400 feet from its base, and it takes about an hour to reach the summit.
"I don't mind the climbers as long as they don't abuse nothing," Daryle Dennis said.
The couple live 3 miles east of White Butte, so monitoring climbers is not realistic, Mary Dennis said.
"We're not going to sit out there in lawn chairs and watch people climb it," she said.
Holmes said he plans to visit the couple this year and climb the butte again. He is one of about 110 people who have climbed the highest peak in each state, including White Butte.
Holmes said he is working on getting money from his group for trail maintenance, and for an "Iron Ranger," a lockbox on a post where people can drop off donations.
Daryle Dennis said he plans on keeping the butte in his family indefinitely.
Bismarck Tribune Editorial Praies Dennis Purchase of White Butte
November 20 2004, 7:15 PM
It's good news from White Butte
By FREDERIC SMITH, Bismarck Tribune
Fans of the outdoors and a small but notable subspecies, butte climbers, will be cheered by the news that White Butte, the state's tallest point, will remain accessible to the public.
The new owners of the lonesome Slope County prominence, ranchers Daryle and Mary Dennis, say visitors will be welcome, as long as they close gates and otherwise behave themselves. A friend of White Butte, the Colorado-based Highpointers Club -- whose 2,700 members aim at climbing the highest points of all 50 states -- will help maintain the trail to the top and contribute an "Iron Ranger" lockbox for monetary donations.
The butte's owner of 45 years, Angeline Van Daele, died last year, putting the future of access up in the air. White Butte is one of only five highest points in private ownership, and the state of North Dakota wasn't interested in taking it on.
North Dakota's could have become the only highest point not open to the public.
So, thank you to the Dennises. White Butte makes a sure, if modest, contribution to the stable of attractions in southwestern North Dakota, hence to the state's second-largest industry (tourism) and to the economies of Amidon and Bowman.
It's also among the more heroic buttes to commend itself to the attention of local climbers. Butte busting is a sport that really deserves a larger following. The exercise is healthful and the eagle's view of the country from the top always worthwhile.
Some of the good local ones are Crown (Mandan), Kroh (Dengate), Heart (Lake Tschida), Medicine (Beulah) and Young Man's (Richardton). Try for landowner permission, but when there is no obvious landowner candidate, and the land is not posted against trespassing, a climber who proceeds anyway and minds his gates and litter will rarely get into trouble.
We won't see you at the top. That's one of the other nice things about butte busting. The field is so uncrowded, you don't run into yourself coming and going. http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2004/11/18/news/editorials/edt01.prt
October 14 2004 at 9:22 AM David Metsky (Login DavidMetsky)
In the Fall 2004 issue of Drive magazing by Subaru (the unofficial car of peakbaggers in the NorthEast) there is an owner spotlight of Steve Tkach of Castle Rock, CO. He's a Highpointer who has done 19 summits with his 8-year old son. There's even a plug for http://www.highpointers.org
Jean Trousdale reports that Paul Zumwalt, first winner of the Vin Hoeman and Jack Longacre Awards, guidbook author and definitive highpointing friend, passed on Monday, Dec. 19.
Country Discoveries Article on Club in Jan/Feb 2005 Issue
December 24 2004, 4:31 PM
Country Discoveries has an article on the highpoitners club entitled "My Way or the Highway" on page 42.
Their website does not have an article but has a link to the club at:
https://www.countrydiscoveries.com/dycon.asp?parent=45839&RefURL=&KeyCode=&tdate=&PMCode=&OrgURL=
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