Flathead teacher, fellow climbers summit Denali

Warren Lane had unfinished business with the highest peak in North America after a first failed attempt to reach the summit of Mount McKinley — widely known as Denali — with his son four years ago.

No matter how much expertise and high-tech equipment a mountaineer brings, when it comes to Denali so much is dependent on the weather, he said.

After that first attempt, which he described as “managed misery,” Lane, a Kalispell resident, thought he was finished with the mountain and the mountain was finished with him.

About half of the climbers who attempt Denali in an average year are expected to reach the summit, according to “Denali’s West Buttress — A Climber’s Guide to Mount McKinley’s Classic Route,” by Colby Coombs.

Lane, 58, didn’t leave Denali with a yearning for a second chance. Yet the mountain — which translates to “the high one,” in the Alaskan native language Athabaskan — is not easily forgotten.

“It took me three years before I ever thought about doing it again,” he confided.

So what changed?

“You try something once and you don’t succeed; it’s kind of in the back of your mind,” Lane said.

Just before midnight on June 30, Lane was redeemed at an elevation of approximately 20,320 feet. He had reached the summit of “the high one.”

This successful expedition was fresh in his mind during an interview July 16, just days after returning from Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska.

Lane didn’t make the ascent alone. He needed a team and was connected to three other adventure seekers through the Glacier Mountaineering Society. His fellow climbers included Rich Briles, 60, of Kalispell; Brian Kennedy, 60, of Columbia Falls; and Stephen Smith, 44, of Columbia Falls. All are seasoned mountaineers who have climbed some of the tallest peaks in the United States.

Lane and Kennedy also have a history of climbing tall peaks together, including Granite Peak and Gannett Peak, the highest peaks in Montana and Wyoming, respectively.

Everything on the mountain is work, from climbing and communicating to meeting basic needs such as melting snow for drinking water and going the bathroom.

“Everybody has to contribute as a team. You’re roped together for glacier travel,” Lane said. “I’m reliant on those other team members for safety,” he said.

The group each brought a skill set.

Briles, an emergency room physician, had medical expertise; Kennedy brought years of experience and skills from having climbed the most mountains; Smith, an engineer, was responsible for communication and technology; and Lane had personal insight into Denali, having been there once before.

Lane is also an earth science teacher at Flathead High School, which makes climbing an activity to which he can apply his knowledge.

“Earth science is weather, geology and all those things come into play when you’re doing something like Denali,” Lane said.

On June 15 the men were flown to Denali at an elevation of 7,200 feet, each with roughly 125 pounds of gear. They wasted no time in getting started.

“When we were there they were experiencing some really warm temperatures and the evening of the 15th we got out of the airplane, packed our sled and took off,” Lane said.

Having been at the mercy of Denali once before, Lane was emboldened by the good odds the second time around. There were four climbers as opposed to two, the weather started out well and the route was in better shape.

“The last time the snow bridges and crevasses were much more pronounced. This time they had a lot of snow in May,” Lane said.

The group climbed Denali on the popular West Buttress route. While the West Buttress may not be as technical as other routes on the mountain, it makes up for it with a hostile physical environment fraught with danger — extreme weather, high altitude, extensive crevasses, icy slopes and potential avalanches.

Severe weather and decreasing food supplies are what led Lane and his son Colter to turn around the first time. According to the National Park Service, climbers are advised to be prepared for a hot, blazing sun or temperatures that may dip below minus 35 degrees.

On days where the sun shone, it is not always a blessing.

“It melts the snow and you’re depending on the snow to cross crevasses, so if the snow is really soft it’s easier to break through those snow bridges and is not safe until you get higher,” Lane said.

Climbers are also warned of severe winds, which have been measured at 100 mph.

Extreme weather was ultimately the beast that took down Lane and his son in their first attempt. Lane recalled that first attempt.

The expedition was planned over the course of a year. Lane and his son initially arranged to go with more people, but plans fell through, and the pair decided to continue the trek as planned.

They reached camp near Denali Pass and were hopeful about reaching the summit.

“We had this opportunity weather-wise where we felt like we could make the summit. We were camped out at 17,500 feet. We saw a weather window and started for the summit when the weather turned unfavorable,” Lane said.

The pair seemed to be up against extreme weather at every turn. A blizzard ensued.

“The worst weather on the mountain is wind because you really can’t dress for it. You can negotiate poor visibility, but if the wind picks up, the temperatures get low and you’re worried about frostbite,” said Lane, pointing out his frostbitten fingertip. “And when the air is cold you can’t move fast because of a lack of oxygen. We turned around and went back to our tent.”

Food was running low.

“Basically we ran out of food,” he continued. “You’re having to keep track of how much food you have because you also have to get out. We made our way back home.

“In my mind, at that point, I’m never coming back again,” he added.

His son, now 27 and living with his family in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, always figured his father would try it again despite any misgivings after the first attempt.

“I think he wanted a second chance,” Colter Lane said, noting he, too, wants another opportunity. “I think we’re very similar in our desire to be mountaineers. The suffering and the struggle is just a large part of what it takes to climb big peaks like Denali.”

Colter said his dad described the mountain in a philosophical sense.

“You’re not conquering anything. You’re lucky to be there. You’re allowed to be at the summit by all the extraneous circumstances lining up,” Colter said.

He was able to track his father’s second expedition through GPS that Smith regularly updated.

“I was up checking it throughout the night,” Colter said. “I knew he was fit and experienced enough to make it if it was in the cards weather-wise and the team he was going with could make it happen.”

The stars aligned weather-wise on the second attempt, offering more favorable conditions for the team of four.

But the window of good weather closed at a critical moment — summit day — one of the hardest days of the expedition. They reached Denali Pass, elevation 18,200 feet, when a snow squall hit.

Would it be an impasse again? Smith said the group just about turned back.

“We waited it out for a few minutes and started seeing patches of blue sky above, so we pressed upward,” Smith said.

Rather than leap victoriously when the summit was finally reached, the urge to descend intensified.

“We had grand plans about what to do at the top,” Smith said, but the weather was concerning.

The group did not linger.

“We stayed maybe seven to eight minutes,” Smith said.

Kennedy, a skilled photojournalist who formerly owned the Hungry Horse News, took photographs to capture the brief stay. Lane slipped some hand warmers into his mittens and set to work organizing rope for the trek down.

“It was majestic with lots of caution thrown in,” Lane said. “There was no reason to hang out. I was very anxious to get back down. I did not have a good feeling.”

When they arrived at camp at 17,200 feet another snowstorm hit, which they slept through. Luckily the weather calmed throughout their descent.

Kennedy said the key to this trip was patience, perseverance and good health among the team members.

“We also were lucky with the weather on summit day, allowing us a shot at the top. We were able to take advantage of it,” Kennedy said.

The brief stay at the summit further solidified the notion that any trip is about the journey as much as the destination.

“It’s interesting because you don’t spend a whole lot of time at the top, and so there’s a lot to be said about it’s the journey with the people that you climb with,” Lane said. “It’s this journey you get to share with other people, this common goal.”

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.