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Book Review

Forever on the Mountain: The Truth Behind One of Mountaineering’s Most Controversial and Mysterious Disasters

By Jeremy Derksen – jderksen@shaw.ca / 780.239.2333

In the summer of 1967, a severe arctic storm hemmed in seven veteran climbers for over ten days at 20,000 feet on Mount McKinley, Alaska. Stranded from the rest of their twelve-man team, they died and were buried by the mountain after an abortive rescue effort; this despite the resources of the National Park Service, the Alaska Rescue Group, pilot Don Sheldon and the remaining members of two expeditions ranged around the mountain. The tragedy has endured as one of mountaineering’s greatest controversies.

For over 40 years, the truth has been buried along with the seven men. The surviving expedition leaders, Joe Wilcox and Harold Snyder, whose two teams had united to form the larger twelve-man group, each blamed the other for many of their problems. In fact, both published books presenting differing explanations: poor leadership, extreme weather events, altitude sickness, inexperience and individual mistakes. Rather than clarify, their conflicting accounts further complicate attempts to understand the tragedy.

Most perplexing is that a catastrophe on the same mountain in 1960 – seven years earlier – mobilized army and civilian aircrafts and over 50 rescuers in a successful rescue. Why, given this earlier experience, was it not possible to launch a concerted rescue effort for the victims of the 1967 tragedy? In Forever on the Mountain, James Tabor asks the hard questions that were glossed over, and in some cases never asked in numerous articles, a formal inquiry and two books on the incident.

After so many years it may seem like an academic endeavour to dig up the past in the quest for an answer; however, as Craig Medred, an accomplished mountaineer and journalist for the Anchorage Daily News, tells Tabor, “I’d love to talk about the Wilcox Expedition... because a lot of people are under the illusion it couldn’t happen again.”

In an effort to understand what actually happened, Tabor reconstructs the expedition in forensic detail. He dissects the official inquiry into the affair; examines expedition records, park service radio transcripts and logs; and interviews everyone who was involved in any way, including the survivors, their relatives and the dead climbers’ families.

Tabor’s exhaustive research provides necessary critical weight to the narrative, but just as important is the way he captures the human element. In chronological order, Tabor takes readers through the entire expedition, from planning to climb to aftermath, creating a vivid picture of twelve men struggling against one of the world’s most treacherous mountains – in league with Everest and K2 – and the circumstances that led to the disaster.

Along the way, Tabor draws out each man’s endearing qualities and natural flaws in small vignettes, much the way character is revealed on a harsh mountain. By the time panic sets in about the fate of the seven men trapped in the upper camp, Tabor has endeared each character to the reader. Thus, as the agonizingly slow response to the emergency unfolds, the wrenching fear, impatience and anger of the expedition resonates for the reader as well. In this way, Tabor evokes the human cost.

In doing so, he finds several answers to the mystery that still lingers over what transpired on the mountain. Like Medred’s comment suggests, Tabor’s objective approach is less about assessing blame than learning from the tragedy. These lessons have as much to teach us today as they did in 1967.

Group dynamics played a key role in the conduct of expedition members, and cannot be overlooked; neither can the role of unpredictable, extreme weather events, or of imperfect communication strategies. Another major factor that Tabor examines thoroughly is whether poor management by the National Parks Service and rescue coordinators resulted in an inefficient response to the emergency.

In mountain climbing it is impossible to plan for every contingency. When the unexpected occurs – freak weather, gear failures, leadership clashes – the ability to react is equally important as the foresight to plan. This does not negate the value of planning, but there comes a point in an emergency when one might have to depart from the script.

While acknowledging this, Tabor doesn’t absolve responsibility. Forever on the Mountain sheds light on key factors that some might prefer stayed in the dark. This alone makes the read worthwhile. Overshadowed by the controversy are important lessons for climbers, rescuers and anyone venturing into the wilderness. In digging out those lessons, Tabor has excavated the legacy of the 1967 expedition and given those seven men a more fitting burial.

Jeremy Derksen suffered hypothermia while backcountry skiing in Yoho National Park, BC, in his early 20s. This led to an abiding interest in first aid and wilderness rescue. He is a fiveyear member of the Canadian Ski Patrol System and has backcountry experience across western Canada. An editor at Vue Weekly Magazine, he has published in the Edmonton Journal, Calgary Herald and Regina Leader-Post, and appeared as a ski industry expert on CBC.

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