“Old friends/Memory brushes the same years … A time it was, and what a time it was, it was/A time of innocence/A time of confidences.” Paul Simon wrote these lyrics in 1968, just a few years before a group of young men full of innocence and confidence planned a trip to a mountaintop — Mount McKinley’s 20,310-foot peak.
The trip came to fruition in 1976 — 50 years ago.
Jim Gregg, a regular in the Mazama neighborhood, hosted his backcountry buddies for an anniversary celebration of their climb all those many years ago. Now in their 80s, seven of the eight friends gathered in the valley to reminisce about their epic adventure that lasted 30 days in May 1976. They came from Colorado, Montana, and Washington State. One was unable to attend due to health issues.
From left: Jim Austin, Jim Gregg, Dave Rogers, Ted Billings, Phil Marthens, John Kleinwachter and Chuck Malloy took part in a Mount McKinley climb in 1976.
All avid outdoorsmen, the group met each other through the skiing and climbing communities in Vail, Colorado. Among the gang of eight were ski patrolmen and climbing enthusiasts. Gregg worked for the U.S. Forest Service as a Snow Ranger, monitoring the Vail Ski Area backcountry. All the young men were eager to utilize their skills and successfully make the ascent to Mount McKinley’s summit.
According to Robert Gerhard’s Denali Dilemma “Climb Year: 1976” (published in 1977), 508 climbers registered to climb the mountain that year while only 339 were successful. In comparison, 50 years later in 2026, 976 registered for the climb of which 582 were successful.
Unfortunately, Gerhard reported, in 1976 accidents and rescue activity increased, including four climbers who perished on the mountain that year. Roughly 14 miles southwest of McKinley, six Japanese climbers died on 17,400-foot Mount Foraker.
“Watching a helicopter fly in to evacuate another climber became nearly a routine activity for many parties,” Gerhard wrote.
The Vail McKinley group did witness a helicopter rescue of another party. Fortunately, all eight were experienced, fit, and prepared for the trek and none were injured. At least one of their party fell into a crevasse but was pulled to safety.
Weather cooperated for their climb with only one day of what was considered bad, snowy weather. With most days displaying blue skies and sunshine, on some days, temperatures were well below zero and winds kicked up, especially near the summit. Even with 1970s’ equipment lacking the technical advances of our day (including Korean War white “Bunny Boots”), no one experienced frostbite.
The seven attendees recounted memories of the adventure while watching a YouTube video at the Chicken Coop at Mazama Ranch House. The video can be found at “Vail McKinley,” an original show by Jim Gregg on YouTube. Many stories were prefaced with “as I recall” while some hazy details were debated with different remembrances.
All agreed that they had plenty of food that they carried in five-gallon buckets — a feat in itself. They all chuckled believing that the Park Rangers have probably never seen a group packing food in buckets. They had been told the buckets were best to prevent the birds from getting their cached food.
One of their sponsors was Campin’ Bacon — popular with backpackers in the 1970s. It was pre-cooked bacon in a can that could be fired up in a skillet. Gregg mentioned how great “the smell of bacon” was in the crisp, fresh mountain air.
Jim Austin, Chuck Malloy, John Kleinwachter, Phil Marthens, Ted Billings, Dave Rogers, Jim Himmis and Jim Gregg are still “Old Friends” and remember their time on the mountain with fond memories of their accomplishment.
