Giving a warm Denison “hi” from Mount Rainier (l-r): Chris Dickey ’03, Taylor Nissi ’08, Matt Thompson ’02, Greg Holden ’03, and Dick McClenahan ’76.
Let’s see…a mountain top, a Denison banner…could it be that another ascent was made upon Alaska’s Mount Denison? Not quite, but close. This photo comes from Mount Rainier in Washington, where a handful of Denisonians trained last summer in preparation for their 2007 conquest of our fair college’s namesake (so dubbed by 1909 alum, cowboy geologist, and former professor Kirtley Mather). Much like the first Mount Denison expedition back in 1977, adverse weather thwarted this team’s efforts, stopping them just 3,000 feet shy of Rainier’s 14,400-foot summit.
Members of the Rainier team included Chris Dickey ’03, expedition leader, fourth-generation Denisonian, and circulation director at Alpinist Magazine; Dick McClennahan ’76, team physician, “honorary old guy,” and former lumberjack/carpenter; and Taylor Nissi ’08, lacrosse standout and Denison Mountaineer Club founder. If all goes as planned, these three will be joined by Richard Soaper ’77, a seasoned climber who made the first two Mount D excursions, and political science professor Paul Djupe at the foot of Mount Denison in Katmai National Monument this summer. In the meantime, under the advisement of political science professor Emmett Buell and geology professor Ken Bork, they’ll face their next formidable obstacle: raising the funds necessary to finance the expedition. For more about their plans, email Chris Dickey at mt.denison.2007@gmail.com.