highpointers.org

The Missoulian reprots that Mario Locatelli, the “Mountain Goat of the Bitterroots,” wants to be the oldest to climb Mount Everest. On July 5 last year, at the age of 71 years and 7 months, Locatelli became the oldest person to climb Alaska’s 20,320-foot Denali Peak, formerly known as Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America. On July 5 last year, at the age of 71 years and 7 months, Locatelli became the oldest person to climb Mount McKinley (he also completed all 50). Mario took Jack Longacre’s ashes up Mount Kilimanjaro in December 2003. The Everest record stands at 65 years old. “I am now 72,” says Locatelli, “and must grab this window of opportunity within the next 18 months. You have to know your limits. But I already know that I can do this.” Locatelli figures it will cost him about $70,000 to join an expedition to climb Everest, located on the border of Tibet and Nepal. And he’s hoping to find sponsors to help him raise the money. Anyone interested in helping sponsor Hamilton’s Mario Locatelli’s attempt to become the oldest person to climb Mount Everest, can call him at (406) 363-1262, or write him at 165 Mountain Goat Road, Hamilton, MT 59840.

A lot has happened since the last quarter which has dramatically changed the highpointing culture as we know it.
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Paul Zumwalt, state guidebook author, first winner of the Highpointers Club highest awards — the Vin Hoeman and Jakk Longacre, and definitive Highpointer friend passed on Dec. 20. You can sign condolences on the forum.

Following is the funeral arrangements and obituary information for Paul Zumwalt (provided by his daughter Judy Zumwalt)
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Stony Burke did this interview after Sjaak’s completion of 48 states.
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Kathy Dalsaso Mitchler and Club Newsletter Editor John Mitchler show off the Club logo during a reception at their home in Golden, Colorado on Sunday, Oct. 3, following their wedding.

John proposed to Kathy in Talkeetna during his successful McKinley climb. Club Treasurer Dave Covill and Beckie Covill hosted highpointers from across the country (Club Chairman Roger Rowlett from New York, Nikki Hemphill from Indiana and Mother Merc Jean Trousdale from Oklahoma) at the Evergreen home. Other highpointers attending the reception included President Don Holmes, Patrick and Susanne Thornley, Dave and Sue Pellegrini and Travis Canon. There’s more discussion on the forum.

General Questions:
What was your first highpoint?
Our own Mt. Elbert here in Colorado was the first highpoint for each of us.

Why did you start highpointing?
Charlie: I started highpointing by accident, really. The first mountain I ever climbed was Mt. Elbert, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I originally conceived the idea of hiking to all the state highpoints in 1983, the year I first attempted Denali.
Diane: I really wanted to see more of the country. Until we started highpointing, I had only visited a few of the Western states, and had seen almost nothing of the rest of the country, other than from a window seat on a jet. It was a wonderful way to get out to places we may never have seen otherwise. Plus, hiking was involved, which we both enjoy.
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The purpose of the Highpointers Club is to promote climbing to the highest point in each of the fifty (50) states; provide a forum for education about the highpoints; aid in the preservation and conservation of the highpoints and their environs; provide a vehicle through which persons with this common goal can meet and correspond with one another; maintain positive relationships with owners of highpoints on private property; assist in the care and maintenance of highpoints; and support public and private efforts to maintain the integrity of and access to state highpoints.

[This interview by Roger Rowlett appeared in the 2nd Quarter Issue of Apex to Zenith]

It’s hard to imagine what the Highpointers Club would be like without the efforts of Mary Maurer and George Vandersluis who have teamed up to some of the hardest, unsung jobs in the past 10 years.

They hosted back to back conventions in 1993 and 1994 in South Dakota and New Mexico (the only people to host more than one convention). They have been on the Board of Directors since the Club started having a board in 1998 (they’re the only married couple to do that – the bylaws permit married couples on the board as long as they have separate memberships).
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This interview was in 2001 3rd Quarter Newsletter by Roger Rowlett on the occasion of Paul receiving the club’s top award during the convention in Maryland.
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