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The Climbers

Troy Dehnel (aka: El Jeffe)

Troy's dad introduced him to backpacking at the age of 5. Inspired by the other world beauty of crystal clear lakes, high alpine firs and snow capped peaks he looked forward to every opportunity to explore the wilderness areas. Committed for drug and alcohol treatment at the age of 15, Troy’s young adult life was filled with its share of hurdles and maladies. At the age of 22 Troy placed his faith in Jesus Christ and discovered that with and through Him, “all things are possible” (Matt 19:26). Empowered to dream again, Troy began to document the unique challenges and life accomplishments that were ever present on his mind. On October 30, 1999, 8 years before the movie The Bucket List came out, Troy wrote out a list of life goals that, amongst other things, included this statement; “Climb Mt Rainier, Mt Hood, Mt Bora and one major mountain, Denali Perhaps”. Since that time he has trained in all of the skills and certifications one would need to execute an expedition on Denali. He has climbed approximately 20 different mountains in the United States and Canada, with more 22 summits on Mt Adams, WA alone. Troy’s wife Cindy has joined him to complete the remaining non-glaciated 50 state high points together.

 

State High Point’s Climbed To Date

  • Borah Peak, ID

  • Boundary Peak, NV

  • Granite Peak, MT

  • Humphrey’s Peak, AZ

  • Mt Hood, OR

  • Mt Rainier, WA

  • Tim’s Hill, WI

  • Mt Whitney, CA                                                                

 

Fintan Maguire (aka: Go-Lite)

In 1979 the Maguire family moved from Ireland to Winnipeg Manitoba.  It is there in "Winter-peg" that my training for Denali began.  In these formative years this training included delivering newspapers in blizzard conditions and standing at bus stops in -40 degree weather, and that's the summer months!  When I was 14 my family heard rumors that a warmer city existed on the other side of the Rockies and we moved west to Vancouver.  In BC, I quickly realized how much I loved the mountains and outdoors.  After finishing my biology degree, I moved to Prince Edward Island and completed my veterinary degree.  For four years, I was once again entrenched in a world of ice and cold.  In PEI I seized upon an opportunity to head south and followed my future wife Mary Ellen to Arizona.  One year later, Mary Ellen decided to go to vet school so we moved to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.  During this time she introduced me to hiking, backpacking and long distance running.  After several years of backpacking in the Rockies and reading many mountaineering books I signed up for a guided Mt. Rainier climb.  Following that climb, I took the Spokane Mountaineers intro course and climbed Mt. Athabasca, Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, and Mt Rainier(Kautz route).  During this time Mary Ellen and I welcomed our daughter Simone into our family.  I am very thankful for Mary Ellen's support during this very busy time of our lives.   I am looking forward to the challenge of Denali and being on a true expedition.  If successful, I will be likely be the first Irish and Canadian to summit Denali (statement not checked for accuracy).  In the future I plan to climb more of our local mountains and possibly do some family treks in the Himalaya, Alps, or South America.

Jud Ford (aka: Old Guy)

Jud has been climbing mountains since he was in high school, a long time ago. He attended Colorado College where he fell in love with his wife, Lael, and with the outdoors. Jud enjoys skiing, rock climbing, backpacking, biking, canoeing, and long walks on the beach. In addition to the outdoors, Jud enjoys mathematics and is currently a teacher at Saint George's School in Spokane. Jud and Lael have two children, Grace and Brett.

 

Jud is a graduate of the Spokane Mountaineers mountain school and has been an instructor with the group for the past two seasons. The opportunity to climb Denali came along at an excellent time and he is looking forward to his first expedition to Alaska.

Marlin Thorman (aka: Sled Slayer)

Marlin grew up in Eastern Washington where he enjoyed hiking, scrambling, and backpacking, but it wasn't until 2008 that he started climbing.  In the last 7 years Marlin has spent numerous days pursuing his passion for climbing, from sunny single pitch rock climbs to winter ascents of large peaks or climbing frozen waterfalls.  Marlin's favorite style of climbing is alpine rock and ice, like Curtis Ridge on Mount Rainier.  Over the years, Marlin has summited numerous mountains around the western US including, Rainier, Hood, Baker, Eldorado, Stuart, Dragontail, Whitney, Granite Peak, Grand Teton, and St. Helens.  Marlin and his wife are also pursuing the goal of climbing the 50 US State Highpoints.  Currently they have climbed 46 of them.

 

In addition to climbing, Marlin works full time as a firefighter with the Spokane City Fire Department.  He works at one of the busy stations and loves the fast pace and opportunity to help others.  When not at work or in the mountains, he enjoys spending time with his wife (Trisha), road biking, and photography.  This year he is also training for the Coeur d'Alene Ironman Triathlon in June.

 

This trip to Denali will be Marlin's first expedition and he is looking forward to the experience.  He is also hoping this will be the springboard into more Alaska climbing both on Denali and other locations.  His least favorite piece of gear is his sled, which is better than carrying 100 lbs of gear in a backpack but also the source of much displeasure.  His favorite thing he is looking forward to is the opportunity to stand on the summit of Denali and see a view that only a couple hundred people get to see each year.  

Carl Sunderman (aka: The Engine)

Carl is an avid backcountry skier and backpacker. He's pretty quiet, he is an engineer after all.

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