A Packed-House And a Spell-Bound Audience
Holding copies of books to be signed, fans of Dee Molenaar enjoy his 5/6/10 presentation at Wesley Homes Lea Hill.
Residents and guests of Wesley Homes Lea Hill were treated to an autobiographical presentation by legendary mountaineer Dee Molenaar whose story proved to be as compelling as it was historically accurate.
A thorough narration on the origin of Mount Rainier was intermingled with stories of the mountain men who made it their home. “It’s my favorite mountain”, said Molenaar, “and to mountaineers the best mountain in the States to test your gear for the Himalayans.”
Molenaar, a resident of Burley, WA, recounted the personal history of himself and his brother; weaving their personal escapades into tales of how they integrated themselves into the mountaineer culture of Mt. Rainier in the 1940’s.
He described the brothers motoring West from California in search of bigger mountains to climb; stories of their road trip financed by mowing lawns and how they were received by the veteran climbers of their day – showing up in improvised climbing gear including California high-top “snake-bite” boots.
His first-hand accounts of climbs and his relationships with other climbers both challenged and fascinated the audience. Many, hearing him speak for the first time, were nevertheless fans from their childhood years and brought with them copies of Molenaar’s book The Challenge of Rainier dating back to the early 1970’s.
Molenaar stirred recollections of everyone’s favorite memories of being young and adventurous. He had us all there with him in spirit as he described being “stormed off” the mountain – remembering our own attempts to push the limits of a hike or a climb on “our mountain”.
He bestowed his respect for the difficulty of ascents by declaring, “Any time it’s snowing on Mt. Rainier it’s a ‘winter climb’.”
Proclaimed as “the best mountain for all the flowers,” Molenaar awakened a deeper appreciation for what mountaineers recognize as a “unique” of Mt. Rainier.
How many of us have taken for granted those wildflower fields that so often appear in the background of our own snapshots celebrating even casual hikes on Mt. Rainier with our friends and families?
Jeff Berrens, an avid climber and Maintenance Supervisor for Wesley Homes Lea Hill, is to be applauded for making this presentation possible and staging the event with an impressive display of antique climbing gear.
–ilene little for Wesley Homes
