Jeff Brown: Late Mukilteo climber inspired my own summit hike
Published 1:30 am Saturday, April 9, 2022
By Jeff Brown / Herald Forum
I am very saddened to hear about the passing of Dr. Richard Thurmer (“Mukilteo climber who summited peaks dies in Cascades,” The Herald, March 31). I read The Herald’s feature story on Dr. Thurmer that ran on July 1, 2017 when he successfully completed the seven summits. Specifically, I was intrigued by the summit photo he submitted from Mount Whitney when he was 12.
At the time I read the article I was 33 and had never submitted a “14er” (a peak that is higher than 14,000 feet). Upon reading your story on his climbing career to that point, I committed to climbing Mount Whitney myself with my father.
I learned that everyMount Whitney climbing season had a lottery system and that lottery “winners” were chosen on April 1 of the year. Four years ago today, the Eastern Sierra InterAgency Visitor Center awarded my dad and me a permit to attempt the summit on Aug. 16, 2018, his 62nd birthday.
In the months leading up to the climb I worked out four times a week on the stair climber machine at my local YMCA. Within a few months’ time, I had lost more than 20 pounds. In the days leading up to the climb, my dad and I stayed at the base of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area at 8,900 feet in order to acclimatize to the high altitude.
Like Dr. Thurmer had done 50 years earlier, my dad and I began our ascent in the pitch dark in the middle of the night. The sun broke the horizon as we ascended from the Whitney Portal side of the peak at about 5:30 in the morning. To this day, watching a sunrise develop from the upper reaches of a tall mountain is one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen.
My Dad and I made the summit by late morning and thankfully got down before the afternoon thunderstorms rolled in up high. We made it back to the Whitney Portal trailhead at 7:15 p.m.; after spending more than 19 hours and 22 miles roundtrip on the trail. We were both utterly exhausted, but in the process we created a memory that will last a lifetime.
If Dr. Thurmer’s wife, sons, or friends ever read this letter, I want them to know this: While I never met your husband, father, or friend, his story inspired me to do something I would not have done otherwise. I will forever be grateful to him for that.
Rest in peace, Dr. Thurmer. You passed away doing what you clearly loved. I pledge to continue to honor your memory by creating future memories of my own exploring the great outdoors.
Jeff Brown lives in Everett.
