Staff report
Two Farmington police officers and a Farmington firefighter began their expedition to climb the tallest mountain in North America Tuesday.
Farmington Police Sgt. Keith McPheeters, Officer Rocky Fails and Firefighter Kent O'Donnell were scheduled to arrive in Anchorage, Alaska, Tuesday to meet with their three Dutch climbing partners: two police officers and a steel worker. The six-member team is expected to begin the ascent of Denali, the native name for the 20,320-foot Mount McKinley, at 3 a.m. Saturday, according to a Web page listing the team's itinerary.
McPheeters, a member of the Farmington Police SWAT team that assisted in the search for the killers of Cortez, Colo., Police Officer Dale Claxton, dedicated the climb to the memory of Claxton. He hopes to launch an expedition to one of the world's notable mountains every year in honor of a police officer killed in the line of duty, he said in a previous interview.
The three Farmington men have tried to prepare themselves for the expedition by regularly climbing Colorado's 14,000 foot peaks and camping in the winter at the high altitudes. Fails, McPheeters and one of the Dutch climbers reached the 14,410 foot summit of Washington's Mount Rainier last summer.
In their Cops on Top 1999 Denali International Law Enforcement Memorial Expedition, the team will attempt the Denali summit through the West Buttress Route. Their targeted summit day is June 20. During their 20 days of climbing, they will travel 4912 miles and gain 13,120 feet in elevation.
Each man will be responsible for about 200 pounds of equipment, some carried in back packs and the rest dragged by sled. Ice and snow avalanches, frostbite, storms and low barometric pressure make breathing more difficult. Severe snow storms and 100 mph winds are common to the mountain. Temperatures may range from 90 degrees to minus 50.
Talkeetna Air Taxi company will monitor the team's progress during daily flights to the mountain. Reports and messages from the team will be posted on the Internet.