Preface

By Jake Norton

Fifty years ago, a team of 10 American men made the daring first ascents of six of Antarctica's tallest peaks, including Vinson Massif. The AAC will honor the 1966 team for their landmark accomplishments in Antarctica with the President’s Gold Medal at the 2016 Annual Benefit Dinner on February 27. The following exhibit documents the expedition and celebrates the achievements of team members Nicholas Clinch, Barry Corbet, John Evans, Eiichi Fukushima, Charley Hollister, Bill Long, Brian Marts, Pete Schoening, Samuel Silverstein, and Richard Wahlstrom. —Ed.

The success of an expedition is not measured simply by reaching a summit—or summits, as the case may be. Certainly, that is a component, but there is much more: safety, fun, camaraderie, and teamwork immediately come to mind.

As I sat around the table of John Evans' house, in 2014, I watched the interactions between the various elder statesmen of climbing seated around me, alternately munching cantaloupe and quiche, recounting stories, and laughing deeply. There were many legends here, but my focus was mostly on the remaining members of the group who shared tents, trials, and summits in the winter of 1966-67: John Evans, Nick Clinch, Sam Silverstein, Eiichi Fukushima, and Bill Long. Their shared stories seemed the most profound, their laughter the deepest, and their friendships the most pronounced.

The 1966-67 American Antarctic Mountaineering Expedition was a success on many fronts. From the barometer of summits, it was astounding; the entire team climbed the first and third highest peaks on the continent, Vinson and Shinn, and various subgroups made ascents of Tyree, Gardner, Ostenso, and Long Gables. The ascent of Tyree, by John Evans and the late Barry Corbet via the Northwest Ridge, has yet to be repeated. There is perhaps only one other expedition—the Duke of the Abruzzi’s 1906 Rwenzori Expedition—that made as many significant first ascents at one time.

But from the deeper litmus test of success, the expedition was even more impressive. The team climbed hard, risked greatly, and pushed limits in an unforgiving environment. It was the type of trip that more often than not produces infighting, bickering, and team rivalries that last generations. None of that happened here. The ’66–’67 team worked as a unit to achieve success, settling their differences and laughing through the tough times.

As I watched the laughter spilling across the table 48 years post-expedition, one word kept echoing through my mind: success. If there ever was an expedition that embodied it, this was the one.