Climbing
to rooftop
of North
America

Andrew McCredie
Editor andrew@nsnews.com

A year ago, Nick Kiss had
never laced up a pair of
mountaineering boots.

Fwenn-tive days ago, the 29-year:
old) North Vancouver realtor stood
arap the highest point in’ North
America. In just 12 short months, on
June 10, Kiss had achieved his goal to
stand atop Alaska’s Mt. McKinley
fal known as Denalis.

“1 was just sitting down one day
and it just came to me: | want to climb
Mc. Mckinley,” the Nocth Vancouver
Native was saying carlier this week.
“Mr. McKinley is the ultimate goal in
North American mountaineering, and
that appealed to me.”

At 20,320 feet, Mckinley certainly
is a coreted summit for any moun-
taineer. But tor one with such little
experience as the Carson Graham
graduate, the achievement is truly
awesome. ,

In
found a mountaineering bulletin
board.

“T puta notice up saying I'm look-
ing fer any team that would take me
along iclimb Mr. McKinley. | got a
resporsc from a guy who works in
Hong kong. He said he had his mind
on tie ame mountain, and why don't
we do . practice climb on Mt. Rainier
and sce how we get along.”

That guy was 29-year-old
Vancouver native and Hong Kong
businessman Gordon Byrn.

“Nick made the comm
the fitness and we both were very cau-
tious an the route,” Byrn said from
Hong Kong.

“He was mach mor
than me but he had never
big expedition file this,” Kiss said of
Byrn, who has a number of impressiv:
peaks on his climbing resume (includ-
ing the Eiger, Mons Blanc and Africa’s
tallest peak, Kilimanjaro).

The new climbing partners scaled
Rainier last summer, got along
famously and decided to go for
Mckinley this year. Byrn went back to
Asia and Kiss went to school, reading
everything he could get his hands on
about McKinley and mountaineering.

He also climbed Rainier again (in the winter), and Mr. Baker.

“My plan was co feam as much as IT can up until the new year,
and as of January 1 1 would clean my body out,” Kiss said. “Lifting
weights, climbing Grouse, climbing everything I could sce, putting
on a pack and walking up Lonsdale. Just getting in shape.

“I work with Sussex Realty, and that’s what really allowed me
to do all this,” Kiss explained. “Being a salesman I could work as
hard as I wanted when to work, and then I could take
time off for the ip itself and for the training leading up to the

Kiss figures the entire trip, including equipment, cost $7,000.

While Kiss was prepared for the pursuit of his goal, his mother,
Jan, wasn't so sure. Having lost her only other son, Anthony, a few
years ago in a tragic drunk in downtown
Vancouver, she admits she did ha’ s abour her
son taking on such a dangerous adventure Just days before Kiss and
Byrn arrived at base camp, three climbers were killed, literally
blown off the mouatain in separate incidents.

“There were some buttertlies in my stomach,” Jan said. “But
obviously | was proud of him for setting such a goal. Lite has to be
lived.”

When both Kiss’ boys were young, their parents, both well-
respected North Shore realtors, took them out of school fora year
and travelled throughout Eurcpe, North Africa and the Middle
East.

“When we returned they did so well in school that two years
later we did it again,” Jan said. She adds this is v
Nick caught the travelling bug. He figures he has visited 50 coun-
tries during his early, and post-university days.

“I'm very proud hin, not only for reaching the summit but also
for setting a goal and sticking to it,” she added.

Nick’s parents found out their son had reached the hi
point in North America when they accompanied his girlfriend
Robin to Vancouver Airport to-pick him up.

“fe was an enormous surprise and thrill when we saw him with
the wand (a marker) in his hand and when he stuck it in the top

A date with
Mt. McKinley

THE tollowing wa) step by:
step schedule of Nik Rass and
Gordon Burns successtul expe
diuen te the highest point in
North America:

Fly inte Anchorage. Alaska

Van ride to Talkeetna (two
hours bv Talkeetna Shuttle
Service) and charter a ski plane
to the NE Fork of the Kahiltna
Glacier.

Climbing Summary
Day 1: Flv into Rase Camp ar 8
p.m.;

y 2: Base Camp to Ski Hill
(7.8 km). Five hours including
lunch;

97 km to ll km.

: No movement;
: Carry to 13.7 kin. Five
nec hours down;
Carry to) 14.30 km.
hours up, 1.5) hours

Day 11: No Movement Dig
out of storm;

Day 12: Carry to 17 km, Six
hours up. two hours down;
Day 13: Move to 17.2 km.
Five hours up;

Day 14: Summit then back to
17 2 km. Seven hours up, 0.5
hours on top, 2.5 hours down;
Day 15: 37.2 km to Base
Camp. Twelve hours down
including four hours of breaks;
Day 16: Wait due to poor
weather;

Day 17: Fh, our.

NEWS photo Mike Wakefield

NICK Kiss triumphantly holds
the bamboo wand he stuck in
North America’s highest
point. The 29-year-old North
Vancouver realtor achieved
his year-long goal to climb
the 20,320 foot Mt. McKinley
in Alaska last month.

North Van man turns dream into realli

of his backpack,” Jan recalled.

Nick called his parents when he and Byrn a back in
Anchorage following the successful summit, but decided to wait
until he saw them in person to tell them he had achieved his lofty
goal. “I just told them on the phone it was a long story.”

The story almost had a verv different ending.

On day three of the climb, Kiss came down with the flu. It start-
ed in his sinuses, went to his throat then into his chest. The big
problem is that above 10,000 feet the human body is doing all it
can to just sustain itself. It has little ability to heal itself,

“ft was really devastating because J was really concerned that
this would end the trip. I was really having a tough time on the
long days,” Kiss recalled. “At the end of the day I would just col-
lapse. I couldn't even set up the tent.”

Ryrn finally said something: “Nick we should turn around.
You're not getting any better.”

According to Kiss, at that moment reality set in.

“E chought ‘My dream of one year from beginner to the sum-
mit is going to be kifled”

ss began te next day the pair headed up the
route again, More drama awaited.

“We were on that ridge where those people were blown offand
the wind started to really pick up, Kiss said. “We said “OK, we're
going to turn around and go down.’ We buried our goods right
there by some rocks and then turned around to come back. Then
the wind really picked up — to the point we couldn’r see
other on the rope. And we couldn't yell to cach other because it
was so foud. | immediately dropped right down to the ground and

See Wind page &