Seventy Summits by Vern Tejas

Author:Vern Tejas
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blue River Press
Published: 2017-03-10T16:00:00+00:00

NORMAN VAUGHAN AND MOUNT VAUGHAN

Norman Vaughan was born in 1905 in Salem, Massachusetts and retained his Boston accent for his 100 years on earth. His family was well-off, making its money in the manufacturing world. But Vaughan was blessed with an adventurous spirit that refused to let him be tied to a desk.

In particular, in his quest for adventures, Vaughan became quite attached and impressed by the working sled dog. On the fast track to a good education, Vaughan dropped out of Harvard University to become a dog handler for Admiral Richard Byrd’s 1928 expedition to the South Pole.

Vaughan spent the years from 1928 to 1930 with Byrd on the ice. To recognize his contributions, Byrd named a 10,302-foot Antarctic peak “Mount Vaughan” in Norman’s honor.

Over the decades, Vaughan participated in the exhibition dog-mushing category at the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York; ran a dog-team search and rescue unit during World War II and was, for most of the rest of his life afterwards, called Colonel Vaughan by many; participated in three presidential inaugural parades while mushing dog teams; and in his seventies, and raced in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Vern Tejas met Norman Vaughan not long after the young climber moved to Alaska and they remained close. When Vaughan adopted the slogan “Dream Big and Dare to Fail,” he contemplated at long last returning to Antarctica to climb the peak Byrd named for him. He was approaching his eighty-ninth birthday.

Many thought Vaughan foolhardy, many were inspired by him, and Tejas promised his assistance to make the indomitable senior citizen’s dream come true.

In the end, against strong odds, Vaughan did stand on the top of his own mountain. It was a feat that garnered nationwide attention and made him a hero across Alaska, where he was beloved and came to be known as “Alaska’s Grandpa.”

While touching many with his gumption and commitment, Vaughan unveiled a fresh quest. He wished to return to the summit of his mountain for his 100th birthday. A teetotaler, Vaughan schemed to gain the sponsorship of a French champagne company. He envisioned popping the cork on the summit above 10,000 feet and proclaiming, “I’ve waited 100 years for this!”

Alas, Vaughan celebrated his 100th birthday, December 19, 2005, with a party in an Anchorage hospital and passed away only four days later.

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