Roadtrippin' 2024: Nestled in a quiet wooded area that makes up Talkeetna’s Cemetary, there is a tribute to those lost trying to reach the summit of Denali known as the Mountain Climbers Memorial.
Published: May. 27, 2024 at 10:38 PM AKDTTALKEETNA, Alaska - As the highest peak in North America, Denali draws in around 1,000 mountaineers a year who seek the chance to reach its summit. But the opportunity doesn’t come without risk, as the mountain’s unforgiving terrain all too often claims the lives of those who attempt to reach its peak.
Brian Okenek and his wife Dianne have been two of its caretakers for three decades and helped build the wooden kiosk that houses the names of those the mountain took. Mounted to the three walls of the kiosk are metal plaques with names etched under each season. Brian said the kiosk allows the city of Talkeetna — the base town before climbers head to base camp — to remember everyone who never made it back down.
Brian, a mountaineer himself, recently hung a new granite sign on the kiosk — a donation from a family member of one of those lives lost who visited the memorial and felt compelled to contribute. Helping him mount the sign were two climbers who recently summitted Denali for the first time, including Jelle Veyt from Belgium.
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