Valley man climbs his way to the top
June 4, 2008
By Ed Farrell
George Dunn has more trips to the top of Mount Rainier than anyone
George Dunn knows – perhaps as well as any man alive – some things have to wait until another day.
And he’s learned that perspective from viewpoints literally at the very top of the world.
Dunn has lived his entire live in the Pacific Northwest. He currently lives in Fall City and attended Renton High School.
But in his life’s work as a world-class mountaineer, Dunn has traveled the world over, and seen things very few people have lived – and many have died trying – to see.
As of May 27, Dunn had 489 “successful” summits of Mount Rainier. One of the few people even close to that number is Phil Ershier, with 425 summits, according to information provided by International Mountain Guides, of which Dunn and Ershier are each partners.
The company offers mountaineering expeditions around the globe, several of which Dunn will lead himself this summer.
IMG, according to its website, offers adventurers the ultimate in guided mountain experiences, with some of the most highly experienced guides in the world.
The one thing the company does not promise, however, is a successful summit.
It’s a lesson Dunn and his partners have learned repeatedly over the years.
Take Mount Everest, for example.
Dunn’s first attempt to scale the world’s tallest peak (29,029 feet) was in 1982. During that expedition, a team member, Marty Hoey, was killed in a fall on the mountain. Several days later, two other climbers whom Dunn’s expedition had teamed up with were also killed on Everest.
Dunn failed to reach the top of Everest on two subsequent attempts, before finally reaching the literal top of the world on May 15, 1991, nine years to the day after Hoey plunged to her death.
When asked why a person would continue to try something in the face of repeated failure, Dunn said it was a difficult question to answer.
“Mountaineering has just always been the focus of my life,” he said. “I didn’t set out to climb Everest as a young man.”
Still, climbing down Everest after being within literal reach of the summit, he was consumed with questions – not of his own abilities, but on how to achieve success the next time.
“There’s always so many questions – how can you do it better next time or how can you do it more safely. But I guess I have always been up for the challenge,” he said.
When on a mountaintop, retreat is often the only suitable answer.
“I’ve always tried to make the best decision,” Dunn said, “and when the choice is death or turning back …”
Year in and out, Mount Rainier has continued to provide an endless array of challenges for Dunn.
IMG considers Rainier, at 14,411 feet in elevation, a perfect training ground for climbers looking to move up to more serious challenges in mountaineering.
The company leads a number of tours on the mountain – all of which have been completely booked for the 2008 climbing season – a testament to IMG’s reputation.
And for all the times he’s stood atop Rainier, Dunn said he has mastered less than half of the 50 known routes to the top.
“Most of the other routes are far more dangerous, or more technical,” he said.
When guiding groups up the mountain, its far better, he said, to stick to the more established routes.
And, he insists, for all of his love for Rainier, “it’s not the mountain I choose to climb when I have time.”
Among Dunn’s favorites: The Alps and peaks in Peru.
For all its mystique, Dunn said a climber can find challenges even greater than Everest right at home.
“I’ve done much more technically difficult climbs (than Everest) here in the states,” he said. “There are an endless number of very difficult climbs right here in the Northwest.”
When he’s not leading adventurers up the world’s tallest peaks, Dunn is active locally with his two sons, Jimmy and Jeremy, and often in context of the boys’ involvement with the Boy Scouts of America.
Jimmy, 17, first climbed Mount Rainier two years ago, and Jeremy has been talking about his turn at the mountain.
Dunn said he helped guide a small group of Scouts last year on Rainier, but the summit goal was not achieved.
“They would have loved to go on,” he said, “but we decided to turn back because of icy conditions.”
Dunn said a second attempt to take the group up the mountain will be held this summer. Jeremy, who doesn’t meet the group’s criteria of being at least 14 years old and a Venture Scout, won’t be part of the Scout expedition.
“He’ll likely get his shot at it the following year,” Dunn said.
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