Oregon daily emerald., March 12, 1981, Section A, Page 4, Image 4

‘Call it a climb-a-thon ’
Pair plan mountain climb for charity funds
By HARRY ESTEVE
Of the Emerald
Telethons, walk-a-thons, and
bike-a-thons all are proven ways
of raising money, but two
University mountaineers may be
the first to climb a mountain for
charity.
“Call it a climb-a-thon,” says
Glen St. Louis, a University
first-aid instructor, who will be
climbing Alaska’s Mt McKinley
with science major Wayne Miller
in an effort to raise money for
OXFAM, an international
hunger-relief organization.
The idea is to convince peo
ple to “sponsor” the two
climbers for every 1,000 feet of
altitude they ascend when they
make their first assault on the
peak this summer.
‘‘A typical sponsor might sign
up for 50 cents per thousand
feet," Miller says. “That would
amount to a $10 donation to
OXFAM.”
At 20,320 feet, Mt. McKinley is
the highest peak in the United
States.
St. Louis and Miller say they
chose to work with OXFAM
because of its national acclaim
as a successful relief organiza
tion. OXFAM spends only 17
percent of its funds on adminis
tration, with the remainder aid
ing poor and famine-stricken
people in developing countries,
Miller says.
A “personal concern for
hunger” and simple love of
adventure motivated St. Louis to
agree to Miller’s idea for the
fund-raiser.
“I see it as a chance to ex
plore ourselves and to recog
nize our civic duty to our fellow
man,” St. Louis says.
Miller says he began thinking
of a fund raiser when he tried to
“justify spending so much
IN FOOTBALL,
WE WENT HEAD TO *EAD. ' I
BUT WHIN IT COMES TO LITE BEER/
WE SEE EYE TO EYE.
Fred "The Hammer" Williamson and Billy Kilmer
J
■ 1981 Miller Brewing Co . Milwaukee, Wis , ’ ' ’
LITE BEER FROM MILLER.
EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED
IN A BEER. AND LESS.
r? ¥**
•* * v r ■
money on something so elitist
as climbing a mountain."
The trip will end up costing
more than $2,000 in equipment
and travel expenses, so the two
are looking for people who want
to help defray their costs. How
ever, both stressed the dona
tions to OXFAM and the dona
tions to defray their personal
costs would be strictly delineat
ed.
Both St. Louis and Miller have
several years of mountaineering
experience to draw from when
they come up against the high
altitude ice falls and snowfields
of Mt. McKinley.
St. Louis has spent the last
eight of his 28 years climbing
and backpacking in this country
and the European Alps. Miller,
25, says he was "introduced to
the mountains” four years ago
while traveling in Switzerland
and has been mountaineering
ever since.
Unescorted attempts to reach
Mt. McKinley’s summit fail half
the time, according to St. Louis.
For that reason, they have spent
most of their spare time the past
six months training and prepar
ing for the assault.
Miller says he sold his car to
pay for special oxygen equip
ment they will need when they
reach the higher elevations. The
pair have been spending their
weekends walking up the steep
side of Spencer Butte carrying
75-pound backpacks.
“I think our chances for suc
cess are 100 percent," St. Louis
says.
The two plan to arrive at the
base of the mountain in mid-Ju
ly. From there, it could take any
where from 10 to 30 days to
reach the summit, depending
on weather conditions. To be
safe, they will carry enough food
for five weeks.
Using a group of students
who already support the fund
raiser, St. Louis and Miller hope
to use the campus as a base for
a citywide and statewide pub
licity campaign. Miller says OX
FAM representatives have ex
pressed interest in developing a
national campaign to publicize
the climb.
"We want to raise a quarter of
a million (dollars),” Miller says,
"but we’re pretty optimistic.”
■ ?///////////<■?//,
M