The Doomed Wilcox Expedition 

Thank you for this summary of this tragic event. I lived in Alaska at the time. I was in my second year of working on my masters thesis on the volcanics of central Alaska. I knew of the Wilcox expedition but was not able to join due to having been given a deferment from Army active duty in the Corps of Engineers. I asked for permission to join the expedition as I had extensive mountaineering experience and was a strong climber. The army did not allow me to join as it was not a part of the thesis I was working on. This was the summer of the Alaska Exposition in Fairbanks where I lived. It was also a very eventful summer as we experienced a flood with much of the city under water. I did finish my thesis and graduated from the University of Alaska with a master of science degree in geology. If I had gone on the expedition I am sure I would have died as I would have been on the summit. These people experienced a horrible unexpected storm and I am sure that is the reason for their demise. I watched Denali from my university far to the north, but I was alive and often thought of all the people who died on that mountain.