In this photo taken Sept. 15, 2015 and provided by Art Ekerson, Ekerson center, sits on the summit of Mount McLoughlin for his 80th birthday near Butte Falls, Ore.,with his daughter, Cheryl Krieg, left, and son Kevin Ekerson, 45 years after the first time he led them to the summit.   During the previous 41 times climbing to the top of Mount McLoughlin, Art Ekerson would soak up the views of Southern Oregon and Northern California in a panorama like none other.  But trip No. 42 had a distinctly familial feel. (Art Ekerson via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

In this photo taken Sept. 15, 2015 and provided by Art Ekerson, Ekerson center, sits on the summit of Mount McLoughlin for his 80th birthday near Butte Falls, Ore.,with his daughter, Cheryl Krieg, left, and son Kevin Ekerson, 45 years after the first time he led them to the summit. During the previous 41 times climbing to the top of Mount McLoughlin, Art Ekerson would soak up the views of Southern Oregon and Northern California in a panorama like none other. But trip No. 42 had a distinctly familial feel. (Art Ekerson via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

80-year-old climbs beloved peak one more time

BUTTE FALLS, Ore. (AP) — During the previous 41 times climbing to the top of Mount McLoughlin, Art Ekerson would soak up the views of Southern Oregon and Northern California in a panorama like none other.

But trip No. 42 on Sept. 15 had a distinctly familial feel. He couldn’t let his eyes venture past son Kevin and daughter Cheryl as they peered off the peak like they did the first time they joined their father atop Mount McLoughlin 45 years earlier. And next to them stood 22-year-old granddaughter Keely, who helped save Ekerson’s life in a nearly fatal climb in 2010.

Hell of a place to celebrate Ekerson’s 80th birthday.

“It’s kind of like a reunion,” Ekerson says. “There comes a time you realize there’s a last time for that sort of thing.”

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

What started as the adventure of a Boy Scout 66 years ago and continued over the decades through all sorts of family milestones, Ekerson’s regular dates with the 11-mile round trip on Mt. McLoughlin may be over, but the love affair will never die.

“It’s local, it’s close and when you get up there it’s a beautiful view,” he says. “It’s like the old saying, ‘Why do you climb it? ‘Because it’s there.’

“You feel like you’ve accomplished something,” he says. “Then you eat your lunch, and it’s all downhill from there.”

Ascending the 9,495-foot mountain has been a constant in Ekerson’s life, from those teenage days through his tour as mountain-climbing instructor in the U.S. Army and later as the owner of Medford’s Rogue Ski Shop for more than three decades.

Since retirement, the Ekersons winter on a boat in the Bahamas and regularly make it back to the Rogue Valley, where Ekerson regularly entertains visitors at the family cabin at Lake of the Woods. Often the visits transformed into a day on the mountain.

“He likes to host people on things they normally wouldn’t do,” says son Kevin Ekerson, 52, of Jacksonville. “That lets people learn they can do something they didn’t think they could and he’s always liked that.”

That leadership tendency began in 1949, when Art Eckerson was a 14-year-old attending the Boy Scout camp near the trail. That campout included a hike up the mountain.

“It was exciting and I got to where I loved it,” he says.

The next three years he worked at the camp for $1 a day, and his duties included leading a half-dozen Boy Scout groups on ascents while he worked his way up to Eagle Scout.

Ekerson helped parlay those experiences and training into a stint teaching climbing in Japan to American and other armed forces during the mid-1950s. Ekerson, however, kept returning to the mountain of his youth, and over time he noticed the ascent numbers accumulate.

The 75th birthday trip almost became his last. While on the descent, Ekerson’s trifocals betrayed him, causing him to slip on a rock and plunge about 12 feet down. He struck a boulder head-on, and he thought it was over.

His granddaughter Keely, then a teenager, scrambled up enough gauze to keep his wound in check before he was airlifted more than four hours later to safety. The 26 stitches left a scar on his scalp but not on his mindset.

“I wanted to do it one more time and I did,” Ekerson says. “I thought that would be my last time. Then I turned 80.”

In this 1970 photo provided by Art Ekerson, Ekerson's children Cheryl Ekerson, right, and Kevin Ekerson flash peace signs on their first trip to the summit of Mount McLoughlin near Butte Falls, Ore.  Ekerson summited the mountain once more with his children on Sept. 15, 2015, to celebrate his 80th birthday. (Art Ekerson via AP)  MANDATORY CREDIT

In this 1970 photo provided by Art Ekerson, Ekerson’s children Cheryl Ekerson, right, and Kevin Ekerson flash peace signs on their first trip to the summit of Mount McLoughlin near Butte Falls, Ore. Ekerson summited the mountain once more with his children on Sept. 15, 2015, to celebrate his 80th birthday. (Art Ekerson via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

More in Life

"Octopus" is an acrylic painting by new co-op member Heather Mann on display at Ptarmigan Arts in Homer, Alaska. Photo provided by Ptarmigan Arts
July First Friday in Homer

Homer’s galleries and public art spaces celebrate with new and ongoing exhibits.

Frank Rowley and his youngest child, Raymond, stand in knee-deep snow in front of the protective fence around the main substation for Mountain View Light & Power in Anchorage in 1948 or ’49. This photo was taken a year or two before Rowley moved to Kenai to begin supplying electrical power to the central peninsula. (Photo courtesy of the Rowley Family)
Let there be light: The electrifying Frank Rowley — Part 2

In July 1946, the soft-spoken Rowley was involved in an incident that for several consecutive days made the front page of the Anchorage Daily Times.

This nostalgic sauce is so shockingly simple, you’ll never buy a bottle again. Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion
America’s favorite culinary representative

The original recipe for ranch dressing was invented and perfected in Alaska, out in the bush in 1949.

Graphics show the nine finalists in three age groups for the Soldotna “I Voted” sticker design contest. (Provided by City of Soldotna)
Soldotna announces finalists for ‘I Voted’ sticker contest

Public voting will be open until July 20 to determine the winners.

Homer’s Cosmic Creature Club performs at the 2024 Concert on the Lawn at Karen Hornaday Park. (Emilie Springer/Homer News file)
July events to provide entertainment and fun on lower Kenai Peninsula

Events include the Highland Games, Concert on the Lawn, local art camps and the Ninilchik Rodeo.

Nick Varney
Unhinged Alaska: Flashback dreams and the cold sweats

When summer arrives, every personage in the known cosmos suddenly seems to remember that they have kindred living in Alaska.

File
Minister’s Message: Freedom is not what you think

If freedom isn’t what we first think it is, what is it?

This is the Kenai Power complex. The long side of the plant faces the Frank Rowley home, seen here at the right side of the photograph. (Photo courtesy of the Rowley Family)
Let there be light: The electrifying Frank Rowley — Part 1

Frank Rowley made one of the most important steps toward modernization in the history of Kenai.

”Thread of Light” is an acrylic painting done this year by Dan Coe on display through June at the Art Shop Gallery in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Christina Whiting
Fine art in invented spaces

Anchor Point artist showcases his skills with exhibit of acrylic paintings.

A variety of peony blooms grow vibrantly on Pioneer Avenue on Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
6th annual Peony Celebration begins July 1

The festival will run in Homer through Aug. 17.

This cake stacks colored crepes for a brilliant rainbow breakfast. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
Crepes of a different color

This rainbow cake celebrates Pride with layers of colored crepes.