1998 Volume 121 No 1–4 - Phi Delta Theta Scroll Archive

ALUMNI
NOTES
High-climbing Phi
Colorado Phi climbs Mt. Kilamanjaro less than 10 years after open-heart surgery
By Jennifer Elizabeth Frank
DICK AND GAYLE SPELTS
of Littleton took some
time off in September to relax
on vacation.
They went to Africa where
they climbed Mount
Kilimanjaro - elevation
19,340 feet - then spent a
couple of weeks on safari,
snapping photos that would
make National Geographic
fans drool.
Tragically, one of the
chmbers who accompanied
them on their trip, 29-yearold
Michael Hoelscher of
Loma, Colorado, died from an
altitude-related illness just
before reaching Kilimanjaro's
summit.
Amazingly, though, Dick,
58, Colorado '61, and Gayle,
51, made it, despite health
concerns that seemingly
should have made the clrnib
impossible.
Dick Spelts had a heart attack
in 1988 while running
alone on the track at Ken
Caryl Middle School. Dick
spent a week at Swedish Hospital
in a coma and had heart
bypass surgery which gave
him back his life, but forced
him from his successful career
as a federal prosecutor.
"I thought, he wants to do
it, I'm not going to be able to
talk him out of it, so I just
thought we should be as prepared
as we could be," Gayle
Spelts said.
After months of training
and four summers spent
Jennifer Elizabeth Frank is a
reporter for the Columbine
Courier. This article was
reprinted with permission.
Speltz at the top ofKilimajaro
summiting 25 of Colorado's
54 peaks of 14,000-plus elevation,
Dick got his doctor's approval
to climb Kilimanjaro,
known as one of the "seven
summits," the highest peaks
on seven continents. It's also
the only one of seven summits
that doesn't require technical
climbing skills.
Still it offers quite a challenging
hike.
"We chose the company
and this route because we
didn't think we were going to
make it," Spehs said. "I
wouldn't give up."
Neither Dick nor Gayle was
ready not to make it, although
they were perfectly willing to
turn back if they became ill.
They never did.
On day one of their hike,
four-wheel drive vehicles took
the Speltses and nine other
climbers to 7,000 feet. From
there, they hiked up and
camped at about 9,000 feet.
"These first camps are
nothing for us Coloradoans
who do the 14-ers," Spelts
said.
There were some major
changes in scenery from
Colorado, however, including
colubus monkeys swinging in
the jungle trees overhead. Elephants
and cape buffalo also
left both tracks and excrement
as evidence of their
presence on Kilimanjaro.
They wore Bermuda shorts
and T-shirts on the first
couple of days as the temperature
was 65 to 70 degrees.
The temperature got below
freezing at night, but the Arctic
sleeping bags provided by
the guide company kept them
warm.
Their second camp was at
11,300 feet and still in the
forest. While it's been a long
time since Kilimanjaro was an
active volcano, lava and dust
from past eruptions covered
the terrain.
Camp three was at 12,950
feet and four was at 14,800
feet. By the time they got
there, Spelts said it was a high
desert zone.
"By then we'd left all trees
and big vegetation. There are
some species of vegetation
known only to Kilimanjaro at
that elevation," Spelts said.
The giant senecio, a cactuslike
plant standing about two
stories tall is unique to
Kilimanjaro.
Spelts raved about the
scenery, something he and his
wife thoroughly enjoyed, even
at the oddest times.
He said that at each camp,
the guides would dig a hole in
the ground, then set up four
poles with canvas around
three sides. Then they'd stick
a large pipe in the hole and
top it off with a toilet seat.
"They called that a room
with a view. Can you imagine
sitting on the potty at 16,000
feet We were looking out at
all that beautiful scenery and
animals," Spehs said.
At camp five,the Speltses
were finally at a higher elevation-16,000
feet-than they'd
ever been in Colorado.
"Because we're getting so
THE SCROLL WINTER 1998
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