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

high, they slow us down. You
see we went from 14,800 to
16,000. They really monitored
our breathing," Spelts said.
"Gayle and I had no medical
or physical effects other than
some difficulty in breathing,
but no more than anyone
else."
Camp six was the inner
crater camp at 18,500 feet,
actually inside the volcano.
The crater was about a mile
across and although it wasn't
smoking, they could smell
sulfur deposits.
"More significantly, we
were surrounded by huge glaciers.
I'm talking about glaciers
that are 50 or 60 stories
tall and the size of a city
block and there are several of
them up there," Spelts said.
That was
the last night
before the "TllPV
summit and -'• -llCy
the night that ^ y^^^
Hoelscher
took ill
sitting
At the be - ^ ^^^
ginning of lOjUUU
that sixth
day, Hoelscher's best friend
was suffering from a bad
headache. The guides only let
him go a little way before they
turned him around and took
him to a lover elevation.
Hoelscher started having
some problems as well, but
his fellow climbers didn't
know it.
"The first time we really
understood that Mike was
having medical problems was
at dinner in the inner crater
camp. He went back to his
tent and the guides said they
were going to check him every
two hours," Spelts said.
"Around 1 a.m., they got
him up and started going
down the mountain with him
in the night. One of the
guides was the head of the
mountain rescue group for
Kihmanjaro. He was with
Mike all the way down," Spelts
said. "None of us knew that
Mike had died until we were
completely down."
Everyone on the climb had
assumed Hoelscher had gone
all the way down and was OK.
"You have to listen to what
your body's telling you. It's a
very expensive trip and nobody
wants to turn back. He
was just bound and determined
to get to the top," Gayle
Spelts said.
On the morning of the
summit, they were already at
18,500 feet and had another
840 feet to reach the top.
Still, that short distance
took about two hours as the
climbers were more than
called that a room
Can you imagine
on the potty at
feet"
ankle deep in volcanic dust
and had to take a step, then a
breath, then a step, then a
breath. Spelts said the guides
monitored them and would
not let anyone rush the process.
"It was difficult to breathe,"
Spelts said. "We did not take
oxygen, although the guides
said they had emergency oxygen
if we needed it."
The Speltses were the first
climbers to reach the summit.
They grinned for the camera
and reveled in their accomplishment
before heading
back down, a trip that took
them only two days. That day
they walked up 840 feet, then
down 9,000 feet because
Spelts said the guides want to
get climbers back to a safe
altitude quickly.
"It wasn't a sidewalk I can
tell you. They want you out
of that altitude," Spelts said.
By the next day when they
got back to the four-wheel
drive at 7,000 fee, their victory
was bittersweet. The
guides told them Hoelscher
had died.
Even worse, they learned
that Hoelscher had an engagement
ring among his
personal effects. He apparendy
was going to propose to
his girlfriend, Marcey
Schmehr, on the summit.
Gayle Spelts said she tried to
help Schmehr deal with her
grief there on the mountain.
"The trip leaders were
good in saying we could feel
bad for Mike, but not let that
take away from
our own per-
, , sonal accom-
Wltn plishment," said
Gayle Spelts.
Dick Spelts
said he told his
wife before the
trip, "Going up
Kilimanjaro
would test the marriage," he
said, "but the turnabout was
that if she would help me to
the summit of Kilimanjaro, I
would take her on the safari."
And safari, they did. After
one night of rest in a hotel,
the Speltses set out for Tanzania,
then Kenya and a close
up view of animals most
people can only see on the
Discover Channel or at the
zoo.
While the pay off of taking
a dream safari trip was good,
Gayle Spelts said it's unlikely
her husband will convince
her to climb anything more
difficult than Kilimanjaro.
"I'd be content if we ever
went to Australia, but other
than that, I'm not doing another
one," she said.
o Footnotes
Alabama: William Shelton
Pritchard, Jr., '47, was the
recipient of the 1997 Alabama
National Alumni Association
Distinguished
Alumnus award, the highest
recognition given by
the Alabama National
Alumni Association.
Emory: Lee R. Cohen
'92will graduate from the
New York University College
of Dentistry in May.
During his freshman and
sophomore years, he
served as class president
and then became involved
in the American Student
Dental Association (ASDA).
The ASDA is a national student
organization similar
to the American Dental
Association. After serving
as a member of the board
of trustees and as national
vice-president, was elected
national president this
past summer. Michigan:
Mike Getto, '56, serves on
the Hospitality Business
Alumni Association of
Michigan executive board
of directors. New Mexico:
Kenneth W. Hansen, '55,
was named a principal in
Schnabel Engineering Associates.
His responsibilities
will include both
technical consulting and
business development.
Hansen wrote a book a
book on roller-compacted
concrete. Pittsburgh:
David J. Maron, '93, received
his medical degree
from Georgetown University
School of Medicine. He
currentluy is serving a
residency at a Philadelphia
hospital.
http://www.phidelt-ghq.com WINTER 1998 THE SCROLL