The Last Trip Down the Mountain

By Mike Holst

FOR BART MOUNTAIN CLIMBING WAS A WAY OF LIFE. His money and his living on the edge attitude had taken him all over the mountain climbing world. Bart and his friend Thurwood had been a climbing team for more years then they could remember and they seemed inseparable. Then Cassie came into Barts life and they fell in love, and Bart got this ultimatum from his soon to be bride. Pick Thurwood and climbing or me.

However, there was one more mountain to climb before he could willingly put his axe and crampons away and marry Cassie. There would be one last climb for Bart and Thurwood and the mountain was Alaskas Denali. Its the beast on the edges of the Arctic Circle and one of the most formidable peaks Bart or any climber has ever encountered. You only get to the top, if the mountain lets you.

The mountain seemed to be giving them permission to climb and then took it back. A spring storm came up and battered them almost into submission and all the while Cassie was waiting at the bottom.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: May 11, 2011
• ISBN: 9781462013517

Mike Holst

Mike Holst has been actively writing for the past twenty years. He is a popular columnist, journalist and author of many fiction books, and homespun stories. Mike’s a native Minnesotan whose roots go deep, yet now winters in Arizona close to family and friends.

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The Last Trip

Down The

Mountain

Mike Holst

iUniverse, Inc.

Bloomington

The Last Trip Down The Mountain

Copyright © Mike Holst

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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ISBN: 978-1-4620-1350-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4620-1351-7 (e)

Printed in the United States of America

iUniverse rev. date: 5/6/2011

Contents

Dedication

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Prologue

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

THE CONCLUSION

Dedication

This book is dedicated to all of the climbers who now rest on Mount Denali for eternity.

Also by Mike Holst

A Long Way Back

Nothing to Lose

No Clues in the Ashes

Justice For Adam

The Magic Book

Back from the Ashes

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My heartfelt thanks to Glenda Berndt for her tireless efforts working on this story

To my soul mate and wife Kitty, whose encouragement and support has been with me every step of the way in my writing career. Thank you so much.

A special thank you to the National Park Service.

Prologue

Cassie gazed down at the snow-covered peaks and valleys so far below the plane. Her thin face, pressed close to the tiny oblong window, was filled with awe. From up here, at thirty-five thousand feet, Alaska seemed to stretch out for as far as the eye could see. One thing was for certain—this was a cold, remote and virtually unspoiled land. The panoramic view the plane afforded showed a vast frozen world in shades of gray, black, and white—with none of the many towns and cities that she took so much solace in back home—just rocks, snow, ice and shadowy forests. The window glass was cool to her cheek and forehead. In contrast, the aircraft cabin felt warm and somewhat claustrophobic. The more she looked, the more it seemed to be too cold and forbidding out there for her liking and the plane was her only refuge.

She looked over at Bart, sleeping in his seat next to her. Just a few days ago, right here in this land of the midnight sun, this man had become her husband. He looked uncomfortable with his lanky six foot two frame scrunched into the little space they gave you to sit in. He wore short pants as his feet and legs were still covered in bandages. He had earned the rugged looks that complimented his life on the edge style. Despite his young age, his chiseled, determined face was sunburnt almost reddish-brown from long days on the snowy mountain slopes. Healed-over wind blisters had left scars that looked almost like ringworm or some other awful, similar-looking malady. His hands were calloused and scarred from having too many ropes slide through his fingers, and from grabbing rocks and shale. His blond hair and beard were bleached almost white. Right at this moment, he looked so peaceful dozing, his head bobbing with the trembling plane.

The aircraft hit some turbulence and Cassie instinctively pulled back from the window to avoid the bumpy contact. Was this what their marriage would be? All turbulence and bumps along the way? Was she making him quit something he would always yearn for and always regret leaving behind? Would their life ahead always be a barter system? I’ll do this, if you do that. Then again, maybe he was sincere and he was honestly giving up these things he loved so much, for the real love of his life, and would never regret it. Time would tell if his real love was her or the mountains, wouldn’t it?

The plane hit more turbulence, and this time Bart opened his eyes and smiled tenderly at her. He reached over and took her tiny white hand in his. With one finger on his other hand, he lifted her chin and gently kissed her lips. To him, Cassie was love personified. She had come into his life, stolen his heart, and taken center stage. She smiled back at him somewhat shyly and then, averting his adoring gaze, burrowed under his muscular arm and pressed her face into his tan, camel-hair shirt. Her earlier thoughts seemed to embarrass her and had been foolish, she now reasoned, but not illogical. She would feel much better and at ease when they were home. She hoped and prayed so hard he had come down off that mountain for the last time.

A penny for your thoughts, Bart whispered.

You can afford much more than that big guy; do you think I’m that easy? she asked, while looking up at him with a teasing smile and elbowing him lightly in the ribs.

We have already established how easy you are my love. Now it seems we are just haggling about the price. He chuckled and kissed her again.

CHAPTER ONE

Jan/1/ 2005

Bart Williams had been born thirty-five years ago with a silver spoon in his mouth and a yearning for adventure. From the time he was a young boy he had climbed everything that had stood in his path. This, coupled with his love affair for the great outdoors, led him to Seattle—the city on the Cascades—where he worked as a self- employed outdoor writer. He wrote a syndicated column that appeared in many papers up and down the west coast. He lived in a rustic log cabin with Mount Rainier practically in his backyard. He would sit on his deck for hours and look at that conical snow-covered peak that he knew like the back of his hand. He had climbed it more times than he could count. If he could have purchased the property, he would have lived somewhere high on its slopes. For now, he would be happy where he was.

It wasn’t money that made Bart work; he had inherited more than he could spend in a lifetime. His father had died four years ago in an automobile accident, but not before he had made millions upon millions in the software industry. His carefully-scripted will had left half of everything to Bart and half to his mother, Donna. She had, from the time Bart was a teen, had an on-again, off-again relationship with her only son. His parents’ marriage was more like a business arrangement than anything. Bart’s father hadn’t trusted her to treat his son fairly in the event of his demise—hence, the unusual settlement. She contested it in court but got nowhere with it. The result was she just lost more money to her lawyers and now had even less to call her own. Right now, Bart and his mother were not speaking to each other.

Bart was a gifted writer. His philosophy was to write what people wanted to hear, and not always what he wanted to tell them. Although this could be frustrating at times, and a bit deceitful, it did keep him in business. There would be lots of time to slowly bring them around to his point of view. First, he wanted to educate them, and then he would convert them. Mountain climbing taught him one thing in life—to be patient, study the situation and always take the safest route.

Last Monday was a good day for Bart. His longtime climbing partner, Thurwood Axel, called from Alaska and told him the National Park Service had issued their permit to climb Denali. It had taken almost a year from the day they applied. The elusive Mount McKinley was the goal of a lot of people, but not all were chosen. There had been too many accidents and too many rescues for the rangers. He always yearned and dreamed of climbing this mountain throughout all his years of climbing, but it had always seemed just out of his grasp. Then, four years ago he met Thurwood or, as Bart called him, ‘Thur the Man’. He was a native Alaskan with the same dreams as Bart, but little money—something Bart had plenty of. They went to Nepal and climbed Annapurna, the world’s tenth highest mountain. Then they were off to another part of Nepal for a year, living in Katmandu. They took two more trips to the Himalayans—one to Mt. Everest and one to K2. But, even with conquering those lofty peaks, always the lure of Denali was in the back of their minds, and for Thur, it was right in his backyard.

In the spring of 2004, back in Seattle once more, Bart met something else he wanted to conquer. A petite woman named Cassandra Evans. He hired her to edit a book for him and he quickly fell in love with, not only her skills as a writer, but little Cassie herself. She was thirty-one, with long blond hair, tiny features, and dark brown eyes that songwriters have long been writing about. At the time Bart met her, she seemed as diminutive as a pixie in stature, but with a personality as big as the entire world. She completed him and made life so beautiful and worth living. When he was with her, the high she gave him was taller than the mountain peaks he worshipped so much. He already had everything he yearned for in life, except the love of a woman, until Cassie came along and pledged her love to him. But it was not without conditions. Tonight, on New Year’s Eve, in a tender moment lying in front of the stone fireplace in his cabin, Bart asked her to marry him.

I will marry you, Bart Williams, she said. I will marry you and love you all the days of our lives. But Bart, from the day I give myself to you as your wife, you will climb no more mountains.

At first he was stunned, but Bart was not without reasoning, and he knew where she was coming from with her demands. He had walked by frozen corpses lying in the snow on more than one mountain. So many times he had lost friends and cheated death himself. It was a risky hobby and maybe it was time to settle down. For a few moments Bart was unusually quiet, gazing into her eyes and looking for signs of any wiggle room. The logs crackled in the fireplace, and the dancing flames were mirrored in those brown wet eyes, brimming with tears, as she waited for him to make the choice.

Cassie, I have one last climb that has already been planned. You knew about that, didn’t you?

Nodding her head, yes, she said nothing.

Sweetheart, after that I promise I will hang up my gear. Will you give me that one last fling?

She was quiet for a moment, saddened by having to consider a compromise. She had given him an ultimatum and now he was giving her one right back. Cassie was not without some knowledge of the time, effort and preparation that went into climbing a mountain. She’d known about this trip for some time now as she met Thurwood last summer at the cabin and heard them planning the trip. She knew it was in Alaska and she knew it was something special to both of them. Six months ago, Bart had flown up there and he had come back so excited about the climb, but at the same time, cautiously optimistic. There were hoops to jump through; it was not a done deal. She knew there would be others involved with Bart and Thurmond, and no, it would not be fair or reasonable to pull the rug out on him, or the rest of them, at this late date.

Yes, Bart. You can have your one last climb, she whispered. When is it?

Next May, he answered. We can get married right after. In fact, let’s get married by the mountain. I’ll fly all our friends and relatives up there in a chartered plane. I know the perfect place, in the most beautiful log lodge you have ever seen. It’s in a national park my love, and June is so beautiful up there in Alaska. Please, Cassie?

She’d never seen Bart beg for anything before and she was moved by his actions. It’s not the wedding I planned for when I was little girl, but it does sound nice.

From out of nowhere Bart produced a ring—a diamond that looked like it belonged on the peak of a small mountain. The flames of the fire, and his agreement to stop climbing, had now fanned the flames of her love and desire for him. It was a done deal.

Bart, she was sitting up now, looking at the ring on her finger and trying to get used to being betrothed. Bart was reclining on one elbow and smiling at her.

Yes, Cassie?

What’s the name of the mountain you want to climb?

Denali, he replied.

Is it tall?

I have climbed taller, he said.

I have never heard of it, she said.

Maybe you know it as Mount McKinley, he replied. Denali is the Native American name for it. It means ‘The Great One.’ I think that is the preferred name nowadays.

How well do you know Thurwood? she asked.

Well, I’ve traveled half the world over with him. We have climbed many mountains together, including that one in the back yard. He indicated, with a nod of his head, in the direction of Rainier. I trust him with my life. He is very knowledgeable about mountain climbing—the kind of man you look for in a climbing partner.

What do you think his reaction will be when he finds out this is your last climb?

Bart could see where she was going with this, but was waiting for the right words to formulate before he answered her. I think he will be disappointed for a couple of reasons. Thur is a free spirit and probably will never know the love of a woman. I’m not sure he even wants to. So does that make it hard for him to understand what I have given up for both of us? Maybe, I’m not sure. I have also financed pretty much all of our expeditions. Thur has very little money but I am sure his reputation precedes him, and it wouldn’t be hard for him to find others that would like to climb with him for a fee, so that in itself is probably a moot point.

Will you still be friends? Cassie asked.

I guess you could say we were ‘climbing friends.’ We were just two people who worked so well on a mountain together. Beyond that, we never socialized much.

It seems funny to me that someone you trusted with your life would not be your friend, outside of climbing. She had a confused look on her face.

Bart chuckled as they lay facing each other, and he played nonchalantly with the buttons on her blouse. Out there in this world right now, there are many firefighters and policeman who go to work each and every day, trusting their lives to their partners. That doesn’t always make them friends. I am sure it’s that way in the military also.

He pulled her closer to him. "Cassie, on this