Gig Harbor to honor achievers who hit the heights on Everest — and one who died there
Gig Harbor is the maritime city, with a rich and successful fishing history; there is no denying that. But if you look past the water and focus straight ahead, you see Mount Rainier, training ground of some of the most successful climbers in the world.
One of them, Gig Harbor’s Luther “Lute” Jerstad, conquered Mount Everest. Another, Marty Hoey, who grew up in Wauna, died in another attempt.
Both climbers will be honored in June, when a plaque is to be placed on a waterfront viewing platform, with Mount Rainier in the background.
“We aren’t just a maritime town, there’s a lot of climbers here,” said Rebekah Jackson, who started the campaign along with her friend Zachary Sokolik.
In 1963, Jerstad was the fifth person, and only the second American, to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Hoey, who died trying to be the first female to summit Mount Everest in 1982, was considered not only one of the greatest female climbers in the world, but one of the greatest climbers, period.
Sokolik, 35, was working at the Harbor History Museum in 2017 and Jackson, 31, was volunteering there when Douglas McDonnell, a local historian and distant relative of Jerstad, gave a presentation on the two Peninsula climbers.
Inspired, Sokolik and Jackson, now working together as a startup marketing firm, joined McDonnell set out on a mission to honor and preserve the legacy of these two climbers. (They also took up mountaineering themselves, climbing Mount St. Helens shortly afterwards.)
“The most surprising thing to me, and the thing that lit my fire to start working on this project, was they had this incredibly important history and there is nothing commemorating it anywhere,” Jackson said.
A plaque will be unveiled at Bogue Viewing Platform at the end of June, giving a brief history of the two climbers and honoring their achievements.
Hometown hero
Jerstad (1936-1998) was a member of the 1963 American Mount Everest Expedition, sponsored by National Geographic. He reached the summit of Mount Everest on May 22, 1963 — only 21 days after the first American to summit, Jim Whitaker of Seattle.
Other climbers on the expedition were Willie Unsoeld of Olympia, Tom Hornbein and Barry Bishop. According to the Geographic’s account of the expedition, Unsoeld and Hornbein ascended by the difficult West Ridge route, while Bishop and Jerstad followed the South Col route pioneered by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953. It was the first simultaneous attempt from two directions.
Due to their achievement, Jerstad and his fellow climbers each received the Hubbard Medal from President John F. Kennedy. The medal is awarded by National Geographic Society for distinction in exploration, discovery and research.
“It’s up there with an Olympic gold metal or Nobel Peace Prize,” Sokolik said. “He was awarded it for expanding human knowledge.”
A welcome-home parade was held in 1963 in the Harbor for Jerstad. It was the largest parade the city has ever thrown for a single individual.
Jerstad’s parents were both Peninsula High School teachers. Sokolik said Jerstad was very active in the community, lettering at Peninsula in multiple sports, including football and basketball. Jerstad went on to play basketball at Pacific Lutheran University.
Jerstad later became a teacher at the University of Oregon, and started his own climbing company.
He died of a heart attack on Oct. 31, 1998, at the age of 62.
High-altitude climber
Hoey (1951-1982) was a member of the 1982 Mount Everest Expedition that challenged the previously unclimbed Tibetan North Ridge.
A professional guide on Mount Rainier, she was at the time considered considered to be the finest high-altitude female mountaineer in the world.
“For Marty, it was just about climbing,” Jackson said. “She didn’t take the recognition as one of the best female climbers in the world, she just loved climbing. As a woman, I think that is so powerful.”
Hoey was two days away from reaching the summit of Mount Everest when the buckle of her harness opened, releasing her from the fixed rope. She fell 6,000 feet into a crevasse, and her body was never recovered. She was just 31.
The 16 remaining team members, all male, did not make it to the summit due to severe weather conditions.
Jim Wickwire, one of Hoey’s expedition teammates, was later quoted saying “If Marty had been with us, we would have made it.”
Hoey is from Wuana, and was a Goodman Middle School student.
Donations financed plaque
The sponsors of the commemorative plaque have been soliciting donations on Facebook and recently reached their goal. The $1,859 plaque has been ordered.
“Now we are at the fun part,” Jackson said.
The plaque is being fabricated by Winsor Fireform, a Tumwater maker of porcelain-enamel signage whose owner, coincidentally, is from Gig Harbor.
Once completed, the plaque will be placed at Bogue Viewing Platform at the end of June. The platform is part of a small city park at 8763 North Harborview Drive, near the Harbor History Museum. From the west end of the harbor, it commands a sweeping view that includes Mount Rainier.
Gig Harbor Mayor Kit Kuhn said he was happy to get involved with the project, and helped the group come up with the concept of a plaque and agree on the size.
“We found the right location, too, where many can view it without blocking children looking though the fence railing at our waterfont, or take away from photos being taken through our view corridor,” Kuhn said.
“I am very supportive of this plaque and look forward to being involved the day they are ready to place it up,” the mayor added.
Donations toward the memorial plaque can be made at www.facebook.com/donate/196596821448363/
This story was originally published May 20, 2020 at 12:49 AM.