Dee Molenaar
Encyclopedia
Dee Molenaar is an American mountaineer
, author
and artist
from Burley, Washington
. He is best known as the author of The Challenge of Rainier, first published in 1971 and considered the definitive work on the climbing history of Mount Rainier
.
to Dutch
immigrant parents. During World War II
, he served as a photographer in the U.S. Coast Guard in the Aleutians and western Pacific. In 1950, he earned a B.Sc. degree in geology
at the University of Washington
, and then served as civilian advisor in the Army's Mountain & Cold Weather Training Command at Camp Hale
, Colorado
.
Molenaar worked as a park ranger
and mountain guide
in Mount Rainier National Park
, climbing the mountain over 50 times as a guide and on personal trips, via more than a dozen different routes including three first ascent
s. He participated in the 1946 second ascent of Mount Saint Elias
in Alaska
. He was a member of the Third American Karakoram Expedition
, a 1953 mountaineering expedition to K2
in which the party became trapped during a severe storm.
His career with the U.S. Geological Survey took him to Alaska, Colorado, Utah, and Washington, until his retirement in 1983.
. He is known for his impressionism-style art with mountain and desert landscapes the dominant theme in his works. He painted the highest watercolor in history, spending 10 days in a tent painting K2
from memory at 25,000 feet during a severe storm that hit during the 1953 expedition. With precious fuel for melting snow running low, his fellow teammates made him drink the remaining water colored with pigments.
Mountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
from Burley, Washington
Burley, Washington
Burley is an Census Designated Community in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The community is located just north of the boundary with Pierce County, and about half way between Gig Harbor to the south and Port Orchard to the north. It is located at the head of the Burley Lagoon in...
. He is best known as the author of The Challenge of Rainier, first published in 1971 and considered the definitive work on the climbing history of Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier is a massive stratovolcano located southeast of Seattle in the state of Washington, United States. It is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States and the Cascade Volcanic Arc, with a summit elevation of . Mt. Rainier is considered one of the most...
.
Biography
Molenaar was born in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
to Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
immigrant parents. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he served as a photographer in the U.S. Coast Guard in the Aleutians and western Pacific. In 1950, he earned a B.Sc. degree in geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, and then served as civilian advisor in the Army's Mountain & Cold Weather Training Command at Camp Hale
Camp Hale
Camp Hale, between Red Cliff and Leadville in the Eagle River valley in Colorado, was a U.S. Army training facility constructed in 1942 for what became the 10th Mountain Division. It was named for General Irving Hale....
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
.
Molenaar worked as a park ranger
Park ranger
A park ranger or forest ranger is a person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks. Different countries use different names for the position. Ranger is the favored term in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Within the United...
and mountain guide
Mountain guide
Mountain guides are specially trained and experienced mountaineers and professionals who are generally certified by an association. They are considered experts in mountaineering.-Skills:Their skills usually include climbing, skiing and hiking...
in Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier National Park is a United States National Park located in southeast Pierce County and northeast Lewis County in Washington state. It was one of the US's earliest National Parks, having been established on March 2, 1899 as the fifth national park in the United States. The park contains...
, climbing the mountain over 50 times as a guide and on personal trips, via more than a dozen different routes including three first ascent
First ascent
In climbing, a first ascent is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain, or the first to follow a particular climbing route...
s. He participated in the 1946 second ascent of Mount Saint Elias
Mount Saint Elias
Mount Saint Elias, also designated Boundary Peak 186, is the second highest mountain in both Canada and the United States, being situated on the Yukon and Alaska border. It lies about southwest of Mount Logan, the highest mountain in Canada. The Canadian side is part of Kluane National Park,...
in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. He was a member of the Third American Karakoram Expedition
Third American Karakoram Expedition
The 1953 American Karakoram Expedition was a mountaineering expedition to K2, at 8,611 metres the second highest mountain on Earth. It was the fifth expedition to attempt K2, and the first since the Second World War...
, a 1953 mountaineering expedition to K2
K2
K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest...
in which the party became trapped during a severe storm.
His career with the U.S. Geological Survey took him to Alaska, Colorado, Utah, and Washington, until his retirement in 1983.
Art
Molenaar paints in watercolors and oilsOil paint
Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varnish may be added to increase the glossiness of the...
. He is known for his impressionism-style art with mountain and desert landscapes the dominant theme in his works. He painted the highest watercolor in history, spending 10 days in a tent painting K2
K2
K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest...
from memory at 25,000 feet during a severe storm that hit during the 1953 expedition. With precious fuel for melting snow running low, his fellow teammates made him drink the remaining water colored with pigments.