Vernon Tejas

Vernon Tejas was born on 16 March 1953 at Portland, Oregon, the son of Phillip Sand Hansel and Janice Elaine Hansel. Tejas was born Vernon Edward Hansel and later changed his name to Vernon Tejas.

From Oregon, Tejas headed north and ended up in Alaska. He went to work on The Alaska Pipeline and for Alaska Telecom, and enjoyed tower work where he built and maintained communication towers on North Slope in Alaska. He is now with Alpine Ascents International as a senior international high altitude alpine mountain guide.[2]

Mount Hunter from the northwest (Kahilta Base Camp)

Tejas became a mountain guide and mountain rescuer operating in the Andes, Himalayas, the Alaska Range, and Antarctica during the 1980s.[3] In 1980, he was part of the team that summited Mount Hunter in the winter season for the first time. The team consisted of Gary Bocarde, Paul Denkewalter, Vernon Tejas. The ascent began on Kahiltna Glacier. Their climb was via the Northwest Spur. The Northwest Spur is also known as the Lowe-Kennedy Route, after Michael Kennedy and George Lowe made the ascent with this route in 1977. The team took their supplies to the base of Triangle Face, which was located a few thousand feet above their base camp and established an advanced camp. They climbed the Triangle Face and headed for Mushroom Ridge. Next the team climbed and reached the summit of Mount Hunter.[4][5]

In the autumn of 1982, Tejas broke his ankle while rock climbing in Yosemite. The doctors had to wait a week for the swelling to subside before setting the fracture with a cast. The stress the ankle was subjected to over the years took its toll. The pursuits of a mountaineer and a high altitude alpine mountain guide had destroyed the cartilage in between the subtalar joint. In 2010, S. Robert Rozbruch, M.D. of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City utilized the Ilizarov technique and injected stem cells into the fixated subtalar joint to stimulate the growth of cartilage. The procedure is known as ankle distraction.[6][7][8][9]

In 1986, he led the first winter summiting of Mount Logan. Around this time he also made several summits of Aconcagua, two of which led to descents to the base camp via a mountain bike, and then a paraglider, both of which he took to the peak himself along the climb.[10] In 1988 he became the first person to paraglide from the Vinson Massif in Antarctica,[11] and later became the first man to solo ascend the mountain.[1] He has also paraglided from the summit of Mount Elbrus.

In 1988, Tejas became the first person to successfully solo climb Mount McKinley (now named Denali), during the winter season.[12][13] He had previously summited the peak several times as a mountain guide.[14][15][16] In order to prevent becoming lost on the climb, he used an aluminum ladder as a part of his safety equipment, so that he would not fall into a crevasse.[3] In 2011, he recorded his fiftieth summiting of the mountain.[10] He has also summited the northernmost peak in the world, Helvetia Tinde.[17][18] [19]

In 1989, he began guiding for Alpine Ascents International.[20]

In 1992, Tejas was part of the team that measured the exact height of Mount Everest, and was the team member that planted the prism pole at the top of the mountain so that lasers could be used to measure the exact altitude.[21] On 12 May 1992, Tejas, Todd Burleson and Peter Athans placed laser prisms from Bradford Washburn on the summit of Mount Everest as part of a study to determine the height.[22][23][24][25]

In 1994, Tejas helped guide Norman D. Vaughan up his namesake Antarctic mountain Mount Vaughan (named for his aid of Richard Byrd in Byrd's 1928 Antarctic expedition) in the days leading up to Norman Vaughan's 89th birthday.[26]

In 2010, Tejas set the world record for the fastest period in which a person has climbed all seven of the world's highest mountain summits, at 134 days.[27][28] He is also the only person to have summited all seven on at least ten separate occasions, and has climbed all seven twice within a year.[1] He had previously held the record in 2005 at 187 days. During the period of the new record, he also scaled the Carstensz Pyramid in New Guinea.[29]

• First person to climb Seven Summits 10 times. On 12 May 1992, Tejas was the youngest person (at the time) to ascend the Seven Summits.[30]
• Mount Everest, 11 guided summit ascents.
• Denali, 54 guided ascents, 1st solo winter ascent, 1st paraglider descent, 14:50 speed ascent.[31][32] During the Denali solo winter ascent, when Tejas reached the summit he planted a Japanese flag to commemorate the heroic efforts of Naomi Uemura. In 1984, Uemari had reached the summit attempting a solo winter ascent but disappeared on the descent and his body has never been found.[33][34]
• Mount Elbrus, 34 guided ascents, 3:20 speed ascent from hut, and paraglide descent.
• Aconcagua, 25 guided ascents, 8:02 speed ascent, and paraglide descent.[35]
• Carstensz Pyramid, 3 guided ascents via Jungle route.
• Mount Vinson, 36 guided ascents and personal ascent, 1st solo ascent, 10:20 speed ascent, 1st paraglide descent.
• Kilimanjaro, 15 guided ascents and 10:45 speed ascent.
• Mount Hunter, Alaska, first winter ascent.
• Mount Logan, first winter ascent.
• Mont Blanc, 3 guided ascents and personal ascent.
• Mount Rainier, 2 guided ascents.
• Cho Oyu, 1 guided ascent.
• He has also ascended Chimborazo, Matterhorn, Mount Kinabalu, and Cotopaxi.

• First traverse of Wrangell-St. Elias Range in Alaska.
• Ski mountain guide for Shackleton Traverse, 2 times. In November 2012, the Shackleton Crossing Team consisted of Laurie Goldsmith and Richard Goldsmith, husband and wife retirees from the United States, Anja Schikarski, a speech and language pathologist from Ulm, Germany; Harald Helleport, a postal worker from Vienna, Austria; Scott Anderson, a veterinary surgeon from Pacific Palisades, California; Joel Robinson, a retired engineer from La Canada Flintridge, California; Franz Schondorfer from Germany; Carole Tejas and Vern Tejas, a husband and wife team from the United States; Rick Sweitzer from the United States; and Paul Schurke from the United States. Guides for the team were Vern Tejas, Rick Sweitzer, and Paul Schurke.[37]
• Ski guide, Last Degree to South Pole, 2 times
• Ski guide, Last Degree to North Pole. In April 2012, Tejas was a ski guide for the North Pole Last Degree Ski Expedition. The team consisted of Michael Stringfellow, a radiologist from Central Coast, Australia; Simon Hearn, an executive recruiter from London, England; Alex Hearn, son of Simon; Lien Choong Luen from Singapore; Jianhong Li from China; Xiaohua Lu from China; John Dahlem from the United States; Vern Tejas from the United States; Keith Heger from the United States; and Rick Sweitzer from the United States.
• Scout, Overland Traverse to South Pole
• Kayak guide for Greece, Santorini, and Crete

• Fastest time to climb the Seven Summits including Carstensz (male). Vernon Tejas. Mount McKinley. United States. 31 May 2010.[40] Following is the award citation:

Vernon Tejas (USA) set a new speed record of the Seven Summits following the combined Kosciuszko and Carstensz lists of summits. Tejas began his record attempt with Vinson Massif on 18 January 2010 and after ascents on Aconcagua, Carstensz Pyramid, Kosciuszko, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus and Everest, reached the top of the last summit, Mt. McKinley on 31 May 2010.

This record is for 133 days and for this Tejas was given a Guinness World Record.[41]

• Explorers Grand Slam
• American Alpine Club, Lifetime member.[42]
• Alaska Sports Hall of Fame, Moment, 2017. Vern Tejas' 1988 solo winter ascent of Denali.[34][43]
• Alaska Sports Hall of Fame, Member, 2012. Vern Tejas' Solo Winter Ascent of Mount McKinley in 1988.[44][45][46]
• Alaskan of the Year Award, Governor's Award, 2012.
• National Park Service, Denali Pro Pin for Rescue. In 1986, Vern Tejas and Wolfgang Wippler, along with the National Park Service, and Environmental Protection Agency helicopters, rescued Korean climbers on Denali. The climbers were suffering from high altitude cerebral edema and were retrieved by dragging the climbers off the mountain and rescued via helicopter evacuation at a cost to the government of $23,141.[47]
• Sports Illustrated, Top 50 Athletes From Alaska, 2000.[48]
• Eco-Challenge, finisher, 10th in 1999 and 13th place in 2001.
• United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, 15 year member.
• In 1988, Tejas successfully completed the first parapente or paraglider descent of Vinson Massif.[49]

• Wilderness First Responder / CPR, 8 times.
• Alaska Mountain Rescue, 20 year member.[50]
• American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE), Level 1 Avalanche Course.[51]

• On 12 May 1992, Tejas, Todd Burleson and Peter Athans placed laser prisms from Bradford Washburn on the summit of Mount Everest as part of a study to determine a more accurate height of the peak.[22][23][24][25]
• Scientific study conducted in Nepal. Acknowledgement given to Vern Tejas, Todd Burleson, Gordon Janow, Willie Prittie, Jibhan Gimire and Bharat Karki from Alpine Ascents International.[52]

• Martin Guitar.[53]

• Host for Food Network's Tasting Alaska.[54]
• Talent ESPN TV special Surviving Denali, 1994.[55]
• Talent for National Geographic Ultimate Survival Alaska.[56]

• Cover photo on Dangerous Steps. Vernon Tejas and the Solo Winter Ascent of Mount McKinley.[14]
• Cover photo on You Want To Go Where?[57]
• Alaska Magazine, "Cover Boy"

• Freedman, Lew. (1 October 1990). Dangerous Steps. Vernon Tejas and the Solo Winter Ascent of Mount McKinley. Stackpole Books. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. ISBN 0811723410.
• Blumenfeld, Jeff. (17 June 2009). You Want To Go Where?: How to Get Someone to Pay for the Trip of Your Dreams. Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 1602396477.
• Hamill, Mike. (4 May 2012). Climbing The Seven Summits. A Comprehensive Guide To The Continents' Highest Peaks. Mountaineers Books. ISBN 978-1-59485-648-8.
• Tejas, Vern with Freedman, Lew. (15 August 2017). Seventy Summits. Life in the mountains. Blue Rivers Press. Indianapolis, Indiana. ISBN 978-1-68157-047-1.

• Vernon Tejas official site
• Vern Tejas, Alpine Ascents
• Guide to the Vern Tejas papers, 1971-2003.
• Martin Guitars