His climbs in Alaska spanned the Hayes, Delta and Wrangell Ranges. All were done in winter, which in Doug’s definition, meant November, December, January, and the sunny, balmy month of February. Summiting on March 20 was wholly unqualified as a winter ascent. Christmas Eve was the launching date of his ascent and traverse of a 12,000 peak, far above the 60th parallel coupled with the standard “wirst winter ascent” label; many of Doug’s climbs were new routes or coveted first ascents. None were reported in the mainstream climbing rags, and this writer will perhaps be “ripped a new as#@&%e” from the Great Beyond if this is ever printed in one. His stories of climbs in local journals used pseudonyms for all participants, and those participants were similarly coy about route details, personnel, and even the peaks themselves. Doug would’ve had the next ascensionist experience the same sense of adventure he had
I loved Doug Buchanan. He was the real deal, too. From his obit:
Doug was once hired to parachute onto the Arctic ice, only a couple of degrees from the North Pole. He and his comrades built a landing strip, allowing planes to land and establish a camp used to monitor Soviet submarines. To the chagrin of his employers, he also spent plenty of time at a nearby Soviet “science” camp swapping stories, making friends, drinking their vodka, and perhaps even creating the initial spark of perestroika.
Rather than resting in peace, I have a feeling he's out kayaking some half-frozen river somewhere, laughing at it all.
I always enjoyed his posts here, even if he liked to talk in riddles:........sad to see him check out early. Doug was clearly one of the good guys, and wanted our future to have the freedom that his parents had, but which he was witnessing going away in bits and pieces here and there. Thanks for the time you were here Doug!
Sample Doug Buchanan quote from the link off Neebees link.
"The edge of knowledge is within your mind.
It is at your mind's each next question.
It is not at any new book you read, or news article, documentary show, website, school class or such concepts.
It is at your mind's each next question.
The edge of knowledge for all humans in sum exists, but you will not likely be able to identify it. The author of these words claims to understand the edge of all human knowledge, and to be closer to that edge than most people, and to be able to verify this sentence against all questions, but no human known to the author is at the edge of all of human knowledge.
The human mind learns knowledge by asking and answering questions, that is, identifying and resolving contradictions. Therein, the edge of the stuff is at the next question of everything you have already learned by asking questions.
To most efficiently advance that edge, for great benefit to you and others, one need only learn how the human mind functions, and learn how to identify and use controlling concepts. To do that, one need only ask and answer a series of questions, the process to learn any knowledge.
An example of a current edge of knowledge that you can learn, in one of many arenas of specific knowledge, which is a respectable edge of knowledge for any individual, is the process for one person, working alone, using the internet, to manifest world peace, regardless of opposition, with no government able to escape. That knowledge has been discovered, and can be conveyed to anyone. The process to manifest peace might take about six months. Learning that process from a person who has already learned it, could take from two days to a couple weeks. To learn it on your own usually requires more than a lifetime, unless you first learn how the human mind functions, and how to identify and use controlling concepts. After learning the knowledge of how one person can promptly manifest world peace, you will likely not use it for something so boring as the process it identifies, and instead, advance your mind's edge of knowledge, with your new addiction to learning knowledge at its edge.
At your leisure, instead of making your usual type of statements during conversation, or writing them, form your sentences into questions. Therein you will be speaking or writing more slowly because your mind must think more to form a question. Was that not your goal? Are humans not of their mind's ability to learn new knowledge? Answer your questions. Ask questions of your answers.
If you do so, you will soon enough recognize the edge of your knowledge because you questioned your way to that then noticeable edge. At that time your questions will become more effective, as a result of what you learned from the advancing type of questions you asked. Keep asking them.
Among other things, you will learn that humans are still mired deep in the intellectual dark ages, making many statements, asking few questions, and stagnating their phenomenon by attempting to use force against each other, rather than use reasoning with each other and themselves, much to your amusement with the knowledge you learned.
Perhaps more later.
May you learn the most knowledge of the most concepts, most efficiently."
I shall end with a Doug quote he frequently used here when discussing contradictions and power hungry officialdom: "I laugh robustly". Indeed. You either have to laugh or cry over such things. Doug clearly laughed. Robustly no doubt.