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Maybe I can fill in a few of the 'blanks' concerning the origins of Mt. Hayden:
In the Fall of 1976 Don Freed and Chuck White put together the permanent anchor cable on the chimney and positioned the belay rock that later became Mt. Hayden. (I helped just a little bit!) Don's background in adventure education was influenced by stints at the Lorado Taft Field Campus/NIU, Oregon, Illinois, and the Clear Lake facility affiliated with the Battle Creek Public School system. By the time he and I ran into one another at Frost Valley we both realized how ripe the environmental program was to evolve into 'challenge' activities. With Jim Marion's blessings, and a solid plan grounded in Project Adventure models, Mt. Hayden became, as I recall, the first permanent element in a trust-building/group dynamics emphasis that school groups could take advantage of while in residence.
We enjoyed Don's influence for only one environmental season and then he embarked on a journey that would eventually lead to his doctorate in education and a tenured position in Traverse City, Michigan. Don's influence on my life was three fold: I attended a week-long Project Adventure summit and became certified in all things relating to 'group dynamics'; I too attended Northern Illinois University's Taft Campus and completed a master's in outdoor teacher education, and finally thanks to Don's urging, I graduated from a three+week Outdoor Educator's Course through the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) in Lander Wyoming. Little does Don realize how many people have benefited from his vision in 1976 and the tracks he has left behind, especially in my life. I plan to share this Mt. Hayden update with him. He left Frost Valley a long time ago, and knowing Don, he never looked back, only forward to HIS next horizon. He is now a family man living smack dab in the middle of orchards for as far as the eye can see, and a front yard complete with a putting green. He and I have paddled in several down-river canoe races in central Wisconsin, but the last I saw of him was Spring 2001 while traveling with my mother on the return leg of a Canadian vacation. I am soooo grateful Frost Valley brought our two wandering lives together, however briefly.The photo above and at right shows Dave Nalven and Stevie Bell moments after Stevie successfully climbed Mount Hayden in 1984.
