The Mount Cleveland Five: 188 Days Buried on Glacier National Park's Highest Peak | Disaster Strikes

In late December 1969, five accomplished young mountaineers set out to make history on Glacier National Park's highest peak—a 4,000-foot wall of rock and ice that had never been climbed in winter. They were skilled, prepared, and determined. When they failed to return, a desperate search began in brutal conditions, with windchills plunging to minus forty-four degrees. What searchers eventually found would mark the worst mountaineering disaster in Glacier's history—and leave questions that linger to this day. This is the story of the Mount Cleveland Five, and the families, rescuers, and fellow climbers whose lives were forever changed. 00:39 Disaster Strikes Intro 01:21 Body Bags Ominous Cold Open 03:03 Meet The Mount Cleveland Five 07:32 Why Cleveland North Face 09:17 Brother Sits It Out 10:12 Ranger Warning At St Mary 12:25 Crossing Waterton Lake 15:30 Silence Then Missing 17:11 Search Begins Base Camp Found 18:09 Avalanche Evidence And Photos 20:48 Search Called Off 22:37 Spring Thaw Recovery 26:25 Aftermath Burials Memorials 28:51 Did They Summit Mystery 31:20 Jean Kler Funeral Courage 32:53 Legacy Closure And Safety 34:51 Final Thoughts And Resources Listen AD FREE: Support our podcast at patreaon: http://patreon.com/TheCruxTrueSurvivalPodcast Email us! [email protected] Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thecruxpodcast/ Get schooled by Julie in outdoor wilderness medicine! https://www.headwatersfieldmedicine.com/ References: "In Search of the Mount Cleveland Five" by Terry G. Kennedy (Sweetgrass Books) "The White Death: Tragedy and Heroism in the Avalanche Zones" by McKay Jenkins "Swallowed By The Mountain" – Mountain Outlaw Magazine, Winter 2026 "And None Came Back" – Outside Magazine Hungry Horse News archives, 1970–2019 Flathead Beacon Bozeman Daily Chronicle Helena Independent Record Montana Standard (Butte) Whitefish Pilot Glacier National Park historical records Daily Inter Lake archives, 1970 Find A Grave memorial records Dirty Sox Club historical archives Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.