Along the Bonanza Dark Traverse route, Andrew Okerlund hung in the air with nothing below. A rope was tied between him and a crack in the wall of rocks. Suddenly, he heard his climbing partner, Kevin Hsu, yell.
His eyes widened as he saw his partner quickly slipping from the snow and falling backward. Fortunately, Hsu was able to stop himself.
The Bonanza Dark Traverse route was one of 100 peaks Okerlund climbed to conquer the Washington Bulger List.
The Bulger List was founded by a group of climbers known as the Bulgers in the 1970s. It requires climbers to climb 100 mountain peaks across the state. The group discovered the 100 mountains that now make up the list.
On Sept. 11, 2023, 20-year-old Cal Poly student Andrew Okerlund became the youngest individual to complete the list. He accomplished the feat in 85 days.
Okerlund’s familiarity with the outdoors began when he was young. He would ski on Mount Hood, which was located near his hometown of Camas, WA.
Throughout high school, Okerlund continued to backpack with his friends. However, he wondered how he could ascend to the high peaks.
Okerlund started his mountaineering journey with his friends in the summer of 2022 when he climbed all five volcanoes in Washington: Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams.
After climbing the fourth volcano, Mount Rainier, Okerlund had the idea of climbing the Bulger List over the next summer.
“My goal right away was to try and do 100 but I was not sure if it was possible,” Okerlund said. “Just starting, everything was intimidating and scary because there was a lot of unknown stuff.”
Before Okerlund took off on his journey to complete the Bulgers List, he had little experience with mountaineering.
To learn more about the endeavor, Okerlund connected with Jason Hardrath, the fastest person to ever complete Bulger’s list.
Hardrath, who is a physical education specialist from Klamath Falls, OR, completed the Bulgers List in 50 days.
According to Hadrath, the two’s connection deepened when they talked about why the experience matters for more than just themselves.
“It’s not just to be the fastest, not just to be the youngest to do something, not some accomplishment after, but who we get to become when we engage with these types of endeavors,” Hardrath said.
Even with his lack of mountaineering experience, Okerlund stuck with his plan and began climbing the Bulgers List on June 18, 2023. He also searched for partners to accompany him on each climb.
“It was a big and brave gamble for him to believe the right people will come along,” Hardrath said.
Okerlund planned his journey so that as he climbed more mountains, he would gradually face more difficult climbs and mountains to summit.
He had 12 partners throughout his quest. Out of the 100 peaks, Okerlund said he climbed only about 10 of them alone.
He also said that some of the climbs became so technical to the point where in certain areas “if you fall, you’ll die.”
‘A sombering climb’
An unexpected hurdle occurred before one of Okerlund’s partners tore his meniscus before the start of the trip.
While looking for another partner, Okerlund met Ross James Wallette by connecting over Instagram.
Wallette ended up climbing 42 of Okerlund’s 100 peaks. But one climb together on Jack Mountain stood out from the rest.
Along their trek, they encountered scattered gear and unaccounted-for backpacks. According to The Seattle Times, one of the individuals’ gear belonged to Brian Williams, a climber who died from a fall after summiting Jack Mountain in the North Cascades on June 26. The other person’s gear belonged to Williams’ climbing partner.
“It was a very sombering climb,” Wallette said. “Definitely a mood changer. Andrew and I had to talk through that. Were we going to take some responsibility? Someone needs to gather his stuff up and take it off the mountain.”
Okerlund and Wallette packed an additional 50 pounds of gear and continued to hike for a dozen more miles with heavy weight on their backs. The next morning, Wallette returned Williams’ gear to his widow.
Okerlund infrequently ran into climbers until he moved into the North Cascades National Park.
“You start removing yourself more from people and things because you are so far from civilization and are surrounded by mountains,” Okerlund said. “Everything is grander and the places you are in feel a lot more beautiful and real.”
Looking back on the experience, Okerlund is happy that he pursued it.
Throughout his whole adventure to 100 peaks, Okerlund documented everything and updated his Instagram followers on his learning throughout the process.
“I loved how he talked about what he did on social media,” Hardrath said. “How he spoke about the learning and experiences he shared with people who came alongside to help him.”
Hardrath hopes Okerlund can continue to invite others into the “spirit of adventure” as he searches for his next adventure.
Okerlund and his team have been creating a documentary about his adventure up the 100 summits over the past nine months. A Seattle-based company called Range Meal Bars is sponsoring the film.
“100 Summits, Bulgers in a Season” premiered in theaters in Camas, WA and Seattle in early June. In the past week, Okerlund’s film also premiered in Portland, OR, and at the Palm Theater in San Luis Obispo. Okerlund’s documentary will be made available to the public June 14 on Youtube.
“Came together in a way we did not imagine in the beginning,” Wallette said. He served as the videographer and animator for this feature documentary.
Looking forward to what’s next on Okerlund’s mountaineering journey, he has workshopped the idea of doing everything “human-powered” between each peak.
Rather than traveling by car between mountains, human-powered would present another challenge by biking between every summit. Additionally, he mentioned the possibility of reaching new nights on El Capitan and trying a different style of climbing.
As Okerlund looks back on a summer that he will never forget, he emphasizes what he was most proud of after completing the Bulger’s List in 85 days.
“I survived and enjoyed the style that I did it in,” Okerlund said.