About 14,000 feet up Alaska's Mt. McKinley, a group of four climbers attempting to summit North America's highest peak ran into a serious dilemma.

With one member sick and unable to continue, what should they do? Turn around and go back, wait for him to feel better, or proceed without him.

The third option was made even more difficult by the fact they had just a pair of two-person tents and would have to leave one behind. After debating for a day or so, a solution was finally found.

"We found an igloo that someone had built at the camp, and we said "This is your new home,"' said Cherry Valley's Tim Horvath, the leader of the group which also included James Austin of Pittsfield, Chris Weisbeck of Fredonia and Mark Vanderwerker of Cherry Valley. "We dragged his stuff over there and decided to continue."

It was Vanderwerker who became ill after the four had scaled a 2,000 foot face attempting to get from one camp at 14,000 feet to the last camp before the summit at 17,000 feet. McKinley has a peak of 20,320 feet.

"14,000 climbs to 17,000 pretty quick, and the altitude really got to Mark," Horvath said. "He was dizzy, with headaches, and we took a day of rest to give him to time but he was still not doing well. You can only wait so long at that altitude and then your body starts to deteriorate, so we had to make a decision."

Their decision to continue ultimately turned out to be a good one, but not without its problems.

"Our plan was to go up to 17,000 feet, make camp, and the next day go to the summit and come back down," Horvath said.

But, of course, it wasn't that simple.

Horvath, Austin and Weisbeck continued on to the camp at 17,000 feet without incident, but a storm, accompanied by blinding winds and a marked drop in temperature, forced them to wait the storm out for a day.

"With Mark back at camp and the temperatures getting down to 30 below with the wind chill, our time was running out," Horvath said. "The next day was still cold and windy but the storm broke, so we started out for the summit."

Horvath explained that with no crevasse danger, the three attempted to summit at their own speed, with the altitude making every step increasingly tougher and slower.

"You really go at your own speed at that point," Horvath said. "James and I were about an hour ahead of Chris and after you reach 19,600 feet there is a big football-sized field before the summit. Right before the summit is a 400-foot headwall with a knife-edge ridge about a foot or two wide for the last 200 feet. Once you gain the ridge, you can see the summit and you can see 360 degrees in every direction. That moment, to me, was the best part of the climb because it's the first time you know you're going to make it."

Horvath and Austin, who began their climb on May 26, reached the summit on Friday, June 8 at about 4:30 p.m., and stayed for about 15 to 20 minutes, taking photos and talking with four other climbers who had reached the summit a short time earlier.

Weisbeck summited about an hour later. The four remained in Alaska for a few days sight seeing before returning Wednesday, June 20.

Horvath and Austin have now summited the highest peaks in North and South America, having summited Mt. Aconcagua in Argentina, the highest peak in South America at 22,835 feet. Horvath said reaching the highest peaks in all seven continents is a goal, although finances may play as big a part as skill in achieving it.

"Africa, Europe and Australia are not that technically difficult," Horvath said. "The toughest technically is obviously Mt. Everest, and the toughest financially is Antarctica. That could be the stumbling block, it's a very expensive endeavor."

Horvath is planning a slide show of the trip in July at the Clark Sports Center, although an exact date and time have not yet been determined. The quartet were sponsored in part by Brewery Ommegang.