Graham was the Angeles Chapter treasurer in late 1960 and Training Committee chairman in 1960 and 1961. He was Sierra Peaks Section vice chairman in 1962 and SPS treasurer in 1966. He never applied for an SPS emblem even though this year he was closing in on completing the entire SPS peaks list. He finished the Desert Peaks Section list this January and in addition had an extensive collection of summits on the Hundred Peaks Section list. His expeditions included one to the Bunda Kush in Afghanistan. Arkel, 41, was one of only three climbers known to have completed the SPS, DPS and HPS lists, an accomplishment which was finalized in 1975. Earlier, he climbed Mt. McKinley and in South America. and, like Graham and Ben, he had conquered Mexico's highest volcanoes. Arkel was SPS chairman in 1965, DPS vice chairman in l964-65 and DPS member-at-large in 1965-66. In recent years, he was increasingly interested in canoeing. When he and Ruth married in 1965, the wedding took place on a week night, according to The Sierra Echo, "so as not to interfere with a weekend trip to the mountains." John, at 19, was the youngest climber on the expedition but showed knowledge and maturity beyond his years. He joined the SPS in 1974--18 years after Graham had qualified and 13 years after Arkel had applied--but was as committed and enthusiastic as any veteran member. He earned his SPS emblem in 1975 and also climbed extensively in Colorado. John, recalled one fellow member of the expedition, deeply loved the mountains and was always full of energy. The fourth victim was to have led a Mexican expedition to Mt. Everest in 1977. He is believed to have climbed with the SPS in the 1960s when a number of Socorro Alpino members came north to sample the Sierra Nevada in an expression of international goodwill. Ben and Graham were old friends and both participated in a joint Mexicans-American expedition to the Cordillera Blanca of Peru in 1966.

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