Dustin Wintczak has stood atop some of the Northwest’s tallest and most challenging peaks.

But for the Richland man – an accomplished mountaineer and mountain climbing instructor – it’s not reaching the summit itself that’s most meaningful. It’s the journey it takes to get there.

That’s especially true when it comes to the mountain work Wintczak has taken up lately.

He volunteers with the nonprofit Veterans Adventure Group, which trains and equips military veterans for outdoor adventures, including scaling Washington’s iconic Mount Rainier.

“It’s very rewarding to watch how much mountaineering and mountain climbing changes people,” said Wintczak, who spent a week in July at Rainier helping 15 veterans attempt the summit. “Getting up there with them and watching their reaction is awesome. The people are the reason I keep going back.”

Transformative experience

At 14,410 feet, Mount Rainier is the tallest mountain in Washington and the tallest singular peak in the lower 48 states. Reaching its summit is a feat of both physical endurance and mountaineering skill.

Justin Matejcek, founder and president of Veterans Adventure Group, said having Wintczak along on his organization’s Rainier climbs has been invaluable. “His technical expertise and his fitness level are both really helpful. I’ve learned so much from him,” Matejcek said.

Matejcek started the nonprofit in 2016 after serving in the U.S. Army.

The group aims to help veterans find passion and community in outdoor sports, including skydiving, kitesurfing, scuba diving, rock climbing and mountaineering. Those pursuits put veterans who’ve transitioned out of military life back into the thick of things, where they tend to thrive.

“As veterans, we’re trained to survive in chaotic environments. When we get back to civilian life, those chaotic environments don’t even exist. (But on the mountain), we’re making decisions that matter again. We all rely on each other. We tend to do well in environments where we’re relied upon, trusted and are expected to perform,” Matejcek told the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

Wintczak first joined Matejcek’s group on a Rainier climb in 2018.

He was turned on to the nonprofit by a veteran friend, who was planning to climb Rainier with the nonprofit and wondered if Wintczak’s climbing skills might be of use.

On the most recent trip, the 15 veterans taking part attempted the summit in small groups over seven days, with 10 reaching the top. Wintczak’s role was to help prepare the veterans for the climb and then lead a rope team, or group of climbers linked together by a safety rope.

Many of the veterans who participate in climbs through the nonprofit have little to no mountaineering experience beforehand, although they must go through training and meet physical requirements.

It’s something special to watch the veterans put themselves to the test, Wintczak said.

Often, “we’ll get up to Camp Muir (at 10,188 feet) and they’re totally wasted and done, and they’re like, ‘there’s no way I’m getting to the summit,’ and then two days later they’re up there,” Wintczak said. “Mountaineering in a team environment like that is a transformative experience. People who have never done it before and go climb Rainier, it changes something in the way they view their life. It is a very difficult thing to do, and it does put a lot of things in perspective.”

‘Grateful as always’

For Wintczak, that’s a big part of what makes mountaineering special.

It’s physically and mentally challenging, and the decisions you make at elevation have stakes as high as the peaks themselves. Being able to navigate that builds confidence and provides perspective, he said.

Wintczak got into the sport several years ago.

The Tri-Cities native – he graduated from Hanford High School in 1997, then went onto Columbia Basin College, Eastern Washington University and a career in banking – enjoyed hiking, especially along the Interstate 90 corridor. In 2017, he enrolled in the local Inter-Mountain Alpine Club’s mountaineering school and plunged headfirst into the world of mountaineering.

The mountaineering school is a multiweek course, taught by volunteer experts, that gives aspiring climbers the instruction and information needed to begin ascending peaks.

Wintczak climbed Mount Hood in Oregon – that state’s tallest peak at 11,249 feet – as his graduation climb. He’s since summited six more times. With his latest Rainier trip factored in, he’s reached that summit four times. He’s also climbed other peaks, including Mount Adams and Mount Baker.

He’s had some thrilling experiences along the way, and some close calls, too – including the time he and a climbing partner narrowly avoided being struck by lightning on Mount Hood. Wintczak could feel his metal ice axe buzzing on his pack from the rapidly approaching lightning storm.

For all his memorable mountain moments, the time he’s spent on Rainier with the Veterans Adventure Group ranks at the top. This year’s trip offered a mix of weather, with 70-90 mph winds and rain at Camp Muir the first couple of days and sun for the rest of the trip. Overall, “it was a very satisfying experience and I’m grateful as always to be a part of this event each year,” Wintczak said.

‘You learn a lot about yourself’

Along with his physical fitness and technical expertise, Matejcek said Wintczak brings another asset to the Veterans Adventure Group trips: the fact that he’s a civilian and not a former service member.

“That’s one thing I love about having Dustin there. It shows (our participants) that you don’t always have to connect with only veterans. Having Dustin out there as a leader exemplifies our ability to not just be a little niche of veterans,” Matejcek said. “I think it really helps bridge that veteran-civilian gap.”

He added that, “I’m grateful Dustin always comes through for us and helps us out.”

Wintczak balances his adventurous side – which takes him to Rainier and other peaks, and also has propelled him into ice climbing and rock climbing – with his family life. He and his partner, Molly, have three kids between them: Shaelyn, 14, Hunter, 10, and Thatcher, 5.

Wintczak also makes time to give back to the local outdoor community. He serves as an instructor with IMAC’s mountaineering school, helping aspiring mountain climbers – like he once was –learn the sport. He shares his technical knowledge, the wisdom he’s gained, and his passion for the pursuit.

Each climb he’s set out on has given him something, whether he’s reached the summit or not, he said.

“When you do something very difficult, everything else seems a bit more trivial. You learn a lot about yourself having to make consequential decisions. You may learn things about yourself you didn’t know, find places in your soul you didn’t know existed,” he said. “We should all do things that scare us, whether that’s mountain climbing or something else.”