Molenaar, Dee

World-renowned mountain climber, Dee Molenaar (born 1918) is widely known for his many ascents of Mount Rainier and other peaks in Washington State and other regions, as well as for his artistic abilities as a painter, mapmaker, and author. Born to Dutch immigrant parents in Los Angeles, Molenaar's early climbs were in the Sierra Nevadas. He came to the Pacific Northwest in 1938 to climb volcanos and had begun working as a guide on Mount Rainier by 1940. Molenaar earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology with a minor in Art from the University of Washington in 1950. After graduation, he worked as a field assistant to geololgy professor Peter Misch and later was employed as a geologist by the Phillips Petroleum Company, Washington Department of Conservation, and the United States Geological Survey. Molenaar also used his training as a geologist to complement his artistic abilities, creating oil and watercolor paintings of mountain and desert landscapes. As a mountaineer, Molenaar climbed peaks through the western United States, Canda, Alaska, the Alps, Himalayas, New Zealand, and Antarctica. His expeditions included the Harvard Mountaineering Committee ascent of Mount St. Elias in 1946 (the second ascent of the mountain and the first American summit of the peak); the 1953 American expedition to K2; Mount McKinley (Denali) in 1960; Mount Kennedy in 1965; and multiple peaks in the Alps in 1973. "The Challenge of Rainier," Molenaar's most widely-known publication, was based in part upon his experiences as a summit guide and National Parks Service Ranger.