In the summer of 1964, a geography graduate student hiked up a mountain in eastern Nevada with a simple academic goal. He intended to study the growth rings of ancient trees to create a timeline of historical climate data. He identified a specific tree that looked promising for his research.
He did not know that he was standing next to the oldest known non-clonal organism on Earth. He did not know that the tree had been alive since before the construction of the Egyptian pyramids. By the end of his expedition, the tree would be dead. A mechanical failure and a quick administrative decision led to the destruction of a living being that had survived for nearly 5,000 years.
The Mission on Wheeler Peak
Donald Currey was a researcher from the University of North Carolina. He traveled to Wheeler Peak, which rises to an elevation of 13,063 feet (3,982 meters) within what is now Great Basin National Park. His objective was to develop a chronology of the Little Ice Age. To do this, he needed to examine the rings of Great Basin bristlecone pines. These trees grow in harsh, rocky environments and are known for their extreme longevity. Currey found a grove of these twisted, weathered pines and selected a particularly large specimen labeled WPN-114.
A Stuck Borer and a Fatal Decision
Currey attempted to extract a core sample from the trunk of WPN-114. He used an increment borer, a standard forestry tool designed to screw into the wood and remove a thin cylinder roughly the size of a straw. This allows scientists to count the rings without killing the tree. However, the wood of the ancient bristlecone was incredibly dense.
The borer snapped and became hopelessly lodged deep inside the trunk. Currey needed the data to complete his academic work, but he could not retrieve the tool or the sample. He hiked down the mountain and explained the situation to the United States Forest Service personnel. They offered a practical solution to retrieve the instrument and the data. They authorized him to cut the tree down.
Counting the Rings
A crew returned to the grove with chainsaws. They felled the massive tree and cut a slab from the trunk. Currey took the cross-section to a laboratory to begin the process of counting the rings. The results were immediate and startling. The count revealed 4,862 distinct growth rings.
This data indicated that the tree had germinated roughly around 2898 BC. It was significantly older than Methuselah, a California bristlecone pine that was previously considered the oldest living tree at 4,845 years.
The Identification of Prometheus
Researchers posthumously named the tree Prometheus. Further analysis suggested the tree was likely even older than the final ring count. The cut was made several feet above the base, and the center of the tree had eroded over millennia. Estimates placed its actual age closer to 5,000 years. The stump of Prometheus still remains on the rocky slopes of Wheeler Peak.
In 1964, a grad student hiked a Nevada mountain to study ancient climate data.
He found a tree that looked perfect for his research.
He didn’t know it, but he was standing next to the oldest living thing on Earth.
By the time he left the peak, he had killed it by mistake… pic.twitter.com/H8Q2Hbmewc
— Fascinating True Stories (@FascinatingTrue) December 1, 2025