Lowell_Skoog

The film clips used in the video are from the Mountaineers Archives. Here are notes on the films we provided to the NYTimes: Mt Shuksan Climb by Dwight Watson, 1939. Ascent of The Tooth by Burge Bickford and Lyman Boyer, 1940. Tumwater Canyon Rock Climbing, producer unknown, late 1940s. Ascent of Lighthouse Tower by Burge Bickford and Ira Spring, 1949.

John, if you can do it, it might be nice to change the subject line for this thread to something a little clearer than "fyi-fb-nyt". It might be helpful for future searches and so on. For what it's worth, here are the NYTimes permalinks for text: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/sports/othersports/16beckey.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink and video: http://video.nytimes.com/video/2008/12/15/sports/golf/1194835655194/the-old-man-of-the-mountains.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Northwest Mountaineering Journal, 2009 The mission of the Northwest Mountaineering Journal (NWMJ) is to be an edited, permanent, annual record of mountaineering in the Pacific Northwest. The journal documents the events, people, history and spirit of climbing and other mountain sports in this region. The journal is published free on the World-Wide Web by volunteers from the mountaineering community in collaboration with The Mountaineers. Past issues of the journal can be found at: http://www.nwmj.org The NWMJ editorial team is now accepting submissions for Issue 6, to be published in Summer 2009. The deadline for submissions is March 31, 2009. Submission guidelines can be found on-line at: http://www.mountaineers.org/nwmj/submissions.html The NWMJ covers all aspects of mountaineering in the Pacific Northwest, from high alpine climbing to lowland rock and ice climbing to ski mountaineering. New route reports, historical or research articles, profiles of interesting people, and land use and access issues are all appropriate topics for the journal. Also welcome are pieces that capture a timely or timeless aspect of Northwest mountaineering, regardless of whether they describe a pioneering climb or historic event. If you are uncertain about whether your article is appropriate for the journal, please send a query describing your idea to the editorial team. Send queries and submissions by e-mail to "submissions@nwmj.org".

An errata/addenda thread has been created for CAG-3, published in December 2008. See: http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/855880

This thread should probably be moved to the Author Request forum where the following thread on CAG-2 is already in place: http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/225418 I'm going to cross-post a link to this thread in that one, for future reference.

Cool route! Does anyone know where the 1976 Folsom-Moore route went? It is mentioned briefly in CAJ-2.

Recently I've been moving the Mountaineers Archives from the old clubhouse on 3rd Avenue West in Seattle to the new clubhouse at Magnuson Park. The Mountaineers donated many of their artifacts to the Washington State Historical Society a few years ago. But a few items remain. Here are some old ice axes. I think the top two are pre-WWII, while the bottom two are post-WWII. This one is quite nice. Here's an oblique view: And here's a side view of the head: Detail of the pick: Unfortunately, we have no documentation for this axe so I don't know where it came from or how old it is. The only axe that is documented is the 3rd from top, above. It was donated to the club by Vic Josendal, who was an active climber in the 1960s.

Yeah, definitely. When I taught my son how to use an ice axe last spring, he had so much fun with it that I decided to give him an early present for his 12th birthday. I bought him an ice axe of his own. I picked what I think is the most aesthetic of the modern ultralight axes, a 60cm BD Raven Pro. Here's a photo showing my son's axe next to my old Chouinard Piolet. Say what you will about Black Diamond as a company (I have no opinion one way or another), you have to give them credit for understanding that an ice axe should be beautiful. The direct lineage from the Chouinard Piolet to Black Diamond Raven Pro is obvious.

Cool thread, Jeff. I love classic piolets, especially wooden ones. My first ice axe was a 90cm Interalp Cerro Torre, bought from REI. It was an unremarkable aluminum-shafted axe best used as a walking stick. At the time I bought it in the 1970s, REI still recommended an axe that touched the ground (or nearly so) when you held it in your hand with your arm hanging down. My second axe was a 70cm Chouinard Piolet, which the Swallow's Nest described as "clearly the most asthetic" ice axe on the market. This axe has a laminated bamboo shaft and is pictured at left in the photo below. As you can see in the following closeup, I modified the pick of this axe to give it "positive clearance" and to add teeth along the entire length of the pick. The Chouinard Piolet came with a set of teeth near the tip of the pick and another set of teeth near the shaft ("for those hollow ice placements"). I admired the more technical Chouinard Zero, which had teeth all the way up the pick, so I modified my piolet to look like that. A bit later I bought a 50cm Chouinard Zero and matching North Wall Hammer, which are pictured to the right of the 70cm Piolet above. Chouinard's picks all had negative clearance at that time, so I filed the picks on all of them to give them positive clearance. I gave each pick a curved shape to match the overall aesthetics of the tool. I also got a Chouinard Alpine Hammer (the original knuckle basher), shown at far right above. At one point I picked up a Chouinard Climb-Axe, which was essentially an alpine hammer with an adze, but I got rid of it because it was totally ineffective for actual climbing (too light). I now wish I'd kept it as a museum piece. The ice axes pictured above have been to a lot of summits, but I rarely use them today. In the 1980s I bought modular tools that I used for more technical climbing. These days I'm always trying to go as light as possible, so I typically use one of the modern ultralight axes sold for ski mountaineering. On the other hand, I pulled out the old 70cm Chouinard Piolet last spring when I taught my son how to use an ice axe. For sentimental value...

http://sports.yakimablogs.com/2008/10/riding-the-crest/

The on-line publicity for this event has been spotty, so I'm giving the organizers a hand. The second annual Northwest Snow and Avalanche Summit (NSAS) will be held November 8 at the Epiphany School in Seattle. The Epiphany School 3710 East Howell Seattle, WA 98122 NSAS is a professional development seminar for avalanche workers and a continuing education opportunity for recreationits. The event is open to everybody, limited to the first 250 registered participants. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased in advance here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/44301 Last year you could also register at the door. (The event filled to overflowing!) Here's a preliminary schedule of presentations: Northwest Snow and Avalanche Summit 2008 November 8th, 2008 Ephiphany School, Seattle Emcee: Steve Christie 9:00-9:10 Welcome 9:10-9:45 Garth Ferber, "A day in the life of a forecaster" 9:50-10:25 Don Sharaf, "Stability tests: strengths and weaknesses" 10:30-10:50 BREAK 10:55-11:30 Martin Volken, "The Interplay between Likelihood and Consequence and Motivation and Risk" 11:35-12:30 PANEL, "Decision Making In High Risk Environments" (Panel members include Craig Wilbour, Margaret Wheeler, Sky Sjue) 12:30-2:00 LUNCH 2:00-2:35 Tom Murphy, "Decision Making in High-Risk Environments" 2:40-3:15 Lowell Skoog, "Safety and Success on Cascade High Routes" 3:15-3:30 BREAK 3:35-4:30 Sam Kavanaugh, "A Dozen More Turns," lessons learned CLOSING

Bump.

If somebody were to pull together undocumented climbs in the Olympics, I think it could make a good article (or perhaps just a short report) for the Northwest Mountaineering Journal (http://www.nwmj.org). That would get it into the historical record. The NWMJ website is maintained by the Mountaineers, so it has longevity.

The first known winter ascent of Mt Olympus was by Jim Hawkins of the IGY project in January 1958. I've documented it here, based on a phone conversation with Jim: http://www.alpenglow.org/ski-history/notes/comm/hawkins-jim.html The first unsupported winter ascent (by a party that hiked in independent of the IGY efforts) appears to be the one by Richard Springgate, John Norgord, Jan Still, and John Wells of the U.W. climbing club in 1965. This was documented in Summit magazine. See the following brief note: http://www.alpenglow.org/ski-history/notes/period/summit/summit-1960-69.html#summit-1965-mar-p18 These ascents are referenced on the following page: http://www.alpenglow.org/ski-history/chronology/olympics.html In early 2005, I sent this information to members of Olympic Mountain Rescue for inclusion in the guidebook. Hopefully it will make it into a future edition.

Last winter I presented my program about skiing the Cascade Crest on both sides of the mountains. Due to scheduling conflicts, I was unable to do a program in Yakima, home to Chuck and Marion Hessey and The Cascadians. The Cascadians have asked me to present this program one more time. Details below: Wednesday - October 29, 2008 7:30 pm, Free admission The Cascadians Living Care Retirement Community Meyer Auditorium 40th Ave. and Summitview, Yakima, WA More information about the show can be found here. The full story of my Cascade Crest ski journey can be found starting on this page. I expect this to be the last public presentation of this program. I hope folks in central Washington can make it!

Great project! The Patrick Nestler accident data is not right. (It seems that you merged or confused the Nestler accident with the David Persson accident.) Nestler was not a skier and his accident was on the Disappointment Cleaver, not Liberty Ridge. His accident was primarily caused by an avalanche, not a fall. See these links: Nestler: http://www.i-world.net/oma/news/accidents/1998-06-11-rainier.html Persson: http://www.i-world.net/oma/news/accidents/2002-05-29-rainier.html

No. I just laced them tight when it was time to ski down. My brother Carl made instep straps with ratcheting buckles that he could use to crank his boots tighter. We nicknamed them "Carlberg straps." I still use mountaineering boots from time to time. Here's what my current pair look like. These are Dynafit compatible: The picture on the right shows a 1970s-era Cheetah Stick buckled around one of the boots. I tried the Cheetah Sticks once, but haven't used them since. I used these boots to complete my Cascade Crest ski project in 2007, including a ski ascent/descent of Glacier Peak. Here's a photo taken on one of the trip segments: A discussion of these boots can be found in this thread: http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=2202.0

There were dedicated AT boots in the 1980s, but FAR fewer choices than today, and the choices were not nearly as good as we have now. For what it's worth, the pictures in the top row above were taken in 1985. The second row shows 1994 (left) and 1988 (right). The bottom picture shows 1989. I'd have to search my journal for details, but I think I bought my first AT boots in 1989 or 1990. They were orange Dynafits without Tourlight Tech fittings, which weren't available yet. They were boxy and hurt my shins, but lightweight. Some of my friends bought AT boots earlier than I did. I adopted them more slowly because I was more interested in ski mountaineering traverses than yo-yo skiing and I was comfortable skiing in mountaineering boots. I preferred mountaineering boots for long distance trips (I still do) because of their comfort and freedom of movement. It's hard to imagine now, but in the 1980s backcountry skiing was very different from today. Yo-yo skiing was a smaller part of the sport and touring (going places) was a larger part. I think the biggest reason for the change was the shaped/fat ski revolution in the 1990s, combined with the development of better AT boots and bindings. In the 1980s, when many AT skiers used mountaineering boots and narrow, lightly-shaped skis, it was rare to see AT skiers who could link short radius turns in powder (i.e. "powder-8" style turns). Most were making one turn at a time. Now EVERYBODY can crank turns in powder because the gear is so much better. That's why in the 1980s telemark skiers were the vast majority of backcountry skiers whereas today they are the minority. In the early 1980s, there was no media devoted to backcountry skiing and only a handful of suppliers. There were no "backcountry skis" available for AT skiers, that I recall. You used second-hand alpine skis. Hexcels (aluminum honeycomb construction) were regarded as some of the best alpine skis for the backcountry because they were lighter than most. With mediocre gear, there were few full-time AT skiers. Most of the people who did it spent much of the winter skiing the lifts. It was hard to justify buying specialized gear for something you didn't do all the time, so people got by with cheap substitutes like mountaineering boots. Nobody owned a quiver of backcountry skis. Today backcountry skiing is a maturing sport with a huge array of product choices and new developments coming out every year. People spend far more money on gear than they did 20+ years ago because the media/industry has cranked up the energy level so there is more "churn". Today's gear is awesome, but it's fascinating to think back on the changes in just a couple decades.

Maybe, in soft snow on a gentle slope, but most of the time snowplow turns will be as good as it gets. Mountaineering boots + AT bindings are really just an alternative to snowshoes that let you travel downhill slightly faster. AT boots climb better than mountaineering boots ski. Here are some pictures of skiing in mountaineering boots.

If you want a better sense of the emotions of that day, you might peruse the following thread: http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=10307.0 As I wrote at the time, "We felt fortunate to have contributed to an ending which, while it was not happy, was absolutely right."

CAG volume 2 contains confusing information about Buck Mountain. The 3rd Ed. lists the elevation at 8528ft (the 2nd Ed. listed 8573ft). This, combined with vague text, may lead one to believe that the north summit (marked 8528ft on the USGS 7.5min topo) is the highest. I climbed both the north and middle peaks a couple days ago and the middle peak is definitely higher. The text says that the north summit "is triangulated at 8573ft" but I think that's wrong since the USGS topo says 8528ft. I think 8573ft is the height of the middle peak. The text should be corrected, ambiguous language removed, and the peak height should be changed to 8573ft.

Following the History Grab event on Saturday, I found a Mead notebook and a couple of unclaimed photo plates lying on a table. To my eyes, the notebook looks like it might be of personal value to its owner. If you can describe it to me, I'll forward it to you. Send me a PM to followup.

For me one of the best parts happened in the morning while we were setting up for the sale. After we pried open the crates of WWII pitons, Frank Fickeisen, one of our History Committee members, picked up his cell phone and called his old friend Duke Watson (this guy) and gave him all sorts of grief about the pitons. Duke shipped the pitons from Alton, Illinois to his wife in Seattle in the spring of 1944, when he was commander of the Army's Seneca Rocks Climbing School. Duke remembered this and Frank kidded him that, like a bad nickel, he was never going to be rid of those pitons, now that we'd found them again. That was over sixty years ago!

Today's the day! Great way to spend a rainy Saturday in Seattle. Do some early Christmas shopping. Hope to see you there...

Northwest Mountaineering Journal, 2008 The mission of the Northwest Mountaineering Journal is to be an edited, permanent, annual record of mountaineering in the Pacific Northwest. The journal documents the events, people, history and spirit of climbing and other mountain sports in this region. The journal is published by volunteers from the mountaineering community in collaboration with The Mountaineers. The 2008 issue of the journal is now available. See: http://www.nwmj.org This issue has feature articles about alpine climbing, high traverses, avalanche safety, adventure running, influential mountaineers, and more. It includes reports of new climbing routes and first ski descents from April 1, 2007 through March 31, 2008. It also contains highlights from North Cascades National Park. I'd like to thank everyone who contributed stories, photos, and information for this issue, both for your contributions and for your patience as we assembled this issue over the past several months. I'd also like to thank the great team of volunteers who edited the journal and the folks at CascadeClimbers.com and The Mountaineers who provided invaluable support. We hope you enjoy this issue and will begin looking forward to the next one. The 2008 Northwest Mountaineering Journal Team Ralph Bodenner Steve Firebaugh Matt Perkins Rad Roberts Lowell Skoog Steve Smith Alisa Stoffel Curt Veldhuisen Aaron Zabriskie