Lowell_Skoog

Not that I know of. So, Lloyd Anderson's first ascents in the North Cascades include: Triumph ("victory," 7/31/38) Sinister ("evil," 5/29/39) Despair ("helplessness", 7/2/39) Forbidden ("inaccessible", 6/1/40) Tenpeak (9/21/40, in the Dakobed Range, previously called the Tenpeak Range) One of the things I like best about history is discovering connections between people. In this trivia, I believe there is a hidden connection betweeen Lloyd Anderson, Fred Beckey, and three of the peaks in the list--Sinister, Tenpeak, and Forbidden. The link is Dwight Watson. In 1936, Dwight Watson spent most of the summer rambling around the North Cascades. In July he hiked from Miners Ridge through the Hanging Gardens to the head of the Chickamin Glacier next to Sinister Peak with Hermann Ulrichs. He continued his rambles to Stehekin and over Cascade Pass, where he admired the view of Eldorado and Hidden Lake Peaks. The following spring, Watson made the first venture on skis into the Hidden Lake Peak area. From there he had excellent views of Forbidden Peak, as yet unclimbed and unnamed. A year later, with Paul Flint, he hiked around the Dakobed (Tenpeak) Range, which is very attractive from Miners Ridge. On April 14, 1940, Anderson, Beckey, and Watson made the first attempt to climb Forbidden Peak. (Anderson, Beckey and others returned on June 1 to complete the climb.) This is the only time in North Cascades history where Dwight Watson can be found attempting a technical first ascent. I think he was along because he knew the country best. My guess is that Watson also told Lloyd Anderson about the country around Sinister and Tenpeak, and Lloyd, being an ambitious peak bagger, went in and made the first ascents. Dwight Watson was never very interested in first ascents, being happy just to visit wild country, especially on skis. Watson was also a friend of Fred Beckey's father, so he may have had something to do with Beckey and Anderson getting together. Sadly, when Watson returned to Seattle from the Forbidden Peak attempt, he read in the newspaper that his good friend Sigurd Hall had been killed in the Silver Skis race on Mt Rainier. Nobody guessed Lloyd Anderson's important climb in the B.C. interior. That was the South Tower of Howser Spire in the Bugaboos, with Helmy Beckey, Lyman Boyer, and Tom Campbell in 1941. He may have done more first ascents in the North Cascades, but I can't think of any. I'm sure Harry Majors would know.

Yup. "evil" = Sinister. This peak has a striking north couloir that was first skied by Andreas Schmidt in the 1990s. (If you know where to look, this clue is a giveaway.)

Right on. "inaccessible" = Forbidden. (Remember, we're looking for Lloyd Anderson's first ascents, not Fred's. Fred was on Despair and Forbidden, but not the others.)

Good, you got two of them: "hopelessness" = Despair (Fred's 1st first ascent, in 1939) "success" = Triumph Still looking for "evil" and "inaccessible". And for the peak whose sub-range was renamed by Fred Beckey. (Hint: Don't forget that the North Cascades extend all the way down to Stevens Pass...)

Lloyd Anderson and REI are correct, but Mt Degenhardt is not. So, we're still looking for five peaks with evocative names, one of them Fred's first first ascent.

Oops, I didn't see olyclimber's question while I was composing mine. His question is still up for grabs!

Yeah, too easy. Here's a little tougher one about someone who I think is interesting. In 1935, this man graduated from the Mountaineers' first climbing course, taught single-handedly by Wolf Bauer. A year later he completed Wolf's first intermediate climbing course. In 1937, the course had grown too large for one person to teach, so this man took over from Wolf and split the course into subjects taught by different instructors. A year later, in order to help his students and friends get good quality equipment, he started a small cooperative venture in Seattle to import European climbing gear. In 1939, a young man named Fred Beckey graduated from the climbing course. This man became Fred's first climbing mentor and took him on his first first ascent. From 1938 through 1940, this man made at least five first ascents in the North Cascades. Four of the peaks have names with connotations of evil, inaccessibility, hopelessness or success. The fifth peak has a name that was formerly applied to the entire sub-range where it resides. That sub-range was renamed by Fred Beckey in his Cascade Alpine Guide. So, who was this climber? What was the venture he started in 1938? What five peaks did he pioneer? For extra credit, name other first ascents that he made. (I can't think of any off-hand, except one important climb in the B.C interior. But I suspect there were more.)

Wow, the thread that wouldn't die! Since Jeff revived this, here's another question. I suspect this is an easy one... In 1935, the filming of a Hollywood movie prompted the state highway department to keep the road to Mt Baker Lodge open throughout the winter for the first time. This boosted Mt Baker's popularity as a winter sports destination and led to development of a ski area there. What was the movie and who where the stars?

I made a photocopy in the Mountaineers Library and scanned it for this posting. I didn't keep a copy. If you live in Seattle, you might try visiting the library. Lots of good stuff in there!

On my ski history website, I have a short note about a letter from John Dittli that appeared in the Spring 2000 issue of Couloir magazine: http://www.alpenglow.org/ski-history/notes/period/couloir/couloir-2000-09.html#couloir-2000-spr-p9

What a good ending. Not a happy ending, but a good one. to Emily for saving the wallet and speaking up. to Kelly for connecting the dots. Most of us hardly think about what the park rangers do for us. (I remember when Bill Lester, Kelly's predecessor, pulled the body of a friend of mine off Mixup Peak.) Kelly's looong memory, her quiet presence on this website, and her help for the Gray family speak volumes about the way she does her job in the North Cascades National Park.

Yes, the artwork is by Clark Schurman. It's probably pen and ink. You can see his signature in the bottom panel. I like how the two panels are linked by the ice axe. One of the annuals (maybe 1937, I don't recall) has several pages of Clark Schurman drawings of Cascade Peaks.

I found this in the 1937 Mountaineer Annual and thought it was worth sharing. The poem is kinda cool and I really like the artwork. The top drawing reminds me of Randy Rackliff's woodcuts, but not so dark. Clark Schurman was chief guide at Mt Rainier from 1939-42. He was a long-time scoutmaster and built Monitor Rock (now called Schurman Rock) in Seattle around 1939. Dee Molenaar credits Schurman with changing his life by suggesting that he leave the farm, go to college, and guide on Rainier during the summers. Camp Schurman near Steamboat Prow was built in his memory. Other annuals in the late 1930s have more of Schurman's poetry and artwork.

Yeah, it descends toward the camera down and right from the summit to the top of Jens Kieler's head.

Bill Pilling's old AAJ report reminded me of another classic report from the 1980s. This one is from Accidents in North American Mountaineering, 1989 (p. 76). It's from Eldorado Peak too, so somewhat appropriate here:

The TV show was the second ascent of the NE arete/buttress. My brother Gordy and Jim Walseth did the first ascent the previous summer. The producers bent the truth a little to spice up the program. We did a previous show with KOMO-TV about cross-country skiing in 1978-79. That show won an Emmy (not for anything WE did) and the producers asked Gordy if he knew of a rock climb they could film. Gordy had just done Golden Horn and since it wasn't in a wilderness area (allowing helicopter access), he suggested it. It was a fun trip. Watching the film today is a mix of nostalgia and embarrassment for me. Here's a picture from the trip: From left to right are Gordy (disembodied head), Joel Schroedel (producer), Chris Raaum (sound), Dave Anthony (support climber), Daryl Benedict (lead cameraman), Jens Kieler and Buzz Mercereau (support climbers). My brother Carl was near the summit when this picture was taken. His main job was to keep the summit cameraman from falling off the mountain. Gary Brill did the NE arete a year or two later and thought the rock was scary. That's why Beckey's red guide has some warnings about it.

The climb looks really nice in your pictures. I'll have to add it to my list. I wonder how many folks have read Bill Pilling's original 1987 AAJ report of this climb (p. 164). It's a Cascade classic:

Dome Peak: "First winter ascent by Fred Beckey, Paul Gonzales, and Laurel Black in March 1994." (CAG-2, 3rd Ed., p. 249) I neglected to check Fred's latest edition before my previous post. So the rumor I heard back then was true. As for Bear, I don't recall ever hearing about a winter ascent. However, in about 1987 Mark Bebie and Monte Westlund made a winter attempt on the original Beckey/Fielding route on the north buttress. They found the buttress festooned with huge dollops of unstable snow mushrooms and retreated. I remember discussing this climb extensively with Mark by e-mail. He and I were going to attempt it together, but for some reason, I bailed out. At the time, planning a climb entirely by e-mail was very unusual. Mark worked at Microsoft; I worked at Fluke. This was before Internet Service Providers and the World-Wide Web and just a few universities and high-tech companies were on the Internet.

The rumor I heard was that Fred himself was along on the Dome trip. But I never got a first hand report about it and I don't recall seeing it written up anywhere. Constance, not Cruiser Chimney Rock, not Lemah Redoubt, not Bear Some of these are almost guessing on my part.

Goode, not Stormking Liberty Crack, not Thin Red Line Formidable, not Spider Johannesburg, not Cascade Buckner, not Magic Dome, not Spire Point Bonanza, not Agnes Forbidden, not Torment I know what Geordie is up to, but I'll keep the riddle going for now. I'm not sure all these are correct.

I remember Reese Martin mentioning in an e-mail that he had spent a fair amount of time climbing with Russell in southern California in recent years. I don't remember the details. As you probably know, Reese died last spring in a paragliding accident. They probably had common friends. I remember Russell but never knew in personally. Thanks for a great post.

To me "must skis" are trips that anybody who backcountry skis in the Northwest just has to do. So I pick: 1. Camp Muir - Yeah I know, boring, plain vanilla. But do you know any Northwest backcountry skier who hasn't done it a million times? Oregon skiers, substitute the south side of Mt Hood. 2. Mt St Helens - What other Northwest mountain, besides Rainier, have people all over the world heard of? The view from the crater rim of St Helens is unique. Not to be missed. 3. Mt Baker, Coleman Glacier - Baker was the first "major" peak to be skied in the Northwest and I think it is still the classic big ski ascent. 4. Sahale Peak - A great North Cascades viewpoint, good skiing, and the only North Cascades peak where you can ski from the summit rocks to your car in June. 5. Spearhead traverse - I had a hard time choosing my fifth ski. The Spearhead traverse is the classic Euro-style, entry level ski traverse in the Northwest. A great intro to the southern B.C. coast mountains.

I think there's just enough snow in the North Cascades right now to make the Ruth-Icy traverse really hard. You'll be postholing up the trail to Hannegan Pass, then have thin snow over talus and other unpleasantness between Ruth and Icy. Skis would be helpful, but you'll probably beat them up. Snowshoes might be better. Of course, some people think you should ignore naysayers on cc.com, but you did ask.

South aspect couloirs? On Snowfield Peak? I'm not aware of any such couloirs. Snowfield Peak is best approached from near Diablo Dam via the Pyramid Lake trail, the NE shoulder of Pyramid Peak, and a traverse of the upper Colonial Creek cirque to the Colonial Glacier. See p. 63 of Rainer Burgdorfer's "100 ski and snowboard routes" for a more complete route description.

Here's a shot of Dan Nordstrom (L) and Jens Kieler ® skiing the Forbidden Glacier in 1987. They're wearing mountaineering boots on day 4 of a five-day trip. The biggest problem most people have with skiing in mountaineering boots is mismatched expectations. They want to power the skis and recover from mistakes like a downhill skier. The expectations gap has gotten wider in the past ten years. In the 1980s, most of the people I knew who skied on alpine touring gear did it in mountaineering boots. They adjusted their techniques and their attitudes to work with the gear. It can be done, and you can get to some nice country that way. That said, just about everybody I know has switched to modern AT boots and is not looking back. I still ski in mountaineering boots occasionally when I want more tourability than my AT boots offer. On the other hand, I climbed Forbidden Peak in my AT boots last year, so it's possible to climb in them, though not ideal.