Lowell_Skoog

The notion of "best" versus "favorite" is interesting. I decided to look through my journals and figure out my favorite climbs objectively, based on how many times I've done them. I didn't distinguish between different routes. The results surprised me in a few cases. Here's my top twelve, in order: 16 - Silver Star 13 - Eldorado 12 - Baker 11 - Forbidden 11 - Stuart 10 - Sahale 10 - South Early Winters 9 - Black 9 - Rainier 9 - Saint Helens 9 - Shuksan 8 - Liberty Bell

You've got a point there. I mean--where is the chest beating? Where is the self congratulation? Colin isn't even butting into somebody else's trip report to crow about his own. I agree with you, the idea that Colin soloed Mt Terror without spraying about it is just INCONCEIVABLE!

As I mentioned in my last message, the Mountaineers history committee will discuss whether creating some sort of "friends" channel with the Mountaineers Foundation would be a good idea. This will take some time. (The committee meets bi-monthly. I think the foundation does too.) In the meantime, if anybody is serious about supporting preservation of historic Northwest films, there's nothing stopping you from sending a donation to the Mountaineers Foundation. Just send them a note saying you're contributing for Mountaineers history commitee film projects. (Tell 'em Lowell sent you! ) Donations are tax deductible and can be sent to The Mountaineers Foundation at P.O. Box 9464, Seattle, WA 98109.

As a matter of fact, there is. See this recent thread: http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/threadz/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/386230/page/1/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1 The Friends of the Mountaineers Library is an arm of the Mountaineers Foundation. The idea is to have a way to channel money to the foundation specifically for the library. The Friends concept is new, and doesn't yet replace the funding that was lost this year when the club cut library funding. This year the library requested (and received) a grant from the Foundation to keep running. There is no equivalent "friends" organization for the Mountaineers history committee, which is the group working on film preservation. Setting one up might be a very good idea. I will raise this topic at our next meeting. Diverting money from the Friends of the Library (which is already strapped for cash) to history committee projects is probably not the right approach. Setting up a Friends of Mountaineers History conduit could be a good way for people to contribute to this effort. Thanks for suggesting this idea! (even if not in quite the way you intended)

There is no projector in the library. Projecting the original 16mm films would destroy them fast. That's why we want to transfer them to videotape or DVD to enable people to enjoy them. The library has videotapes of several old films which I think you can check out. I appreciate your support and the willingness of several other people in this thread to chip in to preserve these films. But as you can imagine, going from this expression of support to actually collecting money from you and others is difficult and risky for all concerned. The best strategy we have thought of is to obtain a grant to preserve the films, then look for ways to repay some or all of the grant, for example by holding a film night and soliciting donations or by selling copies of the films. The Mountaineers do not own the copyrights to every film we have transferred to video. So, anything we do to raise money, we have to do carefully, with the permission of the copyright owners . If you can think of better strategies, I'm all ears. There are a lot of issues involved. Be aware that I'm coordinating this film preservation for the Mountaineers History Committee as a volunteer effort and I have limited time to devote to it.

Just a followup... My contact in the Mountaineers Library committee told me that the Mountaineers Foundation approved a grant to fund operating costs of the Mountaineers Library through 2005. This is good news. The next hurdle will come in 2006. sigh...

This picture of Pete was taken during the filming of "The Ascent of Lighthouse Tower". This particular image is not shown in the film however. Here's the tribute from today's Seattle Times: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002045151_schoeningobit24m.html And here's the one from the P-I: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/connelly/192240_joel24.html

Thanks Dru. We might. When I said videotape, I was referring to the digital master that we'll create from the original 16mm film. So far we've always used DigiBeta tape, which is a professional format used by TV stations. (Another format, not quite so high quality, is called DVCAM.) Once the film is transferred to a digital master, then you can dub viewing copies, either on VHS tape or DVD. In the past we made VHS viewing copies because that was more prevalent in the club. We haven't decided how to process this recently discovered collection of films. (Heck, we don't have any money yet for any of this!)

Just last week, at the Mountaineers clubhouse, in the "dungeon" used by the Mountaineers History Committee, I found a long forgotten film by Burge Bickford and Ira Spring of Fred Beckey, Pete Schoening, Ralph (and/or Dick) Widrig, and Joe Hieb making the second ascent of Lighthouse Tower in the Cashmere Crags in 1949. The film includes great footage of both Beckey and Schoening rock climbing (in tennis shoes) and demonstrates all the tricks that they used in those days--free climbing, aid climbing, shoulder stands, piton and bolt placements, and climbers throwing a weighted line over the summit and then prusiking up. The film is a classic, and deserves to be at least as famous as the better known film of Beckey and Jim Crooks climbing The Tooth in 1940. The Mountaineers History Committee hopes to obtain a grant to transfer this film (and several others) to videotape so that people can enjoy it. When we get the film transferred, I expect we'll have a movie night at the clubhouse to show a bunch of great old films. It's one small way to honor Pete's memory.

That's easy. Get yourself a DeLorme Washington atlas and gazeteer (see delorme.com if the stores in your neighborhood don't have them). Open it to pages 97, 98, 111 and 112. If you like your wild stuff above treeline, look at the white areas. If you like it below treeline, look at the green areas. It's as simple as that. They're all good and yes, people go there. They're probably less crowded than the Ptarmigan and Pickets because they get less publicity. That's as close to spoon feeding as I'm willing to go.

I'd like to hear your take on the political motivations of the IPCC, NASA, the American Meteorological Society, American Geophysical Union, National Academy of Science, various universities, and other organizations cited in this thread. What do they have to gain by concluding that climate change has a human component? On the other hand the motivation for the Western Fuels Association to downplay the human factor is pretty obvious.

I asked a friend of mine, who knows more about it than I do, whether there is a serious scientific debate about human influence on global warming. He said, in short, that there is not. And he recommended the following book: BOILING POINT: How Politicians, Big Oil and Coal, Journalists, and Activists Are Fueling the Climate Crisis--and What We Can Do to Avert Disaster, by Ross Gelbspan, Basic Books, NY, 2004 I bought a copy of this book last night and read the first chapter. It looks like a worthwhile read to me, and it conforms with my gut instinct, which is that Americans are being misled on this issue by the fossil fuel industry and its shills. It also argues that addressing the climate crisis could improve a host of other problems, from economic development to terrorism. This too I believe in my gut. The first chapter, "Not Just Another Issue," sets the stage, noting that in 1995 the world community of climate scientists first declared that they had detected the "human influence" on climate. The author continues: One thing I've learned in my years of Cascade climbing is that the trend in the forecast--whether it is getting more optimistic or more pessimistic with each update--is often a better indicator of what the future will bring than the forecast itself. If you're planning a big climb next weekend, and every day the forecast looks worse than the last, it's time to start making different plans. The quote above suggests to me that the same thing may be happening on a global scale. Here's what the author has to say about the rest of his book. I haven't read it yet, but I suggest that Juan and others who are interested in this subject give it a look.

Thanks Alex. It looks like the A.P. published an extract of the original Wenatchee World article (which appeared on Sunday) and many outlets (like KUOW and the Seattle Times) picked it up. I'd still like to read the original article, so I'm planning to look for it at the U.W. library.

As I said in this recent thread, weep for the glaciers: http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/threadz/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/388009/page/0/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1 Here is another old thread about glacier recession: http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/threadz/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/224062/Main/224062#Post224062

Today's Wenatchee World has an article about the South Cascade Glacier. Scientists are saying that the glacier is melting so fast that it may be gone in a century. The glacier is one of the few in the world that is currently being studied. Unfortunately, I don't have any more information than that, because on-line access to the Wenatchee World requires a subscription: http://www.wenworld.com If anybody out there has access to this article on-line, would you mind sending me a copy by private message? Otherwise, I'll look for it the next time I visit the U.W. library. (The information above was from a blurb on KUOW radio.) FWIW, here is a before-and-after shot of the glacier from my webstory about the Ptarmigan Traverse: http://www.alpenglow.org/climbing/ptarmigan-1953/s-cascade-1953-2003.html

Glaciers are like a canary in a coal mine. They are marvelous climatic thermometers. I mean, what could be clearer? The climate warms up, the glaciers shrink; the climate cools down, the glaciers grow. It's natural for climbers, who are more aware of glaciers than the general public, to be aware of climatic trends because of what they see happening to the glaciers. And its not just about recreation. Some of us have kids, you know. The future is not just somebody else's problem. Fair enough. Some of us feel that there is enough science to indicate that the current global warming trend is being accelerated by human factors. It's time to start adapting now, and that includes recognizing that there is a problem and looking for ways to reduce it.

Bravo! This gets my vote. I bet Richard U. Goode pronounced his last name "good" but everybody I know says "goodie". (I usually say "goodie" too, just to be a conformist.) I bet Harry Majors knows the answer. Another good one is "traverse". All my friends say tra-VERSE, but old-timers like the Fireys say TRA-verse. On a hike a couple years ago, Duke Watson explained to me that when the word is used as a verb, the accent goes on the last syllable (tra-VERSE). When it is used as a noun, the accent goes on the first syllable (TRA-verse, although putting the accent on the last syllable is also acceptable). I checked Webster's Dictionary and, by golly, he's right! So, in honor of Duke Watson and the Fireys, I think we should all go tra-VERSE the Ptarmigan TRA-verse.

True. But to me, getting down to bare ice is significant, even if the difference is just a few feet of snow. Dave's picture makes it appear that in 2004 the firn line on Forbidden Peak is around the elevation of the summit. That's sad.

Here's the difference two hot, dry years can make. This picture was taken at the end of August 2002. Compare with Dave's above.

Weep for the glaciers. I've never seen the NW face look so dry.

Glad you had a good visit, Cavey. Back in the 1980s, I joined the Mountaineers mainly because of their library. (I thought you had to be a member to use it, but you don't.) As Cavey said, the Library is tight on funds. In fact, in the latest Mountaineer bulletin, Kay Theis wrote: So, if you are a club member, 89 cents of your yearly dues will not go to the Library next year. The club will not be funding the part-time Librarian's position. The Library Committee has turned to The Mountaineers Foundation for help. (The grant request will be either approved or denied this month.) For $25 you can become a Friend of the Mountaineers Library via The Mountaineers Foundation. Donations are tax deductible and can be sent to The Mountaineers Foundation at P.O. Box 9464, Seattle, WA 98109. Please note "Friends of Library" on your check. (I sent them a check a couple weeks ago.) If the request for support from The Mountaineers Foundation is not approved, funding for the Library will dry up and they will have to let their part-time librarian go. When this has happened in the past the collection deteriorates and new donations don't get catalogued. I plan to make a ruckus about it on this forum if this happens.

It sounds like this will only be an issue if you want to ride the lifts to get to either East Peak (Norse Pk Wilderness) or the SR-410 corridor (Rainier National Park). Typically, Bullion Basin and East Peak skiers haven't used lifts at all, but this could change if they rebuild the Bullion Basin chair. The likely conflict will be for people who like to ski down to 410, or to a lesser degree, for people traversing toward Crystal Lake or Chinook Pass. Skiing into Silver Basin from the lifts shouldn't be affected since it is within the Crystal Mountain permit area. If you don't use the lifts, you won't be restricted, as far as I can tell. I imagine that the lift skiers who like to ski down to 410 will howl the loudest. To be honest, I never thought that run looked worth doing (too little open country and too many tight trees), but I know other people definitely feel different about it.

The Seattle Times reported yesterday that the USFS has released the Crystal Mountain Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision. I received a copy of the FEIS/ROD on CDROM today and the information is also available here: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/projects/crystal_eis/ In a nutshell, here's the decision from a skier's viewpoint. Lifts approved: * Summit tram (base area to summit) * Park 'n Ride chair (Lot B to base area) * Kelly's Gap chair (Lot B to east shoulder of Northway Pk) * Northway chair (top of Lower Northway to Northway Peak) * Bullion Basin chair (same location as former chair, I think) * Two new surface tows (near base) Lifts not approved: * East Peak chair * Silver King chair * Snorting Elk chair Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with this decision. Neither East Peak nor Silver King will be developed. (The rebuilding of the Bullion Basin chairlift makes me nervous. I don't think it makes much sense unless you're going to develop East Peak.) Much of the North Backcountry will be come lift-served frontcountry, but at least you'll still have to hike a little to reach Morning Glory Bowl. The South Backcountry will remained unchanged. I don't like the Summit Tram idea, but that really only affects lift skiers. My main concern about this development is that it will make Crystal Mountain bigger and more "resort-like" and will result in higher ticket prices, making it less attractive for families and new skiers. This message has been cross-posted here: http://www.turns-all-year.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=ha1;action=display;num=1092696727 http://www.telemarktalk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?p=260482#260482 http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/threadz/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/383233/page/0/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1

I was in the area last week. We met several parties (including two groups of cute young women from the YMCA ) who had hiked into Whatcom Pass from Hannegan. I don't think they had much trouble. (We hiked in from Ross Lake, which was also fine.) We traversed from Whatcom Pass to Perfect Pass by climbing over Whatcom Peak. We did it because the east Whatcom Glacier looked iffy with the gear we had (wimpy boots, aluminum crampons, no ice screws). The north ridge of Whatcom Peak is simple (class 2 max, with little exposure) until the very top. During the last couple hundred vertical, we worked right, onto the NW face, and found the going a bit exposed and loose. Looking down from the summit later, we wondered if we should have climbed more directly up, rather than working right. My partner and I didn't have any trouble, but we wouldn't recommend the route to our wives. Neither of us would be eager to downclimb the route with full backpacks. Another party followed the same route the day after us. We didn't talk to them, but obviously the Whatcom Peak summit traverse is being backpacked with some frequency these days. If class 2-3 terrain on somewhat loose rock with a bit of exposure doesn't bother you for backpacking, you shouldn't have any problems.

Texplorer makes some good points: My sense of the AAC Oregon section's Fred Beckey award is that it focuses on people who have pioneered a lot of new routes in good style. You don't need an award for that. People who are into pioneering new routes typically get all the recognition they need from journals, guidebooks, and so on. Putting up new routes is a pretty self-absorbed activity. Why give awards for it? If I was to create an award it would recognize climbers who have given more to the community than just new climbs. I'd call it the Wolf Bauer award. Bauer was not only a pioneer climber and skier, but he also created the Northwest's first climbing course and founded the Mountain Rescue Council and the Washington Kayak Club. I read an interview with Wolf in which he said he could have done a lot more first ascents, but he preferred to teach others how to climb safely. To me he epitomizes the combination of great mountaineer and humanitarian. And he's still around at age 90! (or is it 91?). I have a lot of respect for Fred Beckey, but I think the current award doesn't recognize his most important accomplishments very well. When Fred talks about "old timers", he's talking about people like Wolf Bauer. Wolf taught the people who taught Fred how to climb.