Range of Glaciers

[b-rock]

Anyone read this Beckey book? Looks pretty cool paging through it but it's pricey in hardback ($40).

[catbirdseat]

I bought it but haven't yet cracked it. It looks pretty imposing.

[slothrop]

I saw his slideshow/talk about the book and really wasn't all that intrigued. "Prospectors tried to cross the Cascades in winter and were killed by an avalanche blah blah blah..." Maybe the book is less like a dry historical text than his speech was.

[b-rock]

Imposing?

[catbirdseat]

Imposing = thick

[klenke]

Now I understand why people say Catbirdseat is an imposing fellow.

[catturdeat]

Quite. Quite right.

[Lowell_Skoog]

I've nearly finished reading this book. I figured it was required reading for the history project I'm working on. The book is really a "pre-mountaineering" history, although it does cover the early volcano ascents. It also covers early climbs and exploration by non-mountaineers (miners, surveyors, foresters and so on). It provides much more background on some of the early climbs that are just mentioned in the Cascade Alpine Guides.

 

I think Fred Beckey has done a great service digging up this material and publishing it in one place. The notes in the back of the book are a gold mine for anyone interested in pursuing Cascade history further. That said, I think most readers will find the book rather dry.

[b-rock]

Thanks Lowell, local history however dry tends to keep my attention. I'll write y'all a book report when I'm done.