Remembering Walt Little, Northwest Skier and Mountaineer

[Lowell_Skoog]

Walt Little: March 27, 1909 - February 28, 2002

Walt Little's passion for skiing spanned three-quarters of acentury. He took up the sport in 1927, when Paradise on MountRainier was a six mile trek on skis from Longmire, rope towshadn't yet been invented, and a "shaped" ski was one with awicked warp. Walt kept skiing through the last year of his life.He died recently in Sun Valley, at age 92, during his annual skivacation with friends. Walt didn't just witness the changes inNorthwest skiing. He helped bring them about.

Walt joined the Mountaineers in the 1930s and began a lifelonginvolvement with the club's Meany ski hut, near Stampede Pass.With its steep rope tow and open slopes, Meany was considered oneof the best ski hills in Washington state in those days. In1941, Walt organized the last running of the classic Patrol Racefrom Snoqualmie Pass to Meany. Over the years, Walt concoctedmany of the names around Meany hill, such as "Psychopath" and"Lower Slobbovia." In 1939 Walt chaired the committee thatplanned the Mountaineers' Stevens Pass hut. When the hut wasdedicated in 1949, the Mountaineer Annual described Walt as theguiding spirit in its construction.

In 1941, Walt was the architect of the club's first skimountaineering course. This may have been the first such coursein North America. It was almost certainly the first to teachglacier skiing. Walt wrote much of the course handbook andpublished a classic article, "Mountaineering on Skis" in the 1941Mountaineer Annual. Walt's article reviewed the history ofNorthwest ski mountaineering and explained the rationale for thenew course.

The course included overnight camping on snow, roped skiingpractice, and extended tours that employed these techniques.Walt's training methods were innovative. During the glacierskiing field trip, a roped skier would launch off a cornice inEdith Creek basin and his or her rope team would have to arrestthe fall and carry out a rescue. About 100 people registered forthe course during the first year. In spite of World War II,which began midway through the course, 31 people took the finalexam and eight graduated. Walt was one of them.

Walt was an explorer as well as a teacher. During the war, onweekend leave from the Army, Walt and George Dennis made theearliest recorded ski trip into the Enchantment Lakes basin. His1943 Mountaineer Annual article, "Snow and Skis in the StuartRange," included the first published photo of Prusik Peak, whichdrew post-war rock climbers to the area. In 1947, with CharlesCehrs and other Mountaineers, Walt made the first recorded skiascent of Whitehorse Mountain.

Following the war, Walt applied his energies to the growing sportof downhill skiing. In the 1950s, he was one of a small group ofskiers who studied the feasibility of a ski resort at CrystalMountain. Walt made over a dozen snow survey trips on skis intoSilver Creek basin during those years. Using his skills as acivil engineer, Walt led development of the chairlifts thatopened at Crystal Mountain in autumn 1962. Walt's reputationspread and he was invited by Wenatchee skiers to consult on theproposed Mission Ridge ski area in the early 1960s.

Walt said that after all those survey trips to Crystal Mountain,he'd had enough of heavy packs and climbing for ski runs. Hestuck to lift skiing after that, and kept at it for the rest ofhis life. A lifelong bachelor, he described himself as "sort ofa maniac skier." Bob Cram once said, "Walt was a pioneer in skitechnique. Anything that was crazy Walt had already tried."

Walt's passion for downhill skiing was rooted in his beginningsas a ski mountaineer. In his 1941 article in the MountaineerAnnual, his enthusiasm shines through to this day. Afterdescribing what a ski mountaineer needs to know for an ascent ofone of the Cascade volcanos, Walt concludes: "A neophyte mightwell question, 'Why take all this trouble?' To one who has oncefelt the thrill of the long high ski trails in the bright springweather, with perfect snow underfoot, there is no need ofrationalizing an answer. You just like it."

--Lowell Skoog Seattle

[AlpineK]

I remember skiing with Walt at Meany when I was in my teens. He was a great skier and quite a charactor. It's been years since I last saw him, but he still sticks out in my memory.

I'm glad to have met him.

[jhamaker]

Who is interested in bringing back the Patrol Race

from Snoqualmie Pass to Meany?

I would be up to a scout on skiis this month.

[W]

Did Walt have anything to do with the old "Silver Skis" race (I think that was the name of it...) race on Mt. Rainier way way back? It was a race from Muir to Paradise, the participants did a full-on banzai charge down the snowfield. At least one person got killed in this thing, crashing into fog shrouded rocks near McClure. It eventually got banned by Uncle Sugar due to safety concerns, or something. But it was great history.

[AlpineK]

I'm not sure about the Silver Skis race, but Walt was the founder of the RBCSA (Retroactive Birth Control Society of America). Encouraging all sorts of dangerous activities.

[Lowell_Skoog]

To jhamaker:

I scouted the Snoqualmie-Stampede Patrol Race route in January 2001, afterreading about it in my historical research. I scheduled a Mountaineerstrip to retrace the route this Janaury, but cancelled due to deep snow andavalanche danger. I rescheduled a private trip in February, but againcancelled due to rain. On February 24 I did the trip by myself for the heck of it.

Both times I've done the route it took eight hours to ski from SnoqualmieSummit to the Mountaineers Meany lodge. (The record from Lodge Lake toMeany in 1936 was just over 4-1/2 hours!) The route is a mix of old growthforest, big clearcuts, trailbreaking and road skiing. The coolest sectionis near Silver Peak, where the 70 year-old trail markers are still visiblenailed high on trees. The route is a workout and a routefinding challenge.If you want to be impressed by the strengh and competence of the pioneers,I'd recommend it over skiing some volcano, any day.

So yes, I'm interested in raising awareness of the Patrol Race. I'd liketo do this through the Mountaineers, since it is part of their history.

To W:

No, I don't think Walt Little was ever involved in the Silver Skis race.He was not into competition. In fact, when he launched the Mountaineers'ski mountaineering course in 1941 he described it as "more fitted to theneeds of the club than competition."

I'll talk about the Silver Skis race in my slideshow at the Mountaineersclubhouse this Thursday, 3/14. Details:

http://alpenglow.org/ski-history/project/presentations.html

--Lowell Skoog