Bob and Ira Spring Mountain Films

[Lowell_Skoog]

The Mountaineers History Committee has preserved four films produced by Bob and Ira Spring in the 1950s. These films have been transferred to broadcast quality digital videotape and VHS copies have been placed in the Mountaineers Library in Seattle. This is part of an on-going project to locate and preserve high quality movies recording the wilderness heritage of the Pacific Northwest. The following Bob and Ira Spring films have been preserved:

 

Mountains Don't Care (1955) - A film about mountain hazards and safe mountaineering travel produced for the Mountain Rescue Council.

 

Ice Climbing on Mount Rainier (circa 1956) - A journey to the top of Washington's highest mountain, including scenes of the Paradise ice caves, serac climbing on the Cowlitz Glacier, and camping on the summit.

 

Skiing Above the Clouds (circa 1956) - A high traverse on skis across the glaciers of Mount Rainier from Paradise to the White River.

 

Ice Rescue (1955) - A silent, extended version of the crevasse rescue sequence in "Mountains Don't Care".

 

All these films are in color with sound (except "Ice Rescue"). More complete notes about them can be found on the Alpenglow Ski Mountaineering History Project website:

 

http://www.alpenglow.org/ski-history/notes/movie/spring-1950s-movies.html

 

If you're curious about what climbing and ski mountaineering in the Northwest was like almost fifty years ago, I think you'll enjoy these films. The Mountaineers History Committe hopes to schedule a movie night at the clubhouse in Seattle after we've completed preservation of a few more films. Stay tuned...

 

Preservation of these films was made possible by a grant from The Mountaineers Foundation with the gracious cooperation of the Ira Spring family.