The Mountaineers Historic Films

[Lowell_Skoog]

 

The Mountaineers History Committee has been working for several years to preserve films held by the club and other Northwest mountaineers. The Committee is preparing a grant request to support physical preservation, digital video transfer, and creation of on-line finding aids for nearly 200 films. We expect to carry out this work in partnership with the University of Washington.

 

To support our grant request, the History Committee has prepared over 40 video clips of selected films and posted them on the Mountaineers website:

 

http://www.mountaineers.org/history/cat/movies-film.html

 

These videos are typically two to three minutes long. For sound films, we've pulled a single clip from each film. For silent films, we edited each video like a trailer, a story in miniature. These clips were prepared for films that we have already transferred to digital video. As you can see from the complete list, there are a lot more films that have never been digitized. Most of them haven't been seen for over fifty years, and they're bound to hold delightful surprises.

 

I'm posting this message to increase awareness of The Mountaineers films and to build support for their preservation. Take a few minutes to look at some of these films. (It's a great way to blow a lunch hour or two.) I hope you'll agree that they represent an important historical legacy for Northwest mountaineering. Perservation of these films is a long-term effort, and the collection offers opportunities that have not been explored. If you'd like to help work with the Mountaineers History Committee on these films, or if you know of other films that deserve to be preserved, feel free to contact me.

 

--Lowell Skoog

Mountaineers History Committee chairman

 

---------------------

 

Here are links to a few of my favorite clips:

 

1928: Like Washington crossing the Delaware, Edmond Meany crosses the Skagit, click here.

1930: Called forth by Ned's bugle, The Mountaineers encircle Rainier, click here.

1930: On Whitehorse Mtn, how not to glissade with an alpenstock, click here.

1932: At the basecamp below Mt Hood, McKee is deloused, click here.

1938: Dwight Watson and Sigurd Hall ski Mt St Helens, Glacier Peak, and Eldorado Peak, click here.

1939: Otto Trott, Andy Hennig, Sigurd Hall, and the Beckey brothers climb Mt Shuksan, click here.

1940: Jim Crooks and Fred Beckey scale The Tooth, click here.

1949: Fred Beckey and Pete Schoening demonstrate tricks of the crag rats, click here.

1955: Bob and Ira Spring go Skiing Above the Clouds, click here.

1956: Chuck and Marion Hessey ski Cascade Wilderness, click here.

1957: Climbing the Daiber way with Ome and Matie, click here.

1959: Chuck Hessey shares skiing at Crystal Mtn, before chairlifts, click here.

 

[sobo]

Thanks, Lowell! I've put this thread on my watched list for lunchtime viewing at work, where my connection speed screams as compared to home.

[Dane]

Hi Lowell,

Great history there, thank you for posting. I know there is a early film of climbing Ptarmigan Ridge on Rainier but I have not seen it. I looked but did not see it, Do you know if the library have a copy?

 

The Filson Store was selling copies for a while a year or two ago. I should have bought one then.

[JoshK]

Thanks alot Lowell. These are great!

[Lowell_Skoog]

Mountaineer film clips can now be viewed on your iPhone!

 

When I posted the film clips described in this thread, I provided versions to work on the Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Chrome browsers. I didn't provide a version for Apple's Safari due to lack of time and expertise. I've rectified this, and you can now watch these clips on your iPhone. Give 'em a look...

 

The Mountaineers History Committee has obtained a grant from the Brunhilde Wislicenus Fund of the Mountaineers Foundation for the preservation of these and many other films in cooperation with the University of Washington. The complete list of films can be found here:

 

http://www.mountaineers.org/history/cat/movies-film.html

 

[Le Piston]

That was great! Thanks for putting those clips together. I really enjoyed seeing those.

[goatboy]

Thanks so much, these are wonderful.

[pindude]

Missed this thread and announcement earlier, but glad to have found it now. I'll be sharing this with other eastside mountain and climbing folk around here. Very worthwhile project; glad you received the grant. Thank you Lowell.

 

--Steve Reynolds, Spokane

[AlpineK]

The few clips I've watched are great.

[CascadeClimber]

It would be great if you could post them in a way that doesn't require accepting an unsigned Java applet; Java is a large source of remote code exectution exploits and running unsigned code is asking for infections.

[Lowell_Skoog]

It would be great if you could post them in a way that doesn't require accepting an unsigned Java applet; Java is a large source of remote code exectution exploits and running unsigned code is asking for infections.

.

 

Thanks for this feedback. I just did some looking and it appears that there is now a signed version of the Cortado applet available. I'll look into it more when I have a chance.

[JasonG]

Thanks for all the hard work Lowell!

 

Quick question- Will this grant mean that the full length versions of the films will be available on the web in the future? The trailers are great, but it would be fantastic to see some of these in their entirety.

[Lowell_Skoog]

Thanks for all the hard work Lowell!

 

Quick question- Will this grant mean that the full length versions of the films will be available on the web in the future? The trailers are great, but it would be fantastic to see some of these in their entirety.

 

That decision hasn't been made yet. The grant calls for the Mountaineers to donate the original films to the UW where they will be properly cared for. The grant further calls for the digitization of selected films (we don't have enough money for all of them at this point) and the creation of online finding aids. By default, I believe that UW would normally post short clips, as I've done. And they probably would not put as much time into editing the clips as I have done.

 

I'm not a professional archivist. But in my efforts as an amateur it has seemed to me that there is a tension between raising awareness of historical materials and "giving away the farm." Preserving these materials takes time, effort, and money. How does an archival organization continue these efforts if they give everything away? Either you need well organized fund-raising efforts (with memberships and donations, etc) or you need a system of usage fees to recover the cost of your preservation work. Or you need volunteers who can do high quality work for free. None of these is easy.

 

So, I don't know whether the whole films will be available online. Like everybody else, the UW is scraping for money these days. So are the Mountaineers. What is the best approach to enable these organizations to continue their preservation work?

 

[Teh Phuzzy]

Seriously rockin post; makes me want some three-pin bindings and sticks to go with my leathers.

 

Thank you for your work and sharing!

[CascadeClimber]

What is the best approach to enable these organizations to continue their preservation work?

 

It depends on the mission of the organization and the reason for the restoration. In this case you have a very small audience not known for having deep pockets. I think you'd be better off recruiting some help to get the word out (do you have a Facebook site for this project???) and procure donations from this community instead of trying to extract cash from its members.

 

Just my opinion, though.

[Lowell_Skoog]

One idea that we've discussed is creating a DVD (or set) of "classic films." The DVDs would be offered for sale and proceeds would support continuing preservation efforts. (The New England Ski Museum does a great job of this.) Posting the films online in their entirety would pretty much clobber such a project. So we have to make such decisions carefully.

 

[Dave A.]

I like that idea.I'd certainly order some.

[JasonG]

I also like the idea of a DVD or two (maybe by themes?). Or you could set up pay per view website that could also help fund the efforts, or you could do both. I understand that the preservation work is not free, and I am willing to pay a modest amount to keep the PNW climbing and skiing history alive.

 

Thanks for honestly laying out the issues and trying to solicit ideas!

[j_b]

Cool movies, Lowell. Thanks to you and the Mountaineers History Committee for doing this important work. I don't know what the idea is worth but would there be some kind of related project for a grad student that would also further the archiving and transcribing that you guys are trying to do?

[Lowell_Skoog]

I don't know what the idea is worth but would there be some kind of related project for a grad student that would also further the archiving and transcribing that you guys are trying to do?

 

I believe that when the films go to UW much of the work will be done by grad students. UW Special Collections have no ongoing budget for film preservation, so all money must come from grants and donations. That's why we wrote the current grant. Once this grant is exhausted, we'll evaluate whether to write another one to continue the work.

 

I recently started a new full-time engineering job. (I was a part-time consultant for several years.) My spare time is now very limited. I suspect that my efforts on film preservation will be spotty after this grant is finished. My top priority is to work on my ski history book. Films have been a detour.

 

I'd be happy to see others step forward to work on projects like this.

 

[JayB]

Thanks for all the hard work Lowell!

 

Quick question- Will this grant mean that the full length versions of the films will be available on the web in the future? The trailers are great, but it would be fantastic to see some of these in their entirety.

 

That decision hasn't been made yet. The grant calls for the Mountaineers to donate the original films to the UW where they will be properly cared for. The grant further calls for the digitization of selected films (we don't have enough money for all of them at this point) and the creation of online finding aids. By default, I believe that UW would normally post short clips, as I've done. And they probably would not put as much time into editing the clips as I have done.

 

I'm not a professional archivist. But in my efforts as an amateur it has seemed to me that there is a tension between raising awareness of historical materials and "giving away the farm." Preserving these materials takes time, effort, and money. How does an archival organization continue these efforts if they give everything away? Either you need well organized fund-raising efforts (with memberships and donations, etc) or you need a system of usage fees to recover the cost of your preservation work. Or you need volunteers who can do high quality work for free. None of these is easy.

 

So, I don't know whether the whole films will be available online. Like everybody else, the UW is scraping for money these days. So are the Mountaineers. What is the best approach to enable these organizations to continue their preservation work?

 

Thanks for your efforts on this and your other projects.

 

Just to toss a few ideas out there...

 

http://www.kickstarter.com/

 

Passing the virtual hat here at CC.com, TAY.com, etc with a Paypal based donation link and possibly listing donors probably wouldn't raise a whole lot of money but might raise a few dollars here and there.

 

Kind of a long shot, but there might be people out there interested in commissioning the archiving/digital conversion of a particular film. Might be easier with a standard rate per minute of film so anyone interested in doing so would have a reasonable idea of how much it would cost to do so.

 

Would this kind of project be eligible for REI's charitable slush-fund, etc?

 

 

[Lowell_Skoog]

A satisfying ending to this project...

 

UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES - University of Washington

 

PRESS RELEASE -- For Immediate Release

April 25, 2012

 

UW Libraries, Special Collections, awarded $200,000 NEH Grant

 

The University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, has been awarded a $200,000 Humanities Collections and Reference Resources grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Humanities Collections and Reference Resources Grants allow institutions to preserve and provide access to collections essential to scholarship, education, and public programming in the humanities. The award to the UW Libraries is for the preservation, arrangement and description, digital reformatting and selective web streaming of 448 films, created by the Mountaineers Club, that document the natural environment of the Pacific Northwest. The 2-year project was submitted by Nicolette Bromberg, Special Collections Visual Materials Curator and will continue work on the moving image collections currently supervised by Hannah Palin, Film Archives Specialist.

 

The Mountaineers, an outdoor recreation, education, and conservation group based in Seattle, Washington, recently donated the films to Special Collections. The collection includes the films of Bob and Ira Spring, Dwight Watson, and Charles and Marion Hessey, as well as, a newsreel shot by Selznick Pictures cameraman Charles Perryman documenting a 1922 winter ascent of Mount Rainier. Highlights from the collection include Mountaineers’ trail trips and summer outings, a tour of the Paradise Ice Caves, mountain rescue films such as Mountains Don't Care and This is Self Arrest, and performances by the Mountaineer Players at the Kitsap Forest Theater including Alice in Wonderland, Sleeping Beauty, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Earliest films in the collection date to the 1920s and extend to the early 1970s.

 

The University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections is a major resource for rare and unique materials. Research strengths include the history of the Pacific Northwest, Alaska and Western Canada; architectural drawings; book arts; photography, and the University of Washington Archives. The film collections include home movies, documentary film, news film, industrial film, educational film, and more. Examples from the moving image collection can be seen at: http://content.lib.washington.edu/filmarchweb/index.html

 

The Moving Image Collection housed in Special Collections on the University of Washington Seattle campus contains films created or collected in the Northwest covering a wide range of topics and genres. Home movies, industrial films, documentaries and art films capture life in the Pacific Northwest and beyond from the earliest film shot in 1914 through videotape taken last year.

 

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announced earlier this month that $17 million in grants were awarded for 208 humanities projects. The grants will also support fellowships for scholarly research, the development and staging of exhibitions, digital tools, and the preservation of humanities collections and reference resources. Several projects receiving grants in this funding cycle will help preserve fragile historical and cultural collections and make them more accessible to the broader public.

 

Institutions and independent scholars in 42 states and the District of Columbia will receive NEH support. Complete state-by-state listings of grants are available here (39-page PDF): http://www.neh.gov/files/press-release/march2012statebystatefinal.pdf

 

The National Endowment for the Humanities was created in 1965 as an independent federal agency supporting research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at: www.neh.gov. Media Contacts: Paula Wasley at (202) 606-8424 or pwasley@neh.gov

 

The NEH grant is a wonderful confirmation of the importance of these films. It's a tribute to the people who helped care for the films over the years. Here's an article from the Moving Image Archive News on the NEH grant:

 

http://www.movingimagearchivenews.org/money-for-mountain-films/

 

My thanks go especially to the Mountaineers History Committee, the Mountaineers Players, the Mountaineers Foundation (Brunhilde Wislicenus Fund), the Ira Spring and Charles Perryman families, friends of Charles and Marion Hessey, and the estate of the Dwight Watson.

 

Congratulations to Nicolette Bromberg and Hannah Palin of UW for their work on the NEH grant request. This is a big shot in the arm for the University's film program, and I'm proud that The Mountaineers were able to help. I look forward to seeing the UW's online finding aids take shape in the months ahead. In the meantime, you can find more information about these films on the Mountaineers History Committee website here:

 

http://mountaineers.org/history/cat/movies-film.html

 

Lowell Skoog

History Committee Chairman

The Mountaineers

 

[sobo]

Excellent work, Lowell! Thanks for all you do and have done to preserve the "history of the hills" in the PNW. :tup:

[Lowell_Skoog]

If you tried to view any of the clips mentioned in this thread during the past six months, you would have found it impossible. This was due to an update to the mountaineers.org website software in May 2014. I've resolved this problem now.

 

The film clips formerly hosted on mountaineers.org have been moved to alpenglow.org. Here is the top-level page where you can access all the clips:

 

http://alpenglow.org/mountaineers-history/cat/movies-film.html

 

I met with the Mountaineers this week and determined that their new website platform doesn't accommodate the content that I posted on their old site very well, so I decided to re-host it on my personal site.

 

The same is true of the Northwest Mountaineering Journal. The journal is now permanently hosted at the following address:

 

http://www.alpenglow.org/nwmj/

[Lowell_Skoog]

By the way, there was discussion a few years ago in this thread about making digital copies of the Mountaineers film collection more available.

 

I posted in 2012 about the NEH grant that UW obtained to work on these films. The UW has pretty much wrapped up their work based on this grant. They have created an online finding aid at the following page:

 

http://content.lib.washington.edu/filmarchweb/mountaineers.html

 

Go to the page and click on "Browse Mountaineers Collection" near the upper left corner. That will take you to the videos.