Mt. Baker marathons

[allthumbs]

Have you guys ever heard of these? Around 1910-1912 participants would race from downtown Bellingham to the summit of Baker and back to town. The glaciers extended a mile lower than they do now, so evidently there were less crevasses and thicker ice which afforded the racers the opportunity to slide down the mountain on their asses. Along particular parts of the marathon the racers would ride horses or take a train. The times were unreal...like under 13 hours. The death of the president of the British Columbia mountain club in 1913, due to a fall into a Mt. Baker crevasse may have been the contributing factor ending the races.

 

I just thought it was interesting.

[Mr._Natural]

yeah, I think that is where the whole Ski-To-Sea thing started.

[Lowell_Skoog]

The marathons are described in John Miles' book "Koma Kulshan: The Story of Mt Baker." His source was the scrapbook of Charles F. Easton, Mt Baker Club historian. Here are some notes from my history project:

 

http://alpenglow.org/ski-history/notes/book/miles-1984.html#miles-1984-p114

 

p. 114: The Mt Baker marathons were conceived by the Mt Baker Club to promote tourism and development of the Mt Baker region. The race began from the Chamber of Commerce in downtown Bellingham. Runners had a choice of either a car or train to reach the foot of the mountain and either of two trails to timberline. They raced to the summit and back to Bellingham.

 

The first race began at 10 p.m. on August 10, 1911. Five of fourteen racers made it to the summit. Harvey Haggard was on his way back from Glacier when his train hit a bull and derailed. He continued by buggy and saddle horse, then by automobile after the horse threw him. He finished second, thirty-two minutes after Joe Galbraith who had taken an automobile and the Deming trail. The winning time was twelve hours and twenty-eight minutes round trip.

 

The 1912 race was delayed by bad weather, then started at 11 p.m. on July 31. The summit was enveloped in driving mist and racers became dangerously chilled on the mountain. Paul Westerlund fell on steep ice, sustaining internal injuries and a broken rib, but kept going. Racers emerged from the forest splattered head to toe in mud. Harvey Haggard won in a time of nine hours and fifty-one minutes.

 

The third marathon was run on August 15, 1913. The start was scheduled for 5 a.m. so the race could be run entirely in daylight. Due to bad weather and snow conditions officials on the mountain called for the race to be postponed, but officials in Bellingham started it anyway. Several racers reached the summit to find no judges stationed there and no marked trail. Victor Galbraith fell in a hidden crevasse and was rescued five hours later by a search party. Paul Westerlund won in nine hours and thirty-four minutes, but the race was embroiled in controversy. Organizers concluded that the race was too dangerous and it was not run again.

 

In 1972, the Ski-to-Sea Race was inaugurated from the Mount Baker Ski Area to Bellingham to revive the spirit of the old Mount Baker marathons.

 

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Olympic medalist Franz Gabl was one of the people who organized the Ski-to-Sea race.

[salbrecher]

Anybody up for a bakerathon next spring?