Dwight Watson - Mt Shuksan Climb

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This 16mm film is silent, in color, with a running time around 18 minutes. The film itself has the title, "Thrills of a Mountain Climb." Otto Trott, Andy Hennig, Sigurd Hall, Fred and Helmy Beckey, John James and Joe McGowan climbed Mount Shuksan by the Happy Fisher route in August 20, 1939. The film opens with scenic views around the Mt Baker ski area, then the approach hike to Lake Ann. The climbers are shown scrambling up the Fisher Chimneys with afternoon lighting. Fred Beckey and Sigurd Hall strap on their crampons and Otto Trott demonstrates flat-footing on Winnie's Slide. (In Challenge of the North Cascades, Beckey wrote that he learned to use crampons on this climb.) There are extended sequences of the climbers negotiating crevasses on Hell's Highway and finally climbing the summit pyramid where they unfurl an American flag. (Note: Watson sprinkled a few clips from the South Cascade Glacier into this film. Also, Jeff Thomas of the Mazama Archives reports that the Mt Shuksan summit register also lists George Freed and Erick Larson on that date. That explains the extra people in the summit scene.)

(Film notes and video clip by Lowell Skoog.)