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Lowell Skoog - Clippings, Miscellaneous
For copies of newspaper and magazine articles listed below, try U.W. Libraries.1930s
Seattle Times, Sep 23, 1933 - "Ski Ascents of Peaks Cited by Climbing Club"
This article lists citations awarded by the Washington Alpine Club for ski ascents by its members. The most noteworthy of these was the ski ascent of Mt Baker "four years ago" by Ed Loners and Bob Sperlin. The article says that the facts of this climb emerged when The Times carried a report earlier in the summer of a ski ascent of Mt Baker by Hans Otto Giese and Don Fraser, adding that it was the "first uninterrupted ski climb to the summit and back." (See st-1933-aug-13-p5.)According to the article, Ed Loners' brother, Harry, "scarce six months adept at skiing, emulated his brother in the spring of 1931." It continues: "He too made the entire ascent and descent on skis." Since Ed Loners made a complete ski ascent but not a complete ski descent (mtneer-a-1930-p50) and since his brother Harry had been skiing only six months, I'm skeptical that Harry Loners made a complete ski descent. On the other hand, I have no doubt that Giese and Fraser had the skills to do it. The article continues, "There have been other reported ascents on skis, but not many, and the names of the climbers aren't available." The following ski ascents are noteworthy:
- Denny Mountain (Snoqualmie Pass), 1926 (first recorded ski ascent), by W.J. Maxwell.
- Granite Mountain (Snoqualmie Pass), 1933, by ten different people. The article doesn't note this as a pioneering ascent, so the peak was probably skied earlier.
- Red Mountain (Snoqualmie Pass), 1933, by Jack Hillyer, Harry Loners, Kermit Williams. Probably skied earlier.
- Snoqualmie Mountain, 1933 (first recorded ski ascent), by Harry Loners, Clifford Solberg, Kermit Williams (but note mtneer-a-1932-p28).
- Kendall Peak (Snoqualmie Pass), 1933, by Clifford Solberg and Kermit Williams. Probably skied earlier.
- Mt Rainier, highest recorded climb on skis (12,500 feet), 1927, by W.J. Maxwell.
- Mt Ruth (Rainier National Park), 1931, by Edwin Loners, Clifford Solberg, Robert Sperlin. Probably skied earlier.
- Mt Baker, 1929 (first recorded ski ascent), by Edwin Loners and Robert Sperlin.
- The article notes ski ascents of Silver Peak, Mt Margaret, Snowshoe Butte and Bearclaw Butte, but it doesn't describe them as pioneering ascents.
Bellingham Evening News, Mar 8, 1934 - "Skier ascends highest U.S. peak"
A photo of Otto Steiner on skis is accompanied by the following caption: "Otto Steiner, member of the German-Austrian Alpine Association, and winner of several places in the 1932 Olympic ski events, made the first winter ascent--by the western slope--of Mt Whitney, highest peak in the United States. He covered 200 miles seeking passes, etc., in charting a ski route for others who would reach the roof of California's Sierras."1940s
Life Magazine, Mar 24, 1941, p. 40 - "Seattle Blackout"
Between 10:30 p.m. and 10:55 p.m. on March 7, 1941, Seattle accomplished the first total blackout attempted by any big city in the United States. At 10:53 p.m. the blackout was complete and an invisible watcher downtown yelled, "Bring on Hitler!" The only blackout casualty was a Boy Scout who fell off his bicycle. The article shows five sequence pictures of the blackout in progress.
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