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Lowell Skoog - Clippings, Mt Rainier Area
For copies of newspaper and magazine articles listed below, try U.W. Libraries.

1920s

Seattle Times, Jul 3, 1923 - "Bakken winner of big ski race"

Chris Bakken won the four-mile cross-country ski race today in 19 minutes flat. Two women, Harriet Hansen and Elsa Graff, also finished the race. Allen Granstrom was second and Hans-Otto Giese third. This article says that Giese won first place in the German Olympic games two years ago.

Tacoma Times, Jul 5, 1923 - "Ski champ wins again"

Ivind Nelson, 18, of Revelstoke, B.C., repeated his performance of last year at Paradise Valley and won the annual ski jumping tourney on July 4. Nels Nelson, the champion's brother, was second. Other jumping competitors included Hans-Otto Giese (8th), Chris Bakken (10th), and Isabelle Coursier, the only woman entered (14th). The article lists point totals for fourteen competitors.

1930s

"Winter Sports, 1934-35 - Rainier National Park"

This brochure lists a program of events from December through May, with ski races virtually every week. Races to be sponsored by the Washington Ski Club are not listed here. Some noteworthy dates: Night skiing is apparently available. "Even after dark you can continue to enjoy the outdoor facilities as they are lighted by huge electric flood lights." A photo depicts four men on skis wearing shorts only.

"Otto Lang 1937 - Rainier National Park"

This brochure touts Otto Lang as "America's greatest authority on 'Controlled Skiing' and director of America's first official Hannes Schneider ski school, on Mt Rainier. A single lesson is $1.50. A weekend lesson including Saturday night instruction under floodlights and daylight instruction on Sunday is $2.50.

Seattle P-I, Jul 4, 1939 - "10 Battle Icy Winds, Reach Rainier Crest"

On Sunday, July 2, a party of ten led by Larry Penberthy of Holden, WA, was the first to sign the register atop Mt Rainier in 1939. The party included Andy Hennig and Sigurd Hall, who climbed "on skis which he wore all the way to the top." The Penberthy party was not the first to climb the mountain this year however, having been preceded by Paul Gilbreath and Jess Kennedy Jr. on Saturday and Leland Haggerty, Wendell Tewell and Joe Firey earlier on Sunday. The other parties did not locate the register. The article includes a photo of the party sitting among the crater rocks and a list of the party members. An article in the Seattle Times the same day ("Mountaineers Home After Scaling Rainier") has much the same information, but no photo or mention of skis.

Seattle Times, Jul 17, 1939 - "The Timer Has the Last Word"

This article has a short description of the July 2 ski ascent of Mt Rainier and a photo of Sigurd Hall. Hall says, "We couldn't ski down. It's too precipitous, and even metal edges wouldn't hold. I'm glad I made it, but I never want to try it again."

1950s

Seattle P-I, Aug 18, 1954, p. 1 - "Langlie Raps 'Stubborn' Park Service"

At a meeting in Seattle on August 17, Gov. Arthur B. Langlie denounced Park Service policy against construction of a permanent tramway on Mt Rainier. "We don't like the idea of protecting the mountain for future generations when we can't use it this generation or next." The Aug. 19 paper ("Pros, Cons Aired In Meeting On Future of Mt. Rainier Park," p. 3) describes the Aug. 18 meeting sponsored by the Automobile Club of Washington. W.E. Pense of the Puyallup Chamber of Commerce said, "We are interested in the complete development of our mountain. It is part of our community. The present development of resources is not adequate and does not do justice to the grandeur of the mountain." The Aug. 20 paper ("Tempers Grow Hot at Rainier Hearing," p. 10) reports that five persons, including Dr. Otto Trott and Ome Daiber of the Mountain Rescue Council, spoke in favor of the proposed multi-million dollar development at the Aug. 19 meeting sponsored by The Mountaineers. William A. Degenhardt, Mountaineer president, had to calm the 150 people attending the meeting when Red Jones, operator of The Logs resort near the mountain, sharply questioned Park Service director Conrad Wirth and was nearly shouted down. Several speakers suggested that development of Corral Pass, northeast of Mt Rainier, would be more desirable than the proposed development.

Seattle Times, Aug 18, 1954, p. 9 - "Park Service Distribution of Clipping Hit"

Mayor Alfred E. Leland of Kirkland, acting chairman of the governor's Mt Rainier Development Study Committee, criticized the National Park Service for mailing reprints of an article in the July edition of The Mountaineer (mtneer-b-1954-jul). The Aug. 19 paper ("Park Director Defines Stand On Rainier Lift," p. 9) reports that about 100 people from 15 organizations attended the Aug. 18 meeting sponsored by the Automobile Club of Washington. The Aug. 20 paper ("Official Hears Other Side of Park Proposal," p. 14) reports on the Aug. 19 meeting sponsored by The Mountaineers.

1960s

Seattle Times, Oct 6, 1963 - "Mount Rainier's New North-Side Rescue Cabin"

The rescue cabin at Steamboat Prow was dedicated in honor of Clark Schurman, mountaineer and Boy Scout leader, in August 1963. Materials were donated or paid for out of funds raised by a memorial fund committee headed by Gordon F. Rasmussen. The 18-foot-long, horseshoe-shaped cabin will serve as a base for rescue operations and as shelter for climbers caught out in bad weather. It can accomodate about 55 persons in an emergency. This article includes eight photos of the cabin, its setting, and some of the volunteers who worked on it.

1970s

Seattle Times, Aug 6, 1978 - Gilje, Svein, "A peak performance by amputee"

Jack Graves, 31, skied from the summit of Mt Rainier via the Ingraham Glacier on July 28, 1978, using an artificial leg he designed for climbing. His left leg was amputated below the knee following a severe fracture in a skiing accident as a University of Washington sophomore. As a result, he decided to enter into prosthetics design and manufacture. He is owner of Seattle Prosthetics. Graves had virtually no climbing experience and did not qualify for the required permit for solo climbs, so the Park Service issued him a $50 ticket. The article includes a photo of Graves and his artificial climbing leg, with ski boot attached.

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