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Seattle Post-Intelligencer - 1922 Mt Rainier Winter Climb
I searched the Seattle P-I from 2/1/22 through 2/19/22 to compile these notes. I copied articles on 2/5, 2/7, 2/9-11 and 2/13 but haven't made notes on them here. Articles were also published on 1/26 and 1/30, but I didn't copy them. All Seattle P-I issues were reviewed on microfilm at the UW Libraries.Wednesday, 1 Feb 1922 - "Daring Ascent of Mt Rainier Fully Planned"
The article says that Jacques Bergues, Jacques Landry and Jean Landry, "daring Swiss mountaineers," are to leave Tacoma the following day to begin the "first ascent of Mount Rainier ever attempted in late winter." The group is to be accompanied by a detachment of the Third Company, U.S. Signal Corps from the U.S. Army Third Division at Camp Lewis. Capt. Louis Cansler, chief signal officer, will lead the five-man detachment. The signal corps plans to lay a telegraph line between Paradise Inn and Camp Muir and stay at Muir to provide aid to the summit climbers if needed.Thursday, 2 Feb 1922 - "Mountaineers Off to Scale Rainier's Top"
A photo entitled "Military Escort for Daring Climbers" depicts the five-man detachment of the Third Signal Company led by Capt. Louis Cansler. The article notes that while none of the three summit climbers is married, if they were they would not hesitate to risk their lives for the summit. "Swiss and French women understand the love of mountain climbing," Bergues is quoted saying. "They expect it and expect their husbands to climb honorably, taking great risks. I do not believe American girls would let their husbands climb mountains as the French women do. They could not understand the desire that makes them do it."Friday, 3 Feb 1922 - "Mountain Begun in Face of Driving Snow"
A photo of the mountain with the Gibraltar route marked also depicts Jacques and Jean Landry, Jacques Bergues, Capt. L. Cansler, and W.H. Peters, superintendent of Rainier National Park. The party drove in automobiles to Longmire Springs in a light snowstorm and plans to snowshoe to Paradise the following day. The party is being accompanied by several newspapermen including Monte A. Snow, who is filing reports for the P-I.Saturday, 4 Feb 1922 - "Climbers Are Lost in Mountain Storm"
Leaving Longmire at two in the morning, the three climbers and W.H. Peters broke trail on skis while the newspapermen and others followed on snowshoes, pulling a dog sled loaded with equipment and supplies. The day developed into a bit of a fiasco, as six men stopped for the night at the Narada Falls ranger cabin, six made it to Paradise, and three (two rangers and a soldier) "were somewhere on the trail between [Narada] and Paradise Inn tonight." The Americans were impressed by the skiing abilities of the Europeans. "I've seen nothing like their skill in this country," said Superintendent Peters while watching them.Saturday, 4 Feb 1922 - Advertisement: "Enjoy Winter Sports: Scenic Hot Springs"
The ad boasts "Five feet of snow 90 miles from Seattle in the heart of the high Cascades on the scenic railway of the Great Northern." A photo depicts people watching a ski jumper take off. The ad offers, "half-mile toboggan slide; high ski jump; mineral baths; invigorating atmosphere."Monday, 6 Feb 1922 - "To Investigate All Routes to Peak is Plan"
The climbers, followed by the soldiers, snowshoed about 2-1/2 miles from Paradise toward Anvil Rock, with the signal corps men laying telegraph wire. The climbers returned to Paradise on skis, which they had carried up on their backs. The writer notes: "Military discipline governs all members of the party, including four newspaper men who are assigned to the task of cleaning up the kitchen and the dishes after every meal." A motion picture photographer, Charles Perryman, arrived at Paradise from Longmire that day.Wednesday, 8 Feb 1922 - "Stormy Weather Halts Mountain Climbers"
After a fine day on Monday, during which the climbers toured around Paradise on skis and the signal corps men laid wire toward Anvil Rock, the climbers started up the mountain on Tuesday but were turned back by storm. The article includes a photograph of the three mountaineers standing on skis at Paradise. The photo is accompanied by a story of how Kurt V. Hoffman brought the photos out in a three-day round-trip marathon from Seattle.Sunday, 12 Feb 1922 - "Feared Barrier to Rainier Top Scaled By Trio"
Over previous days the signal corps men completed the telegraph wire to the ranger cabin at Anvil Rock and the climbers moved in. The climbers were considering three routes to the top, Ingraham Glacier, Kautz Glacier, and Gibraltar Rock. On February 11 they scouted the route up Gibraltar to 12,150 feet. In a previous article Capt. Cansler expressed confidence that the climbers would succeed. "Those Landry chaps are the goods. I never saw such skill on skis as they exhibit and they are apparently old mountain men. I have no doubt that they will make the top." Charles Perryman accompanied the climbers across the Gibraltar ledges to the ice chute and shot 450 feet of film of their climb.Tuesday, 14 Feb 1922 - "Alpinists Reach Summit of Mt Rainier"
After an attempt on the 12th cut short by bad weather, the climbers left Anvil Rock at 4 a.m. on February 13 accompanied by Charles Perryman. Perryman led part of the ascent and stepped into a crevasse high on the mountain. The party summited at 2:15 p.m. They descended Gibraltar in the dark and reached Anvil Rock around 7:30 p.m.Wednesday, 15 Feb 1922 - "Cameraman Is First to Make Rainier's Top" by M.A. Snow
The correspondent takes a parting shot at the European climbers, writing that "Charles R. Perryman, Selznick cameraman, is the hero of the first midwinter ascent of Mount Rainier, not the alpinists who started for the top with a 'blare of trumpets' and finally followed Perryman, who was simply 'doing his job' to the summit." He continues, "Perryman, despite his lack of experience in mountain climbing and the fact that he was carrying more than fifty pounds of motion picture equipment, was in the lead as the four men crossed the ice fields and was actually the first man to reach the summit of Columbia Crest." The article clarifies that the Landry brothers were French and Jacques Bergues was Swiss.
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