Alpenglow Ski Mountaineering History Project Home
Game & Gossip, 1932
Game & Gossip, Feb 1932, p. 14 - Jank, Milana, "Into The Infinite: Conquering White Worlds On Skis"
"I shall never rest satisfied until I have climbed and conquered every important snow covered mountain in the world," writes the author. "That is why I am in the United States at the present time." This article seems to be Milana Jank's way of introducing herself to American readers. She writes: "I am visiting the United States in the hope that I may help build a new epoch in the history of mountain climbing. Adventuring up high mountains on skis is one of the greatest thrills I know."She describes herself as "but a little over five feet tall" and 111 pounds. When asked why she is continuously taking such risks on high peaks in winter, she replies, "I love it, that is my life." Her ski crossing of the Alps from Vienna to the village of Montblanc (Chamonix?) in France was made with two Munich students, Armed Moehn and Frank Schmid. She writes that they traveled from six to 24 hours a day for five months, covering 1,400 miles and 600,000ft of ascent and corresponding descent (about 4,300ft per day). She describes adventures during the trip, including avalanches, exhaustion, and a freezing bivouac. Her ambition is to conquer McKinley "this summer" and Mt Everest "next year."
She mentions recent adventures in the Cascades, Sierras and Presidential Range of New England. She feels that the Cascades and Sierras are "made for sport" without the problems of the more glaciated mountains of the Alps, Alaska, and the Himalaya. Of Seattle, she writes: "With its numerous ranges, gigantic spires and snow-covered domes rising almost to the heights of Monte Rosa, Gross Glockner and Mont Blanc, this northwest metropolis should be the alpine Munich of the United States."
The article includes a fine portrait of the author and a distant photo of her in the Liechtenstein Mountains during her winter crossing of the Alps.
Game & Gossip, May 1932, p. 18 - Jank, Milana, "Skis to the World's White Roof"
This article is written for American women. The author's byline calls her "Europe's foremost ski-runner." She writes that skiing is "one of the best things that can happen to any woman" and "a natural method of slenderization." She discusses clothing and equipment, and notes: "I carry no revolver, although not infrequently I meet wolves or even cougar in the western mountains."She describes skiing opportunities on the big peaks of the Pacific Northwest and the slopes of the Sierra Nevada. She lists first ski crossings she has made in the Sierras, including from Mono Lake over Tioga Pass to Yosemite, which she describes as 96 miles of skiing in 1-1/2 days.
She writes: "There, you have some idea of my desire for acquaintance with the high places of this wondrous western land. You all may see the beauty that I have seen, know the majesty that with me is constant in memory, if you will learn to ski, and other benefits will be yours in measure as you turn your faces to your mountains." The author writes: "Skis are the mountain vehicle with which the greatest heights and distances may be covered in the shortest space of time. They eliminate toilsome, painful hiking and climbing with the unwinged foot." Also: "There is no form of physical effort that carries the exhilaration of high mountain skiing."
The article includes photographs of the author standing on skis on a snow dome near Lake Tahoe, skirting a crevasse on skis on the Rainbow Glacier of Mt Baker, and ice climbing on one of the hanging glaciers of Mt Shuksan.
Return to the Alpenglow Ski Mountaineering History Project home page