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Mountaineer Annual, 1980-99
* Lowell Skoog has a copy of each article marked with an asterisk.Mountaineer Annual, 1980
p. 19, Hanley, Mary Lynn and Win Gentry, "Idealism Put to Work: A Portrait of Wolf Bauer" *
A good profile of Wolf Bauer, who was 68 at the time the article was written. The article focuses on Bauer's contributions to mountaineering safety and education, rather than his climbing and skiing exploits. In 1934, Bauer started the Mountaineers Climbing Course, based on information he acquired from his friends in Germany. Graduates from the first course of 30 students went on to participate in the intermediate course that Bauer taught the following year. He took four graduates of this intermediate group to make the first ascent of Mt Goode in 1936. The article describes Bauer's involvement in founding the Mountain Rescue Council, but does not mention the contributions of Ome Daiber and Otto Trott. It also describes his early involvement in kayaking, including founding the Washington Kayak Club in 1948. More recently, Bauer has been working in shoreline resource conservation and management.p. 26, Trafton, Steve, "A History of Mountain Rescue in Washington State" *
A short but very good description of the Mountain Rescue Council and its activities. It describes the group's origins, major rescues, educational programs, and recent innovations such as Emergency Locator Transmitter searches and the Fast Alpine Rescue Team.p. 72, Corkran, Rob, "Book Review: Cross-Country Skiing by Ned Gillette" *
This review suggests the growing pains of the cross-country resurgence in the late 1970s. The reviewer notes that, "In contrast to the skills and expertise developed over 50 years in ski mountaineering, the explosion of numbers in cross-country has contributed to generally poor technique." He writes of Ned Gillette, "His theory is that the techniques of the Nordic and Alpine disciplines are increasingly overlapping, despite the extreme divergence in equipment."Mountaineer Annual, 1991
p. 32, Skoog, Lowell, "High Skiing: A Decade of Exploration in the Cascades and Olympics" *
Describes the exploration on skis of over 300 miles of high routes between 1981 and 1989. The article begins by describing the challenges of high route skiing in Washington and discussing the state of development in the region. Then it describes a number of trips.The article includes an overview map of the routes. It discusses future challenges and closes,
- 1977, May: Attempt to ski the Ptarmigan Traverse by Bill Nicolai and Steve Barnett. Aborted at Mixup Arm due to avalanche hazard.
- 1978, June: Attempt to ski the Ptarmigan Traverse by Steve Barnett, Dave Kahn, Mark Hutson. Aborted at South Cascade River due to bad weather.
- 1981, June: First ski crossing of the Ptarmigan Traverse, north to south, by Brian Sullivan, Dan Stage, 5 days. (Update: see this.)
- 1982, June: Second ski crossing of the Ptarmigan Traverse, north to south, by Gary Brill, Mark Hutson, Kerry Ritland, Lowell Skoog, 3 days.
- 1982, June: Dakobed Range traverse, Glacier Peak to Clark Mtn, by Gary Brill, Brian Sullivan, Joe Catellani, 5 days.
- 1983, March: Isolation Traverse, Snowfield Peak to Eldorado Peak, by Gary Brill, Brian Sullivan, Mark Hutson, Lowell Skoog, 5 days.
- 1984, May: Inspiration-Klawatti Glacier traverse, Torment Basin to Primus Peak, by Brian Sullivan, Greg Jacobsen, 5 days.
- 1985, May: Picket Range traverse, Hannegan Pass to Watcom Pass, Luna Cirque, Mt Fury ski ascent, MacMillan Cirque, Stetattle Ridge to Diablo, by Jens Kieler (then Kuljurgis), Lowell and Carl Skoog, 6 days.
- 1986, July: Triad High Route, Sibley Pass to Eldorado Peak area, by John Dittli and Jeff Clark.
- 1987, May: Thunder High Route, Fisher Peak to Mt Logan, Boston and Forbidden Glaciers, Eldorado Peak and Sibley Pass, by Jens Kieler, Dan Nordstrom, Lowell Skoog, 5 days.
- 1988, June: Ptarmigan Traverse in one day (21 hours), by Lowell and Carl Skoog.
- 1989, May: Buckindy Range traverse, Green Mtn to Snowking Mtn, by Brian Sullivan, Lowell and Carl Skoog, 3 days.
- 1989, June: Bailey Range traverse (Olympics), Soleduck River to Bailey Range to Mt Olympus, by Brian Sullivan, Joe Catellani, Jens Kieler, Lowell and Carl Skoog, 5 days.
- 1989: June: Traverse from Anderson Lakes to Bacon Peak, Mt Blum, Jasper Pass, Mt Challenger, to Ross Lake, by John Dittli and Scott Croll, 6 days.
- 1989, June: Suiattle High Route, Sulphur Mtn to Canyon Lake, Image Lake, Miners Ridge, Lyman Lake, High Pass, Dakobed Range, Glacier Peak, by Lowell and Carl Skoog, 6 days.
- 1990, June: Backbone Ridge traverse, Little Devil Peak to Eldorado Peak, by Lowell and Carl Skoog, 3 days.
"Whatever the future may hold, there is great opportunity for personal discovery in high skiing. Long traverses are just the broadest brush strokes across the canvas of the mountains. There are endless details to fill in--bowls to ski, ridges to run, glaciers to explore. The mountains will never be skied out--with every snowfall the canvas is wiped clean."This annual includes the following ski mountaineering photos:
- p. 4: "Image Lake" - Photo of a skier standing next to the mostly frozen lake with Glacier Peak in the distance, by Carl Skoog.
- p. 34: "Mt Fury in the Picket Range" - Photo of a skier descending above a cloud sea, by Carl Skoog.
- p. 37: "Douglas Glacier-Mt Logan" - Photo of two roped skiers ascending with Mt Goode in the background, by Lowell Skoog.
- p. 73: "Bailey Range" - Photo of two skiers on the crest of the range with Mt Olympus in the background, by Lowell Skoog.
- p. 113: Uncaptioned photo of a ski mountaineer crossing a glacier, by Lowell Skoog. (Mark Bebie on the Klawatti Glacier.)
Mountaineer Annual, 1993
p. 32, Degenhardt, Stella, "Mountaineers at Mt Baker Ski Area" *
A history of Mountaineer cabins at the Mt Baker ski area. Describes the rental of Bagley Lake Cabins from 1945-49, at which time the Forest Service condemned them. Starting in the heavy snow year of 1949-50, the club rented Gates Cabin on a ridge east of Picture Lake. The cabin was built in the 1930s as a private family summer home. The article recounts many problems and memorable times spent there. The present Mt Baker Ski Cabin was completed in 1958 on a site north of Gates Cabin leased from the U.S. Forest Service. The article describes the construction efforts by volunteers and includes a drawing by the architect, Bill Gardner.p. 61, Duff, Karl, "Looking Back at Logan" *
Decribes the August, 1970 traverse on foot from Cascade Pass to Rainy Pass by Monty Lennox, Kent Heathershaw, Bob Yekel, Norm Reed, Paul Hartl and the author, several of whom were members of the Washington Alpine Club. The trip was originally reported in the November 1971 issue of Summit magazine. The author writes that Frank King of the Mountaineers led a group of 12 across the traverse in the opposite direction (east to west) in August 1972. In 1970, the North Cascades highway was nearly complete, but the party was unable to get temporary access up the roadbed to Rainy Pass, so they had to hike out from there. The party climbed Sahale, Buckner, Booker, Storm King, Goode (unsuccessful), Logan and Black. The article includes drawings by Dee Molenaar of the Douglas Glacier on Mt Logan and Goode Mtn from Spectacular Ridge. It also includes a photo by the author of "Exclamation Point," a slender rock pinnacle and a relief map of the route by Molenaar. Good background for later ski traverses in the area.p. 69, Bucey, Helen, "A Treasury of Mountaineer Memories"
On p. 72, the article mentions a 1937 Special Outing organized by Harry Jensen to "the newly developed ski area at Deer Park on the Olympic Penninsula." Also mentions that the train fare to Meany Ski Hut when it was built was $1.80 round trip from Seattle.Mountaineer Annual, 1995
p. 21, Lord, Dave, "A Social Register"
A look at interesting entries and trends in summit registers on The Tooth, near Snoqualmie Pass. On p. 34, the article says that Henry Bergner skied the west face on June 13, 1984. Considering some of the other entries described in this article, and knowing the peak, I don't take this entry seriously. (On 13 March 2012, Henry Bergner emailed me to say that, no, he never skied the west face of The Tooth. He didn't know where that information came from.)p. 96, Rankin, Dale, "Backcountry Skiing" *
In 1993-94 the former Nordic and Ski Mountaineering Committees merged into the Backcountry Ski Committee. As the author writes, "This merger mirrors the continuing convergence of telemark and ski mountaineering equipment." The article describes common short trips, longer outings, instructional courses and seminars.
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