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Lowell Skoog - Clippings, Mt Baker Area
For copies of newspaper and magazine articles listed below, try U.W. Libraries.1920s
Bellingham American, Dec 29, 1925 - "Skiing has full sway Austin Pass Meadows"
Mrs. Jessie Davis, a clerk in the local federal forestry office, visited Mt Baker Lodge (where construction is stopped for the winter) last weekend and observed that skiing is being practiced extensively in the Austin Pass Meadows region by people from Glacier and elsewhere. "Tracks of the skis were found in abundance, she said, though none of the skiers were seen." Due to a mild season so far, the party was able to drive to within two miles of the lodge. The rest of the distance was covered on snowshoes.Undated brochure, "Mount Baker Lodge"
This brochure is from the WMHA archives. It includes fine artwork and photos and provides rates and other information for the main lodge, bungalow cabins, and Shuksan camp, which is about ten miles down the road from the Lodge at 2,000 elevation. The lodge has accomodations for 340 guests during the season, from June 15 to September 15. There are 100 guest rooms. The lodge is heated and lighted with electric power generated nearby. Fees for summit climbs of Mt Baker or Mt Shuksan are $50 minimum, with $10 for each person in a party above five.1930s
Bellingham Evening News, Jan 4, 1930 - "Three Attempting To Scale Baker On skis; Storm Feared"
R.B. Sperlin, Ed Loners and Ernie Pugh, University of Washington students, left Glacier for the Mt Baker Club's Kulshan cabin on January 3 for an attempt to climb Mt Baker on skis. Two other Seattle men recently failed to get beyond the Black Buttes on skis.Bellingham Evening News, Jan 18, 1930 - "3rd attempt to climb Baker on skis underway"
Ned Cunningham, William Sweet, Donald Norbeck, Arnold Campbell and Bert Heinz, University of Washington students, have left for Kulshan cabin in an attempt to climb Mt Baker on skis. Theirs is the third attempt this winter. "Bad weather handicapped the other two parties that tried the stunt." Mt Baker has twice been climbed in winter "by ordinary hiking not by use of skis or snowshoes."Bellingham Evening News, Jan 20, 1930 - "Local hikers may ski up Mt Baker"
Local mountaineers, led by Mt Baker Club outing chairman Francis Koons, are considering an attempt to climb Mt Baker on skis, now that three Seattle parties have failed. This article has details about the recent attempt by five U.W students (see ben-1930-jan-18-p1), which failed due to extreme cold.Minutes of the Mountaineers Board of Trustees - Feb 6, 1930
"Upon the request of Mr. Hayes and Mr. Giese it was voted to insert an item in the Bulletin which will make it clear to the membership that their attempted climb of Mt Baker on skis on New Years was in no sense a 'stunt' climb; that ski mountaineering is a new phase of mountaineering, and in many respects safer than summer climbing; that their plans had been carefully made, that it was a feasible trip, and they turned back only on account of weather conditions." (See mtneer-b-1930-mar.) [Stella Degenhardt uncovered this gem.]1940s
Seattle P-I, Sunday, Apr 6, 1941 - "9,038-Foot Mountain Ascended With Skis"
Dr. Otto Trott and Henry (Hank) Reasoner, operator of the Mt Baker ski tow, climbed and skied Mt Shuksan via the "Northern Glacier," which I take to be the White Salmon. The article notes that it was "believed the first ascent of that high peak on skis." The article was published on Sunday and describes an ascent that took place "last week" ending at the Mt Baker Lodge at 3 pm Saturday. Since the article includes a photo of the skiers and I believe that then (as now) the P-I was a morning paper, I think the descent must have taken place on Saturday, March 29, 1941.Starting on Thursday, they skied along Shuksan Arm to the base of the peak accompanied by Walt Dyke and Hans Ott. Beginning at 1:30 am Friday morning they skied along the base of cliffs threatened during the daylight hours by cornices. They ascended the glacier, using crampons where the snow was too hard for skis. At Winnie's Slide, Dyke and Ott, seeing that the climb would take longer than expected, had to turn back. Trott and Reasoner reached the summit at 7 pm, from which they signaled with a flashlight to Gage Chetwood at the Lodge. They spent the night in a "blizzard tent" at the base of the summit pyramid, then skied back down the mountain the following day (Saturday).
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