December 2009 Mountaineers Newsletter

8/9/2019 December 2009 Mountaineers Newsletter

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MountaineerThe

www.mountaineers.org

December, 2009Volume 103, No. 12

M4 Mountaineerswork on Legacy

Roads applauded

M5

Election results

M6 Service Awardpresented

posthumously

to Jo Backus

M2 View from the Top

M4 Conservation Currents

M4 Summit Savvy

M5 In Support

M6 Off the Shelf

M6 Passages

DiscoverTheMountaineers

If you are thinking of joining -

or have joined and arent sure

where to start - why not attend

aninformation meeting?

Check theGo Guide branch

sections for times and locations.

Are you ready to jump right in?

Visitwww.mountaineers.org.

Need to call?206-521-6000.

PERIODICAL

POSTAGEPAIDAT

SEATTLE,WA

T

heMountaineers

7

700SandPointWayN.E.

S

eattle,WA98115

U p c o m i n gU p c o m i n g

Continued on M3

Book sale & Banff! The Mountain-

eers will prsent its one-two punch

as soon as the new month begins.

See the ad on M5 to nd out about

Banff Film Tour shows in Seattle,

Olympia and Tacoma, and the

Annual Holiday Book Sale at TheMountaineers Bookstore.

The monthly publication of The Mountaineers

International Day of Climate ActionMountaineers and othersjoined a worldwide effort on Oct. 24 to raise awareness and a sense of

urgency about the need to reduce CO2 levels in our atmosphere. A reduction

to 350 ppm is what scientists have identied as the safe upper limit. Atop Mt.

Si are (clockwise from bottom) Andrea Foegler, Scott Heinz, Daniel Shoe,

Jeremy Cottle, Ansel Wald, Nicole Bahr, Joanne Frank, Leonard Russell, Colt

DeWolf and Jim Clinton. Not shown: Sonya Remington and Eileen Kutscha

the event leaders.

Ofces to close for holidaysMountaineers are reminded that all

ofces and services will be closed on

Thu., Dec. 24, and Fri., Dec. 25, to

observe the Christmas holiday. Club

headquarters will also be closed on

Fri., Jan. 1, to observe New Years

Day. Happy holidays to all!

Oyvind Henningsen photo

Lodges and courses: open for business!

Winter travel courses and lodges open their doors to Mountaineers and guests this month. Check out registration dates forclasses and reservations for any of our properties at www.mountaineers.org or in this months GoGuide. Above, backcountry

ski course students and their instructor pause during an overnight eld trip, with Mt. Shuksan beaming in the background.

Eileen Kutscha photo

New directortakes helm

Martinique Grigg

Skills mesh withpivotal directioncharted by club

By Brad Stracener

Following a ve-monthnationwide search, The

Mountaineers has hired

an executive director to steer the

club through a pivotal period in

its evolution, as Mountaineers

President Eric Linxweiler puts it.

A strategic plan in 2006 helped

pivot the club toward its course

of evolution,

advanced

with the

headquarters

move to

Magnuson

Park a year

ago, and

highlighted by

the hiring of an executive director

who Linxweiler calls the right

person at the right time to lead us.

Martinique Grigg, who ofcially

begins her directorship in mid-

December, brings a combination

of private and public non-prot

Winter Trails Fest: As you step

knee-deep into winter by the end

of this month, step into a sam-

pling of showshoes at our annual

Winter Trails Day in January. See

the ad on M3 for details about this

fun demo day at our SnoqualmieCampus.


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December 2009 TheMountaineer

New director important step in clubs evolution

The

MountaineerAlso see us on the web atwww.mountaineers.org

The Mountaineers is a nonprotorganization, founded in 1906and dedicated to the responsibleenjoyment and protection of naturalareas.

Board of TrusteesOfcers

President Eric Linxweiler, 08-10President Elect Tab Wilkins, 08-10Past President Bill Deters, 08-09VP Properties Dave Claar, 08-10VP Publishing Don Heck, 08-10Treasurer Mike Dean, 08-10Secretary Steve Sears, 08-10

Trustees at largeKirk Alm, 07-10Rich Draves, 08-11Dale Flynn, 07-10Ed Henderson, 08-11Lynn Hyde, 08-11Mark Scheffer, 09-12

John Ohlson, 09-12Dave Shema, 07-10Mona West, 09-12

Branch TrusteesBellingham, Steven GlennEverett, Rob SimonsenFoothills, Gerry HaugenKitsap, Jimmy JamesOlympia, John FlanaganSeattle, Mike MaudeTacoma, Tom Shimko

Executive DirectorMartinique Grigg

Managing EditorBrad Stracener

Contributors, proofreaders:Barb Butler, Brian Futch, James Hamp-ton, Jim Harvey, Suzan Reiley, Darla

TishmanPhotographers & I llustrators:Oyvind Henningsen, Eileen Kutscha

THE MOUNTAINEERis publishedmonthly by:The Mountaineers7700 Sand Point Way N.E.Seattle, WA 98115206-521-6000; 206-523-6763 fax

Volume 103, No. 12The Mountaineer(ISSN 0027-2620)is published monthly by The Moun-taineers, 7700 Sand Point Way N.E.,Seattle, WA 98115.Members receive a subscription as partof their annual dues. Approximately

$12.42 of each members annualmembership dues is spent to print andmail this publication. Non-membersubscriptions to The Mountaineerare$32. Periodicals postage paid at Seat-tle WA.Postmaster: send address changesto The Mountaineer, 7700 Sand PointWay N.E., Seattle, WA 98115.Opinions expressed in articles arethose of the authors and do not nec-essarily represent the views of TheMountaineers.

Purposes and mission

The clubs mission:

To enrich the community by helping people explore, conserve, learn

about and enjoy the lands and waters of the Pacic Northwest.

The clubs charter lists its purposes as follows:

To explore and study the mountains, forests and other water

courses of the Northwest and beyond.

To gather into permanent form the history and traditions of these

regions and explorations.

To preserve by example, teaching and the encouragement of

protective legislation or otherwise the natural beauty of the natural

environment.

To make expeditions and provide educational opportunities in

fulllment of the above purposes.

To encourage a spirit of good fellowship among all lovers of

outdoor life.

To hold real estate and personal property and to receive, hire,

purchase, occupy, and maintain and manage suitable buildings

and quarters for the furtherance of the purposes of the association,

and to hold in trust or otherwise funds, received by bequest or gift

or otherwise, to be devoted to the purposes of said association.

Who ya gonna call? Your mentor, of courseAre you a new member wondering about the how-to, where-to and what-to-do

with your club? There are a number of resources available to you, not the least

our websites. Now there is also a real, live person. If you want to know about

expected conditioning for a hike, what not to wear, how to sign up for events or

whatever call or e-mail the mentor of the month. Mona West is this months

mentor. Feel free to contact her at [email protected] with your questions

or comments.

View from the Top

This months Mountaineer

focuses on an important

event in the history of our

clubthe hiring of a new executive

leader, Martinique Grigg. She joins

the absolutely best senior team

that any outdoor organization could

have.

In Publisher Helen Cherullo andpublishing strategist Art Freeman

at Mountaineers Books, combined

with our new controller, Blair

Cossey, we have the four most

capable people to execute on

The Mountaineers mission and

strategy.

We should be mindful to not view

the hiring of a new executive

director as a revolutionary eventfor the club. Its actually just

another stepalbeit a big onein

our evolution and transition to an

organization that is focused on our

next century.

With our move

to Magnuson

Park, the

modularization

of many ofour courses,

the launching of two new kids

activities (Junior Naturalists and

Junior Mountaineers), we are well

on the way to achieving much

of our strategic vision for The

Mountaineers.

Over the course of the past few

months, youve read much about

our vision and our plans, and

how so many of our members are

enjoying the results of this vision

and its execution. Its refreshing,

and its very exciting.

Capping our nationwide search

and the hiring of a new executive

director, your board of trustees is

unied, optimistic and condent in

our organizations direction.

We know we have the rightstrategy and denitely the right

leaders to execute it. Combined

with the passion that each

Mountaineer has, theres simply no

way to have anything other than

the brightest of days ahead of us.

Welcome to The Mountaineers,

Martinique! Were glad you are

here.

See all of you on the trail.

How far will you go this year?

The

Mountaineersw w w . m o u n t a i n e e r s . o r g


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Can you identifythe summit in

the foreground here? Send your answer

(by Dec. 10) via e-mailbrads@

mountaineers.orgor mail to: Summit

Savvy, The Mountaineer, 7700 Sand

Point Way N.E., Seattle, WA 98115. If

you guess correctly, youll receive $10

of Mountaineers Money, good for Moun-

taineers Bookstore merchandise, andwell publish your name in next months

column. (In case of a tie, one winner will

be chosen at random.) Club employees

or persons shown in the photograph are

not eligible. Each month well publish a

new mystery summit and identication

of the previous one.

Send your photographs for pos-

sible publication as a mystery summit

(include identication for our benet).

If we use your photo, you will get $10

of Mountaineers Moneyas well.

At the end of each year, all correct

respondents names are placed in a

hat and the winner of that drawing will

receive $50 of Mountaineers Moneygood for purchases at The Moun-

taineers Bookstore.

Seven correctly guessed last

months mystery summit, South Sister

(in Oregon), as photographed by Curt

Baxstrom. The name drawn from the

hat was that of Mike Arth. Congrats!

SummitSavvy

conservation

CURRENTS

Collaborative

work on Legacy

Roads and Trails

earns initiative

members, including

The Mountaineers,

national award

from U.S. Forest

ServiceBy Leesa WrightMountaineers Public Policy Associate

Its hard to walk when youre

carrying $90 million! joked a

member of the Washington

Watershed Restoration Initiativeupon entering the U.S. Forest

Service (USFS) Region 6

headquarters in Portland.

Days earlier, the USFS had

published names of the winners

of its national 2009 Rise to the

Future and National Watershed

Awards. The Award for Public

Awareness was given to the

Washington Watershed Restoration

Initiative (WWRI) of which The

Mountaineers is a charter member.

That same day, President Obama

signed the Department of Interior,

Environment and Related Agencies

Appropriations Act, 2010. The act

included $90 million in funding for

the Forest Service Legacy Roads

and Trails Remediation Initiative

for scal year 2010a marked

increase from past allocations. The

$90 million appropriation equals

the total amount allocated to

Legacy Roads and Trails in the two

previous years combined.

Heres what the USFS had to say

about the award:

The (WWRI) is a coalition of state

and private non-prot groups

focused on improvement of water

quality and watershed conditions

(in) national forests. Since 2007,members have worked tirelessly

to address road and trail impacts

on watersheds and sh habitat.

By utilizing media, networking

and testifying to Congress,

awareness has been heightened.

(WWRI) efforts have resulted in

the allocation of over $90 million

dollars to repair degrading roads

and trails within national forest

system lands.

In 2007, the U.S. Congress

approved a $39.4 million

expenditure to establish the Forest

Service Legacy Roads and Trails

Remediation Act. This 2008 scal-

year funding was designated to

protect community water sources

and threatened, endangered

and sensitive species. In March

2009, an additional $50 million

was approved for repair and

maintenance of roads and trails.

The WWRI (www.

washingtonwatersheds.org)

members are: Washington

State Department of Ecology,

Washington Department of

Fish and Wildlife, Alpine Lakes

Protection Society, American

Whitewater, Cascade Chapter-

Sierra Club, Conservation

Northwest, Gifford Pinchot

Task Force, North Cascades

Conservation Council, Olympic

Forest Coalition, Pacic Rivers

Council, Pilchuck Audubon

Society, The Mountaineers, The

Wilderness Society, Washington

Trails Association, Washington

Wilderness Coalition and Wildlands

CPR.

The goals of the WWRI are to:

Restore the health of

Washingtons national forest

watersheds.

Ensure the Forest Service

has adequate funding for

road decommissioning and

maintenance to restore

watershed integrity.

Provide targeted, educational

and outreach efforts to

organizations, communitygroups, local governments,

tribes, and the media, in order

to build support for watershed

restoration.

Promote and conduct credible,

long-term research on the

ecological and economic benets

and impacts of road remediation

as a vehicle for watershed

restoration.

Maintain and restore recreational

access that is both locally

appropriate and ecologically

sound.

Serve as a model for other forest

watershed restoration programs.

Most of the 380,000 miles ofroads on the 193 millionacres of our national forests

were built to provide access for

logging and mining. Over time,

the emphasis has changed from

logging to recreation, as Forest

Service roads are increasingly

used to provide access forrecreational opportunities.

Unfortunately, the rise in demand

for recreational access has

occurred as timber-related revenue

to the Forest Service is declining.

The loss in revenue has left a large

hole in funding for road repair and

upgrading.

Aging forest roads threatenaccess to recreational publiclands, clean drinking water

and native sh populations.

Unmaintained Forest Service road

culverts block sh passage and

may play a part in the destructive

landslides which are occurring with

increasing frequency in our area.

What we have been left with is a

road system that is economically

and environmentally unsustainable.

Because many of our membersare out every weekend recreating

somewhere, often on USFS land,

The Mountaineers is poised to offer

the Forest Service a unique and

informed perspective on roads.

Rep. Norm Dicks has been a

champion for Legacy Roads

and Trails Remediation, and

shepherded the latest $90 million

appropriation through Congress.

Dicks put it succinctly when he

said, If we do not x our roads, we

will have to drink our roadsafter

they slide into our streams.

The $90 million in Legacy Roadsand Trails Remediation fundingwill be spread across all the

national forests. There is no way

of knowing at this point how much

of the $90 million Washingtons

national forests will receive, but it is

a positive step in the right direction.

The next step will be to monitor

the progress and efcacy of road

decommissioning, aquatic species

passage improvements and trail

maintenance. Stay tuned here for

a list of Legacy Roads and Trails

Remediation projects near you.

Groups work in public awareness

leads to greater forest protections

What can $73 a year get you?

Sometimes a wilderness areaWhen you join The Mountaineers you join

a partner in the lobby for wilderness pres-

ervation, including our most recent col-

laboration: the Wild Sky Wilderness Area.


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December 2009TheMountaineer

Get to any trailhead any day,

still for only 15 cents a mileWhen you join The Mountaineers you join

a cadre of outdoor enthusiasts who like to

hike, climb, paddleand carpool. Hop in

and head to the hills on the cheap.

Happy 70th to a ghter for the causeNorm and Karyl Winn begin doling the cake to the 140 well-wishers who

gathered on Oct. 25 to fete his 70th birthday. Over his four decades as a

Mountaineers volunteer and leader, Norm has proved instrumental in historic

lobbies for preservation of wilderness in the Pacic Northwest.

UN Copenhagen exhibit hosts Mountaineers authorAn exhibit to be featured at the United Nations Climate Change Confer-

ence in Copenhagen will include the works of Steven Kazlowski, author of

The Last Polar Bear, a title from Mountaineers Books,

The exhibit is part of a World Wildlife Fund Arctic program being held

outside of the conference center where 12,000 international delegates will

gather to discuss the future of the planet relative to the consequences of

climate change.

Kazlowski, who appeared at a Mountaineers production last month, will de-

liver a multimedia slide show, sponsored by Braided River, an imprint from

Mountaineers Books. Also, several of his images will be on display.

Two new trustees join board; one trustee reelectedTwo new trustees were elected and one trustee was reelected in the Oct.

21 club-wide election.

Joining The Mountaineers Board of Trustees as new members are John

Ohlson and Mark Scheffer. Mona West, who has served on the board since

2006, was reelected to her post.

There were 730 ballots cast. Following are the tallies for the four candi-

dates on the ballot: Mona West, 612; John Ohlson, 510; Mark Scheffer,

506; Matt Sullivan, 370.

Of the 730 ballots received, 695 were cast electronically in the rst election

in Mountaineers history to feature electronic voting.

Brad Stracener photo

SEATTLE

OLYMPIA

TACOMA

December 2, 3, 4 @ 7 pm.

December 5 @ 7 pm, December 6 @ 6 pmTickets: $12 Saturday, $10 Sunday; $20 for both. $2 discount Sunday forMountaineers, Olympia Film Society members and students w/ID

Tickets are available in advance through The Alpine Experience and OlympicOuttters, both in downtown Olympia, or at the theater each night.

Tickets: $10 Mountaineers, $15 General. Tickets are available through theMountaineers ofce, or by calling 206-521-6001.

December 8 @ 7 pmTickets: $10 Mountaineers/UPS staff, faculty and students. $13 GeneralSchneebeck Concert Hall, University of Puget SoundTickets: 253-879-3419

BANFF RETURNS TO WASHINGTON!Big thrills. Exotic locales. Wanderlust. The Banff Mountain Film Festival WorldTour promises an experience like no other. Fresh from the October festivalin Banff, Canada, the best mountain-themed lms from around the world

make their way to Seattle, Olympia and Tacoma. Tickets always go fast for thispopular event. Get your tickets today!

Mountaineers Foundation DonorsThe Mountaineers Foundation desires to acknowledge and thank all its donors.

Unless individuals request their names not be published, all donors will be

acknowledged in The Mountaineeron a quarterly basis (usually December, March,

June, September). If you have donated during the period of August through

October 2009 and your name is not on this list, notify Paul Robisch, Mountaineers

Foundation, 206-363-1989, [email protected], and your name will be added

to the next published list of acknowledgments. Donations received after Oct. 31 will

be acknowledged in the March 2010 issue of The Mountaineer.

In support

Barrett Amos

Anonymous

Robert Barnoski

Dan Brady

The Barco Trust C/O Ruth Barclay

Kathleen P. Carey

Daniel M. Castoriano

Jim R. Cavin

Ilene Chapman

Lawrence K. Dean

Shay E. Dickson

Sascha N. Elsing

Tom R. Fisher

Matt Fleming

Kraft Foods Foundation MG

Juanita E. Gomez

Ed Greutert

James M. Gross

Jeffrey P. Harker

Robert W. Hickey

Jocelyn Horder

Betty Jensen

J.R. Jesson

Don W. Kenyon

Karen L. King

Mark Ray Koski

Matching Gifts Microsoft- Vol Hours

Microsoft MS Giving Campaign-Emp Funds

Daniel Robert Newell

Randy Oakley

Matthew G. Pearson

Barbara M. Retzlaff

Michael J. Riley

Maryann Rufng

Rich Sobieski

Helen B. St. John

Cynthia L. Taylor

Ann R. Uhrich

Dorothy W. Walker

Kenneth G. Wells

HOLIDAY! BOOK! SALE!MEMBERS ONLY NIGHT - TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1 - 5-9 pm

All books and maps 25% off

All TOPO! software 25% off

Book sets 30% off

Books Seconds 50% off

Clearance Titles up to 85% of f

Logo Merchandise 10% off

The end of the year is almost upon us,and that means two things: the BanffFilm Festival and our Holiday BookSale! This year, it pays to be a member- were opening the sale one night early

just for you! Be sure to check out ourMembers Only Night to get the bestdeals before everyone else. Mountain-eers Books will also be bringing in a

mountain of overstock and secondstitles - a bargain if there ever was one.See you at the sale!

December 2, 3, 4Wednesday, Thursday, Friday10 am - 7 pm each day

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Passages

The latest from your Mountaineers LibraryOff the shelf

By Kathleen McCluskey, librarian

As our early-winter weather brings its status quo of rain and chill, you mightequate it to ice climbing in Colorado. If so, then the library has the book foryou. Perhaps you would rather walk the mountains of Scandinavia or plan that trek

of the Grand Canyon. Be it Squamish, Wasatch, Oregon or Nepal, the library has

the guidebook to make your adventure planning that much easier.

Check out our new items:

Guidebook collectionColorado Ice, Vol.1; Day Hiking Central Cascades; DayHiking North Cascades; Deschutes Paddle Trail River Guide; Dolomites of Italy;

Ecrins Park: Dauphine Alps: Mountain Walking, Scrambling & Trail Guide; Eiskalt:

Wasserfallklettern in der Schweiz; German and Belgian Rock Climbs; Grand

Canyon and the American Southwest: Trekking in the Grand Canyon, Zion and

Bryce Canyon National Parks; Great Atlas Traverse: Morocco, Vol.1-2: Moussa

Gorges to Midelt.

High Country Stone: Rock Climbing in the Gunnison and Crested Butte Area;

Hiking Colorado, Vol. 1-2; Julian Alps; Kangchenjunga Himal & Kumbhakarna

Himal; Mazama Rock: A Vertical Paradise; Mount Whitney: The Complete Trailhead

to Summit Guide; Nepal: Trekking & Climbing; 100 Best Cross-Country Ski Trails

in Washington (2002); Rock Climbing Western Oregon, Vol. 2: The Umpqua;

Paradise Forks: Rock Climbing; Rock Climbers Guide to Montana; Rock Climbers

Guide to Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon; Rock Climbing Yosemite Free Climbs;

Rock Climbs of Southwest Montana: A Guide to the Boulder, Paradise, Gallatin,

and Madison Valleys; San Juan Ice Climbs; San Luis Valley Rock Climbing and

Bouldering Guide; Scandinavian Mountains; Silvretta Alps: Mountain Walking,

Touring and Climbing Guide.

Sinks Canyon Rock Climbs; Snowshoeing Colorado; Squamish Chief Guide; Via

Ferrata: Scrambles in the Dolomites; Wasatch Rock Climbs; Whitewater of the

Southern Rockies; Whole Enchilada: A Climbers Guide to Potrero Chico, Mexico.

Pictorial collectionAppalachian Wilderness: The Great Smoky Mountains; High

and Wild: A Mountaineers World; National Geographic: The Photographs.

Special collectionArmchair Mountaineer; Climbers Guide to the Rocky

Mountains of Canada; Compass Points: Finding a Mid-Life Bearing on Mount

Rainier; Dolomites: Lac de Garde, Merano; Fred Beckey Stories: A Tribute to a

Climbing Legend; Himalayan Traders; Journey to Mustang; Last Great Wilderness:

The Campaign to Establish the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; Natural Object,

Social Subject: The Mountaineers of Puget Sound; Nouveaux Voyages En Zigzag a

la Grande Chartreuse; Stanford Alpine Club.

DVDsAmerican Bicentennial Denali Expedition; Rock Climbing Skills: The Basics

and Beyond.

To view open hours at the library, log on to www.mountaineeers.org and click on

Library in the top banner of the front page.

Clyde Lince,an accomplished climber and climb leader, died Sept. 26,2009, at his home in Sparta, Tennessee. He was 90 years old.

Lince, who joined The Mountaineers in 1962, enjoyed climbing and hik-

ing in the Pacic Northwest into his 70s. He is remembered by those who

climbed with him as an excellent team leader who was especially adroit on

rock, and always knew when to turn back on a climb.

In 1980 he joined a team on the rst winter ascent of Stillaguamish Peak.

As a Mountaineer, he earned the Six Peaks Pin, the Snoqualmie Second

10 and graduated from both the climbing and ski programs. He served the

club as a climbing course instructor and snowshoe leader.

He climbed extensively in the North and Central Cascades as well as the

Idaho Sawtooths. In later years, he scaled his destinations down to nearby

mountains such as Si and Tiger.

A survivor of the Bataan Death March and the Battle of Corregidor during

World War II, he spent more than three years in a Japanese prison camp.

Lince maintained contact after the war with his fellow veterans, including

Gen. Matthew Wainwright, also a prisoner of war and under the command

of Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

Lince, born in Yakima, lived in Eastern Washington until enlisting with the

Army at the start of the war.

He was living in Sparta with his daughter, Peggy Main.

How far will you go this year?

The

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December 2009TheMountaineer

What can $73 a year get you?

Sometimes a wilderness areaWhen you join The Mountaineers you join

a partner in the lobby for wilderness pres-

ervation, including our most recent col-

laboration: the Wild Sky Wilderness Area.

Award presented posthumously to Tacoma volunteer

Jo Backus in her element.

Editors note:At The Mountaineers Annual Meeting in September, six

volunteers were presented with the Service Award, recognizing members

for their outstanding service to the club. The award had not been presented

since 2003. The six represent successive years thereafter. Last month, The

Mountaineer featured the recipients named for 2004, Dave Claar and Patti

Polinsky. The 2005 Service Award recognizes the late Jo Backus for her

nearly 20 years of seless devotion to the club and its mission.

By James Hampton

Every once in awhile a person comes along who works so tirelessly

that she or he makes contributions in ways that a team of people

would struggle to accomplish. Luckily, The Mountaineers

had such a person in their midst for nearly 20 years.

To the many who knew Jo, she was a special person

who touched innumerable lives in her many roles

with the club, at her church, and in the medical

community as a nurse. Tom Shimko, a club

ofcer from the Tacoma Branch who joined The

Mountaineers the same year as Jo, also took the

clubs climbing course the same year she did,

1991. She had an incredible amount of energyalways getting people to do things.

She joined The Mountaineers in 1986 after

reveling in the dominance of Mt. Rainier on her

commutes from Seattle to her home in Tacoma

aspiring to climb the Northwests most prominent

peak.

Her eventual debut on the top of Rainier

mushroomed into some 200 more climbs,

including multiple routes up Rainier, before she died four years ago. She

very proactive, and she would nd a way to be involved. If she saw a need

or an opportunity that she thought would be fun, she would pursue it. Jim

and Tacoma Branch Trustee Tom Shimko received the Service Award on

Jos behalf at the clubs Annual Meeting.

Jo was elected Tacoma Branch chair in 1993the rst woman serving in

the post since the 1920sand served as Tacomas representative to The

Mountaineers Board of Trustees. Many members remember her regularinvolvement with the new-member meetings and orientation on Friday

nights. She was always tapping new members and reaching out to them.

She was particularly active in introducing other

women to the sport of mountaineering.

Jo made an impact through her innovations.

When she noticed some club members wanted an

opportunity to take short snowshoe trips, rather

than long backcountry treks, she initiated the still

popular Snowshoe Lite Course. The condensed

course offers an introduction to safe and enjoyable

winter travel for the beginner who just wants to get

a taste of snowshoeing, and pick up a few good

skills, without the commitment of a full course.

In 2000, Jo founded HARK (Hikes for At-Risk Kids

originally and now Hiking and Active Recreation

for Kids), a program that takes inner-city kids

hiking or snowshoeing to instill an appreciation

for the beauty of the outdoors and recognize

the opportunities that nature offers. For many of

the kids, it was their rst time venturing outside

the city. Though the activity became defunct in

Tacoma for lack of volunteers, it later caught on in the Olympia and Kitsap

branches.

According to Shimko, You never said, no, Jo. She was a motivator and

rallied people to go along with her, perhaps because of her can-do attitude

or her calm, positive demeanor. (Jo) kept everyone honest, she wouldnt

let things slide. (She) was always pushing to make the branch better.

If her contributions to the club were not impressive enough, Jo exerted atleast as much inuence on the health of mothers and children during thework day as a nurse. A scholarship established in her name by the Pierce

County Breastfeeding Alliance had this to say:

Jo was a charter member of the PCBA having actively participated since

the inception of the Alliance in 1986. Jo worked as an International Board

Certied Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) for Tacoma General Hospital, and

as a nurse for Mary Bridge Childrens Hospital. Jo loved life and loved

people. She aspired to make people feel welcome, accepted, and involved.

She was seless in her commitment to the community, and was a profound

humanitarian at heart.Jo died in a tragic climbing accident, along with two other Mountaineers, in

July of 2005 on Sharkn Tower, when they were hit by rocks from a slide.

She originally wanted to climb Johannsburg Peak (because it was her

namesake mountain), which sits across the valley from Sharkn. In the

end, she died within view of the mountain sharing her name. The incident

was the rst triple-casualty accident in the history of The Mountaineers,

prompting changes that strengthened the clubs culture of safety.

Jim Backus said Jo would be humbled and honored by receiving the

Service Award. Jo would say that there were others who deserved the

award more, but she was clearly a person who left a long history of

leadership with the club and whose effect will continue to resonate within

the club for a long time.

Its going to take a lot of people to ll her shoes, stated Shimko.

James Hampton is a Mountaineers member/volunteer and freelance writer.

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave withthe intention of arriving safely in an attractive

and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in

sideways, champagne in one hand, strawberries

in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally

worn out and screaming WOO-HOOwhat a

ride! A quotation attached prominently on Jos refrigerator door.

received a Five Peak Pin, Tacoma Irish Cabin First 12, Snoqualmie First

and Second Ten Pin, Tahoma First Peak Award and a Teanaway Ten

Pinnot too shabby for someone who took up the sport when she was in

her 40s.

During her time with the club, she served in a variety of roles and instituted

many important innovations. Her husband, Jim Backus, stated, Jo was


8/8

M


with The Mountaineers

Mt Baker Lodge

Kitsap Cabin

Meany Lodge

Snoqualmie Campus

Stevens Lodge

only steps from hiking trails

and chairlifts

www.mountaineers.org/lodge/baker

four-season camping onlyan hour from seattle

www.snoqualmiecampus.org

ski in, ski out, relax

www.stevenslodge.org

winter sport lessons, learn, explore

www.meanylodge.org

enchanting old-growth preserve,

forest theater, salmon safaris

www.kitsapcabin.org

Escape

ROWED TRIP

Thursday, January 28

Show at 7 pm

From Scotland to Syria by Oar

Tickets: $5 Mountaineers, $10 General.

Available through the Mountaineers Book-

store or by calling 206-521-6001.

The Mountaineers

7700 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle

Planet ICEThe Photography of James Martin

Thursday, January 21 at 7 pm

Tickets: $8 Mountaineers, $12 General. Availablethrough the Mountaineers Bookstore.

The Mountaineers, 7700 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle

What the ice tells us about the past may help usunderstand the future of ice, and us, on Earth. Itcan also help gauge the health of the planet. Inthe bookPlanet Ice, photographer James Martinexamines the characteristics of polar, mountain, andtropical ice. He explores human concepts of iceand wilderness; the far-reaching effects of climatechange on people and iconic wildlife including

penguins and polar bears; and our responsibilities asstewards of the natural world. Planet Ice illuminatesthe profound connection between ice - a substancethat is at once mutable and forceful - and the well-being of our global community.

ountaineers Productions

Using two rowboats, Colin and Julie Angus

voyaged 7,200 km from the northern tip of

Scotland to Aleppo, Syria via an interconnect-

ed route of rivers, canals, ancient transporta-

tion corridors, oceans and coastlines. Each

vessel was specially designed for the trip, and

was ftted with a bicycle and trailer that al-

lowed it to travel not only on water but also

on land. Over the course of seven months,

the couple rowed through thirteen countries

and explored their ancestral homelands.

Set your course:

Enrollment is open for Mountaineers

courses, winter and spring. See the

Go Guide or visit

www.mountaineers.org

December 2009 Mountaineers Newsletter

Documents

Transcript of December 2009 Mountaineers Newsletter