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MountaineerThe
www.mountaineers.org
October, 2009Volume 103, No. 10
M4 Ma Natures valueas a public utility
M6 Grants help restore
atlandecosystem
M7 NEW! Destinations:Do you have a
favorite?
M2 View from the Top
M4 Conservation Currents
M4 Summit Savvy
M6 Passages
M7 Off the Shelf
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 gContinuedonM5
Fill up with NikwaxThe Moun-
taineers wants to show its appre-
ciation to its members on Sun.,
Oct. 4, by opening the spout on
hundreds of gallons of Nikwax. See
pg. 1 of the Go Guidefor details.
Climb Si for climate action! Oct.
24 will be International Climate
Action day and two Mountaineers
climbers are inviting everyone to
join them for an awareness event
at Mt. Si. See M4 for details on
how to participate.
The monthly publication of The Mountaineers
A viewing of Americas Best IdeaThu., Oct. 1Mountaineers and guests are invited to a viewing party this month of a lm that praises the creation of our countrys
national parkssome which would not have been created absent the passion and toil of people such as those with The
Mountaineers more than a hundred years ago.
The rst episode of The National Parks: Americas Best Idea, a lm by Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan, will premier on
television Sept. 27 via PBS. However, The Mountaineers will feature a showing of Episode 5: Great Nature, on Thu., Oct.
1, at 8 p.m. at club headquarters.
The fth episode of the series focuses on the golden age of parks when the Civilian Conservation Corps was created and
a young biologists work led to Congress passing a bill to protect the Everglades. It is also a period of growth for national
parks, including Mt. Rainier and Olympic National Park, where The Mountaineers was particularly involved.
Tickets for the show are $15. Proceeds will go toward expansion of the North Cascades National Park (home to El Dorado
Peak above) via the American Alps Legacy Project and the Washingtons National Park Fund. For more information, see
the ad onM3or visitwww.mountaineers.org.
Most people know that ice
doesnt melt atop Mt.
Everest and wood is not
found there. But melting ice and
wood are what led artist Jeff Clapp
to journey some 9,000 miles from
his home in Brunswick, Maine, to
the base of Everest.
After spending 20 years as a chef
in the Northeast, he said he got
tired of watching his ice sculptures
at weddings and banquets just
melt away. So, he turned to wood
sculpting.
His work earned displays in several
exhibitions and galleries while he
continued to work as a chef. One
day someone gave me a CO2 tank
Bells from EverestSpend an
evening with
artist Jeff
Clapp
Thu.,Oct.15,7p.m.,clubheadquarters
Jeff Clapp puts another Everest
cylinder to lathe.
Club-wideelectionsThe election of Mountaineers
Board of Trustees candidates
will be heldWed., Oct. 21.
Mountaineers members may
vote electronically this year at
www.mountaineers.org. For
those without internet access,
a ballot can be found on the
next page. Please seepg.2of the Go Guide for candidate
profiles and statements.
Everest leftovers nd spot on artists plate
Getintheclimbingqueue:As
one climbing season ends, another
is about to begin. Enrollment for
next years climbing courses is just
around the corner, starting with the
Seattle Branch program. See pg. 9
of the Go Guide.
Eric Simonson to visit Tacoma:
The Tacoma Branch will host one
of the biggest names in climbing
when it holds its Annual Banquet
on Oct. 17. See pg. 13 of the Go
Guidefor details.
Photo courtesy of Washingtons National Park Fund
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October009 TheMountaineer
OctoberapivotalmonthforMountaineers
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.
BoardofTrusteesOfcersPresident 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 large
Kirk Alm, 07-10Rich Draves, 08-11Dale Flynn, 07-10Ed Henderson, 08-11Lynn Hyde, 08-11Don Schaechtel, 06-09
Eva Schnleitner, 06-09Dave Shema, 07-10Mona West, 06-09
Branch TrusteesBellingham, Steven GlennEverett, Rob SimonsenFoothills, Gerry HaugenKitsap, Jimmy JamesOlympia, John FlanaganSeattle, Mike MaudeTacoma, Tom Shimko
Interim Executive DirectorMona West
ManagingEditorBrad Stracener
Contributors,proofreaders:Barb Butler, Brian Futch, James Hamp-ton, Jim Harvey, Suzan Reiley, Darla
TishmanPhotographers & Illustrators:Scott Marlow
THE MOUNTAINEERis publishedmonthly by:The Mountaineers,7700 Sand Point Way N.E.Seattle, WA 98115206-521-6000; 206-523-6763 fax
Volume 103, No. 10
The 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
Whoyagonnacall?Yourmentor,ofcourseAre 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
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.
For the first time, Mountaineers will be able to vote for their officers via
computer online. However, those Mountaineers members without internet
access may vote in the 2009 club-wide election by completing the election
ballot below, cutting it out and submitting it by Oct. 21, 5 p.m., to:
The Mountaineers, 7700 Sand Point Way N.E., Seattle, WA 98115
2010 Mountaineers Ballot
Please select only three of the following candidates for thethree open seats on The Mountaineers Board of Trustees. (The
data used for mailing that appears on the opposite side of this bal-
lot will be used to verify and validate votes.)
JohnOhlson
MarkScheffer
MattSullivan
MonaWest
Candidates statements and profiles can be found on pg. 2 of
the Go Guide.Please read them before voting.
ByEricLinxweiler,president
October is a great time to
be a Mountaineer! Its a
time when we can grasp
one last weekend of summer,
enjoy cool weekends before snows
and rains re-
turn, and gear
up for what
promises to bean excellent
winter in the
Northwest.
October is also the start of a new
year for The Mountaineers. Our
scal year starts, as well as a new
election for our board of trustees.
Normally this is a non-event, but as
our organization transitions itself, it
is worth a second to consider just
how far weve actually come.
Consider how much progress
weve made over the past year.
Here are some highlights:
We successfully created and
moved into North Americas
foremost mountaineering center,
complete with facilities to teach
all aspects of the alpine environ-
ment (including the worlds third
largest mountaineering library).
We embarked on a journey
to bring new leadership to The
Mountaineers, ensuring that we
are focused on our second cen-
turygrowing in a sustainable
and sound fashion.
Weve successfully launched
several entry-level mountaineer-
ing programs (namely Junior
Mountaineers and Trailhead),
driven by of our program devel-
opment initiatives.
Our Legacy Society for
planned giving was established.
Mountaineers Books hascontinued to evolve and thrive,
moving a record number of
books into the digital era.
Even some of the little changes
have been exciting. This year, well
have our rst electronic election,
one that hopefully will yield more
voices in helping to ensure the
right leaders are moving our club
forward. Many thanks to our club
leaders in bringing this to The
Mountaineers.
Over the past few years, your
board has done an awesome job
at ensuring we are making the right
investments in the right areas to
both fulll our mission, as well as
move our strategic plan forward.
None of this could be done without
the unwavering support of each of
you. Countless hours are poured
into The Mountaineers by those
that love, maintain and sustain it.
Well have some exciting news for
you next month, as we continue onour path of evolution and transition.
The world never stops turning if
you are a Mountaineer!
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
In next months Mountaineer: Proles of servicevolunteers who go the extra mile
Dosewallips update
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M3
October009TheMountaineer
Protection of the Northwests natu-
ral resources requires knowledge
of terrainpolitically and physi-
cally. The Mountaineers Northwest
Environmental Issues Course
provides the former, equipping
advocates with the necessary tools
and awareness to lobby for preser-
vation of our natural resourcesat
no charge to the student.
The Mountaineers partners with
the University of Puget Sound and
the Washington Environmental
Council to present the curriculum,
which supports the upcoming 2010
environmental legislative focus as
identied through the Environmen-
tal Priorities Coalition.
These priorities will be set by
working closely with the broaderenvironmental community and will
focus on promoting the protection
of our land, air and water. The co-
alition will announce the identied
legislative focus in October.
The course runs from Oct. 21
to Nov. 18. Lectures will be held
Wednesday evenings from 6:30
to 8:30 p.m. at the University of
Puget Sound, Collins Memorial
Library, Room 303. The course can
be offered free to all participantsthrough generous grants from The
Mountaineers Foundation and the
University of Puget Sound.
For more information, contact
Katharine Appleyard, Sound Policy
Institute at the University of Puget
Sound, 253-879-3716, kapple-
[email protected], or Nancy
Neyenhouse, 253.848.9448,[email protected].
NorthwestEnvironmentalIssuesCourseSouthSoundtostartOct.1
Dont forget to vote!Logontowww.mountaineers.org tocastyourelec-
tronicvoteforTheMountaineersBoardofTrustees
(see candidate proles on pg. 2 of the Go Guide). If
youarewithoutaccesstotheinternet,cutoutthebal-
lotonM2. You have until 5 p.m. Wed., Oct. 21!
8/9/2019 October 2009 Mountaineers Newsletter
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October009 TheMountaineer
Canyouidentify the summit
in the foreground here? Send your
answer (by Oct. 10) 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, and
well 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 (or slides)
for possible publication as a mystery
summit (include identication for our
benet). If we use your photo, you
will get $10 of Mountaineers Money
as 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 Money
good for purchases at The Moun-
taineers Bookstore.
No one identied last months
mystery summit, Mt. Dana, as photo-
graphed by Curtis Baxstrom.
SummitSavvy
conservation
CURRENTS
Imagine your invoice if MotherNature charged for her servicesByBradStracener
How much is a wetland
worth to the owner of a $2
million home on beachfront
property? Perhaps more than the
homeowner could ever imagine. In-
deed, it could be more than anyonecould imagine or even formulate.
However, the authors of an Earth
Economics Study are trying to
make the formulization of natures
value in goods and services a bit
easier.
While billions are spent on dams or
sewage treatment plants to pro-
vide the public with protection from
oods or bacteria, nature provides
its own inherent protections to the
public. In the lexicon of the study,
these man-made and nature-made
services to our well-being are
built capital and natural capital,
respectively.
Putting a dollar gure on the sav-
ings that natural capital entails is
much more complex than, say,
putting a dollar gure on a coho
salmon caught by a sport sher at
the mouth of the Columbia River or
the economic benets that result
from the dredging of a bay to cre-
ate a harbor or port for transport
of goods. But the study, led by
David Batker, attempts to bring
economists closer to appropriating
values to these goods and services
that nature provides. Batker is an
economist and the executive direc-
tor of Earth Economics, a non-prot
organization in Seattle.
Batker and his team base thestudy on natures ability toprovide us with goods and services
that do not require mans hand.
Land, rivers and air provide many
services that sustain humankind.
Wetlands absorb rainwater and
control oodwater, forests lter
drinking water and river estuaries
harbor young migratory sh that
later become large enough for usto eat. Beaches on all of our bodies
of water, fresh or salt, are sources
of recreation.
Earth Economics maintains that
we suffer great expense when we
damage natures built-in services.
Citing other studies, the Earth
Economics study notes that inter-
est in identifying, describing and
quantifying the economic value
of ecosystem services has grown
tremendously over the past 20
years, expressly for the purpose of
improving environmental decision-
making.
The study says that ecosystemfunctions and the services theyproduce are diverse and operate
across large landscapes (storm
buffering) or, in some cases, the
whole planet (carbon seques-
tration). Highly interdependent
physical and biological systems
make life, and economic life, on the
planet possible.
The complexity of equating dollar
value to natures provisions lies in
the large landscapes involved,
such as the process of carbon
sequestration and the distribution
of ocean nutrients.
The landscape is so large that
Earth Economics could only attach
values to 12 ecosystem services
while identifying 23 categories of
ecosystem services. And yet this
study is the most comprehensive
valuation to date.
Titled A New View of the Puget
Sound Economy, the study de-
duces that the value of naturesbenets to Puget Sound Basins
4.3 million residents is anywhere
from $243 billion to $2.1 trillion.
The natural capital can thus be
used by economists to compare
with costs of built capital, such as
dams, repairs to roads (Mt. Rainier
National Park, for example), recov-
ery aid to farms and businesses,
and so on.
As the study notes in its executive
summary, What is at stake is noth-
ing less than our economic pros-perity and quality of life. Our quality
of life is excellent by any standard.
It goes on, Yet, while the Puget
Sound Basin boasts more houses,
cars, roads, buildings and other
elements of built capital every
year, most of our natural systems
are deteriorating . . . These natu-
ral systems are valuable and vital
economic assets.
The study asserts, True eco-nomics provides a better viewof our full suite of economic assets,
including the economic benets of
natural systems, which provide for
our common wealth . . . the air we
breathe, the water we drink, hospi-
table climate regulation, aesthetic
beauty, and protection from ood
and storm.
For more about Earth Econom-ics and its study, visit the website,
www.eartheconomics.org.
Brad Stracener is managing editor
ofThe Mountaineer.
The International Day of
Climate Action on Sat., Oct.24, aims to tag hundreds ofmiles onto the trail up Mt.Si.
Mountaineers climbing leaders
Sunny Remington and Eileen
Kustcha are helping to make
sure that at least 42 people join
them on that Saturday to raise
awareness and a sense of ur-
gency about the need to reduce
CO2 levels in our atmosphere.
A reduction to 350 ppm is what
scientists have identied as the
safe upper limita level not seen
since the 1980s. Currently, the
level is 389 ppm.
Carpooling will be highly encour-
aged to this event, a hike of eight
miles with an elevation gain of
4200 ft. The aim, according to
Remington, is to collect enough
participants to collectively hike
350 miles on the mountain near
North Bend. The sponsor of the
nationwide event, 350.org, calls
for organizers of awareness
events to incorporate the number
350.
Those interested in participating
should contact either Remington,
[email protected], 206-
354-8518, or Kustcha, 206-276-
3683, Eileen_kutscha@yahoo.
com, by Tue., Oct. 20.
DayofClimateActionaims
totackonmilesatMt.Si
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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October009TheMountaineer
from the restaurant. I put it on a metal lathe, cut some grooves in the side
and made a bell out of it, Clapp recounted. But it was not as beautiful as
wood, so I gave up on the whole bell idea at that point.
Then, about six years ago, Clapp was watching a National Geographic
special on Mt. Everest. He learned about all the expended oxygen tanks
left on the mountain by climbers. The idea then sprouted: I looked at it likeI was stepping into a large walk-in
(cooler). What do you do with the
leftovers? Thats what the restau-
rant business is all about. You have
some prime rib that isnt quite steak
material, so you make a beef pot
pie or stroganoff out of it.
He applied his culinary acumen
to the oxygen tanks: he would
salvage them to make bells and
bowls. The devices that kept peo-
ple alive on their way to the worlds
highest peak could be given a new,
extended life.
Though it was a nifty scheme to
recycle debris otherwise left in a pristine environment, Clapp admits that
self-interest also served as motivation.
To become famous as an artist, you usually have to die to start with. I
didnt want to wait that long. So, he was looking for ways to become
noted without dying.
However, it was his knowledge of what art can do that compelled him to
journey to Nepal and the discarded tanks. What I have done is symbolic.
I have not really pulled that much trash off Everest but I have hopefully
inspired others to do great things in their lives.
So far, he has pulled exactly 132 pieces of trashoxygen tanksoff of
Everest.
The project may not have materialized had Jeff and his wife, Wendy Raw-
son, not attended a presentation by mountain guide Dan Mazur at MIT. It
was there that Clapp said he rst presented this crazy idea to someone
in the mountain community. He eventually asked Mazur, who specializes
in Himalayan climbs and treks, how he might access the discarded oxy-
gen cylinders. Dan said, for $200 I can bring one up for you. I told him I
wanted all of them.
After hearing what Clapp had planned for the tanks, Mazur, who has
trekked and climbed the region since 1986, provided Clapp with some
names and connections to his guide services, Summit Climb and Summit
Treks. I thought it was a great idea right away, Mazur stated.Clapp then started to plan logistics for a trip that would actually prove nos-
talgic for him if not life changing.
Arriving alone in Hong Kong and Bangkok to catch a ight to Nepal was
not without its apprehension. I had never traveled that far away alone, he
stated.
After approaching the front desk at his hotel in Kathmandu, he told the
clerk his name and they scratched their heads. They didnt have his name
listed. I said to myself, oh no, I am here all alone. What am I going to do
now?
Desperate for some kind of identifying information, he started to tell his
story, and then dropped the name of Dan Mazur. They all of a sudden
perked up, he said, and told me that (Dan) was actually in the building. In
fact, he was standing right behind me. I could have cried.
So I talked to Dan and invited myself to dinner. After seven days of travel-
ing with little time to sit down for a full meal, I just wanted someone to eat
with, he said with a laugh.
It turned out that Mazur was leading an expedition. Clapp was invited along
to trek the Khumbu region while the climbers did their thing. Instead of
trekking alone with his own Sherpa, as planned, he suddenly had the com-
pany of 40 others all the way through the Khumbu. In the meantime, the
travel agent for Mazurs guiding company arranged Clapps transportationand the Sherpas for retrieval of the cylinders, which ended up being the
very same cylinders that appeared in the picture his daughter had brought
home from school.
It was fun trekking with Jeff to base camp, said Mazur, who eventually
joined Clapp on a few lectures at which Clapp would talk about the bells
and Mazur about Himalayan climbing. I got to learn a lot about the bells
through that, said Mazur.
Jeff is a unique individual with fantastic ideas and a ne artist, added
Mazur, who said a small bowl made by Clapp occupies pride of place in
my home.
Knowledge of the Bells from Ever-
est project snowballed once it be-
came known amongst the Sherpa
communities. The government
offered a price tag of $25 for each
tank that Clapp could take out of
the Khumbu. Trash was viewed by
the government as not conducive
to tourism, Clapp said.
His project gained momentum in
the states as well. Backpacker
magazine eventually ran an article
about him, after he had approached
them for support, as did the Ameri-
can Alpine Clubs publication.On the cusp of a ski trip to Telluride, he said he had an epiphany while
applying the lathe to the cylinders. The excess was spraying off like little
steel scrubbies, and my oor was full of shavings.
Making trash of what was originally trash would make the project self-de-
feating, he said. My rst thought was turning the shavings into Christmas
ornaments. Instead of bells for $1,500, I could share a little piece of history
by selling ornaments for a few dollars a piece.
In 2005, he was a featured artist at theTelluride Mountain Film Festival, and
in 2007, a presenter at Disneys Holidays Around The World. Disney World
had just added a new ride named for Mt. Everest.
He was a nalist for a National Geographic award among the likes of
Patagonia and North Face. He also was commissioned, at the behest ofclimbing great Reinhold Messner, to craft a bell for the Messner climbing
museum. Neiman Marcus, meanwhile, has listed his work in its catalog.
He has cut into about half of the 132 cylinders and the bells are reaching
many of the galleries that exhibited his wood sculptures.
Clapp said his show for The Mountaineers will be all about perspective
and imagination, adding, I want everyone to have a part in this crazy
adventure.
Asked if he still donned the chefs hat, he replied over the phone, Ive got
a wedding to do tomorrow.
Brad Stracener is managing editor ofThe Mountaineer.
ContinuedfromM1
Bells and bowlsfnished product.
Trekking the Khumbu.
Guide comes to rescue of Clapp and bells
His father worked as a teacher for families of his employer, a petroleum
company in Arabia. We were given some travel coupons by my dads
company when we left Arabia, Clapp recounted. Among the coupons was
a stay in Nepal. He saw many wonders on that trip but all at the age of 5.
I had always regretted how young I was and that I couldnt remember itall, said Clapp.
If that wasnt enough to compel him, an augury of sorts was presented
by his daughter, Taylor, just before he booked his ight to Nepal. In third
grade, she had brought home from class a weekly reader about Everest
and the Nepalese Mountaineering Associations efforts to clean up the
mountain. It showed Appa Sherpa, who has reached Everests summit
more than any other person on the planet, kneeling by a pile of oxygen
cylinders.
This was a sign, said Clapp, that told me, Jeff, you are doing the right
thing. He booked his ight in February of 2004.
Though a knee-high world traveler at one time, Clapp found his adult pro-
clivity for travel an entirely different affair.
Jeff is a unique individual
with fantastic ideasDanMazur,Himalayanmountainguide
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October009 TheMountaineer
Passages
Editors note:Following is a
rsthand account by Nancy Ney-
enhouse of work on the groundaccomplished by recipients of grant
money from The Mountaineers
Foundation. Neyenhouse, a Moun-
taineers member for 12 years, sits
on The Mountaineers Foundation
Community Grants Committee.
Being a member of the
foundations Commu-
nity Grants Committee has
great perks. Not only do I have
the opportunity to actively support
great community environmental
organizations and programs that
further the foundations mission of
protecting natural areas, but I canactually visit the places where this
work is being done.
This August, my husband and I vis-
ited the Oregon Natural Desert As-
sociation (ONDA), headquartered
in Bend, Oregon. Jefferson Jacobs,
ONDA outreach director, spent
the day with us, taking us to sites
where ONDA is actively remov-
ing barbed wire from former ranch
lands now set aside as wilderness,
refuge, or conservation areas and
restoring riparian habitat.
The Mountaineers Foundation
has a longstanding relationship
with ONDA, founded in 1987 to
protect, defend and restore the
health of Oregons native deserts.
The foundation has been support-ing the ONDA mission since 2001.
Grants from the foundation have
been used by ONDA to educate
and ght for wilderness designation
while mitigating adverse ecological
impacts from domestic livestock
grazing.
The day began with an overviewof the areas in which ONDAis currently active with their large
cadre of volunteers. Presently,
ONDA volunteers are heavily
involved in the Pine CreekConservation Area where they are
removing old barbed-wire fencing
from former ranch lands and
planting trees along streams that
have been decimated by domestic
cattle grazing. (Please see the
ONDA website at www.onda.org for
complete information.)
The area we visited had been
cleared of barbed wire earlier in
the year by volunteers from both
the Great Old Broads and the
Mazamas.
Years of cattle grazing and beaver
trapping in this area have reduced
once beautiful riparian habitatfull
of beaverinto dry, dusty canyons.
Instead of streams overowing
their banks behind beaver dams,
the water cut a deep path straight
down into the land, forming stream
canyons 30-40 feet deep, devoid of
vegetation.
The beautiful result of volunteers
planting trees along these streams
is the return of a healthy popula-
tion of beavers that are once again
damming streams to provide habi-
tat for waterfowl and a host of other
animals.
Walking up and over the hillswith Jefferson was a treat.His passion and excitement aboutwhat ONDA does and his work with
the volunteers was evident with
every step we took. Camping out
with the Great Old Broads and the
Mazamas for days at a time wasnt
a bad gig either.
Volunteers have pulled nearly 10
miles of barbed wire fencing from
this area. After it is pulled and
bundled, it is removed, and what
isnt terribly rusted is recycled for
use by farmers and ranchers in
other areasgreat for communityrelations.
Volunteers tackle atland restoration via foundation grants
DianeAltwein, a 40-year member of The Mountaineers, began hernal journey to the mountains of the great beyond on Aug. 13, 2009. Dur-
ing her tenure as a member, she made many contributions to both the cluband the outdoor community.
A graduate of the Alpine Scrambling Course, Diane volunteered at Stevens
Lodge and Kitsap Cabin, where she helped to park cars during the plays at
the Forest Theater.
She was a longtime member of the Library Committee and skilled in car-
pentry. She built locking, glass, bookcases to securely house the clubs
growing rare-book collection at its 719 Pike St. location. The cases were
later relocated to the 300 3rd Ave. W. headquarters.
Altwein joined two club-sponsored international outings to Nepal. She also
made many valuable contributions to fellow Mountaineer and trail advocate
Ruth Ittners wouldnt you like to do . . . requests.
Always ahead of her time, Altwein organized volunteer trail-work partieswell before the U.S. Forest Service considered implementing volunteer
labor. Putting her carpentry skills to use again, she built boxes for trans-
porting equipment to the worksite on pack animals. She also rounded up
trail-work volunteers, including a cook for the trail crews. Some of her ef-
forts resulted in the Whitechuck Bench Trail and the nearby Beaver Ponds
Trail near Darrington.
Born Feb. 27, 1940, she received a doctorate degree in pharmaceutical
chemistry from the University of Washington at a time when pharmacy was
a male-dominated profession. Through her perseverance, she was able to
work as a pharmacist in Texas. Ultimately, she returned to college to pur-
sue a career in chemistry with the Washington State Department of Health
as well as the Food and Drug Administration.
Volunteers pulled nearly 10 miles of barbed wire from north-central Oregon.
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 for
Mountaineers, Olympia Film Society members and students w/ID
Tickets are available in advance through The Alpine Experience and Olympic
Outtters, 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 Sound
Tickets: 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 festival
in 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!
8/9/2019 October 2009 Mountaineers Newsletter
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October009TheMountaineer
Editors note:Craig Miller, an outings leader for The Mountaineers, hiked the wil-
derness of Washingtons Olympic Coast late this summera trek that took him 60
miles from Neah Bay to Oil City. In the spirit of inspiring and informing other Moun-
taineers wishing to enjoy the splendors of our states wilderness, The Mountaineer
features his trip, including advice and essential information, in the debut of a newcolumn, Destinations.
This narrow strip of coast is between two dramatically differentworlds the ocean and the forest. Highlights include the amaz-ing intertidal zone (new for me were gooseneck barnacles), scenery
(sea stacks and crashing waves), and tides.
On my seven-day trip in August, I experienced the lowest and highest tides of the
month. I prefer sleeping on the sand beaches, but at the highest tides of the month,
I instead camped above the beach and in the trees.
My campsites this trip were:
Seaeld Creek (this was a challenge the rst afternoon with incoming tides
around Point of the Arches)
Sand Point
Norwegian Memorial
Between Chilean Memorial and Hole-in-the-Wall Scott Creek
Mosquito Creek
How to go about it
This is a backpack along sand beaches, but also, a scramble around rocky, wet
headlands. Wear good boots with Vibram soles. It is better to carry an internal-
frame pack rather than an external-frame pack.
When you get the required permit for trips of at least a week, I suggest asking the
ranger for a lightweight Kevlar food canister, rather than the traditional plastic food
canister made by Garcia.
I recommend hiking this stretch of coast from July through September, when rivers
and creeks can be crossed at low volumes and at low tides. I had no problems
crossing Ozette River, Goodman Creek and Mosquito Creek. A good weather fore-
cast for a week is essential.
You should time your travel to work with the low tides. My preference would be low
tides in the middle of the day, so that I can backpack all day long. On this trip, I had
the opposite (high tides in the middle of the day), so I backpacked in the morning,
had to wait several hours for the high tides to turn, then continued backpacking in
the afternoon. At the south end (near Oil City), where there is a small headland, you
need a tide of 2 feet or lower to go around the head. The highest and lowest tides
of the month are when there is a new moon.
At Neah Bay I hiked six-tenths of a mile to spectacular Cape Flattery (the northwest
point of the lower 48 states) and also visited the Makah Museum, which featureshistoric artifacts uncovered from the Ozette Indian village buried 500 years ago in a
mudslide. I passed the archeological dig near Cape Alava on my hike.
My preference is to backpack from south to north (Oil City to Neah Bay) to avoid
the Makah tribal recreation fee ($10) and overnight parking fee ($10 per day). The
Oil City trailhead parking lot is not secure, so have a cover over any gear left in
your car. My shuttles consisted of ve hitchhikes and two buses, all for only 25
cents.
Public transport
Clallam Transit operates a large bus on Route 16 from Forks Transit Center to
Neah Bay every day except Sunday for 75 cents:
http://www.clallamtransit.com/route-16-timetable.html.
Jefferson Transit operates a small bus on Route 15 from Forks Transit Center to
La Push (they dropped me at the Third Beach trailhead) every day except Sunday
for 75 cents:http://www.clallamtransit.com/route-15-timetable.html.
Jefferson Transit operates a small bus from Forks to just north of Oil City to
US-101 intersection (called Upper Hoh Road on their schedule) every day except
Sunday for 25 cents:
http://www.jeffersontransit.com/schedules/westjeff.html.
A view of Toleak Point along the Olympic National Park Coast trail.
OlympicNationalParkCoastDestinations
Share your favorite destination with usSend an e-mail to [email protected]
or call 206-521-6013
Andrew N. Hunt
Agent
New York Life Insurance Company
11400 S.E. 8th St., Ste. 300
Bellevue, WA 98004
(253) 820-9518; www.andrewnhunt.com /
Brad
Stracenerphoto
Dont forget to vote!Logontowww.mountaineers.org tocastyourelec-
tronicvoteforTheMountaineersBoardofTrustees
(see candidate proles on pg. 2 of the Go Guide). If
youarewithoutaccesstotheinternet,cutoutthebal-
lotonM2. You have until 5 p.m. Wed., Oct. 21!
8/9/2019 October 2009 Mountaineers Newsletter
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October009 TheMountaineer
Washington: Cedar Springs - October 19-21, 2007$295 includes all organic meals, classes, double room
Costa Rica - November 23 Dec 1, 2007 - Roy H & Christine Borys$1,195 Shared room, Includes 8 nights hotel, most meals, classes, ground
transport (Or: $1,895 includes RT air from Seattle)
Mexico: Yelapa - January 18-26, 2008 - Roy H & Linda Lapping$1,195 shared: Includes 8 nights hotel, most meals, classes, Mexico groundtransport (Or: $1,695 includes RT air from Seattle)
Guatemala: Lake Atitlan - Feb 14-25, 2008 - Roy H & Kara Keating$1,295 shared: 11 nights Hotel, Most Meals, Classes, Ground transport($1,895 includes RT air from Seattle)
Yoga Hiking Culture Swimming Sunshine
Roy is a Mountaineer member, hike leader, yoga and meditation teacher, minister, andreexologist. Classes & Workshops in the Everett area. Weddings ofciated too!
Yoga Retreats
Lake Atitlan, Guatemala Roy Holman
Contact for more info: Roy Holman 425-303-8150,www.holmanhealthconnections.com Yoga For Every Body
Mexico: Yelapa - Jan. 16-24, 2009$1,195 Includes 8 nights hotel, most meals, classes, groundtransport (Or: $1,795 includes RT air from Seattle)
Guatemala: Lake Atitlan Feb. 26-March 9, 2009$1,295 11 nights hotel, most meals, classes, ground transport($1,995 includes RT air from Seattle)
Costa Rica - Nov. 28-Dec. 7, 2008$1,195 Shared room, Includes 9 nightshotel, most meals, classes, ground transport(Or: $1,995 includes RT air from Seattle)
Yoga Retreats
Yoga Hiking Culture Swimming Sunshine
Roy Holman
Washington: Methow Valley Retreat, Oct. 2-4, 2009$350 Includes two nights shared lodging, organicmeals, classes, hikes, and other activities
Mexico: Yelapa - Jan 22-30, 2010$1,195 Includes 8 nights hotel, most meals, classes, ground transport(Or: $1,750 includes RT air from Seattle)
Guatemala: Lake Atitlan Feb. 18-28, 2010$1,395 11 nights hotel, most meals, classes, ground transport ($2,150includes RT air from Seattle)
Branches
& limbs
Hide-n-go-seekYou can climb but you cannot hide. An otherwise-concealed Dan Azer does
not fool a mountain goats nose for high-altitude intruders. Azer was climbing
Liberty Bell via the Blue Lake Trailhead.
Scott Marlow photo
CyclersstorytakesstageAn on-stage reading performance,
based on a book about two youngbicyclers, who, in 1909 pedaled
from their home in California to the
Alaska Yukon Pacic Exposition in
Seattle, is currently being present-
ed at various King County venues.
Vic McDaniel and Ray Francisco,
fresh high school graduates, set
out on their second-hand bicycles
from Santa Rosa in August of
1909 to take on the challenge of
cycling from their home to the expo
(AYPE). They pedaled, pushed
and walked 1,000 miles of primitive
roads for 54 days and encountered
nearly every imaginable natural,
mechanical and human challengeon their one-speed bikes.
While adventure was their primary
lure, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
promised that a purse of $25 would
await them if they made it to the
AYPE before its nal day.
In recognition of the AYPE centen-
nial, Book-It Repertory Theatre and
4Cultures Heritage and Site-Spe-
cic performance divisions are
presenting the show, Two Wheels
North, by Evelyn McDaniel Gibb,
adapted and directed by AnnieLareau.
The performance can be seen
at nine different venues in King
County. Visit the Book-It website
at www.book-it.org for more details
about tickets and venue locations.
Secrets ofSHANGRI-LAFriday, November 13 at 7 pm
With renowned mountaineer Pete Athans
Travel to the high Himalayan kingdom of Mustang with PeteAthans as his journey leads him to a surprising fnd - atreasure trove of ancient Buddhist texts and images. Learn how
he later traveled back with a multidisciplinary team to document,study and begin to preserve this amazing fnd.
Tickets: $10 Mountaineers, $15 General. Available through the
Mountaineers Bookstore.
The Mountaineers, 7700 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle
The LasT PoLar BearAn evening with Steven Kazlowski
Thursday, November 12 at 7 pm
Tickets: $8 Mountaineers, $10 General. Availablethrough the Mountaineers Bookstore.
The Mountaineers, 7700 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle
Polar bears are widely considered to be an indicatorspecies with regards to the effects of climate change.In his book The Last Polar Bear, photographer Steven Ka-zlowski brings this critical issue to life with his unparalleledimagery. Join us for a presentation of this magnicent
animal in its natural - and endangered - habitat.
the irate
birdwatcher
Harvey Manning, a Northwest writer andlegendary conservationist, used his words andactions to open peoples eyes to naturesbeauty and to urge them to save it. The IrateBirdwatcher is a lm inspired by the written
works of Manning, with a focus on wildernesspreservation. Manning was the voice of a dedi-cated band of hikers and climbers who soughtto create North Cascades National Park andother wilderness areas.
Join us to celebrate the vision and dedicationof a true legend - Harvey Manning.
Wednesday, November 4 at 7 pm
This is a FREE event. All are welcome!
The Mountaineers Building7700 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle
A new way to pay!Members can take a bite out of
their dues payment by enrolling in
our monthly dues program. Each
month, you pay 1/12th of your
dues rate. Thats a little over $6 a
month for most members!
Get started today by visiting the
webpage below.
www.mountaineers.org/autopay.html