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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
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December 2009 TheMountaineer
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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December 2009 TheMountaineer
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
8/9/2019 December 2009 Mountaineers Newsletter
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M
December 2009 TheMountaineer
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