1976 Bicentennial Mckinley South Buttress Expedition

THE MOUNTAINEER • Cover:Mowich Glacier Art Wolfe The Mountaineer EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Verna Ness, Editor; Herb Belanger, Don Brooks, Garth Ferber. Trudi Ferber, Bill French, Jr., Christa Lewis, Mariann Schmitt, Paul Seeman, Loretta Slater, Roseanne Stukel, Mary Jane Ware. Writing, graphics and photographs should be submitted to the Annual Editor, The Mountaineer, at the address below, before January 15, 1978 for consideration. Photographs should be black and white prints, at least 5 x 7 inches, with caption and photo grapher's name on back. Manuscripts should be typed double· spaced, with at least 1 Y:z inch margins, and include writer's name, address and phone number. Graphics should have caption and artist's name on back. Manuscripts cannot be returned. Properly identified photographs and graphics will be returnedabout June. Copyright © 1977, The Mountaineers. Entered as second·class matter April8, 1922, at Post Office, Seattle, Washington, under the act of March 3, 1879. Published monthly, except July, when semi-monthly, by The Mountaineers, 719 Pike Street,Seattle, Washington 98101. Subscription price, monthly bulletin and annual, $6.00 per year. ISBN 0-916890-52-X 2 THE MOUNTAINEERS PURPOSES To explore and study the mountains, forests, and watercourses of the Northwest; To gather into permanentform the history and tra ditions of thisregion; To preserve by the encouragement of protective legislation or otherwise the natural beauty of NorthwestAmerica; To make expeditions into these regions in fulfill ment of the above purposes; To encourage a spirit of good fellowship among all loversof outdoor life. 0 � . �·' ' :···_I·:_ Red Heather ' J BJ. Packard 3 The Mountaineer At FerryBasin B. J. Packard CONTENTS Page The Changing Expedition Game .................... 7 Willi Unsoeld Aerial Stereo Photography (or) Post Mortem Enjoyment of Plane Flights Over Interesting Terrain ............. 14 Dee Molenaar Climbing in the U.S.S.R ......................... 17 Alex Bertulis Mountain Hemlock ............................ 22 Steve Amo 1976 Bicentennial McKinley South Buttress Expedition .. 28 Warren Thompson Leaders' Special: A Spring Jaunt on Nordic Skis ...... 33 Christine C. White The Mountaineer Bicyclists' Bicentennial Journey Across the U.S.A .. ...................... 36 Fran Dauelsberg Sleuthing in the Past ........................... 49 RobertL. Wood Aconcagua 1976 .............................. 58 John N. Yaeger The Trees of Time ............................. 62 Thomas M. Jenkins The Decline and Fall of Backpacking ............... 66 Harvey Manning Pacific Northwest Flora by Three Washington Artists .. 102 Climbing Notes .............................. 105 Book Reviews ............................... 109 5 The Mountaineer Unnamed Peak on Bearpaw Mountain Ridge Sue Marsh The Changing Expedition Game Willie Unsoeld With the completion of the "Golden Age" of Himalayan mountain eering during which all the 8,000 meter peaks of the world received at least a first ascent, expedition climbing was ready to enter a new phase. No longer would it be acceptable to throw into the climb the full weight of one's technological and logistical capabilities. The generally adverse reactions occasioned among the world's climbing fraternity by the Italian use of helicopters on Everest and by Maestri's use of a power drill for installing expansion bolts on Cerro Torre testified to this altera tion in climbing outlook. As equipment, techniques, experience, and mental outlook all improved, it became necessary to equalize the con test in order to preserve the element of uncertainty. As had been the case in Alpine climbing at a much earlier date, this equalization has been generally accomplished by the choice of harder routes upon the great peaks of the Himalaya. A second method has been to emphasize the "style" in which the climb is attempted. Very small parties moving very quickly and relaying supplies as little as possible constitute the ideal in this respect. Peter Habeler and Reinhold Messner and their lightning ascent of Hidden Peak by a new route could be considered a perfect example of this ideal, while the absolute ultimate might be the first solo ascent of the as-yet-unclimbed Kangshung Face on Everest. Of course, such "ultimate style" is ultimate only in the sense of the reduced margin of safety, due to a decreased number of party members, and in the ease and speed of movement which such a reduced party makes possible. It might also be argued that a relatively small party of friends, say from 4 to 6, moving steadily up the mountain, Alpine style, would really be more "ultimate" in the sense that they would have to be a more closely knit group and be betterable to handle the stresses inherent in their more complicated social structure. Which ideal one chooses as "ultimate" would depend on whether climbing is seen as a matter between an individual and the mountain or between a group of companions struggling together on the mountain's lap. Before moving on from these theoretical ideals to a consideration of some of the problems - both technical and ethical - associated with attempting much harder expeditionaryroutes, I would like to make two more points concerning the search for style. Clearly the great altitudes encountered only in the Himalaya have a great effect on limiting one's 7 The Mountaineer style of climb. If oxygen is required, then the logistics required to put an adequate number of bottles in position for the summit try virtually rule out a really small party. Of course, it is not yet quite clear as to what altitude absolutely requires the use of oxygen. It appears that on the most recent Chinese ascent of Everest, some members of their party may have gone all the way without resortingto oxygen at all. However, it is difficult to tell from the published accounts. The oxygen sets used seemed to be effective only while in a stationary position so the team apparently gathered about them for periodic refreshers during the climb. In any case, there is clearly a distinction between climbing Everest without using oxygen personally (but with all the camps put in with its use, and perhaps along with oxygenated companions) and climbing it with a party which makes no use of artificial 02 at all. It still remains a question whether the four highest peaks in the world can be climbed without oxygen. The other point concerns the necessity for complete acclimatization before trying a very light and fast ascent of the highest peaks. It seems clear that much of the purpose of the large expedition and the "polar method" of ascent traditional to the Himalaya is to give the party time to acclimatize gradually. The alternative seems to be to spend one's acclimatization period on some other peak and then put in the light, fast climb of one's major objective after full acclimatization has been attained. This approach itself entails a considerable outlay of time and money and so is beyond the means of many amateur climbers. The acclimatization period would still require a sizeable expedition just to move enough supplies to sustain one at altitude long enough for acclimatization to take effect. It is a neat question to ask whether the "style" of a climb should include the type of acclimatization period pre ceding it. As I recall, Messner had already attained acclimatization else where in the range before attempting Hidden Peak, but Habeler had not. Quite obviously the "style" of their climb would have been com pletely beyond reproach if neither of them had benefited from a pre vious acclimatization opportunity. In considering some of the implications of the more difficult routes which are now being attempted in the Himalaya, the first point which occurs to me is the greatly decreased margin of safety. Not only are the routes more difficult technically, but they are apt to render one more ex posed to avalanches for longer periods of time. They also increase the danger of being trapped by bad weather at high camps without the chance of. either retreat or support. The question which greatly heigh.tens the force of these objective dangers is the frequent thought, "Since I won't be getting back this way again, and since we have put so 8 The Changing ExpeditionGame much time and effort and money into this attempt, why not push the margin just a little closer to the brink?'' This difference between even the hardest routes in the mountains of North America (or even the Alps) and the "one-shot-or-bust" proposition considered by most American climbers in the Himalaya has a most significant effect on the margin of safety with which one is willing to work. An example of the above point was our experience with avalanches on Nanda Devi this last summer. The ferocity of the monsoon (reported to have been the heaviest in the last 100 years) initially made our choice of the monsoon season appear to have been very ill-advised. After establishing Advanced Base Camp at around 17,500 feet, we were pinned down for seven days of almost continual bad weather. Rain, snow, sleet, and hail - all came roaring down the face above us - up which our route was supposed to go. This was not a great big storm which could be expected to blow itself out eventually, but seemed to be just part of the regular weather pattern with occasional clearing, but never enough to remove the threat of more slides. There was consider able discouragement about this pattern and some serious suggestions of trying another route which might not be quite so exposed to snow accumulation areas - or even of abandoning the climb and moving on to another more hospitable peak. We finally hung on long enough to begin to feel more at home with our local conditions. We got to joking about being able to predict which kind(s) of rumbles heralded a wind blast which would flatten our tents at Advance Base Camp.

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