WWW.MOUNTAINEERS.ORG NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 • VOLUME 107 • NO. 6 MountaineerE X P L O R E • L E A R N • C O N S E R V E John Epic Run Muir Trail +Tips For Lightweight Backcountry Travel ‘Our Secret Rainier’ Yellowstone Cliffs Part IV and Natural Bridge Turns All Year A personal look at backcountry skiing Avalanche 7Myths how to find a Marbled Murrelet and bake one too! inside Nov/Dec 2013 » Volume 107 » Number 6 Enriching the community by helping people explore, conserve, learn about, and enjoy the lands and waters of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. 12 Marbled Murrelet A Bird on the Brink 17 Sense of Courage Gavin Woody’s Epic Run on the John Muir Trail 20 ‘Our Secret Rainier’ Part IV Yellowstone Cliffs and Natural Bridge 23 Turns All Year 20 A personal look at backcountry skiing 28 A Family on Ice Trekking the Malaspina Glacier with two small children 6 CONSERVATION CURRENTS Sustainable Roads Analysis and National Heritage 10 IMPACT GIVING Volunteers join Peak Society through Matching Gifts 16 MEMBER PROFILE 23 An interview with Yinan Zhao 30 BOOKMARKS 28 With a Special Recipe by Author Maria Mudd Ruth 37 GLOBAL ADVENTURES Trekking through History: the Peruvian Andes 38 OUTDOOR CENTERS The Patrol Race Revisited 46 OFF BELAY Tragedy on Forbidden Peak 47 LAST WORD New Courage by Tad Wilkins Mountaineer magazine would like to thank DISCOVER THE MOUNTAINEERS The Mountaineers Foundation for its financial assistance. The Foundation operates as a separate If you are thinking of joining—or have joined and aren’t sure where to organization from The Mountaineers, which has received about one-third of the Foundation’s gifts to start—why not set a date to Meet The Mountainers? Check the various nonprofit organizations. Branching Out section of the magazine (page 36) for times and locations of informational meetings at each of our seven branches. Mountaineer uses . On the cover: Gavin Woody, board president, runs Mt. St. Helens. credit: Gavin Woody 2 the mountaineer » nov/dec 2013 tyingin Return to The Mountaineers The Mountaineers is a non- profit organization, founded I recently returned to The Mountaineers from in 1906 and dedicated to the maternity leave after the birth of my second responsible enjoyment and protection of natural areas. child. Lacking the fear that accompanies the first child, I was able to fully appreciate the warm, BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICERS sunny days to organize daily outdoor adventures President Gavin Woody, 2012-14 including trips to the beach, short hikes and even President Elect Dan Lauren, 2012-14 an overnight camping trip to Cooper Lake! The VP Properties Tab Wilkins 201 2-14 VP Publishing Lisa Berntsen, 2012-14 joy and peace my family found in the outdoors Treasurer Steve McClure, 2012-14 renewed my passion and enthusiasm for The Secretary John Ohlson, 2012-14 Mountaineers. DIRECTORS AT LARGE Lorna Corrigan, 2011-14 My absence and return gave me the rare Rich Draves, 2011-14 opportunity to re-enter The Mountaineers with Lee Fromson, 2010-13 the perspective of an observer during my first Chloe Harford, 2012-15 few weeks back. Several things struck me as I Leah Schulz, 2012-15 Kara Stone, 2012-13 saw our organization with fresh eyes. Matt Sullivan, 2010-13 Tom Varga, 2012-15 It was amazing to see how far we’ve come from my first days Gene Yore, 2011-14 just four years ago. The Mountaineers has been reborn in that BRANCH DIRECTORS Ken Small, Bellingham short period of time. Evy Dudey, Everett Our membership is growing with new families and individuals in each of our seven Gerry Haugen, Foothills Jimmy James, Kitsap branches. We are financially strong, with funds to invest in our programs and our Henry Romer, Olympia strategic plan. New courses and programs offer volunteers more opportunities Bill Deters, Seattle to share their skills. Youth programs that didn’t exist when I arrived now take Jim Feltus, Tacoma more than 2,000 young people into the outdoors. Our reinvigorated conservation EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR programs connect recreationists with important policy decisions that affect our Martinique Grigg lands and waters. Our board and volunteer leadership is stronger than ever. EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER Helen Cherullo I was proud to see my staff continue the upward trajectory of our progress DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT during my leave, including launching new youth programs and tripling the size AND COMMUNICATIONS of our summer camps; supporting new volunteer programs and summer trips; Mary Hsue and extending our conservation work and strengthening partnerships with land PUBLICATIONS MANAGER Suzanne Gerber management agencies. PROOFREADERS Often in life, change happens so incrementally that it’s hard to acknowledge how Kristina Ciari, Chris Pyper, Emily White radically different we have become. It’s like training for a big climb. We gain a bit PHOTOGRAPHERS Erica Bliss, Rena Chinn, Kristina Ciari, Tom of strength with each hike until the mountain that once seemed impossible O’Keefe, Erin McKittrick & Bretwood Hig- becomes achievable – no longer just a worthy objective, the summit is suddenly ma of Ground Truth Trekking, Mike Warren attainable. The Mountaineer (ISSN 0027-2620) is published bimonthly by The Mountaineers, This season, I hope you will reflect on how The Mountaineers has changed since 7700 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA you’ve been a part of our community, because all those incremental changes add 98115. 206-521-6000; 206-523-6763 fax. up. Your support and dedication have made our progress possible. Members receive a subscription as part of their annual dues. Approximately $12 of each member’s annual membership dues goes to print and mail this publication. Non-member subscriptions to the Moun- taineer are $32. Periodicals postage paid at Seattle, WA and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to the Mountaineer, 7700 Sand Point Martinique Grigg, Executive Director Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115. Opinions expressed in articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of The Mountaineers. www.mountaineers.org 3 editorsnote Hello and Thank You You may know me, or some of my work al- You may notice a few layout adjustments as ready. I was the volunteer graphic designer for well, hopefully making things easier to find the large fundraiser last spring, EVEREST50. and read. I initially did not want to make any It was a beautiful event commemorating the changes to the layout of this issue as I’m 50th anniversary of Jim Whittaker as the first aware of how much history and heart goes American to summit Mount Everest. It was into an organization like this one. Change, no also a great way for me to get to know the matter how minor, is not always welcome. staff who was, unknown to me at the time, However, editing a magazine has the feel of destined to be my new co-workers. moving into a house - with articles to put I have also been out on the trails with The into their respective rooms and on shelves. Darcy Kiefel Mountaineers for the last three years — some- Editing something that has been around for times even leading a few hikes and backpacks. any length of time means other people have Suzanne joins the staff of I am proud to be a recent graduate of the lived there before you. There are characters The Mountaineers as the Publications Manager - and Alpine Scrambling course and my eyes are and guidelines; paragraph styles and headlines the new magazine editor. She now set on the Basic Alpine Climbing course left behind. The first inclination is to try not to is very excited to be here. next spring. touch anything. But deadlines are a powerful motivator and I was left with a choice: I could questions, comments, This is my introduction to you and also my put things where I thought the previous tenant suggestions: chance to tell you how grateful I am to be your [email protected] new magazine editor. would have put them, or put them where they made the most sense to me. I chose the latter In this issue, you will find the fourth – being as respectful as possible to structures of an informative series called, “My Secret already set in place. Rainier,” which describes some lesser known As I organize my new home of outdoor advice, trails around Mount Rainier National Park by activity guides, new books and inspirational longtime Mountaineers trip leaders, Gene Yore stories, I welcome feedback (both good and and Mickey Eisenberg. bad). For even if I am the one editing it, this You will also find a story of courage and magazine is a home for us all. The beauty of struggle - about our board president, Gavin a non-profit, especially one that was a social Woody who attempted to run the entire John club for so many years, is that we all play an Muir Trail, unassisted. This is a notable article important role in its existence. And together for me as I had the pleasure of interviewing we contribute to its success. Gavin. Writing this piece makes it my first So, let me know what you would like to see in official article for The Mountaineers. this magazine of ours and I’ll try to make your And for those skiing enthusiasts who are ideas feel cozy and at home. watching every mountain weather report for fresh powder, we have an article on the As a special call-out to year-round backcountry skiing trend, Turns All photographers: I’d love to put together Year written by my enthusiastic and admirable a larger resource of Mountaineer photos.