The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1927-02-18
Girl CONQUERS'
HIGH MOUNTAIN
Miss Pilley First of Her Sex
to Scale Hoary Slopes
of Baker.

quered in the last three years. In
1924. the first winner ascent Of Mt.
Cook, monarch Of the New Zealand
Alps, was made for the first time.
Last year Mt. Logan, highest of the
Canadian peaks, was scaled success
fully. Now comes news Of the first
ascent by a woman Of the northeast
route Of Mt. Baker, in northern Wash
sngtOn, mecca Of thousands Of tourists
of the western states and western Can
ada. Miss Dorothy E. Pilley and I. A.
| Richards, both of the Alpine club OF
England, have just made the ascent,
accompanied by Ben Thompson Of the
Mt. Baker forestry patrol.
Named after Lieutenant Baker when,
as Captain Vancouver was sailing
through the straits of Juan de Fuca,
this giant of the Pacific Northwest, a
little over $4,000 feet high, definitely
suggests the vOlcano-a heavier but
not less soaring Fujiyama. To Miss
Pflley not even Mont Blanc, from the
hills above GrenOble, or Mont Rosa
from the cathedral Of Milan, famous
as these sights are among European
landscapes, have anything to boast
over Mt. Baker, 20 miles from Van
couver and about 100 from Seattle,
the commercial capital OF Washing
ton.
The route usually followed is via
the little village Of Glacier and Hello
trope ridge, past evass that, al
though %stupendOus in themselves, Of
fer no ~insuperable difficulty. Walking
: sometimes along a ten-fOOt causeway
Of ice between canyons whose vertical
sides plunge downward for hundreds
. Of feet, sometimes Zig-zagging be-
| tween narrower assures, and then
making good progress across immense
t slopes Of innocent snow, n comes to
what is called the Saddle, an extern
4 sive plateau.
! Scene Of Tragedy.
4 The slopes near the Saddle were
once the scene Of an accident as pa
= thetic as any in the annals Of noun
y taineering. Two old-time prOspectOr
were using the mountain as the easies
way over the Baker lake region. Il
4 the days before trails were in exist
ence, doubtless 1t was a relativel
: easy way, though not a safe n 70
" ill-euuipped men, unfamiliar with tn
dangers Of glacier travel.
4 What might only too well have bee
st expected happened. One Of theI
Of broke through the surface of sno'
n covering a concealed eva and fe
he into the engulhng darkness below. II
iured and trapped beyond any poss
: bility Of escape, he was yet able [
sneak to his companion above, to Civ
- him a last message to his wife an
Ia family. and bid him make his sOlitar
way back to safety.
30 Many unrOped and inexperience
persons disport themselves on II
glaciers Of Mt. Baker, and 1t is su
prising that more such fatalities hay
not occurred. Even a highly expel
iV- enced ~mountaineer is not immul
is from these dangers, as the deaf
les through a similar accident in 1913,
c. P. Bishop, president of the Briti
he Columbia M-Ountaineers, showed on
ere too clearly.
Describing her ascent, which "
made from the Austin pass, Miss Pill
says: Leaving Heather Meadows y
'He follow an easy trail, and make 70
OuI way over several small glaciers to
red point known as Kaiser's Camp, whe
,er- the presence of frewOod enables you
ded spend a comfortable night. From the
the whole route Of the ascent lies
plain view.
bic Below you a tOrtuOusly riven G
cier fills the valley. Beyond, the OF
snow slopes rise, broken only by
shadowy c~riss-cross markings
eek -crevasses to the clear edge of the ST
ome nit plateau. They are divided by
9TH long, low ridge that falls toward
to crowned by a point, Pumice ST
pinnacle, which at this distance
several miles looks unimportant,
marked at its foot by a hollow b
space in the glacier, which, when
approach 1t, proves to be a mOderat
alive crater, putting out whihs
O' steam and vapor, and clotted y
al fragments Of sulphur.
enc "Our intention had been to go
155 way Of the crater, but, on the way
and came across a line Of faint tracks,
de- we knew, by a party Of the week
him. fore. The party had failed, and
+o1 knew the reason. An impossible
-. in the glacier, stretching, It was
ported, right across the whole
7h'@ Of the mountain, had barred their
sVufe Their progress. We knew that a s
lblc. lar failure might easily be the re
riOus II we followed them, but somehow
used that perfect morning, with the 81
looks ing, rounded steps Of the glacier b
,bont tifully dappled with blue shadow.
f;v.+ sparkling in the early sunlight
myriad stars. Of diamond light, tn
traction Of the snow was irresist
very So, risking failure, we determine
n 60 and look at the reported imp
an Up we wound. hating only a
sting Once where a little pool Of W
ev to caught In a cleft of blue and glea,
Too hackOnpd us to lunch Affor