Sandwiched between the Cascades and Canadian Rockies, Bellingham works up an appetite for some epic adventures in the mountains. Mountaineering offers a fun and challenging way to recreate in the mountains.
Although it can be an epic sport, it can also be dangerous — and there are issues within the community, such as scarcity.
Stu Johnson is a recent WWU alumni, who has lots of experience climbing mountains around the North Cascades. He is a mountain guide with International Mountain Guides.
“Mountaineering is the art of traveling through mountainous terrain with the aim of climbing to the highest point you’ve defined for yourself and returning home,” Johnson said.
Johnson has had experience climbing around the world, but is still fond of climbing in the North Cascades.
“In the North Cascades, there’s just all this amazing rock, amazing granite, and the climbing, specifically North Cascades National Park allows you to just go from your car and within a couple of hours be out in this incredibly rugged alpine environment,” Johnson said.
One of Johnson’s favorite moments climbing around Bellingham was when he and his friend Max Bond became the first people to have a winter summit on Mount Spickard. They went out for what was supposed to be a two-day, one-night excursion that went a full extra day.
“It was this incredibly special moment with him out there in uncharted territory. We ran out of food. He carried an emergency dehydrated mashed potato bag, and it felt like a real adventure,” Johnson said.
Kyle McCrohan is a mountaineer and climber known for writing stories from his adventures. One ice climb up the north ridge of Mount Baker stands out in his memory.
“Looking down the North Ridge, it’s pretty striking,” McCrohan said. “Its steep snow slopes on either side, down to some of the largest glaciers in the U.S. and then beyond that is the ocean. It’s just like a land of ice and green and trees and then the ocean.”
McCrohan has found that there is a scarcity of access to the outdoors as demand for the outdoors is on the rise. More accessible points have become less accessible because of things such as road washouts, concentrating on abandoned trails and concentrating in a few specific areas.
“It’s really created this culture of scarcity, where people see the next person as competition,” McCrohan said. “Competition for that parking spot, competition for the spot on the trail, and it really creates like kind of negative culture around recreation.”
In an article titled The Case for Abundant Recreation on his website, McCrohan wrote about the conversation between conservation and preservation, and trying to find a solution to the problem of scarcity.
He believes there is a false, polarizing dichotomy between believing people are inherently bad and don’t belong in nature at all and the belief that nature doesn’t have a value and people should be allowed to go everywhere.
”If we believe in conservation, but we also believe that recreation is inherently good and we want equitable access,then we should invest in those popular areas and try to make a greater capacity sustainable,” McCrohan said. “It’s not necessarily easy. You know, it might take making better trails, having more staff capacity.”
Stu Johnson stands at the top of El Dorado mountain scoping out his ski descent on July 31, 2022. El Dorado is a 6,716 ft mountain in the North Cascades in Washington. // Photo courtesy of Stu Johnson
Mountaineering is a hard sport with steep learning curves. Mistakes can lead to serious injuries and even death — so safety is incredibly important.Learning to back down from reaching the summit of a mountain can be difficult, but it can be the right choice to make.
“People around me are generally motivated by heuristic traps,” Johnson said. “The common one is called summit fever. People are so hungry to get to the summit … that’s how you’re going to get hurt.”
Getting into mountaineering can be scary, but there are resources that can help. The Outdoor Center offers opportunities for Western students to get into outdoor sports, offering classes, gear, and a friendly environment.
“This winter, we ran a crevasse rescue course,” said Stu Montgomery, the assistant director for viking outdoor recreation. “We have had, in the past, Baker Summit attempt trips where we are providing the training or the help. We also have some of that equipment for rent in our gear shop.”
The Mountaineers are a mountaineering group that have a branch in Bellingham. They have a summer potluck coming up on June 3, and it is a great way to meet people and get involved in the sport and community.
Brady Rufner (he/him) is a sports and recreation reporter for The Front. He is in his first year at Western and is majoring in visual journalism. When he isn’t covering stories or taking photos, he is usually running, skiing, or playing soccer. You can reach him at bradyrufner.thefront@gmail.com.
