MOUNTAINS DON T CARE, BUT WE DO!

Transcription

1 MOUNTAINS DON T CARE, BUT WE DO! An Early History of the US Mountain Rescue Association topographmedia.com

2 Synopsis This DVD contains a new documentary video as well as two historic films (described below). This film charts the founding and early history of mountain rescue in the United States, focusing on the remarkable people who risked their lives to save people in trouble in the mountains in the years between 1948 and Mountains Don t Care, But We Do! features Dee Molenaar, Jim Whittaker, Wolf Bauer, Dick Pooley and other key individuals involved in the early history of mountain rescue in the Pacific Northwest. It traces the development of mountain rescue teams in Washington and Oregon including the first major operation on Mount McKinley in The Pacific Northwest provided a unique setting and challenging terrain for the development of organized mountain rescue in the US. The video shows that the roots of mountain rescue were in the Alps, with immigrants Wolf Bauer and Otto Trott bringing their experience and skills from Europe to the US. The video closes with a look at mountain rescue today, as well as some answers to the question: What motivates mountain rescuers and why do they face danger to help others in trouble in the mountains? Visit the web site of the MRA at Mountains Don t Care. Produced by the Seattle Mountain Rescue Council in 1953, featuring Ome Daiber (founder of Seattle Mountain Rescue), with Jim and Lou Whittaker. After World War II, returning soldiers and their families flocked to the mountains of the Pacific Northwest in search of recreation. This classic Ira Spring film was probably the first mountain safety film ever produced, it responded to a need to inform local citizens of possible dangers in the mountains. It also features some of the most notable mountaineers of the century, including Ome Daiber, and both Jim and Lou Whittaker. Today this film can still be used to further one of the objectives of the Mountain Rescue Association: public mountain safety education. The video is included on this DVD courtesy of the Spring Family Trust for Trails. For more info, see Running Time: 29 Minutes, Language: English Genre: Historic Documentary Format: NTSC, Aspect: 4x3 Running Time: 20 Minutes, Language: English Genre: Mountain Saftey Film, Format: NTSC Mountain Rescue Training at Wilder Kaiser, Austria, Historic footage of early mountain rescue techniques developed by Wastl Mariner and others in Austria and Germany in the late 1940 s. This unique video was made as a black and white silent film in Austria and shows the evolution of early mountain rescue technique and equipment in Europe. In about 1950 the German-American immigrant Wolf Bauer brought a copy of the film back to Seattle and this became the inspiration for development of mountain rescue in the US during the 1950 s. In 1998 the film was digitized and narrated by the International Commission of Alpine Rescue (IKAR) for their 50th anniversary celebration. The English subtitles for this version were painstakingly provided by F. Mathias Lorenz and Bavarian native speaker, Victoria Mayer. This film is included on this DVD courtesy of IKAR, and you can visit the web site at Running Time: 25 Minutes, Language: German with English Subtitles, Genre: Documentary, Format: NTSC, Aspect: 4x3

3 Director s Statement The Mountain Rescue Association (MRA) is a national group of volunteers dedicated to saving lives through rescue and mountain safety education. During the planning stages for the MRA 50th Anniversary Celebration at Mount Hood, Oregon, it became clear that this would be the time to record, publish and distribute a basic history of mountain rescue in the US. Beginning in 1948, mountain rescue formally began in Seattle with the establishment of the Seattle Mountain Rescue Council. The initial meeting of the MRA was at Mount Hood, and the Washington and Oregon teams took the lead in developing a national association, and the charter was finally signed in 1959 at Timberline Lodge. In the summer of 2008 MRA commissioned a book by noted Northwest Author and Artist Dee Molenaar, and a documentary video was a natural outgrowth of that project. The book is now available through Mountaineers Books, (see the web page at productdetails.cfm?pc=1500). We were fortunate to have a private foundation and long-time supporter of the MRA who contributed the funding to make the video. The premiere of the video was on June 28, 2009 at Timberline Lodge, Mount Hood, Oregon before 300 rescuers and guests. It also played at the Tacoma Film Festival in October 2009 and won a special jury award at the Mountain Film Festival in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. in February, As a volunteer mountain rescuer with more than 20 years of service, this was a rewarding project for me, and I am thankful for the opportunity to help record this important history. Ome Daiber, Photo by Dee Molenaar, 1940 Production Notes Ome Daiber, Otto Trott, Wolf Bauer, Photo by Ira Spring View the Trailer: Filming began at the annual meeting of the MRA in Stowe, Vermont in June The MRA provided the initial funding to ensure that the project could be completed within one year. It was determined at the outset that the focus of the film would be the early years between 1948 and But it was also necessary to look at the modern MRA, and how it has evolved since the founding in Many of the founders of mountain rescue have passed away, but we were fortunate to have key people like Wolf Bauer to interview, (he was ninety-six at the time). In the summer of 2008 a reunion of many of the early mountaineers was hosted at Mount Hood by Portland Mountain Rescue, and the filming continued at several locations in Oregon and Washington. Jim Whittaker, the first American on Mount Everest, was eighty years old at the time of interview, and he added some of the most important insights as well as the closing comments of the film. Filming concluded with some of the current leaders of the MRA who were able to explain why rescuers are willing to risk their lives to save others in trouble in the mountains. You can watch a preview of the video by going to The DVD is distributed by the Mountain Rescue Association, a non-profit organization, the public can get information on how to obtain a copy at

4 Key Profiles Jim Whittaker A Seattle native, Jim achieved the distinction in 1963 of being the first American to summit Mount Everest. For many years, Jim served as manager of REI in Seattle, helping to build it into a multimillion dollar operation, with many branch stores throughout the United States. In 1978, he organized and led the first successful American ascent of K2, the world s second highest, and many say most dangerous, peak. Also, against formidable political and logistical odds, he organized and led the spectacularly successful 1990 Mount Everest Peace Climb, which put twenty men and women from three superpowers the United States, China, and the Soviet Union on the summit. Ome Daiber Ome Daiber was born George C. Daiber in 1907, and later changed his name legally to Ome. The name Ome is from his boyhood, when he asked a friend at school to owe me a nickel so he could buy some lunch. Beginning in 1936, the authorities began to call Ome for help because of his Mount Rainier experience; he made a first ascent of Liberty Ridge the previous September. He was one of the three founders of Seattle Mountain Rescue Council in Calls would come to the Daiber house, his wife Matie and Ome would call a list of their mountaineering friends to help. He was liked by all and truly a legendary man of the mountains. Wolf Bauer Born in Bavaria, Germany in 1912, Wolf Bauer came to Seattle in the 1930s and immediately noted that the Cascade Range is similar to that of his native Alps. With his boundless energy and vision, in 1934 he established The Mountaineers climbing course. In 1948, he established the Washington Kayak Club and then co-founded the Seattle Mountain Rescue Council. In the late 1960s, Wolf directed a successful campaign to preserve the Green River Gorge, near Seattle. He was a founding member of the Washington Environmental Council in The lodge at Flaming Geyser State Park was named after Wolf, and he is still active in conservation efforts at age 97. Otto Trott A skier and climber since his youth in Germany, the forthright Dr. Otto Trott put patients first. During World War II, not here long enough to have become a U.S. citizen, Trott was placed in a Tennessee internment camp. After the war he was a co-founder of Seattle Mountain Rescue Council. When the going got tough, as in a gritty mountain rescue, he treated colleagues to stress-melting jokes. Everyone in mountain search-and-rescue operations will remember Dr. Otto Trott for his honesty, integrity, sense of humor. His son-in-law recently published a book on Otto s life called The Making of Rescuer, published by Trafford Publishing Company in Dick Pooley Dick Pooley s first climb of Mount Hood was the annual American Legion climb up the peak s south side in In 1946, Dick moved to Hood River, became a member of the Crag Rats and climbed all of the local volcanoes. He then went back to Portland, where he joined the Mazamas in 1953Pooley joined the Wy east Climbers in 1956, The American Alpine Club in 1961, and served on the Mount Hood Ski Patrol starting in He was a charter member and first president of the Mountain Rescue Association. At the age of eighty-eight, Dick Pooley is still active in the MRA in Oregon and has carefully preserved MRA history. Dee Molenaar Dee Molenaar was born in Los Angeles in 1918 to Dutch immigrant parents, and he recalls riding on his uncle s horse drawn milk delivery cart. Dee has climbed peaks throughout the western U.S. and Canada, Alaska, the Alps, and the Himalayas. He participated in major expeditions to Mount St. Elias in Alaska in 1946 and in the ill-fated 1953 American expedition to K2 in the Karakoram Himalaya in His artwork and maps have appeared in books and art shows all over the world. His book The Challenge of Mount Rainier is in its ninth printing. At age 91 he continues to work on art and map projects, and writing and lecturing about mountaineering and geology.

5 SUMMARY This DVD provides an early history of the Mountain Rescue Association (MRA) focused on events in the Pacific Northwest in the 1940 s and 1950 s. It shows that the roots of mountain rescue in the USA were in the Alps, and how the changing conditions in the Northwest after World War II provided a need for local mountain rescue teams. This effort culminated in June of 1959 at Timberline Lodge, Oregon, with the signing of the MRA Charter. The Mountain Rescue Association today is composed of 90 teams and more than 2000 members, all dedicated to saving lives through mountain rescue and mountain safety education. To become an MRA member, all teams must be tested and periodically re-certified in technical rock rescue, ice and snow, and general search. Today MRA is the national face of Mountain Rescue, with links to other groups including the US Sheriffs Association, the National Association of Search and Rescue (NASAR), and the Federal government. MRA also send representatives each year to the international congress (IKAR) in Europe to share in the latest technology and techniques. This video shows the debt owed to the founders, their commitment and skill made the MRA what it is today. We can still say with confidence: Mountains Don t Care, But We Do! Cover Photo: Seattle Mountain Rescue Council training, 1955, Standing: L to R, Chuck Welch, Dee Molenaar, Coast Guard pilot, K Molenaar, Max Eckenburg, Ome Daiber, Coast Guard crew member, John Thomson and Lou Whittaker. Front kneeling L to R, Wolf Bauer, unknown rescuer, Jim Whittaker and Coast Guard pilot. Photo Courtesy of University of Washington Library, Special Collections Division

6 Credits An Early History of the US Mountain Rescue Association: Mountains Don t Care, But We Do! Produced by Topograph Media Funding Provided by a Private Foundation and Long Time Supporter of the Mountain Rescue Association Archival Film Footage Courtesy of The Mountaineers Denver Public Library 10th Mountain Division International Commission for Alpine Rescue (IKAR) Altadena Mountain Rescue Team Historic Photos and Mountains Don t Care film clips (1953) Courtesy of The Spring Trust for Trails Mount Hood Video Clips Pat McAbery, Sight and Sound Services Additional Photos The University of Washington Library The Seattle Museum of History and Industry The Otto Trott and Paul Williams Family Dick Pooley, Phil Umhoeltz, Tim Kovacs, and Dee Molenaar Various Mountain Rescue Teams of the MRA Denali Photo: Nic McPhee and Creative Commons Camera, Sound and Video Editing F. Mathias Lorenz Design, Layout and Photo Editing Victoria Mayer Additional Camera Paul Lovelady Musical Score Kenseth Technical Support and DVD Replication Tobin Productions, New York City Topograph Advisory Team Rick Karr, Bob Belarue, and Jana Larson Directed by Rick Lorenz Olympic Mountain Rescue, Washington Distributed by the Mountain Rescue Association All Rights Reserved