[pct-l] Video from Lunch with Glen Dawson
Hiker97 at aol.com
Hiker97 at aol.com
Sun Dec 27 00:22:10 CST 2009
Thanks to all of you for coming to the lunch. It was unbelievable. He is
so alert and his 97 year old memory put us youngsters to shame. He easily
dropped bombshells on us about the past and his participation. You never
saw four guys so intent in listening to someone talk.
He was on the search for Walter Starr, Jr. and he climbed the last
unclimbed Sierra 14,000 footer, etc., etc., etc. We were blown away listening to
him just talk about his outdoor experiences. He knew William Colby, John
Muir's secretary (Sierra Club). His dad knew John Muir - died 1914. Glen
was born in 1912.
My wife (the long suffering Mrs. Switchback) had done a double picture of
Mt. Whitney's east face and below it the picture of the party he was with
in 1931 (with Norman Clyde) on top after their first east face accent climb.
He signed a plate for each of us to take home. He kept one for himself
too. He took us up to his apartment at the retirement home and showed us
his climbing journals, books, etc. Recently, he was awarded an honorary
Ph.D. for his pioneering mountaineering.
I left the lunch in a trance. Living history I had just experienced and
am still trying to comprehend it all. What a fine gentleman and host he
was. A first class experience. I could tell he was very glad we had visited
him and our appreciation Sierra history.
Cheers, Switchback the Trail Pirate
In a message dated 12/26/2009 8:50:43 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,
brick at brickrobbins.com writes:
Strider, Carl, Switchback and I had a once in a lifetime chance to
have lunch with a living legend today: Glen Dawson. If you don't know
who he is, there is a link below. I really loved looking at the
portrait that Ansel Adams took of him that hangs in his living room.
Thanks Switchback for setting this up
Here is a video I took today of Glen talking about his participation
in the First Ascent of the East Face of Mt Whitney
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlnmSsj-0rw
More about Glen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Dawson
More information about the Pct-L
mailing list