Archival Snow Sports

 

Long before Warren Miller, Dwight Watson, amateur photographer and mountaineer, documented snow sport culture in the pacific northwest.  I've been browsing Watson's 1940s era images on the UW Digital Collections site.  As a non-skier, I'm drawn to Watson's more casual scenes showing sportsmen and women at rest - at the lodge, in ensemble poses.  As always, I endorse how outdoor clothing from the past resembles everyday garb.  There is very little evidence of performance fabrics or ski specific clothing in these images. I love the visual flourish of the Cross County skiers wearing neckties to finish their outfits.  Style in the face of a chill!

Browse through the Watson collection as inspiration for staging your own heritage snow sports day ala the great tweed run.

 

Archival Climbers

Shopping from Summit Magazine

You might have seen a Summit magazine cover or two over at Jeff's. We dug deep and did some shopping. I'll be packing a West German down jacket and some malt crunch while I'm up in the Cascades this summer!

Mountain Summer

For those of you working through the summer, I recommend shopping from the Glenbow Museum Archives for surrogate vacation snaps of the Canadian Rockies from the 1920s and 1930s. If you're too pressed for time, here is my summary of an ideal summer spent hiking, reading, rowing, dining, fishing, swimming and climbing - in perfect archival attire.

Archival Reprint: Filson Japan Lookbook

Per yesterday's entry, I'm reprinting a few of my favorite views from the strangely compelling, Filson Japan lookbook, "The Ballad of Portraits". I love the stylized presentation of the figures who look like colorized, plasticized transplants from a 19th century daguerreotype (if Dodge Sportsmans appeared in daguerreotypes). Since most web image content disappears from view or gets redistributed away from its original source, I wanted to archive a copy for myself for future reference. It's a shame we cannot mail away for a print copy.

Archival Alpinists

We love these hand tinted magic lantern slides by alpinist Thomas B. Moffat. Taken in the 1930s, they document the Alpine Club of Canada's ascent of several mountains in the Canadian Rockies. There's a refreshing lack of technical clothing, high tech gear and off road vehicles in these photographs. Vests, ponchos, pipes and caps finish climbing ensembles that would not look out of place on a city street. Proof that you don't need dedicated equipment to enjoy the great outdoors.

Thomas B. Moffat lantern slides courtesy Glenbow Museum

Archival Trip Report: Denali, 1959

In 1959, four young men made the first ascent of Denali (Mt. McKinley) via the West Rib.

"Pete Sinclair, a fine rock climber from the Dartmouth Mountaineering Club."

Photos used with the permission of the American Alpine Club.