There were a lot of news stories here yesterday about the 35th anniversary of the eruption of Mt. St. Helens, which got me thinking about "the old days" and prompted me to remember the picture above and dig it from my files. In my mind, at least, this image ties many bits of history and memories together. Abell is with a Cascade Mountains legend, Louis Ulrich, on the summit of Bear Creek Mountain near the Goat Rocks, about 1978 or 79. Among other mountaineering milestones, Louis is credited with the first ascent of Mt. Stuart in 1933 by a route that now bears his name (Ulrich's Couloir.)
Coincidentally, my buds and I hiked in the Stuart Range this past weekend, and our view of "Louie's Mountain" was amazing (photograph below.)
I first met Louis about 1977 when I was working for the paper in Yakima and photographed and wrote a story about him. Louis and I became good friends and did many hikes and mountaineering scrambles together. He was Swiss, and, when he moved to Yakima in the early 1930's, brought many Alpine climbing techniques to the Cascades.
It happens that Louis and I were together 35 years ago, hiking near White Pass, when Mt. St. Helens erupted. When dirt fell from the sky and it became dark out (at mid-day,) Louis and I had to use headlamps to find our way back down the trail to our car. We slowly drove through the falling dirt and made our way to Yakima (where it was also dark and street lights had come on) and I went right to work, photographing the impact the eruption had on our town.
Even after Leah, Abell and I moved to Seattle in 1980, I'd often make the drive back to Yakima to hike with Louis.
