Offwidth and the DM in vintage gear gettin’ religion on the summit of Edith Cavell
…. winter ascent of Mount Robertson showed determination and originality , and it was one of the better winter climbs made in the last decade.
-about the Desert Mountaineer (excerpted from A Guide to Hiking and Climbing in Southwestern British Columbia by Bruce Fairley)
If you ever find yourself fucked up and far from home, you will be wishing that you had a fellow like the Desert Mountaineer with you. Resourcefulness, dogged determination, mad backcountry skills, multilingual, and a world class negotiator, who could sell ice boxes to Eskimos, are just a few of the attributes this cat has. Not to mention, he’s a really nice guy as well.
I first met the DM in the late 1970’s, and that story (hitchhikers guide) is documented elsewhere on this site, as well as many other stories where he plays a predominate role in the tale. But rest assured his climbing exploits before and after our heyday are where the real stories lie.
I’ve climbed with this guy for over 4 decades, and there’s still plenty I don’t know about. I’ll bet that everyone wants to get the straight dope on the real Desert Mountaineer so here goes…
Pan Granitic Highway: How did you get started in climbing?
Desert Mountaineer: It was 1961 and I had just turned 14 and our family had moved to BC from Montreal. We lived in a small town, Mission, which sat right on the edge of the Coast Range. I was fascinated by all of the mountains nearby, just some natural curiosity I guess. I had no clue about going up into the mountains, how to do it or what to do when I got there, but I became curious.
PGH: So when did you actually first climb something?
DM: It wasn’t until the following spring, March of 1962, that I got up the nerve to try something
PGH: Everyone remembers their first time, so what was your first climb?
DM: I rode my bike several miles north, almost to Stave Falls. Ditched the bike in the bush, walked up an old logging road to Hoover Lake, then bushwhacked up a small un-named peak (Peak 2200) to its summit for a better view of Mt. Robie Reid. That was it, I was hooked.
PGH: I know that you are a meticulous record keeper, when did that all start?
DM: That must have really started when my mother gave me a daily diary when I left home to start UBC in Vancouver in September of 1964. I kept it faithfully every day. That became such a habit that I would also make notes of every time I went out climbing. I’m glad I did that, because now I can look back on written notes from over 40 years ago and reconstruct the details of climbs in surprising detail.
PGH: Do you have any idea of how many summits you have climbed in total? Vertical feet? Miles traveled on foot? It must be staggering.
DM: Well, as of today, June 16, 2017 my lifetime total of peaks climbed is 2,588. At the end of each year, I total up my miles and vertical feet for the year, then average it out per peak. It can vary quite a bit each year depending on where most of the climbs take place. Climbs done up to 1982 when I lived in Canada were all bigger for both miles and vertical feet. Climbs done here in Arizona are all much smaller. That being said, even if I just use Arizona averages for every peak done in my entire life, for the 2,588 peaks I would get a very conservative total of
Miles traipsed – 9,809
Vertical feet climbed – 2,934,792
I’ve never looked at those totals before in that way – interesting, makes me tired just thinking of it – I think I’ll take a nap.
PGH: Holy crap! That’s a boatload!
Stay tuned for an upcoming conclusion of DM Confidential…