North America, United States, Washington, Olympic Mountains, New Climbs in the Bailey Range

Publication Year: 1962.

New Climbs in the Bailey Range. Two parties climbed in this seldom visited range in 1961, and though records are incomplete the following climbs appear to be first ascents:

Mount Childs (6205 feet) is located a mile north-northeast of Bear Pass. The peak was named by the Press Party of 1890 for George Washington Childs, publisher of the Philadelphia Ledger, but the name has never been confirmed by the Board on Geographic Names. The first ascent was made on August 6 by Doug Waali, Bob Wood, and Kent Heather- shaw, and involved a scramble up a talus slope on the east side.

“The Ragamuffin” and "The Urchin,” (c. 6000 feet) are two rocky pinnacles located a half mile northeast of Mount Childs. These class 3 ascents were made by Waali and Heathershaw on the same day as Childs, both by the north ridge.

Mount Pulitzer (6283 feet) is located a half mile southwest of Mount Ferry. The Press Party named this peak for Joseph Pulitzer, publisher of the New York World, but the name has not been sanctioned. Old Forest Service references sometimes call it “Snagtooth”. Waali, Wood, and Heathershaw climbed the exposed east ridge over extremely splintered rock.

Stephen Peak (6430 feet) was ascended on August 8 by Waali, Wood, and Heathershaw from upper Cream Lake Basin. Steep heather slopes were climbed to the ridge crest at the southeast end of the massif. The ridge was crossed and snowfields contoured northwest below the jagged crest to the highest point at the northwest end of the massif, which was gained by a narrow ridge.

“Ruth Peak” (c. 6850) is a twin-spired peak located one mile east- southeast of Mount Carrie at the head of a large glacier east of Carrie. Roy Etten, Bert Brown, and Bert Nelson completed the first ascent on August 8. From the summit of Carrie they did a descending traverse of a glacier to the east for three-fourths of a mile, then climbed a steep glacial finger, gaining 500 feet to the ridge crest west of the summit. Ledgesystems on the south side of the west spire of “Ruth” took them to rotten gully systems leading to the summit. The class 3 ascent took 3 hours from the summit of Mount Carrie.

Roy Etten, The Mountaineers