What! How could that possibly be? It defied imagination. Yet, there it was.
In early April of 2018, Lupe had a new comment on her blog, a fairly rare occurrence. The comment was from a name that SPHP recognized from Peakbagger.com. From completely out of the blue, Steven Gruhn, an active mountaineer in Alaska, had made the comment. What Steven wrote was as astounding as it was unexpected:
Hi. I stumbled across your blog after noting Lupe’s ascents of Slope Mountain and Lake Benchmark Mountain on peakbagger.com. I try to keep track of the earliest recorded ascents of every peak in Alaska and I hadn’t known of ascents to the summits of either of those peaks. Did you notice any evidence of a prior ascent on either peak? I also try to help drum up reports of noteworthy ascents for publication in the Mountaineering Club of Alaska’s monthly newsletter, the Scree. Would you be willing to submit a trip report on your ascents of those two peaks for publication in the Scree?
The whole notion was astonishing! Had Lupe climbed 2 peaks in Alaska on her 2017 Dingo Vacation that no one else had ever been up, at least in recorded history? No, that wasn’t true. Slope Mountain (4,010 ft.) and Lake Benchmark Mountain (5,000 ft.) were the two northernmost peaks that Lupe had ever climbed, but there had been definite signs of prior ascents at both.
A little way W of the summit, Lupe had come to a survey benchmark on Lake Benchmark Mountain, and at the top of Slope Mountain there had been two cairns and a big tower. Still, it made SPHP smile to think that an experienced mountaineer from Alaska, who tracked such things, did think it within the realm of possibility that the Carolina Dog had actually been the first ever to climb one or both of these peaks.
Steven certainly deserved a response! SPHP sent an email thanking Mr. Gruhn for his comment, and then went on to explain the situation Lupe had found at each peak. Of course, Lupe would be tickled pink to submit trip reports for publication in the Scree. What a great honor it would be to have anything published in the Mountaineering Club of Alaska’s monthly newsletter!
However, did Steven still think that was appropriate? After all, SPHP didn’t believe for a minute that Lupe had been the first to scale either mountain. Furthermore, Lupe and SPHP aren’t real mountaineers by any stretch of the imagination. Self-glorified day hikers, at best. Anyone could climb Lake Benchmark Mountain or Slope Mountain. Neither was difficult. No special equipment or technical expertise required.
Gruhn responded almost immediately:
Despite the presence of human-placed objects on or near the summits, I’m still interested in reports on these two ascents. The benchmark west of the summit of Lake Benchmark Mountain was placed in 1971 by the USGS via helicopter, which landed at the benchmark site, so it’s quite possible that the geologists who placed it did not venture east from the helicopter landing site … Not all of the MCA members are hardcore mountaineers; many are hikers like yourself and I’d like the Scree to reflect all types of mountaineering from hardcore stuff to hiking and skiing.
Really? So maybe Lupe actually was the first to visit the summit of Lake Benchmark Mountain? The whole notion still seemed unbelievable, but who knows? What the heck? For the time being, the first ascent of Lake Benchmark Mountain could be Lupe’s claim to fame until someone came along with evidence to dispute it. As for supplying trip reports on both peaks for publication in the Scree, apparently it was a go, with Mr. Gruhn’s blessing! If the Mountaineering Club of Alaska was willing to consider publishing them, that was a tremendous honor the American Dingo had no intention of passing up!
During the process of submitting materials for the requested trip reports [actually condensed versions of original posts on The (Mostly) True Adventures of Lupe], SPHP emailed Mr. Gruhn asking if it was possible for Lupe to become an official member of the Mountaineering Club of Alaska? She was more than willing to fill out an application form and send in her dues.
Steven responded with the story of Henry Pinkham:
Your query reminds me of the tale of Bill Putnam, who later served as President of both the Harvard Mountaineering Club and the American Alpine Club. In his youth Putnam petitioned the American Alpine Club for membership for his dog, Henry Pinkham. At the time, applicants for membership had to be sponsored by another AAC member and had to complete a certain number of climbs in a multiple mountain ranges. Henry Pinkham had met all such requirements and even had a Canadian mountain named in his honor (Mount Sir Henry in the northern Selkirks). And as Putnam reasoned, the AAC had already added several SOBs to its membership rolls. Henry Pinkham was voted into membership, but before his name could be officially added to the membership roster, Putnam’s ruse was revealed and Henry Pinkham’s membership was revoked.
Well, shucks. Clearly the implication was that Lupe could not join the MCA unless she did so surreptitiously. It would be ungrateful, to say the least, to break the rules of an organization about to bestow a great honor upon her. So Lupe never has become a card carrying member of the Mountaineering Club of Alaska, though she would have liked to.
The Henry Pinkham tale was amusing! SPHP found another account of it on a thread on SuperTopo.com in memory of Bill Putnam following his demise in 2014. The following comment was made by “hamie”:
Soldier [2 purple hearts], scientist, explorer, climber, hut builder, writer, philanthropist and……..prankster!
Bill Putnam’s attempt to trick the AAC into accepting his dog Henry Pinkham as a member is a well known story, and has already been mentioned. Less well known is how he fooled the Canadian Geographic Features Naming Committee [or whatever it is called].
Way back in 1950 he and his companions made the first ascent of several mountains near Fairy Meadows in the Northern Selkirks. He decided to call these mountains the Nobility Group, and name them after himself and his friends, along with giving themselves honorary knighthoods. The results were:
Mt. Sir William. [Putnam]
Mt. Sir Andrew. [Kaufmann]
Mt. Sir Henry. [Pinkham, his dog!!]
The naming board was duly impressed, the names became official, and were duly printed on subsequent maps. About 10 years ago the hoax finally reached bureaucratic ears, and I believe that the official names were all revoked. Amongst other reasons it is not permitted to name mountains after living people [or mess with the bureaucracy]. Hopefully the name Sir William will now be reinstated, as it is well deserved. Sir Henry? Less likely.
On a historical note a similar, but more devious hoax was perpetrated by Kruszyna when he named the Chess Group in the Rockies.
In the end, with Mr. Gruhn’s help, everything turned out great! Lupe did get published in the Scree. Not twice, but three times! For Steven Gruhn later asked about Peak 3750 up on K’esugi Ridge in Denali State Park which Lupe had climbed on her 2018 Dingo Vacation to Alaska. More than happy to oblige, Loop submitted a trip report on it, too!
So there in the Scree, among all the stories by genuine mountaineers climbing some of the most challenging mighty peaks in Alaska with ropes, ice axes, crampons and all the rest, appears the Most High Exalted Dingo of the Arctic Sisterhood, with her tales of adventure on peaks that are simple strolls by comparison. Honors perhaps undeserved, but each a cherished memory which Lupe and SPHP will never forget.
The SCREE – July, 2018 Issue – Lake Benchmark Mountain (Page 3)
The SCREE – August, 2018 Issue – Slope Mountain (Page 18)
The SCREE – February, 2019 Issue – Peak 3750 on K’esugi Ridge (P. 5)
The SCREE – June 2020 Issue – Peak 4550 on K’esugi Ridge (Page 3) & Swede Mountain (Page 5)
The SCREE – July, 2020 Issue – Crazy Notch Ridge (Page 7)
The SCREE – April, 2021 Issue – Sukakpak (Page 13)
The SCREE – February, 2024 Issue – West Galbraith Peak (Page 9)
The SCREE – March, 2024 Issue – Peak 5050, Brooks Range (Page 4)
Thank you!
Many thanks to Steven Gruhn for all his hard work and interest in making it possible for Lupe to appear in the SCREE, and to the Mountaineering Club of Alaska for accepting and publishing her submissions.
Related Links:
William Lowell Putnam III, 1924 – 2014
Original Post: Lake Benchmark Mountain, Brooks Range, Alaska (8-19-17)
Original Post: Slope Mountain & Highlights of the Dalton Highway Revisited, Alaska (8-22-17 & 8-23-17)
Original Post: K’esugi Ridge – Ermine Hill & Peak 3700, Denali State Park, Alaska (9-4-18)
Original Post: Little Coal Creek to K’esugi Ridge – Peak 4500, Denali State Park, Alaska (8-24-19)
Original Post: Swede Mountain, Alaska (8-29-19)
Original Post: Crazy Notch Ridge, Alaska Range, Alaska (8-26-19)
Original Post: Sukakpak Mountain, Brooks Range, Alaska (8-13-16)
Original Post: West Galbraith Peak, Brooks Range, Alaska (8-30-22)
Original Post: Peak 5050, Brooks Range, Alaska (8-30-22)
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