North Cascades National Park

North Cascades National Park is a national park of the United States in Washington. At more than , it is the largest of the three National Park Service units that comprise the North Cascades National Park Complex. North Cascades National Park consists of a northern and southern section, bisected by the Skagit River that flows through the reservoirs of Ross Lake National Recreation Area. Lake Chelan National Recreation Area lies on the southern border of the south unit of the park. In addition to the two national recreation areas, other protected lands including several national forests and wilderness areas, as well as Canadian provincial parks in British Columbia, nearly surround the park. North Cascades National Park features the rugged mountain peaks of the North Cascades Range, the most expansive glacial system in the contiguous United States, the headwaters of numerous waterways, and vast forests with the highest degree of flora biodiversity of any American national park.

The region was first settled by Paleo-Indian Native Americans; by the time European American explorers arrived, it was inhabited by Skagit tribes. By the early 19th century, the region was visited by fur trappers and several British and American companies vied for control over the fur trade. After the Canada–United States border was set at the 49th parallel in 1846, explorers came to chart potential routes through the mountains for roads and railroads. Limited mining and logging occurred from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. The first significant human impact in the region occurred in the 1920s when several dams were built in the Skagit River valley to generate hydroelectric power. Environmentalists then campaigned to preserve the remaining wilderness, culminating on October 2, 1968, with the designation of North Cascades National Park.

Heavy snows and a high risk of avalanches due to the steep terrain, especially on the western slopes, severely limit visitation in the winter. Most access to the park is from State Route 20, which follows the Skagit River, though even this road is closed for months at a time in the winter. Most of the plant and animal species native to the park region are still found there, though climate change and pollutants from industrialized regions to the west pose risks to the environment. The park has one of the earliest and longest lasting research programs dedicated to studying climate change, primarily through examining the effects of glacial retreat.

North Cascades National Park is almost entirely protected as wilderness, and so the park has few structures, roads or other improvements. Visitors wishing to drive to a campground must do so in the adjacent national forests or national recreation areas. Camping inside the park requires hiking in by trail, horseback or boat, and camping is regulated by a permit system to ensure the wilderness is not over-exploited. Mountaineering is popular in the park and only unobtrusive clean climbing is allowed.

Human history

Paleoindians and Native Americans

Human history in North Cascades National Park and the surrounding region begins 8–10,000 years ago, after the end of the last glacial period. Paleo-Indians slowly advanced from Puget Sound into the interior mountain region as the glacial ice retreated. Archaeological evidence from other sites hundreds of miles away from the park indicate that Hozomeen chert, a type of rock well-suited to the fabrication of implements, was mined from near Hozomeen Mountain, just east of the park border, for the last 8,400 years. Tools such as microblades made from Hozomeen chert are part of the archaeological record throughout the Skagit River Valley, west of the park and in regions to the east. As well as the archaeological excavation at Cascade Pass, there are another 260 prehistoric sites that have been identified in the park.

thumb|left|Microblades excavated from Cascades Pass; the two on the right were crafted from quartz. Residing mainly to the west of the park near [[Puget Sound, the Skagits lived in settlements, culling their needs from the waterways and traveling by canoe. Skagits formed a loose confederation of tribes that united if threatened by outside tribes such as the Haidas, who lived to the north. Fort Okanogan was the first American settlement in present-day Washington State, well north of the route followed by members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804–1806, and also north of Fort Vancouver, on the Columbia River. Fort Okanogan was later owned by the North West Company, and then the Hudson's Bay Company, both of which were British-owned.

American and British disputes in the region centered on the fur trade, and the Treaty of 1818 allowed for joint administration of Oregon Country, as it was referred to in the United Statesthe British Empire referred to the region as the Columbia District. The treaty set the international border at the 49th parallel, but this was disputed west of the Rocky Mountains, since the rival fur trading outfits had their own ideas about where the border should be. The Oregon boundary dispute between Britain and the United States eventually led to the Oregon Treaty of 1846, and the 49th parallel forms both the current international border as well as the northern limit of the current park.

In 1882, US Army Lieutenant Henry Hubbard Pierce led a government-sponsored exploration that traversed the western boundary of the southern section of the current park, in search of transportation routes and natural resources. As with the party led by McClellan in the 1850s, Pierce failed to find a suitable route for a railway, and only marginally suitable routes for roads. However, the expedition discovered gold in a quartz vein on the slopes of Eldorado Peak. Further expeditions by the military in 1883 and 1887 also determined that the mountains were virtually impenetrable. Miners were hampered by short working seasons, difficult terrain, low quantities of ore and a lack of financial investment. Miners built some of the first trails and roads into portions of the backcountry, some of which involved intricate engineering, including bridges over the numerous streams and dynamiting rock ledges above steep gorges during trail construction. One mining company built a series of flumes, the longest of which was over , to transport lumber and to supply water for use in their hydraulic mining operation.

Unlike in many other regions of the Pacific Northwest, logging had little impact on the future park. The ruggedness of the terrain and the existence of more economically viable timber resources that were closer to transportation routes largely dissuaded the timber industry from logging in the area. In 1897 the Washington Forest Reserve was set aside, preserving the forestland that would later become the park. By 1905, the management of the reserve was transferred from the Department of the Interior to the Department of Agriculture. The Forest Service was subsequently created to administer these forest reserves nationwide, which were redesignated as National Forests.

Establishing the National Park

thumb|Stephen Mather (seated at center) was the first Director of the National Park Service, and is the namesake for the vast wilderness area that now encompasses almost all of the park.|alt=A black-and-white photo of five men wearing business attire. Two are standing and three are seated.

The establishment of Yellowstone National Park in 1872, and Yosemite National Park in 1890, led preservationists to argue for similar protections for other areas. Even before the North Cascade region was designated as a Forest Reserve in 1897, activists argued the region should be afforded the greater protection accorded from a National Park designation. Washingtonians submitted a petition in 1892 to establish a national park to the north of Lake Chelan, as many who had visited the region believed it to have scenery "greater than Switzerland's". Further efforts took place in 1906, and again between 1916 and 1921, when artist Julian Itter and the Mazamas Alpine Club lobbied for a bill to designate "Mount Baker National Park". The proposals failed to gain approval from the US Congress and were shelved for decades.

Not all locals supported the idea of a national park, as they felt that such a designation would damage the economics of the region. The Forest Service was also not in favor of park designation, as they would have to relinquish control over the land to the Park Service, which was not uncommon, since many parks being established were originally managed by the Forest Service. In an effort to appease their detractors, the Forest Service designated Primitive Areas which would provide increased protection to some of the most pristine regions they managed. The North Cascades National Park Act designated the region as a national park on October 2, 1968, and the National Park Service commenced direct management on January 1, 1969. The North Cascades National Park Act also designated Ross Lake and Lake Chelan National Recreation Areas. Redwood National Park in California was also signed into existence on the same day as the North Cascades.

Park management

thumb|[[Mount Triumph|alt=An irregular bare rock mountain peak, with a pronounced shoulder on the left of the picture. In the foreground are two lower prominences, with some trees on them. A snow field is just visible at the foot of the larger mountain.]]

left|thumb|West entrance sign on SR 20

North Cascades National Park is managed by the National Park Service, and the park headquarters is in Sedro-Woolley, Washington. The park consists of a northern and a southern district or unit. These are separated by Ross Lake National Recreation Area. The southeast boundary of the southern district abuts Lake Chelan National Recreation Area; the park and two recreation areas are managed as the North Cascades National Park Complex. Most of the park complex was designated as the Stephen Mather Wilderness, preventing further human-induced alterations to 93 percent of the park. The mandate of the National Park Service is to "preserve and protect natural and cultural resources". In keeping with this mandate, hunting is illegal in the park, as is mining, logging, oil and gas extraction, and removal of natural or cultural resources.

In 2024, North Cascades National Park recorded 16,485 visitors, while adjoining Ross Lake National Recreation Area reported 971,173 visitors and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area had 30,815 visitors.

Access

thumb|right|The south unit of the park is dominated by Eldorado Peak (left center skyline). Cascade Pass, one of the most popular hiking destinations in the park, is the lowest point on the skyline between Boston Peak (just right of center, with large glacier) and broad Johannesburg Mountain (right). Hidden Lake Peaks, another popular hike, are in the middle distance below and right of Boston Peak.|alt=A range of snow-capped mountains. In the foreground is a stretch of forest. In between is an area of lower ground.

Although there are some gravel roads open to the public that enter the park, such as the Cascade River Road beginning at Marblemount, and the Thornton Lakes Road near Newhalem, most automobile traffic travels on State Route 20, which passes through the Ross Lake National Recreation Area. The visitor center at Newhalem on the North Cascades Highway is open in the summer. Some of the best views of Mount Shuksan are from the Heather Meadows Visitor Center in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest well outside of the park. All backcountry access requires a permit, and most are obtained at the Wilderness Information Center near Marblemount.

The nearest large town on the west side of the park is Sedro-Woolley, and Winthrop lies to the east. Chelan is located at the southeastern end of Lake Chelan where access to the park from Stehekin serves eastern Washington communities. The closest international airport is Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac), which is from North Cascades Visitor Center and from Chelan. In Chelan, the Lady of the Lake is a passenger-only ferry that transports visitors to Stehekin, and the trailheads hikers can use to access the southern end of the park.

Geography

thumb|upright=1.3|Map of the North Cascades National Park Complex

North Cascades National Park is located in portions of Whatcom, Skagit, and Chelan counties in the U.S. state of Washington. Bisected by Ross Lake National Recreation Area (NRA), the park consists of two districts; the northern and southern. The northern boundary of the north district is also the international border between the United States and Canada; the latter manages adjoining Chilliwack Lake and Skagit Valley Provincial Park. The entire eastern and southern boundary of the north district is bordered by Ross Lake NRA. The western side of the north district is bordered by Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, within which lies the Mount Baker and Noisy-Diobsud Wildernesses, both of which border the park. Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest also borders a portion of the southern district of the park, to the southwest. Along the southwest border is Wenatchee National Forest, within which lies the Glacier Peak Wilderness. The southern boundary of the park is shared with Lake Chelan NRA, and a small section of the eastern boundary is shared with the Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest.

North Cascades National Park has nearly of vertical relief, with the park's highest point atop Goode Mountain, and the western valleys situated at only around above mean sea level, the park has a highly varied ecosystem, including eight life zones. Erosion from water and glacial ice have created some of the steepest mountain ranges in the contiguous US, rising between above their bases. The park is home to over 300 glaciers as well as 300 lakes, and contains the headwaters for some streams that flow into the Skagit River, as well as the Stehekin and Nooksack Rivers. The ruggedness of the terrain was an obstacle to human encroachment and consequently, the park is almost entirely wilderness.

Geology

North Cascades National Park was named after the North Cascades mountains, which are a subsection of the Cascade Range that extends from northern California into British Columbia. The North Cascades are the northernmost section of the range and unlike their southern counterparts that consist of Tertiary to Holocene volcanic rocks, the North Cascades are composed primarily of Mesozoic crystalline and metamorphic rocks. Though most rocks in the park are from the more recent Mesozoic, the oldest rocks are 400 million years old, dating from the Devonian. A complex assemblage of various rock formations have repeatedly been eroded, reburied, subjected to fracturing and heat, creating a geological puzzle that is one of the most complicated and least understood geological records in North America. These forces are ongoing and the region continues to see uplift and faulting. Subjected to intense heat, rocks deep underground near the collision zone became recrystallized into granitic rocks, which comprise the backbone of the highest peaks.

Much harder and more durable than the younger volcanic rocks of the southern Cascades, the North Cascades are consequently more rugged, with steep terrain being the norm due to heavy erosion from water and ice. Continued rising in conjunction with erosion from water and ice has created deep valleys and significant vertical relief that is comparable to much taller mountain ranges. It lies in a remote backcountry region of the southern section of the park. Nearby are several other peaks that exceed , including Buckner Mountain () and Mount Logan (). At about , about northeast of Goode Mountain, is Black Peak (). Other prominent peaks in the southern section of the park include Boston Peak (), Eldorado Peak () and Forbidden Peak ().

The northern region of the park contains the Picket Range, a subrange of the Skagit Range, which is in turn a subrange of the North Cascades. The Picket Range has numerous spires with ominous names such as Mount Fury, Mount Challenger, Poltergeist Pinnacle, Mount Terror, Ghost Peak and Phantom Peak, all of which exceed . The Picket Range is only long yet contains 21 peaks over . Isolated and dominating the northwestern reaches of the park lies the oft photographed Mount Shuksan (), which towers more than above Baker Lake only to the south.

Water features

More than 500 lakes and ponds are located within North Cascades National Park. Many of these are devoid of fish, not uncommon in steep terrain where fish may not be able to access high altitude waterways. Around 240 of these lakes exist in the higher elevations and stocking of some of these lakes with fish has been ongoing since the late 19th century. Fishing in these lakes, which, without fish stocking, do not have native fish, is part of the area's economy and tourism. In 2008 an Environmental Impact Statement was produced that examined whether these lakes should continue to be stocked, and if so, what the impact would be on native species such as salamanders and other aquatic life. The North Cascades National Park Service Complex Fish Stocking Act, signed in 2014, directs the NPS to allow stocking of non-reproducing fish in no more than 42 lakes, making it the only national park to continue to stock non-native fish in park lakes. The prior decision not to continue to stock the lakes with fish was part of a larger debate about what "natural" means in reference to national parks.

thumb|left|Thunder Creek is known for its milky appearance from suspended rock particles called glacial flour.|alt=A medium-sized river flows through a wooded landscape. The water is slightly milky in appearance.

Hundreds of creeks and streams and several rivers originate within the park. The streams at higher elevation are often directly supplied by meltwater from glaciers, and they carry finely ground rock particles commonly referred to as glacial flour. Turning the water a turquoise hue at times, this finely ground powder remains suspended in lakes the creeks flow into, also causing some of them to appear turquoise. Thunder Creek is particularly well known for this attribute, as it is supplied melt water from dozens of glaciers and transports the suspended particles into Diablo Lake.

The Skagit River divides the park into the north and south districts; it lies within the Ross Lake NRA and outside of the national park boundaries, but some of the creeks and streams that supply it originate within the national park; the Baker River is the largest of these tributaries. Other important rivers that originate in the park include the Chilliwack, Nooksack and the Stehekin rivers. Counting a few glaciers in the adjoining National Recreation Areas, the North Cascades National Park Complex glaciers covered an expanse totaling as of 2009. Boston Glacier, on the north slope of Boston Peak, is the largest glacier in the park, measured in 1971 to have an area of .

thumb|left|Lower Curtis Glacier in 2003 compared to 1985 extent demarcated by red line demonstrates the retreat of this glacier.|alt=A dark mountain range showing the end of a glacier. There is a timestamp in orange: "08.07.2003". A red line well below the end of the glacier is marked "1985".

The dense concentration and relative ease of access to the North Cascade glaciers brought about some of the earliest series of scientific studies regarding glaciology in the United States. Beginning in 1955, the University of Washington sponsored Richard C. Hubley to undertake annual aerial photography expeditions designed to capture images of the glaciers and to show any alterations that might be occurring. In 1960, Austin Post expanded the aerial coverage to include other regions and he also used ground-based imagery to augment the research. In 1971, based on the photographs and other data collected since 1955, Post and others wrote a report that documented the number and scale of glaciers in the North Cascades. Since 1993, the National Park Service has conducted rigorous studies on four park glaciers: Noisy Creek, Silver, North Klawatti and Sandalee Glaciers. The National Park Service research indicated that these four glaciers experienced rapid decrease in volumes between 1993 and 2011. In 1998, a National Park Service and Portland State University aerial photographic inventory showed a 13 percent loss in park-wide glacial volume since Austin Post's inventory in 1971. The NPS stated that in the last 150 years since the end of the Little Ice Age, a period of several centuries in which the earth experienced a cooling phase, glacial ice volumes in the North Cascades have been reduced by 40 percent.

Map

Geographical features in the area can be found in this clickable map:

Ecology

thumb|The Thornton Lakes fill glacier-carved basins near [[Mount Triumph|alt=Looking down into a valley below a high mountain on the right and a slightly smaller one on the right. In between are two lakes, one noticeably higher than the other. The lower reaches of the mountain and the area of the lakes have plant growth.]]

Eight distinctive life zones support thousands of different plant and animal species in the North Cascades National Park ecosystem. With an elevation gain of nearly , the park has one of the largest ranges of biodiversity found in any US national park.

Flora

The flora in North Cascades National Park is influenced by the great vertical relief, the amount of moisture an area receives, the slope and soil types as well as the fire ecology. This wide array of ecological niches has allowed a great biodiversity to evolve. Few other North American national parks have recorded as many vascular plant species as have been documented in North Cascades National Park. With 1,630 species documented, experts estimate adding non-vascular plants and fungi could more than double the number of known plant species.

thumb|left|Common bearberry ([[Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) is a plant species normally found much further north but is found at higher elevations in the park.|alt=Reddish berries growing among thick, green, paddle-shaped leaves.]]

The park contains an estimated of old-growth forests. As little of the park was previously logged, significant stands of old growth forest can be found in the valleys and lower slopes up to the timberline at . From the lowest valley floors to about , virgin stands of western hemlock, red cedar and Douglas fir are common. These species are heavily dependent on deep soils, and red cedars 1,000 years old and over tall can be found on Big Beaver Creek. These lowest elevation forests can be accessed by trails, such as the Happy Creek Forest Walk off State Route 20, the Shadows of the Sentinels at Baker Lake, Thunder Creek Trail at Diablo Lake and the Horseshoe Bend Trail from State Route 542.

The biodiversity of the area is threatened by climate change and invasive exotic plant species. True grass species number nearly 150 in the park; half of those are considered exotic and nonnative to the ecosystem.

Whitebark pine is native to the park and grows at elevations over in the drier eastern region of the park. Whitebark pine is a stabilizing species for other species of high altitude flora and provides a food source for birds such as the Clark's nutcracker and mammals including red and Douglas squirrels. as of 2018, "28 percent of whitebark pine trees are dead, 30 percent are infected with blister rust, and 1 percent have died from mountain pine beetles." Several species of deer such as the elk and moose, several more species of bovids including the mountain goat and bighorn sheep, and more than two dozen species of rodents like the beaver, hoary marmot and pika are also present. Ten species of bats have been documented. North Cascade National Park has management plans in place to return grizzly bears to the park but not wolves, as the latter is seen as likely to reestablish themselves naturally over time.

The park is a prime habitat for grizzly bear, but the species was extirpated from the region by 1860. Only two grizzly bear sightings occurred in the decade before 2015, and these were outside the park boundary in Canada.

thumb|left|upright|Mountain goats have hooves that are well adapted to steep snow-covered slopes and cliffs|alt=An all-white goat looks at the camera. It has pale yellow irises and stands on snowy ground.

Wolverines are one of the rarest and most elusive mammals in North America. They are seldom sighted in the park, both due to the limited numbers of the species and the habitats they prefer, which are snowy high-altitude regions far removed from human encroachment. Approximately nine wolverines were captured in the national forest east of the park and fitted with transmitters that were tracked by Argos satellite telemetry. Four of the wolverines frequented the southern sections of North Cascades National Park, and of those, two spent the majority of their time there; researchers were unable to determine if these study animals had reproduced in the park. These bird species include both golden and bald eagle as well as northern spotted owl, harlequin duck, Clark's nutcracker, trumpeter swan and seasonal appearances of western tanager, Cassin's vireo, pine grosbeak, woodpeckers such as the pileated woodpecker and primarily ground-dwelling birds such as the sooty grouse. The peregrine falcon is the only species found in the park that is federally designated as an endangered species, while the marbled murrelet and northern spotted owl are listed as threatened. Various trout species including rainbow, lake and brook trout can be found as can the largemouth bass and longnose dace.

Seven species of reptiles and about a dozen species of amphibians have been documented. Reptiles such as the northern alligator lizard and the common garter snake and amphibians such as the western toad, Pacific giant salamander and rough-skinned newt reside in the park.

More than 500 species of insects have been recorded, including at least two dozen species of butterflies. Around 250 species of aquatic invertebrates can be found in the parks waterways.

Across the entire North Cascades National Park Service Complex, between 1973 and 2003, there were 113 human-caused fires that burned , and 264 lightning-caused fires that burned . The park is managed as the Skagit Fire Management Unit (FMU) and has a low frequency of large natural fires that occur on average only every 50 to 400 years. On the western slopes, snowfall depths range from in lower altitudes annually, increasing to at elevations between above sea level. Snow depths peak in early March and range from depending on altitude.

Snow covers the ground more than six months out of the year, even at lower elevations, and State Route 20, the only highway through the park, is generally closed from late November until late April. Numerous avalanche chutes, as many as traverse any state or federal highway, and including some over long, cross the highway and make snow removal during that period infeasible. Heavy snow and frequent avalanches are common, especially on the western slopes, from autumn to spring. The high elevation trails are generally open by mid-summer and the majority of tourism is between mid-June and late September.

|source 2 = Weather Atlas (sun data)

Air and water quality

thumb|Air quality in North Cascades National Park is generally considered good and aside from some reduced clarity due to haze, even distant peaks are easily seen most days.|alt=A distant mountain range above a diagonal slope of forest.

While North Cascades National Park is in a remote region for the most part, the prevailing westerly winds bring various pollutants into the park from the industrialized region around Puget Sound and the Fraser River Valley of British Columbia. These pollutants deposit onto plants and glaciers and are then carried by rainfall or ice melt and dispersed into rivers and lakes. The industrialized regions around Puget Sound and the Fraser River Valley have had a more noticeable negative impact on water and air quality than at Mount Rainier National Park well to the south due to the prevailing winds. Lakes at higher elevations show a higher level of acidity due to this phenomenon; the current and long-term impact on the ecosystem of the park has not yet been fully assessed.

Mercury and toxins from pesticides have been detected in the park, as has ozone; these have not been demonstrated to be at sufficient concentrations to greatly impact the ecosystem. Sulfur, nitrogen dioxide and ozone from factories and automobile emissions as well as increased dust and fine particulates from sources such as farming and construction are dispersed into the atmosphere, reducing long-range visibility. Visibilities of up to have been reduced to less than on the worst days due to the increased haze. Nearly all of the national park is protected as the Stephen Mather Wilderness and it is "one of the premier wilderness parks" in the lower-48 states". Unlike some national parks, there is no entrance fee at North Cascades, and hiking trailheads accessed by vehicle do not require a parking pass; trailheads on some national forest properties adjacent to the park may require a pass. Mount Shuksan, in the northwest corner of the park, is often photographed, and at is the second highest peak in the park.

Camping, hiking and bicycling

thumb|Hiking at Sahale Arm near Cascade Pass|alt=A hiker with walking poles, an orange backpack, and a sun hat, on a trail in a grassed area. In the background are tall dark mountains partly covered in snow.

Hikers and backpackers often visit Cascade Pass in the southwestern section of the southern unit of the park, which was used as a travel route by Native Americans. The pass can be reached by a hiking trail accessed from a parking lot at the end of a gravel road that starts at Marblemount. There are nearly of hiking trails in the park. Hikers can also access two National Scenic Trails including of the Pacific Crest Trail in the southern unit of the park and of the Pacific Northwest Trail that passes through the northern unit.

Unlike most US national parks, there are no places within North Cascades National Park where one can drive to a campground. There are many vehicular access camp grounds in Ross Lake National Recreation Area and in surrounding national forests. All overnight camping is considered backcountry camping and camping areas are protected to prevent overcrowding. Backcountry camping spots can be reserved in early spring only; walk-up permits can be obtained at the Wilderness Information Center near Marblemount. Group sizes are limited to parties of less than a dozen on what are known as trail and camping corridors, and in more remote areas off trails, groups larger than six are not permitted.

Mountaineering

thumb|Pyramidal Forbidden Peak (left) is one of the [[Fifty Classic Climbs of North America. Quien Sabe Glacier shrouds the west face of Boston Peak (right) below extensive cliffs.|alt=Angular light-gray rocks in the foreground. Behind, a range of darker gray mountains with snow. The one at the right has a substantial glacier at its foot.]]

High quality climbing routes on the numerous cliffs, ice and other challenges make the park a favorite destination for many mountaineering enthusiasts. While some peaks and cliffs can be accessed fairly easily, the most remote ones entail a multi-day excursion, challenging for even experienced mountaineers. The park has banned the installation of any new fixed anchors such as pitons, and only removable anchors such as chocks and cams are permitted. This clean climbing has been implemented to help protect the resource, since fixed point anchors deface the rock and are considered intrusive. Mountaineering in the North Cascades was first popularized by Fred Beckey; at age 15 he was the first to reach the summit of Sinister Peak in 1938, in 1939 he was the first atop Mount Despair, and the following year he was the first to climb Forbidden Peak. Beckey was the first to summit at least two dozen peaks in the North Cascades, and his exhaustive three-volume Cascade Alpine Guide books, first published in the early 1970s, have been called the "Beckey Bible".

References

External links

of the National Park Service
Education: North Cascades Institute
Glacier Research: North Cascade Glacier Climate Project reports