Photo By Joseph Siemandel | Guard members, Warrant Officer One Aleksandr Popov (center) and Spc. Nikolai Peters...... read more read more
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Washington is home to some of the most beautiful natural features in the world, including the Cascade Mountain range. Within the Cascades sits five active volcanoes, all with their own origin stories according to Native American legend; Mount Baker (Kulshan), Glacier Peak (Dakobed), Mount Rainier (Tahoma), Mount St. Helens (Lawetlat’la), and Mount Adams (Pahto).
“The Washington Tribes each have their own legend to how our mountains in Washington were formed and became volcanoes,” said Chief Warrant Officer Four Bill Elliott, tribal liaison with the Washington State Guard.
“They have tremendous respect for them and believe they embody many supernatural and spiritual forces.”
While one group in the Washington Military Department helps protect and share the stories, another office inside the Emergency Management Division is studying the volcanos.
“These mountains are such an important part of our ecosystem in the state,” said Brian Terbush, earthquake/volcano program manager at EMD. “The eruptions throughout their history have shaped our waterways, brought fertile soil for planting and brought new life to our communities.”
Whether it is studying them from a historical standpoint or scientific research, it is important to know about the mountains, especially for those who attempt the feat of climbing to the top of them. Each year thousands of outdoor enthusiasts come to Washington with the goal of climbing to the top of one of the volcanic mountains.
For Guard members Spc. Nikolai Peters and Warrant Officer One Aleksandr Popov, both information technology specialists with the Department of Information Management on Camp Murray, the training and research was worth the work as they successfully summited four of the five mountains in 2023.
“In the summer of 2020 I came back from deployment to Jordan with the 303rd [Cavalry Regiment] and wanted to do something exciting and felt I had missed the whole summer hiking season,” said Peters. “It was mid to late August, I get back in the office and that is when he [Popov] brought up this idea of hiking,”
Peters didn’t just want to hike, he wanted a challenge.
“I said what if we do something extreme, and we looked into what it would take to climb Mount Adams,” said Peters. “So we researched it and learned what we would need to do it.”
Mount Adams, primarily situated in Yakima County, is the second-highest mountain in Washington, standing 12,281 feet about sea-level. It provides a hot spot for climbers with its beautiful trails, waterfalls, and lava formations. It is also popular for being the most inland of all the volcanic mountains in Washington and not being snowcapped in the summer months. It seemed like a good start for Peters and Popov.
“We didn’t need a lot of gear, so we looked at the permits and trails and we went for it,” said Peters.
Popov said for that first climb, he was really just along for the hike and let Peters’ competitive nature drive the pace and drive to climb.
“I said let’s go, let’s do it. I knew he wasn’t going to back down,” said Popov.
Both admit that first climb was an adventure.
“The first night we camped we heard an animal breathing around us and woke up a little scared,” said Peters. “Like what did we get into, this isn’t like a normal travel path.”
That morning though they started climbing, picking a ridge line and shooting for the top of the mountain.
“You are almost on top of the state, the scenery was breathtaking,” said Popov.
Going into 2023, the duo put the goal together of summiting all five mountains in the year. Due to weather and conditions, the window to climb the higher peak mountains in the state is limited.
“We got Mount St. Helens on January 1st, starting the year out right,” said Peters.
Probably the most famous of the Washington volcanoes, Mount St. Helens once stood 9,677 feet before erupting on May 18, 1980. Following the destructive eruption, the mountain’s top 1,000 feet sunk, and the mountain now stands at 8,363 feet above sea level. It is still considered the most active of the Cascade Range volcanoes by scientists.
“The eruption of St. Helens was so unique. Imagine taking a soda can and shaking it up and opening the top, and it explodes up, but now take the same can and cut it diagonally with a knife and it explodes out,” said Terbush “The pressure built up and it had no release so it needed a way out, so it created its own way.”
For the climbing duo, the first day of 2023 was a great chance to start the goal off right before tackling the taller peaks in the state. In May, they summited Mount Adams again. In July the duo summited the highest peak in the state, Mount Rainier. Sitting at 14,411 feet above sea-level, Mount Rainier is the tallest peak in the state and the most prominent mountain in the contiguous United States. Mount Rainier is also considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, being studied and monitored by experts regularly.
“The U.S. Geological Survey are always monitoring Mount Rainier, watching movements within the volcano and the glaciers sitting on its surface to be aware of any potential hazardous that may arrive,” said Terbush.
Mount Rainier is also one of the most challenging climbs technically. Climbers must be in excellent physical condition and well prepared. Technical glacier-travel rope skills are also required to ascend and descend the mountain safely.
“Rainier has so many legends according to Native Washingtonians,” say Elliott. “The name Tahoma roughly translates to snow covered.”
According to Elliott, the Cowlitz Indians share a story about how Mount Rainier used to be taller and flat on top, but after getting into an argument with Mount St. Helens and Mt. Adams, St. Helens got mad and exploded knocking off part of Mount Rainier.
The final peak they summitted in 2023 was also their hardest climb: Glacier Peak, with an elevation of more than 10,525 feet. The most isolated of the five major stratovolcanoes of the Cascade Volcanic Range in the state, it is located at Glacier Peak Wilderness in Mount Baker–Snoqualmie National Forest.
“That was about 40 miles round trip. It is the most remote, least traveled, least summited. You are far away, heavier pack and multiple sets of shoes, a lot of gear, lots of miles,” said Peters.
Sitting relatively low on the skyline, Glacier Peak is mostly hidden from residents, yet it is one of the more dangerous of the Cascade volcanoes. Forming more than one million years ago, the mountain has produced some of the largest and most explosive eruptions in the state’s history. It also poses a lot of challenges for hikers, from changing weather conditions, grade and elevation gain to terrain features from previous eruptions.
Popov also adds that being isolated on that trip means less people to rely on in case of incidents.
“You want to have less risks and perfect weather conditions because there isn’t great cell phone reception and there are less people to assist you,” said Popov.
Both believe that outside the physical challenge of climbing the mountains, the mental challenges are sometimes the hardest to overcome.
“For me, I am always looking forward to the mountain until I am about 20 minutes into it then I ask myself why am I doing this,” said Peters. “But when you reach the top and you see all the other peaks it makes it all worth it.”
Popov says logistics are also challenging.
“Right now I live in Texas and there are not a lot of mountains in Texas. So I have to coordinate with my employer, personal life and with Washington weather,” said Popov.
While four out of five wasn’t the goal, it was still an incredible feat for the two climbers.
“We will definitely try to get Baker in 2024,” said Peters.
As long as climbers continue to seek the thrill of the climb, Terbush and the team at EMD will continue to work with partners to ensure climbers and the communities around the volcanoes are safe.
“We absolutely love and respect these volcanic mountains in our state. Whether it is spiritual, scientific, or recreational they bring us so much joy and we learn so much about our history and amazing planet from them,” said Terbush. “It is important to know, if you are going to climb them to know as much as you can about the mountain. It will better prepare you.”
| Date Taken: | 02.06.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 02.06.2024 16:58 |
| Story ID: | 463338 |
| Location: | CAMP MURRAY, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 218 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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