George James - Mountaineer

[Mike James]

While doing research on George James and his adventures during the Alaskan gold rush, I came across the following on Google search.

"The first well-substantiated ascent of the Winthrop Glacier to the crater was in 1884 by three men from the town of Snohohomish: the Reverend J. Warner Fobes, George James and Richard O. Wells."

The passage came from the book:'The Challenge of Rainier: A Record of the Explorations and Ascents, Triumphs and Tragedies, on the Northwest's Greatest Mountain'.

Was this our great grand Uncle George?

"Mount Rainier is the highest mountain in Washington and the Cascade Range. On clear days it dominates the southeastern horizon in most of the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area to such an extent that locals sometimes refer to it simply as "the Mountain." On days of exceptional clarity, it can also be seen from as far away as Portland, Oregon and Victoria, British Columbia. Mountain climbing on Mount Rainier is difficult, involving traversing the largest glaciers in the U.S. south of Alaska."

About 8,000 to 13,000 people attempt to climb the summit each year, only about half of the attempts are successful. ( Just a week ago, June 1st, 2014, six climbers were missing and presumed dead in an avalanche or fall, in what could be the worst accident on the mountain in decades.)

So traversing the summit of Mt. Rainier is no picnic.

The popular Emmons-Winthrop route is viable most of the year.

The Emmons-Winthrop is believed to have been ascended as early as 1855 by a two railroad surveyors. Little is known of this event ... In any event, this ascent is not recognized as the first official successful summit of Mt. Rainier.

The first official ascent of the route was by a party from Snohomish on August 20, 1884. Reverend J. Warner Fobes, George James, and Richard O. Wells hiked from the town of Wilkeson and ascended the Winthrop Glacier from the Lower Curtis Ridge. Source: Cascade Alpine Guide - Climbing and High Routes: Stevens Pass to Rainy Pass, by Fred W. Beckey

I then came upon the following text:

In 1884 three young men came south to climb a mountain. They, too, had mountain fever, but unlike George Bayley¹, they didn't know a thing about the sport; so they climbed it where he had refused to try. J. Warner Fobes, George James and Richard O. Wells were as full of enthusiastic energy as the boomtown of Snohomish from which they came.

Fobes was a pastor of the Union Presbyterian Church...As for Richard O. Wells...he was a lawyer... Less is known about George James. His names appears on the Snohomish County census for 1885, where is listed as twenty-five years old, single, white, a surveyor and from Ohio...it is probable he was living in the vicinity of Everett as late as 1920. Source: Mountain Fever Historic Conquests of Rainier | Aubrey Haines - 1962

According to all of my records, our George would have been twenty-five in 1885 and he was a civil engineer/surveyor. Looking at the census it does show Ohio as his birthplace. Our George was born in Iowa?  Still there is little doubt that this was our George James.

We know our George married Lillian Ward also of Snohomish in 1887. Looking at the Snohomish census for 1887 it shows George was born in Indiana and that Lillian was born in Iowa. Yet all census records later show that it was Lillian who was born in Indiana and George in Iowa. This shows that mistakes were common by census takers.

The Three Snohomish Gentlemen

Authors later describe in great detail the trio of Fobes, James and Wells ascent up the mountain, all thanks to George James. For when they returned to Snohomish, George James put pen to paper and published an article of their adventure in the local paper the Snohomish Eye. The article was entitled "Three Snohomish Gentlemen Make a Successful Ascent of the Grand Old Mountain".²

There was probably little fanfare for climbers at the time. For a while they were lost in history.

Although George James, Reverand J.W. Fobes and Richard O. Wells made the climb in 1885, their identities remained unknown until after Harry Myers published an article on the early climbing history of Mount Rainier in a 1920 club newsletter for an organization called the Mountaineers. In this article, he made a reference to three unidentified hikers from Snohomish. Dr. Hinman, a member of Mountaineers who read the newsletter, was acquainted with one of the men who made the climb and sent Myers a copy of the article.

Most likely the man he was acquainted with was George James who in 1920 was back living in Snohomish. The copied article is now in the Pacific Northwest Historical Documents Collection at the University of Washington. The following are some excerpts:

"more determined than ever, to reach the summit if possible. When leaving camp the weather was quite warm, but after ascending to an altitude of 12,000 feet the atmosphere became very cold, but our exercise was such that we did not suffer from it, although our shoes were frozen on our feet. We appeared to travel with more ease than we had done the previous day, and also found breathing less difficult being now more accustomed to the light air. We were now very enthusiastic, as it seemed quite evident that we would soon stand upon the crown of the King of the Cascades. But our progress was slow, as we could not travel more than 200 feet without resting a short time. At 2:30 pm we had arrived within about 300 feet of the summit, and from here we walked arm in arm to the top, it being just seven and one-half hours since we left camp. There we stood upon the snowy cap of the grand old mountain and gave three cheers for the Snohomishites."

"Our trip though most interesting to all, was one which required a great deal of physical endurance, and I must add in conclusion that my companions stood up manfully under ever trial of strength and courage."

Until now little was known of the George James who climbed Mt. Rainier in 1884, but now thanks to the internet and my research, the world will now know, it was the son of Ulster immigrants, our great grand Uncle George.

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1*George Bayley, an experienced mountaineer who climbed the summit by a different route in 1883

2The following is the article now stored at the University of Washington  (pdf)

Three Snohomish Gentlemen Make a Successful Ascent of the Grand Old...