Claude Ewing Rusk (November 20, 1871 – February 3, 1931), also known as C. E. Rusk, was an American mountaineer, lawyer, and writer from Washington who pioneered routes up Mount Adams, Mount Baker, and Glacier Peak. He also ascended many other peaks in Washington, Oregon, and California.
Personal life
Early life Rusk was born on November 20, 1871, in Knox County, Illinois to James A. and Josie A. Rusk. His family emigrated from Illinois to Washington Territory in the fall of 1874. They settled in eastern Klickitat County in an area known as Wood Gulch. In 1878, Rusk's only sibling, Leah, was born. Several years later, in 1879, they moved to the foot of the Columbia Hills in the lower Klickitat Valley near Warwick. Over the next year, Rusk's father built the Happy Home stage station. Rusk often went to the top of the Columbia Hills to gaze at the various peaks of the Cascade Range. They lived in this place until Rusk was 15. They then moved to a homestead on the banks of the Klickitat River near Soda Springs in January 1887.
Career Rusk had received a public school education and in 1888, when he was 17, he began his career, teaching school at Camas Prairie in the Glenwood Valley. Later, he taught at the Crossroads School outside Goldendale until 1892 when he became the editor of the Goldendale Courier. This he did for a year and went back to teaching the next year. He also began studying law in the office of Nelson B. Brooks and Snover at about the same time. On October 30, 1898, Rusk married Rachel N. Gilmore, also the child of pioneers. In 1902, Rusk completed his law training and was admitted to the Washington State Bar Association. Also in 1902, Rusk became one of the founding members of the American Alpine Club. Rusk and his wife moved to Hamilton, Washington in 1903, but only stayed there for about a year before they moved to Lake Chelan and bought a home along a remote portion of the lake. Rusk became a member of the Mazamas club in 1904. Rusk practiced law in the town of Chelan until 1910. While they were living on Lake Chelan, on June 10, 1905, their only son, Rodney L. Rusk, was born.
In 1910, Rusk led an expedition to Mount McKinley and when he returned, they moved to the area of Grants Pass in Oregon where his parents were living. There, he helped his parents, working in their Lucky Spot gold mine. In 1912, he moved back to Washington, to the Yakima Valley. He became the editor of the Benton Independent published in Prosser, a position he held for a year before selling the paper and resuming law practice. He continued his practice until the spring of 1915 when he was appointed to a four-year term as the receiver for the United States Land Office in Yakima. During his time in the Yakima Valley, Rusk became a vocal conservationist. He was an admirer of Theodore Roosevelt and started a local campaign to get Mount Adams set aside as a national park. He felt that it was high time that it got the recognition it deserved and in 1919, he wrote the short booklet Mount Adams–Towering Sentinel of the Lower Columbia Basin, in which he laid out his case for the Yakima National Park as he called it. In 1920, Rusk was a founding member of the Cascadians mountaineering club and became its first president. Later, he also served as the chairman of the outing committee. Some of his closest friends he met while a member of the club. In 1922, the members of the Cascadians presented Rusk with a Swiss ice-axe as a gift for being an inspiring leader and being the first president of the club.
Later life Rusk's father died in 1923 and Rusk moved back to Grants Pass. After the move, he started up his law practice again. In 1924, he wrote Tales of a Western Mountaineer, his only published book. Some time after his first book was published, Rusk wrote another book, Timberline Campfires. This collection of essays and short stories was never published except for one chapter, "The Wonderful Story of Abe Lincoln," which was published in the American Alpine Journal in 1946. After some time in Grants Pass, Rusk was appointed to the position of justice of the peace. He was known to be quite the prohibitionist and would throw the book at bootleggers. In addition to being justice of the peace, Rusk worked his father's Lucky Spot mine on the weekends, walking 14 miles there and back. In 1930, Rusk attempted to organize an expedition to Mount St. Elias; however, no one else was able to go with him and he went by himself. During this expedition, he contracted a cold, which lingered and, according to Rusk, strained his heart. Rusk died of heart disease on February 2, 1931, in Grants Pass, Oregon. Rusk, about two months prior, requested that some members of the Cascadians take his ashes and place them in a cairn on The Castle of his beloved Mount Adams. Clarence Truitt and Clarence Starcher completed this request on July 27, 1931. This small monument remains today.
Mountaineering career Rusk's mountaineering career took him all over the West Coast of the United States, beginning in 1889 and continuing to 1930. He met many other people on his many journeys; however, few people became close friends and learned about his personal life. The few who knew him described him as one of the most expert and daring mountaineers in the West. While Rusk had some close calls and got himself into some hair raising situations, he had very few accidents while climbing and often saved others from extreme danger. He was not braggadocious about his exploits and in fact would only give the most matter-of-fact answers about them. He was known to be tenacious in his exploits, yet tempered by his good sense and consideration for others with him. Rusk was most familiar with Mount Adams, climbing it many times and exploring the area around it extensively.
Early expeditions Rusk began his mountaineering career in the summer following the completion of his first year of teaching school. He and his uncle W. A. Maxwell ascended Mount Adams via the South Climb. The next year, 1890, he, his mother Josie, and his sister Leah completed a circuit of Adams. This was the first recorded circuit by white women and likely the first recorded circuit by anyone. On this trip, he named Avalanche Valley and Rusk Glacier; however, the Rusk Glacier name was not official until 1901 when Rusk assisted Harry Fielding Reid in mapping Adams.
One of the novelties of mountaineering in the late 1800s and early 1900s was to burn a large red fire on the summit of the high peaks and so "illuminate" it. In 1891, Rusk and several others attempted to illuminate Adams, but were turned back at the false summit by a storm with hurricane force winds.
In 1895, he joined the party from the Mazamas mountaineering club for the first heliograph signaling between the peaks of the Cascades which included, from north to south, Mount Baker, Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, and Diamond Peak. This endeavor was only partially successful due to smoke and logistical problems and only the parties on Hood and Adams were able to communicate. Also on this expedition, three people from the Mazamas measured the altitude of Adams. Rusk, who had long held that Adams was one of the tallest in the range, was pleased to learn that it was over .
Two years later, 1897, Rusk, his mother, and his sister climbed Adams again. Afterwards, they went to the Ridge of Wonders and his mother, awestruck by the scene, insisted that it should be known as such.
Mapping Mount Adams For 14 days in 1901, Rusk assisted Harry Fielding Reid in mapping Mount Adams. Before they began, they ascended Adams with two others, Nelson B. Brooks and Dr. H. S. Goddard, and then circled the mountain with Rusk leading. As they came around the mountain, Rusk suggested names for several of the glaciers. He wanted to name Adams Glacier as Reid Glacier in honor of Reid; however, Reid insisted that it should be named something else because he thought it improper to place his own name on the map that he was making and the Mazamas were trying to name a glacier on Mount Hood after him. This eventually persuaded Rusk, but years later when he wrote Tales, Rusk repeated his wish that the glacier be known as Reid Glacier. Rusk also recommended that the Lyman Glacier be named as such in honor of William Denison Lyman, who had done some to the first research into Adams. Reid officially named Rusk Glacier after him.
1902 Mazamas outing The Mazamas returned to Adams in July 1902 and Rusk joined them with a small group from eastern Klickitat County. The Mazamas had some logistical problems and were not able to climb the day that Rusk and the rest of his party did. After Rusk's party reached the summit, one of them, whom he called Mrs. Blank to protect her identity, collapsed. They made use of a human toboggan to get her down the mountain. Two days later, Rusk joined the Mazamas party in their ascent.
Mount Baker climb In 1903, after the Rusks had moved to Hamilton, Rusk and his wife attempted to climb Mount Baker. They were unsuccessful because poor weather turned them away. Later that same year, Rusk made another attempt with George G. Cantwell and W. A. Alexander. Rusk and Cantwell were successful in making the ascent, which was the seventh ascent of Baker and the first direct up the Boulder Ridge.
Gathering of the Mountain Clans Rusk participated in a "gathering of the mountain clans" on Mount Rainier in 1905. Always a leader in the mountains, he went with a scouting party from Paradise Park around to the west side of Rainier, possibly up Kautz Cleaver, in an attempt to find a route that avoided the notorious rockfall on the normal Gibraltar route. Unsuccessful, the scouting party returned and rejoined the rest of the party for the ascent. Over 200 members from the Sierra Club, American Alpine Club, Mazamas, and the Appalachian Mountain Club were attempting the climb. Because there were so many attempting the climb, the clubs divided into two parties and climbed on succeeding days. Ninety-eight people completed the ascent including Rusk who volunteered as a leader of one of the groups.
Glacier Peak climb Rusk climbed Glacier Peak in August 1906 with A. L. Cool. They were the third party to climb Glacier Peak and the first to climb the east side. The day before the climb, Rusk named Cool Glacier after Cool as he was the first person to set foot on it. The day after the climb, while they were exploring the lower slopes of Glacier Peak, Rusk named Chocolate Glacier after the chocolate colored water the emanated from it. A later mapping error switched the names from what Rusk had intended. With the ascent of Glacier Peak, Rusk became the first person to climb the four peaks of Washington over .
McKinley expedition