Home > Trip Reports > May 15, 2007, Mt Baker, Artist Point with KIRO-TV

May 15, 2007, Mt Baker, Artist Point with KIRO-TV

5/15/07
WA Cascades West Slopes North (Mt Baker)
12311
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Posted by Lowell_Skoog on 5/16/07 2:21am


John and Irene Meulemans and Gary Rose at Artist Point, Mt Baker.


KIRO-TV in Seattle is producing a documentary about climate change in the Northwest.  They're interviewing scientists and outdoorspeople about the evidence of climate change and gathering their opinions about it.  The producers contacted The Mountaineers in Seattle seeking long-time (50 years or more) backcountry skiers to talk to.  I referred them to several older skiers that I know.

On Tuesday, May 15, we took advantage of fine weather to visit the Mt Baker ski area.  The producers contacted Gary Rose and John and Irene Meulemans, very experienced Northwest skiers who are in their seventies.  John and Irene no longer ski, but they still get into the mountains frequently on snowshoes.  Gary Rose has been backcountry skiing continually since the early 1950s.  I joined the group as someone with an interest in both the past and future of Northwest skiing.



Interviewing Gary Rose at Artist Point.


We toured from the ski area parking lot to Artist Point, taking footage of the group traveling through the beautiful North Cascades.  Then the producers interviewed each of us on camera.  The questions were basic, things like how long have you been skiing, what do you enjoy about it, what changes have you seen in the mountains in that time, what do you think of those changes, and so on.  The producers didn't prejudice the conversation, and our group had somewhat different opinions about the subject.  But everybody shared an abiding love of the mountains and the older skiers in particular expressed the feeling that they had been privileged to live during a "golden age" of skiing and mountaineering in the Northwest.

Eventually we made our way back to the car, finding the snow rather soft and slow (not really corn yet).  Our ski bases were quite grimy at the parking lot.  I think there is a pollen bloom occurring at Mt Baker ski area right now.  The documentary is supposed to air in late summer.  You never can tell how a program like this will turn out, but it seems like the producers are doing their homework and approaching the subject with open minds, so I hope it will be a good show.  It was great spending the day with this interesting and varied group of people.



(L-R): Peter (photographer), Irene and John Meulemans, Lowell, Ben (producer), and Gary Rose at Mt Baker ski area.
You REPRESENT for us  :)  ...and the planet....

neat trip report, thanks..

Thanks Larry!

I've really enjoyed the time I've spent with John and Irene. Such nice people. Very different personalities, it seems to me, but entirely complementary. Here are my notes from my 2001 interview with them. And here are notes from my similar interview with Gary Rose.

wow, it's great to hear that the producers of this program are approaching this subject seemingly unbiased.  i'm interested in seeing this report when it airs this summer--any info on the specifics?

No specifics at this point. And there's no guarantee that we won't end up on the cutting room floor. Assuming that the show does air later in the summer, I expect to hear about it beforehand, and I'll post a note on TAY with the date and time.

The crew from KIRO-TV came over to my house this morning for some follow-up shots. I showed them a few "then-and-now" photos of glaciers in the North Cascades and also old pictures of the Paradise ice caves.

While they were packing up, I pulled up TOPO! on my laptop to show them where the Paradise ice caves used to be. Then I went to kam's 2005 TAY thread about trying to ski the Paradise Glacier. I pulled up GregL's photo of the barren landscape where the glacier used to be:

http://www.randosaigai.com/paradiseglacier05_04.jpg

The KIRO-TV photographer was so impressed by this picture that he set up his camera again and took a shot of it on my computer screen. I hope that's okay Greg! Your picture made a big impression!

For a better resolution, you should have just emailed him the picture... ;)

author=wood_Ster link=topic=7135.msg28775#msg28775 date=1180033205]
For a better resolution, you should have just emailed him the picture... ;)


Yeah, I did that after they left my house. I've e-mailed them quite a few pictures.

They might still use the screen shots, though, because they can pull back to show the hysterical skier pointing and gesturing wildly.  ;)

author=Lowell_Skoog link=topic=7135.msg28773#msg28773 date=1180030868]
I hope that's okay Greg! Your picture made a big impression!


No problem, Lowell. I was shocked myself, kind of like returning to the house you grew up in after a couple of decades and finding a WalMart in its place . . .

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Lowell_Skoog
2007-05-16 09:21:58