P. B. Van Trump

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Philemon Beecher Van Trump (1839–1916), also known as P. B. Van Trump, was a pioneering mountaineer and writer who lived in Washington, United States. [1] [2]

Van Trump' was born in Lancaster, Ohio on December 18, 1839. He was educated at Kenyon College and the University of New York. In 1867 he moved to Washington Territory as the private secretary to Marshall F. Moore, the seventh governor of the territory. Moore was Van Trump's brother-in-law. [3]

Van Trump and General Hazard Stevens made the first documented successful climb of Mount Rainier on August 17, 1870. They climbed the mountain via the Gibraltar route. He climbed the mountain at least five other times. [1] [4] [3] [5]

Van Trump guided John Muir to the summit of Mount Rainier in 1888. Muir describes this climb in a chapter of his book Steep Trails. [6] Muir and Van Trump kept in touch after the climb.

Van Trump joined the Sierra Club in 1893 making him one of their first members outside of the state of California. He later served on Sierra Club committee. In this capacity he was one of the first people to campaign for the creation of Mount Rainier National Park. [1]

The Stevens Van Trump Historic Monument along the Skyline Trail in Mount Rainier National Park was erected to commemorate the historic first accent of the mountain. Van Trump Park, an alpine meadow, Van Trump Creek and Van Trump Glacier, all in the national park, are named after him.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Philemon Van Trump. Sierra Club. Retrieved on 2007-02-11.
  2. ^ Philemon B. Van Trump holding walking stick, ca. 1909. University of Washington Libraries Digital Collection. University of Washington. Retrieved on 2007-02-11.
  3. ^ a b Haines, Aubrey L. [1962] (1999). Mountain fever : historic conquests of Rainier. Original publisher: Oregon Historical Society; Republished by University of Washington. ISBN 0295978473. 
  4. ^ "Stevens and Van Trump", Mount Rainier Nature Notes, Vol. VIII, No. 3, Mount Rainier National Park, National Park Service, March, 1930. Retrieved on 2007-02-11. 
  5. ^ Chronology of Climbs of Mt. Rainier. Tacoma Public Library (2002). Retrieved on 2007-02-11.
  6. ^ Muir, John [May 1918]. "Chapter XX: An Ascent of Mount Rainier", in William Frederic Badè: Steep Trails. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. LCC F594.M95. Retrieved on 2007-02-11.