Hozomeen Mountain

Hozomeen Mountain, North Peak

Hozomeen Mountain
Elevation 8,071 ft (2,460 m) NAVD 88[1]
Prominence 3,932 ft (1,198 m)[2]
Location
Location Whatcom County, Washington, U.S.
Range North Cascades
Coordinates 48°58′56″N 121°00′43″W / 48.982180647°N 121.012010028°WCoordinates: 48°58′56″N 121°00′43″W / 48.982180647°N 121.012010028°W[1]
Topo map USGS Hozomeen Mountain
Climbing
First ascent September 6, 1904 by Sledge Tatum, George E. Loudon, Jr.
Easiest route snow/rock scramble
View from Hozomeen Lake

Hozomeen Mountain is a double-summited rock peak on the east side of Ross Lake in the North Cascades of Washington state. Despite its low absolute elevation, it is notable for the large, steep drops from both of its summits to the surrounding terrain.

The name "Hozomeen" is derived from Salish, a geographically broad language group of the indigenous bands of southern British Columbia and northern Washington State. The name appeared on a sketch map prepared for members of the first boundary survey of the 49th parallel, ca. 1857-1860, designating the name of the mountain. The map was drawn by Thiusoloc, one of surveyor and topographer Henry Custer's Salish guides, and like other geographic features labeled on the map, it recorded Salish place names.[3] According to Annie York, a native Salish speaker, "Hozomeen" refers to "sharp, like a sharp knife." [4] and links the name to the ca. 9,000 year long tradition of indigenous use of Hozomeen chert (a flint-like mineral) to make a variety of subsistence and hunting tools.[5]

Hozomeen North Peak (the main summit) was first climbed on September 6, 1904 by Sledge Tatum and George E. Loudon, Jr. of the Boundary Survey, from the northeast.[6] Other routes exist on the South Ridge and Southwest Buttress.

Hozomeen South Peak, elevation 8,003 feet (2,439 m),[7] lies approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of the higher North Peak. It was first climbed on May 30, 1947 by Fred Beckey, Melvin Marcus, Jerry O'Neil, Ken Prestrud, Herb Staley, and Charles Welsh, via the Southwest Route. While lower than the North Peak, it has a north face which is "almost completely vertical for 1,000 feet."[6]

Hozomeen Mountain is also mentioned often in the latter portions of Jack Kerouac's 1958 novel Dharma Bums and the beginning of his 1965 novel Desolation Angels when the protagonists are stationed at a fire lookout on nearby Desolation Peak. A rhyme in Dharma Bums goes "Hozomeen, Hozomeen, the most mournful mountain I've ever seen".

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Hozomeen". NGS data sheet. U.S. National Geodetic Survey.
  2. ↑ "Hozomeen Mountain, Washington". Peakbagger.com.
  3. ↑ Majors, H. (1984). "First Crossing of the Pickett Range". Northwest Discovery 5 (21): 4–9. ISSN 0272-1570.
  4. ↑ Akrigg, G.P.V.; Helen B Akrigg (1986). British Columbia place names. Victoria, B.C., Canada: Sono Nis Press. ISBN 0-919203-96-5.
  5. ↑ Mierendorf, Robert R (1993). Chert Procurement in the Upper Skagit River Valley of the Northern Cascade Range, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, Washington. Seattle, WA: National Park Service. OCLC 29015100.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Beckey, Fred W. (2008). Cascade alpine guide : climbing and high routes. Vol. 3, Rainy Pass to Fraser River (3rd ed.). Mountaineers Books. pp. 206–215. ISBN 978-1-59485-136-0.
  7. ↑ "Hozomeen Mountain-South Peak, Washington". Peakbagger.com.

External links