Mt. Cruiser: “2 Local Youths Scale Peak; Give it Name” (Bremerton Sun, 1937)

The following articles and photographs document various aspects of the first ascent of Mt. Cruiser, a visually striking basalt pinnacle in the Olympic Mountains. The bold first-ascent climb was completed by Paul Crews and Ray Layton in September 1937. Being members of the Bremerton Ski Cruisers club, Crews and Layton subsequently bestowed the name “Mt. Cruiser.” All items presented below were collected from the estate of Audrey E. Layton (Ray’s wife) and kindly supplied by Jeff Layton (Ray’s son).

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Below is an excerpt from the September 14, 1937, edition of the Bremerton Sun newspaper describing the first-ascent climb of Mt. Cruiser by Paul Crews and Ray Layton as part of an approximately 30-person reconnaissance trip to Gladys Divide by members of the Bremerton Ski Cruisers club. The article provides several interesting points:

• The Climbers Guide to the Olympic Mountains states that Mt. Cruiser was first climbed in 1937 but it does not give a specific date. This Bremerton Sun article indicates that the first-ascent climb was performed on a Sunday preceding the newspaper’s publication date of Tuesday, September 14, thereby establishing the first-ascent date as September 12, 1937.
• The primary purpose of the club trip was to scout out a location for a then-proposed Olympic Ski Bowl, which was to include a ski lodge at Flapjack Lakes and ski runs northeast of Gladys Divide. Much of the area was incorporated into Olympic National Park a year later, and the club apparently abandoned their plans.
• On a humorous note, the newspaper writer refers to Crews and Layton as “crag rats.” This probably stands as one of the earliest generic usages of that now-common and very endearing slang term for rock climbers.

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The short article below was excerpted from the 1937-38 edition of the American Ski Annual. It describes the Bremerton Ski Cruisers’ reconnaissance trip to Flapjack Lakes and Gladys Divide, and it gives a brief mention of the first ascent of Mt. Cruiser by club members Paul Crews and Ray Layton.

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The first five photos shown below were taken during the historic first-ascent climb of Mt. Cruiser by Paul Crews and Ray Layton in 1937. The sixth photo was taken during a climb of Mt. Constance by the same pair, presumably around the same time period. Unless noted otherwise, the photographers are unknown.

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