Guy Waterman's feats

[Raymond]

The late Guy Waterman climbed all the White Mountain 4000-Footers in alphabetical order. I'm not planning on attempting to duplicate this feat, but I'm curious: What is the proper name of Mt. Osceola's East Peak (so where does it fall, alphabetically)? Is it simply East Peak? East Osceola? Osceola Mountain, East Peak? That's probably the vaguest name of any of the 4Ks. (Does "South Hancock" actually appear on a USGS map? I don't feel like digging out my old topo to look.)

The other Waterman achievement about which I'm curious is his feat of climbing each of the White Mountain 4Ks from each of the primary points of the compass. Does anyone know exactly how he did this? Was it just "generally" from the north, east, south, and west; or did he plot out a precise starting point for each summit so that he could hold to an exact 180-degree, 270-degree, 0-degree, and 90-degree heading and hit his mark? If that was the case, he must have had to keep the compass constantly in front of him, plotting his course from landmark to landmark. Also, if this was the way he did it, how did he determine his starting point? How far out did go from the summit? The nearest trail? The nearest road? If the nearest road, he would have had a very long way to go to bag the Franconia Ridge mountains or the Tripyramids from the east, or the eastern Pemigewasset mountains from the west. I daresay that Willey might be the hardest under this scenario; from the west, he'd have to start near Echo Lake, cross shoulders of Garfield, Galehead, and South Twin, pass practically right over the summit of Zealand, then down Zeacliff, and over Whitewall. Yikes.

If he got up on the summit plateau and found himself a few paces off from the high point, then what? Start over? Or just "abandon" the bearing in order to reach the tippy-top point?

Again, I'm not harboring any desire to repeat these feats, I'm just curious about how anal he was in his own pursuit of the achievement. I'm sure he was in it for the fun, but I can't see anyone bushwacking miles and miles from tree to tree, and scaling and downclimbing cliffs, only to discover that he's off by ten feet and has to do the whole thing over again, ten feet to the right or left of where he'd just been. But maybe he did.

 

[afka_bob]

To answer your questions:

Unsure (ninth or tenth – eleventh, maybe?).

Don’t think so.

Probably.

No, I'm quite sure it isn’t that.

Don’t know (don't feel like dragging out mine, either).

I don't know.

Don’t know; don’t know.

Not sure.

Maybe.

More likely.

Unclear.

Perhaps

Always an option.

Hope this clarifies things!

 

[el-bagr]

I'm not an expert on Guy, but here is my understanding:

What is the proper name of Mt. Osceola's East Peak (so where does it fall, alphabetically)?
I'd call it Osceola, East Peak. Of course it'd be harder if you called it East Peak Osceola and followed Trailwrights' "one peak, one trip" rules.

(Does "South Hancock" actually appear on a USGS map? I don't feel like digging out my old topo to look.)
Not on the USGS maps I have; just Mount Hancock. I'd call it Hancock, South Peak.

Was it just "generally" from the north, east, south, and west; or did he plot out a precise starting point for each summit so that he could hold to an exact 180-degree, 270-degree, 0-degree, and 90-degree heading and hit his mark?
A route from each cardinal direction, generally. E.g. west face, north ridge...

Also, if this was the way he did it, how did he determine his starting point? How far out did go from the summit? The nearest trail?
Given my last answer, the nearest convenient point. All you need to do is approach and summit from the general cardinal direction.

If he got up on the summit plateau and found himself a few paces off from the high point, then what? Start over? Or just "abandon" the bearing in order to reach the tippy-top point?
Not applicable. The cardinal direction approaches were general, not strict.

 

[Jim lombard]

Names

I've always called them East Osceola, North Tripyramid, North Hancock but I can see the proper name of these would be Osceola, East Peak, etc. I suppose the reason I call them by individual names and not sub peaks off a mountain mass is that each peak has it's own distinct personality to me and deserves it's own distinct name. The Wildcats probably deserve more than A, B, C, D and E for example.

What about the Twins? Are they Twin Mountain- North Peak and South Peak. I believe they've always been named North Twin and South Twin.

 

[RoySwkr]

I've been trying for years to get descriptions of the routes Guy Waterman used for his compass ascents but no luck so far, hence I can't answer those questions.

Here are the official "summit" features in NH over 4000 feet according to the US Board of Geographic Names - E Osceola is "East Peak" and S Hancock is officially unnamed.
Feature Name St County Equivalent Name Type Elevation USGS 7.5' Map
Bartlett Haystack NH Carroll summit 4400 440307N 0711939W Bartlett
Adams Five NH Coos summit 5266 441857N 0711825W Mount Washington
Adams Four NH Coos summit 5348 441931N 0711804W Mount Washington
Adams, Mount NH Coos summit 5774 441913N 0711729W Mount Washington
Boott Spur NH Coos summit 5492 441508N 0711744W Mount Washington
Cabot, Mount NH Coos summit 4160 443022N 0712458W Stark
Carter Dome NH Coos summit 4832 441602N 0711046W Carter Dome
Clay, Mount NH Coos summit 5532 441709N 0711859W Mount Washington
Eisenhower, Mount NH Coos summit 4760 441425N 0712103W Stairs Mountain
Franklin, Mount NH Coos summit 5004 441458N 0711952W Stairs Mountain
Gulf Peak NH Coos summit 4692 441429N 0711727W Stairs Mountain
Hight, Mount NH Coos summit 4675 441633N 0711013W Carter Dome
Isolation, Mount NH Coos summit 4005 441253N 0711835W Stairs Mountain
Jefferson, Mount NH Coos summit 5712 441816N 0711905W Mount Washington
Madison, Mount NH Coos summit 5367 441942N 0711642W Mount Washington
Middle Carter Mountain NH Coos summit 4584 441811N 0711004W Carter Dome
Monroe, Mount NH Coos summit 5374 441520N 0711921W Mount Washington
Moriah, Mount NH Coos summit 4049 442025N 0710755W Carter Dome
North Carter Mountain NH Coos summit 4589 441847N 0710954W Carter Dome
Pierce, Mount NH Coos summit 4310 441335N 0712159W Stairs Mountain
Quincy Adams, Mount NH Coos summit 5394 441928N 0711719W Mount Washington
Sam Adams, Mount NH Coos summit 5584 441918N 0711803W Mount Washington
South Carter Mountain NH Coos summit 4420 441723N 0711036W Carter Dome
Washington, Mount NH Coos summit 6288 441614N 0711817W Mount Washington
Waumbek, Mount NH Coos summit 4005 442558N 0712503W Jefferson
Wildcat Mountain NH Coos summit 4422 441532N 0711207W Carter Dome
Blue, Mount NH Grafton summit 4529 440151N 0714915W Mount Moosilauke
Bond, Mount NH Grafton summit 4698 440910N 0713154W South Twin Mountain
Cannon Mountain NH Grafton summit 4040 440923N 0714156W Franconia
Carrigain, Mount NH Grafton summit 4580 440536N 0712653W Mount Carrigain
Cliffs, The NH Grafton summit 4265 440829N 0713227W South Twin Mountain
East Peak NH Grafton summit 4156 440022N 0713116W Mount Osceola
Field, Mount NH Grafton summit 4321 441146N 0712606W Crawford Notch
Flume, Mount NH Grafton summit 4328 440632N 0713742W Lincoln
Galehead Mountain NH Grafton summit 4024 441107N 0713427W South Twin Mountain
Garfield, Mount NH Grafton summit 4480 441113N 0713641W South Twin Mountain
Guyot, Mount NH Grafton summit 4508 441005N 0713204W South Twin Mountain
Hale, Mount NH Grafton summit 4054 441318N 0713045W South Twin Mountain
Hancock, Mount NH Grafton summit 4403 440501N 0712939W Mount Carrigain
Jim, Mount NH Grafton summit 4172 440129N 0714827W Mount Moosilauke
Lafayette, Mount NH Grafton summit 5249 440925N 0713827W Franconia
Liberty, Mount NH Grafton summit 4459 440657N 0713833W Lincoln
Lincoln, Mount NH Grafton summit 5089 440856N 0713842W Franconia
Little Haystack Mountain NH Grafton summit 4800 440826N 0713843W Franconia
Middle Peak NH Grafton summit 4110 435755N 0712625W Mount Tripyramid
Moosilauke, Mount NH Grafton summit 4830 440128N 0714953W Mount Moosilauke
North Peak NH Grafton summit 4293 440759N 0714414W Franconia
North Peak NH Grafton summit 4140 435824N 0712637W Mount Tripyramid
North Twin Mountain NH Grafton summit 4761 441209N 0713330W South Twin Mountain
Osceola, Mount NH Grafton summit 4315 440005N 0713211W Mount Osceola
Passaconaway, Mount NH Grafton summit 4060 435717N 0712255W Mount Tripyramid
South Peak NH Grafton summit 4523 440040N 0715029W Mount Moosilauke
South Peak NH Grafton summit 4090 435737N 0712630W Mount Tripyramid
South Peak Kinsman Mountain NH Grafton summit 4358 440722N 0714414W Lincoln
South Twin Mountain NH Grafton summit 4902 441115N 0713319W South Twin Mountain
Tecumseh, Mount NH Grafton summit 4004 435802N 0713331W Waterville Valley
Tom, Mount NH Grafton summit 4051 441237N 0712647W Crawford Notch
Tripyramid, Mount NH Grafton summit 4120 435806N 0712624W Mount Tripyramid
West Peak NH Grafton summit 4114 440024N 0713252W Mount Osceola
Willey, Mount NH Grafton summit 4302 441101N 0712519W Crawford Notch

Map links to these can be found in the second column of the table at http://hikenh.netfirms.com/X4klist.htm

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

I've been trying for years to get descriptions of the routes Guy Waterman used for his compass ascents but no luck so far, hence I can't answer those questions.

To get the flavor, I will quote a paragraph describing one such outing in outline, it is from an article by Guy Waterman: "Tough--But Oh So Gentle: The Essential Dan Allen"; Appalachia, December 1995, pp 24-26:

... undertook a long winter bushwhack of Moosilauke via the ice cliffs at the headwall of Jobildunk Ravine.
The menu promised a varied fare: long approach, first on unplowed road and trail; then a couple of hours of snowshoe bushwhacking; a three-pitch technical ice climb at the headwall; another couple of hours bushwhacking through the dense snow-covered krummholz near 4,000 feet, with all its fiendish spruce traps; hopes of striking a trail just below the 4,802-foot summit; and then a traverse of the above-treeline summit so as to descend the Glencliff Trail to waiting friends and cars.

The meat of that article is a description of Dan Allen's route finding abilities when they ran into whiteout conditions on the summit.

 

[Raymond]

Roy, that's a clip-and-save list if ever I saw one. Fire up your printers, everyone!

Thanks to all for your help.

I started thinking about the compass business when I climbed Vose Spur last month. Would Waterman have gone down the Carrigain Notch Trail, then turned left to climb Carrigain, or would he have started on Route 302? I think I would have started on Route 302, but I wouldn't really have the energy or inclination to actually climb each mountain four times in this difficult fashion.

 

[Hakuna Matata]

I can't answer your questions but on the subject of Guy Waterman, I have an interesting story. We have a friend that was friends with Guy and his wife. We met our friend this last winter back in the woods X-C skiing and we stopped and talked to him for awhile. He told us about Guy Waterman and what kind of person he was and about his death. Several weeks ago I was in Ohio and wandering around in a small bookstore. I picked up a book that looked like something about mountain climbing. On the inside flap it gave a description of the book.It is the story of the life and death of a brillant, complicated man. Guy Waterman. The name of the book is Good Morning Midnight, Life and Death in the Wild by Chip Brown. I was very surprised to find this book in Ohio at a small store. Haven't read it yet. It's going to be my next book.

 

[David Metsky]

It's an extremely interesting book, a very good read. It does give some insight into the man and his motivations.

-dave-

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

Obtaining GNIS data

Roy, that's a clip-and-save list if ever I saw one. Fire up your printers, everyone!

GNIS data files can be downloaded from the State and Topical Gazetteer Download Page; be sure to read their Read Me page. You can either process them in their original text format, or import them into an Excel (or other) spreadsheet.

 

[Mark A.]

An important point: Guy didn't simply climb all the 4,000-footers from each of the cardinal points of the compass—he did so in winter. As Mohamed's post above indicates, he did not stick to trails.

Cheers,
Mark

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

The other Waterman achievement about which I'm curious is his feat of climbing each of the White Mountain 4Ks from each of the primary points of the compass. Does anyone know exactly how he did this? Was it just "generally" from the north, east, south, and west; or did he plot out a precise starting point for each summit so that he could hold to an exact 180-degree, 270-degree, 0-degree, and 90-degree heading and hit his mark?

My guess is that he chose what appeared to him to be the "most interesting" route from each general direction. I suspect that "most interesting" meant "most challenging". I am pretty sure that he did not do anything as mechanical (and unimaginative) as plotting a route from the summit at each exact bearing until it met a road, then do it in reverse.

In case it is not clear, the above is just a guess.

 

[ALGonquin Bob]

I had begun reading some of Guy Waterman's books. Then he pulled his final stunt, and I lost respect for him. I can't bring myself to read the books now, knowing what a selfish thing he did to end his life prematurely.

 

[askus3]

I completely disagree with AIGs assessment. I stand to be corrected, but I was under the impression that Guy had terminal cancer. He just wanted to end his life in a beautiful place he loved. He did not want to create hardship for loved ones and just go in peace. God bless him.

 

[ALGonquin Bob]

Comments on Waterman

This is what I know, as per "Windswept", the quarterly bulletin of the Mount Washington Observatory: "A vigorous man, he evidently had a greater than normal fear of losing his abilities with age; his personal habits suggested he had a deep-seated need to control his fate as much as possible. Thus, on a brisk winter's day, he left his home destined for Mount Lafayette, with a plan to breathe his last there, a plan that he carried out near that mountain's summit, thanks to the cold and wind of the open ridge."

From a reader's comments on Chip Brown's "Good Morning Midnight": "Brown failed in the one task he assigned himself - to give a clear explanation for Watermans suicide. Yes, he couldnt do all he had once done, but he still was very fit, fit enough to climb to the top of that mountain in brutal winter cold to end his life. And he left behind - DESERTED - a woman he seemed clearly to love greatly. Why did so many love such a man?"

I don't know that Waterman had cancer, just a fear of growing feeble in his old age.

 

[David Metsky]

Guy did not, by any accounts, have any serious physical health problems. I suspect, though I certainly am not well informed enough to give any meaningful diagnosis, that he struggled with a lifetime of untreated depression or perhaps bipolar disorder. I don't think it's possible to judge his decision to end his life without knowing more.

He was a great but flawed man. IMO, his life should be celebrated and his death should be mourned. I'm not going to judge his decisions, but I wonder what his life would have been like if he'd gotten treatment for his mental illness. There's a lot more to this story than a vigorous man afraid of getting old.

-dave-

 

[funkyfreddy]

Guy did not, by any accounts, have any serious physical health problems. I suspect, though I certainly am not well informed enough to give any meaningful diagnosis, that he struggled with a lifetime of untreated depression or perhaps bipolar disorder..................
He was a great but flawed man.

I agree - I admire Guy as a writer, his books have great merit. After reading "Good Morning Midnight" I have serious reservations about his character......rigid and obsessive are 2 adjectives that come to mind. This is a guy who counted and kept track of every blueberry he picked, yes, every single berry, not every bushel. His peakbagging exploits seem to have been taken up partly as compensation for what he lacked as a father............ food for thought, isn't it?

The sad part is that a man so gifted would choose to take his own life rather than admit he needed professional help and seek it out.

 

[Davehiker]

The issue of Guy Waterman's death was debated at length on these boards and in many other places at that time by lots of people who formed judgments based on meager knowledge. The life and death were reported in a thoughtful, comprehensive way by Chip Brown inGood Morning, Midnight. Our words can not bring him back, but we may speculate on what might have been, as David says.

What's important to us now are the MANY contributions of this, admittedly flawed, man and his wife to the hiking and climbing community. His peakbagging may have been a compulsive act, but it stands as an inspiration to us all, and may never be equaled. His (their) books are outstanding, and are recommended reading for anyone interested in the outdoors in the Northeast. His record of environmental stewardship is exemplary.

 

[NYBRAD]

Well said DaveHiker.

What ever his faults or demons may have been,

His accomplishments stand unequaled and alone by themselves…..

Like he was on his final day.

 

[Bhoody]

ADK 46 in winter

Guy was also the 10th Winter 46er and I believe the first to ever complete the 46 with his first round being a winter round - everyone previously had a three season round before tackling the peaks in winter. And this was all before herd paths and the popularity of winter climbing. He finished in 1971. Another impressive feat to add to his list.