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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 2022)
12 Wednesday, February 23, 2022 The Nugget ugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Prince Glaze and the lost mountaineers By Maret Pajutee, Correspondent Guy Ferry was a 26-year-old University of Oregon graduate who loved to climb and explore the Cascades with his good friend, 23-year-old Henry Cramer. They grew up in The Dalles and had been in a fraternity together at the univer- sity. It was early September, 1927, and fall in the Cascades can be so beautiful. They took off in a Model T for Frog Camp off the McKenzie Pass, to climb mountains. Frog Camp was in Forest Ranger Prince Glaze¾s territory, and he came across the young climbers on September 5. They reported they had climbed North Sister and, not deterred by the incoming wet weather, were planning to climb South Sister. Prince thought they may have been confused in the fog and had actually climbed Middle Sister. When they didn¾t return on time and the Model T was found sitting where they left it, a search was called. Prince searched the area alone in the snow for two days before help arrived. It became the largest search con- ducted up to that time and the Forest Service, mountain climbers, skiers, law enforcement, and pilots were INDOOR & OUTDOOR SEATING AVAILABLE ORDER ONLINE for takeout: www.SistersSaloon.net Sun-Thurs 11-9 • Fri-Sat 11-10 541-549-RIBS • 190 E. Cascade Ave. called out. The search dominated the front page of the Eugene Register Guard for five days, with headlines like “South Sister Holds the Secret of Lost Boys,” “No Trace of Lost Youths — Secret of Cascades Well Kept.” Then, strangely, on September 10, it was announced, “Boys are Thought Alive — 20 Volunteers are Sought.” A message had come in from a remote forest phone, relayed with difficulty. It said they had reason to believe one boy was hurt and the other standing by, but they needed help quickly. Only experienced mountaineers, familiar with the Sisters area were wanted, and they needed to bring their own equipment and be ready to sleep in the snow. Ranger Perry South from Sisters led one search team, McKenzie Ranger Smith L. Taylor a second, and Prince Glaze led the third. As the weather cleared, airplane flights were sent to scan the high slopes, but deep snow covered any traces. The search- ers decided there were three possibili- ties: the boys had hidden in caves on Middle Sister, were lost in the forests below the mountain, or had crawled Holistic Mental Health Solutions Medication Management Counseling • Functional Medicine into the lava beds. The search became a cause and was funded by the Portland Ad Club. The mayor of Bend was reportedly directing the search, Mazamas pro- vided leadership, and Wasco County, the home county of the two climbers, paid for food for the searchers. The Forest Service provided their best people, including Prince Glaze. The boys¾ parents were there. Henry Cramer¾s father went out with the searchers while Mr. and Mrs. Ferry waited anxiously at Frog Camp. On September 12, Bend home- town heroes Nels Skjersaa and NJ Wulfsberg made a treacherous ascent of South Sister in a whiteout and were hailed for their climb — but nothing was found. Others took on climbing Middle Sister and found a note from Henry and Guy in the Summit box saying, “We were up here yesterday in such a blizzard that we could not find the register box. Stormy and cold today.” They must have climbed it twice to sign the register. One res- cuer was lowered on a rope into a deep crack of the Renfro glacier and reported he could not see the bottom. Sheriff Taylor is quoted saying, Audry Van Houweling PMHNP-BC Quick and Affordable Help 541-595-8337 • www.shesoarspsych.com 204 W. Adams Ave., Ste. 202, Sisters “There is little doubt that the boys ed were bewildered ay and lost their way .” in the snowstorm.” Bewildered is a ing strangely real-feeling ust word for what it must st in have been like, lost a swirling blizzard in the wilderness. The rescuers swelled from 25 to over 100, and the cold nights around the campfires at Frog Camp were an incubator for ideas for helping people negotiate mountains in the future. As they huddled at the icy staging area, they talked about how to create search and rescue organizations and more. On September 13, after the climb- ers had been missing nine days, the treacherous search was called off with the stark headline, “Fathers to return next summer for bodies.” Guy¾s mother, Mrs. Ferry, was her- alded as displaying “such fortitude that her grief-lined face and anxious eyes are enough to give courage to the weak. There is not a man at Frog Camp who would not go out over the Skyline Trail, even in the face of the Do you know your agent? Do you understand your policy? Are you overpaying? Call or come in today for a free Farmers Friendly Review 541-588-6245 • 257 S. Pine St., #101 www.farmersagent.com/jrybka AUTO • HOME • LIFE • BUSINESS TELLING THE STORIES OF THE SISTERS COMMUNITY Through boom and bust, good times and hard times, for more than four decades. THE NUGGET NEWSPAPER VALUES OUR READERS We’re here for you and we deeply appreciate your support. Your supporting subscriptions help make it possible for Nugget staff and freelance writers to continue telling the stories of the Sisters community through changing times. The Nugget Newspaper 541-549-9941 • 442 E. Main Ave., Sisters Readers who would like to make a fi nancial contribution to keep professional community journalism thriving in Sisters can visit www.NuggetNews.com and click on “Subscribe & Support” or drop a check in the mail to: The Nugget, PO Box 698, Sisters, OR 97759