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Saturday, August 28, 2021
The Observer & Baker City Herald
Reaching new heights
Baker High School grad Jason Hardrath is the fastest climber to summit all of Washington state’s 100 tallest peaks
By ASHLY WINCHESTER
For EO Media Group
Baker High School alumnus
Jason Hardrath has climbed
his way into Pacific North-
west mountaineering history
by scaling all of Washington’s
100 tallest peaks in 50 days, 23
hours, 43 minutes.
The feat took him through
869 miles of Washington state’s
mountain terrain while accumu-
lating over 411,500 feet of eleva-
tion gain.
This list of 100 peaks is com-
monly referred to as the “Bulg-
er’s List,” and just 82 climbers
– most taking four or more years
— have completed the list since
its first finisher in 1980.
Regarding fast finishers, the
previous record for this feat of
endurance, tenacity, and moun-
tain prowess had stood for two
years at 13 1/2 months.
Hardrath, a 2007 BHS grad-
uate who teaches school at
Bonanza, near Klamath Falls,
was drawn to the mountains
after a car accident in 2015 stole
his identity as an Ironman tri-
athlete. Not being able to run, he
took up climbing. He built his
mountain skills and knowledge
base over the years since the
accident, taking on bigger and
bigger objectives, which eventu-
ally led him to discovering the
Bulger’s list.
“I wanted to do this to test
myself, I wanted a challenge,
I wanted a grand adventure,”
Hardrath says, “I wanted to
answer the question, both for
myself and the PNW mountain-
eering community: What can
be done on these 100 peaks if
the person just doesn’t go home
until it’s finished? I also had this
deep drive to be authentic to
my students when I tell them to
dream big, chase those dreams,
and don’t let setbacks get you
down.”
Those who are familiar with
the terrain in the North Cas-
cades have been stunned by not
just Hardrath’s athletic ability,
but also the amount of plan-
ning that had to go into such an
undertaking.
“(Jason’s) logistics (transpor-
tation, routes, food, gear, elec-
tronics, etc.) were as mind-bog-
gling as (his) physicality,” said
John Roper, the first to complete
the Bulger’s list.
Nathan Longhurst/Contributed Photo
Jason Hardrath on the summit of Mount Storm King, gesturing toward Goode Mountain. The Northeast Buttress of Goode features a classic climb of about 2,000 feet of
exposed rock climbing.
Nathan Longhurst/Contributed Photo
Nathan Longhurst/Contributed Photo
Considered the most difficult peak to climb among Washington state’s 100 tallest,
the southeast spire of the Mox Peaks, simply called Hard Mox by most climbers, in-
volves the iconic chimney pitch that Jason Hardrath is climbing here.
Jason Hardrath standing on the summit of Sinister Peak. Land closures forced him
to approach Sinister from a nontraditional route that involved considerable off-trail
navigation.
Since finishing, Hardrath
is taking some hard-earned
rest time, but is looking for-
ward to getting back out in the
mountains.
“It is never just about the end
with these things,” he said. “Yes,
I was racing a clock until the
final step from the final peak, but
it was about fully experiencing
every peak, every bushwhack,
every challenge out there. It was
about being in the moment, both
with the testing moments and the
glorious ones. I truly feel I poured
check-ins, GPS data, and geo-
time-stamped cellphone photos
demonstrating his visits to each
correct summit. The record has
been accepted by www.fastest-
knowntime.com and the Bulg-
er’s List Finishers group, who
plans to honor his effort at their
yearly finisher banquet at “The
Mountaineers” Complex based
in Seattle this November.
Along for the ride was pro-
duction company WZRD Media,
which is in the process of cre-
ating a mini-documentary about
ut the best I could bring to these
challenges along the way. I feel
a deep satisfaction of hard work,
well done.
“This was exactly the sort
of thing that a kid who couldn’t
sit still growing up in Baker
City was supposed to find him-
self out doing,” Hardrath said.
“I am proud of this effort, but
excited to get back out playing
in the mountains on the next
adventure.”
Hardrath’s record was ver-
ified through live satellite
Hardrath’s achievement. The
film should be released this fall,
and might appear in the well-
known Banff Mountain Film
Festival. The short film’s pro-
posed title is “Journey to 100.”
Find and follow along on
Jason’s adventures on Instagram
@jasonhardrath, or on his web-
site, jasonhardrath.com.
Ashly Winchester is a free-
lance writer and avid outdoors-
woman. Find her on instagram:
@ashly.winchester.
Messing with Texas
Fishing in a state that prides itself on independence
LUKE
OVGARD
CAUGHT OVGARD
F
ORT STOCKTON,
Texas— Few states
have the accepted
reputation of independence
quite like the great state of
Texas. After all, it was the
only U.S. state to exist as its
own nation before joining
our own.
Of course, that reputa-
tion of independence is a bit
tenuous if you dive a little
deeper.
Mexico abolished
slavery in 1829 — except
in the colonial territory of
Texas, where it remained
legal for an additional year.
Texan officials fought to
change this, and refused to
enforce the new law when
the temporary stay ended
in 1830.
In the five years that fol-
lowed, slavery was not legal
but was still widely prac-
ticed in the region.
The Mexican fed-
eral government was too
focused on quelling internal
rebellions and building
tensions with European
powers that would eventu-
Luke Ovgard/Contributed Photo
I did it, folks. My last American catfish, the headwater catfish.
Luke Ovgard/Contributed Photo
The author poses with another longtime nemefish he finally defeat-
ed in Texas, the gray redhorse. Despite being spawned out, this fish
broke the world record by more than half a pound.
ally lead to the First Fran-
co-Mexican War to really
end slavery in Texas. Even-
tually, they got around to
addressing it, tensions built
and in 1835, Texas declared
independence from Mexico,
building a provision guar-
anteeing the “right” to
own slaves into its new
constitution.
Seeing an opportunity
to wrest Texas from its
southern rival, numerous
opinion leaders in the
United States encouraged
American citizens to aid
the rebellion. Some notable
American figures joined the
Texans, including James
Bowie (of Bowie knife
fame) and Davy Crockett
(you know, the guy from
the song).
Though the doomed
men of The Alamo head-
line studies of this con-
flict in the American class-
room, the Texans actually
won, thanks in large part to
the fact that several other
Mexican regions were
simultaneously fighting
the unpopular govern-
ment for independence and
numerous native Tribes
battled for their continued
existence in the Mexican
Empire.
Only Texas succeeded,
becoming the Republic
of Texas in 1836. It would
stand as that famed lone
star for less than a decade
before joining the United
States in 1845 and precipi-
tating the Mexican-Amer-
ican War. Texas would win
handily, aided by the full
force of the Union.
Legacy
This legacy of indepen-
dence and the maverick
nature of Texas is visible all
over the state and is espe-
cially visible in its towns,
roads, bridges and natural
landmarks, many of which
bear names like “Freedom
Springs,” “Liberty Hill”
and “Independence Creek.”
See, Ovgard/Page B6