Bill Putnam

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Saugy

Mountain climber

Dec 22, 2014 - 10:31pm PT

The Bill Putnam (Fairy Meadow) Hut

I learned about the man while visiting this place back in April.

Condolences to the family

rgold

Trad climber

Poughkeepsie, NY

Dec 22, 2014 - 10:38pm PT

Putnam was one of the giants when it came to aiding and developing climbing in the USA. RIP Bill.

hamie

Social climber

Thekoots

Dec 23, 2014 - 10:03am PT

Soldier [2 purple hearts], scientist, explorer, climber, hut builder, writer, philanthropist and........prankster!

Bill Putnam's attempt to trick the AAC into accepting his dog Henry Pinkham as a member is a well known story, and has already been mentioned. Less well known is how he fooled the Canadian Geographic Features Naming Committee [or whatever it is called].

Way back in 1950 he and his companions made the first ascent of several mountains near Fairy Meadows in the Northern Selkirks. He decided to call these mountains the Nobility Group, and name them after himself and his friends, along with giving themselves honorary knighthoods. The results were:

Mt. Sir William. [Putnam]
Mt. Sir Andrew. [Kaufmann]
Mt. Sir Henry. [Pinkham, his dog!!]

The naming board was duly impressed, the names became official, and were duly printed on subsequent maps. About 10 years ago the hoax finally reached bureaucratic ears, and I believe that the official names were all revoked. Amongst other reasons it is not permitted to name mountains after living people [or mess with the bureaucracy]. Hopefully the name Sir William will now be reinstated, as it is well deserved. Sir Henry? Less likely.

On a historical note a similar, but more devious hoax was perpetrated by Kruszyna when he named the Chess Group in the Rockies.

DesertRatExpeditions

Trad climber

Flagstaff, Arizona

Dec 23, 2014 - 10:20am PT

RIP Bill

The first time I met Bill I was bartending a party at his house. I was enamored by his collection of climbing pictures and mementos on the wall. His wife Kitty was amazingly cordial and always tipped all of the servers at their house much extra on top of the amount that was already included in their bill. Bill told me that night, that if I ever needed any thing, or if I ever needed help in the climbing community that he would love to help me.

Fast forward 3 years and I was working for Lowell Observatory. He didn't remember me, nor did I expect him to, but I always enjoyed his eccentricities, such as always bring the Lowell BOD meetings to motion by slamming an elk leg on the table as a gabble.

It is an incredible loss for the scientific community and for the climbing community.

Reading recently about Fred Beckey's AAC Presedential Award I was interested to see that out of the four awardees ever granted this award, that Bill was one of them.

Ed Hartouni

Trad climber

Livermore, CA

Dec 23, 2014 - 10:35am PT

from Climbing in North America by Chris Jones, pages 237-238
ISBN 0-520-02976-3

In 1949 Fred Beckey turned to the peaks of the Juneau Icefield north of Devils Thumb. Other climbers had been into this spectacular area. When the leader of a rival group heard of Beckey's plans, he wrote ordering Beckey to keep away from "his" peaks. It was the incentive Beckey needed.

Once in the area of the dramatic Michaels Sword and Devils Paw, the party was prevented from making any climbs of note because of two weeks of bad weather. Beckey and Graham Matthews then flew north for a prearranged meeting with another group. However, this group was stalled by floe ice in Disenchantment Bay; they had made even less progress than the Juneau party. After urgent discussions it was agreed to cut their losses and head down to the Juneau Icefield. A few of the group flew south while others bartered their service as fishermen for passage on a fishing boat.

Among the climbers that finally assembled on the icefield were Henry Pinkham and the irreverent humorist Bill Putnam. On this second Juneau trip there was again plenty of bad weather. While Putnam and others passed the time playing bridge, Beckey kept up a barrage of jokes and comment. Patience wore thin, and he was banished from the communal tent. When the weather finally cleared, Beckey and partner picked off Michaels Sword, and Putnam, Pinkham, and two others went after the Devils Paw.

The gaping bergschrund that defended the Devils Paw took a couple of hours to negotiate, and the nervous Pinkham had to be urged across by the time-honored vigorous pull on the rope. With Pinkham balking at the exposure, it was late in the afternoon before the party reached the col that gave access to the summit. After checking out the route, they returned to camp.

The following morning the team set out again. By tacit agreement Pinkham remained in camp. The climbing was difficult all the way to the summit, and the trio did not arrive back in camp until past midnight. Generous-hearted Pinkham was the first to greet the victors.

Despite his failure on the Devils Paw, Pinkham had an impressive roster of climbs behind him. When the august council of the American Alpine Club received his membership application, it included one of the finest climbing records they had reviewed for some time. They were only too delighted to recruit members of such caliber and passed on the applicant with enthusiasm.

Pinkham's sponsors listed his address as Petersham, Massachusetts, where they had arranged with the postmaster to forward any mail. This proved to be their undoing. After the council meeting, club secretary Bradley Gilman was writing up the minutes at his home in nearby Barre, Massachusetts. In going over the applications again, it struck him as odd that he had never met or even heard of Pinkham. If so experienced a mountaineer were in the neighborhood, he would surely know him. Puzzled, Gilman went over the application in detail. The only climber he could associate with Petersham was practical joker Putnam. Suddenly it dawned on him that the unsuspecting hierarchy of the club had elected Putnam's malamute dog to membership. The matter was held over to the next council meeting, at which time the council reversed themselves on Pinkham's application, yet not without a touch of regret. His climbs were all genuine, and his politics would be no threat to the status quo.

Alpamayo

Trad climber

Davis, CA

Dec 23, 2014 - 10:44am PT

Condolences. Sorry to hear about your loss, Roger.

Steve Grossman

Trad climber

Seattle, WA

Dec 23, 2014 - 11:55am PT

Great post hamie!

I was just going to inquire as to whether or not a Mount Putnam or Putnam Peak with any direct connection to Bill had ever been named and it turns out that he took care of that detail too albeit indirectly.

For those of you that still wander around the lesser known ranges in North America it would still be a fabulous honor to bestow upon a man who has done so much for climbing and climbers.

When Tom Frost took on the considerable task and expense of saving Camp 4 from certain development, Bill and Jim McCarthy saw fit to formally recognize his efforts with the AAC Gold Medal. Tom isn't big on accolades but that medal means something to him and he is quietly very proud of it as he has been of preserving Camp 4 for everyone.

ryankelly

Trad climber

el portal

Dec 23, 2014 - 02:02pm PT

Condolences Roger. Thanks for sharing about this man, there is some great stuff for all to reflect on...

Chris Jones

Social climber

Glen Ellen, CA

Dec 24, 2014 - 04:52pm PT

I got to know Bill Putnam in the 1970s through various AAC meetings and events. A tireless advocate for climbing and climbers, he was the indispensable mover and shaker for the club.
With his passing, it seems as if most of his generation of climbers and skiers who joined the 10th Mountain Division in World War 2 are gone. They contributed so much to their country, and in turn to the nascent sports of skiing and climbing.
One day Bill asked me if I would act as co-author of a guide to the northern Canadian Rockies. As an inducement, he gave me an inscribed copy of his guide to the southern rockies. I was quite flattered, until I noticed that the various signatures making up the book were incorrectly bound in some random order - thus making the book damn hard to use. A lovely example of Bill's mischievous sense of humor.

tinker b

climber

the commonwealth

Dec 29, 2014 - 06:09am PT

condolences roger. your uncle sounds like a really amazing man. i bet there were some fun family parties. i love the story about his dog. brilliant.
tell us some stories roger!
j