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Mountaineering in Washington State

A Mountaineer Rappels, Photographs, General Subjects Photograph Collection, 1845-2005, Washington State Archives, Digital Archives.

A Mountaineer Rappels, Photographs, General Subjects Photograph Collection, 1845-2005, Washington State Archives, Digital Archives, https://www.digitalarchives.wa.gov.

This amazing photo shows Walter Gonnason (ca. 1950), explorer and mountaineer, rappelling from Pinnacle Peak with Mt. Rainer framed perfectly in the background. Gonnason, a Seattle native, made many expeditions to peaks and glaciers around North America. He also played a small role in a long-fought controversy over the credibility of one of America’s most famous explorers.