Mt. Shouplina Climbing Expedition – 1985 (Part Two)

Bob Shelton continues his two-part series below which includes the treacherous descent from Pleasant Col to the Valdez Glacier. Mt. Shouplina was considered unapproachable from the north, thus had not seen any attempts and frustrated many trying to solve the route. There had been some pioneering the area in the 1960’s by Alaskan climber Vin Hoeman who is credited with first ascents of Mt. Cashman and Mt. Shraeder .
John Weiland is noted in the bottom of the article as the owner of Chugach Mountaineering and thus he becomes Valdez’s first modern day ski and mountaineering guide. It was Weiland experience that found the perfect approach, amazingly from the south via a tidewater glacier and thus solved the approach problems of Mt. Shouplina.
A special thanks to the City of Valdez Consortium Library and the Valdez Museum and Historical Association for doing such a wonderful of job of preserving these issues of the Valdez Vanguard and allowing my access to these and many other wonderful objects about the ski history of Valdez.