www.StephAbegg.com



Comparisons with Parents’ Photos

This page gives some photo comparisons, 30+ years apart.
Shrinking glaciers and timeless mountains.

My Parents

My parents met on July 4, 1974 while hiking down the Dosewallips Trail in the Olympic Mountains of Washington State. They soon were married, and they spent the next several years adventuring in Washington's gorgeous Olympic Mountains and North Cascades. In the summer of 1983, as a mosquito-bitten and sunburned happy and smiling 4-month-old strapped to my mother's back, I enjoyed the mountains for the first time. The era of family expeditions into the mountains had begun.

Now, I spend much of my summers following the shadows of my parents’ boot tracks and picking up where they left off. Over the last few years, I’ve done extensive mountain adventuring and alpine climbing, often traveling through the same areas my parents were 30 years previous.

I always bring my camera on my adventures, and it's fun to compare my photos with those taken several years ago by my parents. While the mountains have changed little in the 30 years between snapshots, there are some evident changes, such as the size of glaciers, the weight of gear, and the length of shorts. I created this page to show some of these photo comparisons. The amount of glacier recession is particularly evident (and somewhat saddening!) in many of the photos. 

Drastically-Shrinking Glaciers of the North Cascades

Through comparing my photos to the photos my parents took in the 1970s and 1980s, I've noticed that the glaciers of the North Cascades have undergone significant recession since my parents' glory days. In 2010, I wrote an article for the Northwest Mountaineering Journal titled "Receding Glaciers, Receding Climbs." This article discussed how glacier recession in the North Cascades has affected climbing routes. The following photos were put together for the article. Unlike most of the photo comparisons on this page, these comparisons are not with my parents' photos.

Comparisons with Photos my Parents Took in the '70s and '80s

I have hiked sections of the Ptarmigan Traverse (North Cascades, WA) in 2003, 2007, 2009, and 2023. There are several glaciers on this route. Here are some comparisons. Even the change within my years of mountaineering has been significant.
1979 and 2023 Cache Glacier. The Ptarmigan Traverse is now an early summer route.
1979 and 2007 Cache Glacier.
1979 and 2023 Kool Aid Lake, Mt. Formidable behind.
1979 and 2009 Mt. Formidable.
1979 and 2009 Mt. Formidable.
1979 and 2009 Mt. Formidable.
1979 and 2023 Le Conte Glcier.
1979 and 2009 Le Conte Glacier.
1979 and 2023 Yang-Yang Lakes. No trail in 1979.
1979 and 2009 Le Conte Glacier.
1979, 2003, and 2009. Lizard Pass.
1979, 2003, and 2009 Dome Peak.
More comparisons:

PICKETS, NORTH CASCADES, WA


Mt Fury, 1981, 2007, 2008.

Camp on Wiley Ridge, 26 years apart.

Challenger Glacier. My dad in 1981, me in 2008.



Luna Peak and Luna Basin, 1981, 2007.

Luna Peak from Wiley Ridge, 1981, 2007.

Mt Challenger from Wiley Ridge, 1981, 2007.



Southern Pickets from summit of Luna Peak, 1981, 2007.

Southern Pickets, 1981, 2007.

2008 was a high snow year in the Southern Pickets! 2005 vs 2008.

2008 was a high snow year in the Southern Pickets! 2005 vs 2008





TORMENT-FORBIDDEN TRAVERSE, NORTH CASCADES, WA

Changing conditions on the north side steep ice on the traverse.

On the summit of Torment in 1982 and 2009.

The shrinking Inspiration Glacier on Eldorado, 1982 to 2009.

The traverse in July 2002 vs Aug 2009.





MT. RAINIER, NORTH CASCADES, WA



Little Tahoma, Disappointment Cleaver. My mom ascending in 1975 versus taken when I climbed Rainier in 2006.My mom in 1975 versus taken when I climbed Rainier in 2006.
Camp Muir, 1974 vs 2006.


MT. BAKER, NORTH CASCADES, WA

Black Buttes, 2004 vs 2006.
Different conditions for different seasons on the Coleman-Deming Route, 2004 vs 2006.
Different conditions for different seasons on the Coleman-Deming Route, 2004 vs 2006


ENCHANTMENTS, WA
Enchantment Basin, 1979 vs 2006.
On the summit of Prusik Peak. My parents in 1979, my sister in 2005.


MONTE CRISTO AREA, WA

Top: My mom and dog Zeke on the summit of Gothic Peak in 1978. Del Campo in background.
Bottom: I identified this spot by the rocks on the right in the photo. July 2012.
Top: My dad gazing over at Gothic Peak during an ascent of Del Campo, 1978.
Bottom: I managed to achieve practically the same perspective. Even the trees are the same, albeit a bit windblown.
Left: Gothic Peak above my parents camp at Foggy Lake, 1978.
Right: Wow, lots more snow on my trip in July 2012, the camp is buried!


OTHER NORTH CASCADES, WA
The receding glacier below Mt. Triumph. My parents in 1981, my cousin in 2006.
Tank Lakes, 1982 vs 2006.


OLYMPIC MTNS, WA



"The Tree" on the Bailey Range. Taken on my parents' honeymoon in 1975, on a family backpack trip in 2004, and on a cross-Olympics traverse I did in 2007.

On the Bailey Range. My dad in 1975, on a cross-Olympics traverse I did in 2007.
Mt. Olympus from the Valhallas, 1981 vs 2007.
My dad and I on the summit of Frigga in the Valhallas, 26 years apart
Looking along the ridge between Bear Pass and Olympus, 32 Septembers apart (note there is much less snow now!)
Shrinking Anderson Glacier in the Olympics, 34 years apart. Sad and amazing.


OTHER AREAS



Looking down on Zermatt from the Matterhorn, Switzerland. Climbed by my dad in 1985, climbed by my sister and I in 2005.
The Matterhorn, Switzerland. That's me on a family vacation in 1985 (while my dad was climbing the Matterhorn), and the second photo is of my sister in 2005 when we traveled to Europe and climbed the Matterhorn together.
Mt. Sir Donald. Taken when my parents made a recon trip there in 1983 vs when I climbed it in 2006.
My mom and my friend/climbing partner climbing the Black Face of the Grand Teton, 30 years apart.
Below the Middle Teton on Tetons climbing trips 30 years apart (1982 and 2012).
Camp at the Lower Saddle below the Grand Teton, 1982 and 2012. No Exum Guide huts in 1982!
Climbing the SW Ridge of Symmetry Spire. I am waving from where my mom climbed 30 years previous.
My dad and I on the summit of Symmetry Spire, 1982 and 2012. I am wearing my mom's old climbing gear for fun.
Me on a rock in the Wind River Range of Wyoming, 18 years apart (in 1994 on a family backpacking trip, and in 2012 on a solo adventure back to the area).