Author proposes naming Park peak after his father

A California man has requested that a rocky crag in Glacier National Park be named for his father, an outdoorsman, guide and former trails supervisor for the Park.

William P. Yenne, a prolific author based in San Francisco, faces two obstacles - a federal policy against naming geographic features in wilderness areas and the fact that the spire on the Pinnacle Wall, just north of Iceberg Notch, already has a name.

Yenne told the Hungry Horse News last week that he was aware the precipitous point was commonly called the B-7 Pillar, but he had no plans to withdraw his request to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN). He said he chose the feature because of its proximity to the Ptarmigan Tunnel, which pierces the Pinnacle Wall about four miles to the east. His father, William J. Yenne, wrote about the tunnel in his memoirs, "Switchback," Yenne said.

Yenne's grandfather homesteaded land in Creston, and his father was born on the homestead in 1908. His father, who died in 1994, worked in the Park through the 1930s and supervised trail maintenance and construction in the Park from the early 1950s through 1969.

The application includes letters of support from Sen. Max Baucus and Flathead Valley author and broadcaster George Ostrom. Yenne said he spoke with Baucus about the idea in 2006, and the senator's letter notes that Yenne's father's "love and thorough knowledge of the Park enriched the experiences of thousands of its visitors."

For his part, Ostrom addressed the wilderness issue by citing his work as a legislative aide to Sen. Lee Metcalf when the 1964 Wilderness Act was drafted. Naming the crag Yenne Peak "is entirely consistent with the intentions of the Act," Ostrom said in his letter of support.

"To the best of my knowledge, there was no consideration in (the Outdoor Resources and Review Committee) or in the resulting wilderness legislation regarding the future naming of geographic features," Ostrom wrote. "I implore you to honor a man who devoted his entire life to serving, preserving and supporting America's wildest places."

Wilderness policy

BGN will accept a person's name for a geographic feature if the person has been dead at least five years, but it has a policy against naming features in wilderness areas, based on an expansion of the general idea that wilderness areas should not be developed.

"Though wilderness designations are a modern invention, a fundamental characteristic of elemental wilderness is that features are nameless and the cultural overlay of civilization is absent," BGN's Policy IV reads.

The policy directs the board to not approve proposed names in wilderness areas "unless an overriding need exists, such as for purposes of safety, education or area administration."

The land in Glacier National Park has never been officially designated wilderness, and many of the Park's features are named after individuals. In his book "Place Names of Glacier National Park," Jack Holterman describes how Great Northern Railway hired authors in 1928 to publicize the Park.

Naming the Park

One author, J.W. Schulz, planned to assign Blackfeet names to geographic features, beginning at the southeastern corner of the Park. Park naturalist George Ruhle continued Schulz's plan in the 1930s "in accordance with the expressed wish of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names for more American Indian terms," Holterman said.

B-7 Pillar is not the official name of the spire perched above Iceberg Lake, but the name has been recognized by Park mountaineers since at least 1984, when J. Gordon Edwards' book "A Climber's Guide To Glacier National Park" devoted a section to climbing routes on the crag. Its first recorded ascent was in August 1967.

Yenne told the Hungry Horse News he had never heard of Edwards, although he recognized the climbing guide's title. It's likely, however, that his father was familiar with Edwards, who worked as a seasonal ranger-naturalist in the Park from 1949 to 1956. Edwards, along with his wife Alice and daughter Jane, claimed the first ascent of many Park peaks. He died in 2004.

Recent name changes for Park features include Chief Lodgepole Peak, located a mile northwest of Two Medicine Pass, which was given Park ranger Francis Guardipee's Blackfeet name in 1971. In accordance with state law, Squaw Mountain, located about five miles west of East Glacier, was renamed Dancing Lady Mountain during a "naming of mountain" ceremony on Sept. 24, 1999.

Mountaineers often name geographic features to help in route finding and peak-bagging. In 1982, avid Park climbers Bill Blunk and Ralph Thornton named a jagged horn two miles southeast of Mount Logan after renown mountaineer Norman Clyde, who pioneered many of the Park's climbing routes in the 1920s and 1930s. The name Clyde Peak is not official but commonly used.

Approved and rejected

Gerald Daumiller, who is the State Names Advisor, a position created in 1929, said the Montana State Library took over responsibility for reviewing proposed geographic names from the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation in October 2009.

"The public notice about Yenne Peak is our first attempt to try to increase public awareness when such decisions are being made," he said.

Daumiller said Yenne's proposal and comments he receives will be sent on to the Glacier County Commissioners around June 27. He also noted that BGN recognizes land inside Glacier National Park as wilderness.

Of the 115 proposed names on BGN's current Montana list, 24 were denied, eight were withdrawn and six are pending. Two-thirds of the names have been approved, of which 81 were changes to remove the derogatory terms "squaw" or "half-breed." BGN has policies on derogatory names and nicknames.

One rejected name is Lake Confluentus, for a 15-acre alpine lake in the Park about half a mile west of Lake Isabel. Federal fish biologist Wade Fredenberg proposed the name in 2005 "for identification purposes and for presentation of scientific information." Confluentus is the genus name for bull trout.

Also rejected was Engagement Lake, proposed for a 12-acre lake about half a mile north of Upper Two Medicine Lake. A Maryland man submitted the name in 2005 because he proposed to his wife there.

BGN also rejected Rainwater Mountain for an unnamed knob southeast of Belton Chalet. West Glacier resident Sue Lawrence proposed the name in 2007 for a family that lived nearby for about 100 years. She had the backing of the Flathead County Sheriff's Office, the Coram-West Glacier Volunteer Fire Department and the Glacier Outdoor Center.

The Flathead County Commissioners opposed the name, saying "there is no evidence the mountain needs to be named." Although the mountain was outside the Park, the Park's wilderness manager opposed the name Rainwater, saying local residents were "very sensitive" and "quite upset." The Park's historian also weighed in, saying the proposal "seems frivolous and totally unnecessary."

Comments on the Yenne Peak name proposal can be sent to Gerald Daumiller by calling 406-444-5358 or by e-mailing gdaumiller@mt.gov. Deadline is June 24. For more information, visit online at http://msl.mt.gov/geonames.