First Successful Ascent of Mt. Rainier, 1870

First Successful Ascent of Mt. Rainier, 1870 by Hazard Stevens thrusts listeners into a tense, vivid account of exploration, survival, and the making of Pacific Northwest mountaineering history. Stevens recounts the August 17, 1870 climb with P.B. Van Trump and their Indian guide Sluiskin—whose warnings about "Takhoma" (Rainier) as an enchanted, dangerous peak add cultural depth and dramatic tension to the narrative. Part adventure story, part historical memoir, the book traces the planning, unexpected hazards, and raw physical challenges of ascending a still-wild mountain. Stevens’ prose captures the region’s volcanic landscape, the smell of sulfur, the brutality of freezing nights, and the resourcefulness that saved the climbers—rendering a close-up portrait of 19th-century exploration, Indigenous beliefs, and emerging American mountaineering. First published in the 1870s, the account remains a foundational document for anyone interested in the lore and landscape of Mount Rainier. Ideal for listeners who love adventure, outdoor history, and true survival tales, this Memoirs audiobook offers a compact, authentic eyewitness record of a landmark ascent and the forces—natural and cultural—that shaped it.