Ruth Mendenhall papers, 1937-2004
Finding aid prepared by Dvorah Lewis with assistance from Julie Graham, May 2015; machine-readable finding aid created by
Caroline Cubé.
UCLA Library Special Collections
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1575
(310) 825-4988
spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
©2015 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Title: Ruth Mendenhall papers
Collection number: 1823
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
1.0 linear ft.
(2 boxes and 1 flat box)
Date: 1937-2004
Abstract: Ruth Mendenhall was a mountaineer who was involved in a number of first ascents and succeeded in climbing all of California’s
14,000-foot peaks. The bulk of the collection consists of carbon copy letters written by Mendenhall detailing her mountain
climbing explorations. Also included are typescript writings and published articles by and about Mendenhall, a scrapbook documenting
the Mendenhall family mountain climbing trips, a small number of writings by and about Mendenhall’s husband, John Mendenhall,
and small amount of ephemera related to mountaineering.
Physical Location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
creator:
Mendenhall, Ruth
Restrictions on Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Ruth Mendenhall Papers (Collection 1832). Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, UCLA.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Valerie Mendenhall Cohen; 2008.
Processing Information
Processed by Dvorah Lewis with assistance from Julie Graham; May 2015.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Biography/History
Ruth Dyar Mendenhall was born on August 16, 1912 in Kiesling, Washington and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University
of Washington with a major in Journalism. She relocated to California and in 1937, she joined the Sierra Club; she first encountered
rock climbing in the spring of 1938. She climbed all six routes of the Tahquitz Rock. She married follow climber, John Dale
Mendenhall in 1939. She succeeded in climbing all of the 14,000-foot peaks in California and as a pioneer mountaineer, she
was involved in a number of first ascents in California including the Swiss Arête on Mount Sill (1938), Mount Whitney Third
Needle (1939), Temple Crag North Peak (1940) and Mount Whitney’s southeast buttress (1941), among others. Together with John
Mendenhall, she completed the first ascent of Mount Confederation in the Canadian Rockies (1947).
She was an active contributor to Mugelnoos, a newsletter of the Sierra Club’s Ski Mountaineers and Rock Climbing Sections
and served on the editorial board in 1940 and 1941 and remained on the editorial committee until 1978. She also served as
the editor of American Alpine News from 1978-1981. Her book publications include Backpack Cookery (1966), Backpack Techniques
(1967), and in 1969, she co-authored with John Mendenhall, Introduction to Rock and Mountain Climbing, later published in
1983 as The Challenge of Rock and Mountain Climbing. She also co-authored a collection of outdoor recipes in the book Gorp,
Glop and Glue Stew (1982).
Mendenhall joined The American Alpine Club in 1966 and was elected to the Board of Directors (1974 and 1977); she also served
on the Membership Committee and was its chairman from 1977-1980. The Mendenhalls were awarded the Farquhar Award from the
Sierra Club for achievement and leadership in mountaineering. They also were awarded the Angelo Heilprin Citation from The
American Alpine Club for service to the Club and mountaineering. The couple relocated to Seattle in 1978. She was an active
member of Women Climbers of the Northwest and The American Alpine Club’s Publications Committee. Ruth Mendenhall died on March
22, 1989. In 2007, Valerie Mendenhall Cohen published the book, Woman on the Rocks: The Mountaineering Letters of Ruth Dyar
Mendenhall, which documented Ruth Mendenhall as a pioneer mountaineer.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of materials related to mountaineer and writer Ruth Dyar Mendenhall. The bulk of the collection are
letters written by Mendenhall to her parents and other family members detailing her mountain climbing explorations. Also included
are typescript writings and published articles by and about Mendenhall. Additionally, there is a scrapbook documenting the
Mendenhall family mountain climbing trips, a small number of writings by and about Mendenhall’s husband, John Mendenhall,
and small amount of ephemera related to mountaineering. The materials in the collection may have been the source documentation
for Valerie Mendenhall Cohen’s book, Woman on the Rocks: The Mountaineering Letters of Ruth Dyar Mendenhall.
Organization and Arrangement
Arranged in the following series:
- 1. Letters
- 2. Writings by Ruth Mendenhall and John Mendenhall
- 3. Writings about Ruth Mendenhall and John Mendenhall
- 4. Photographs and ephemera.
Related Material
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Mendenhall, Ruth -- Archives
Letters.
Mountaineering--Archives.
Letters.
1937-1987.
Scope and Content
The series consists of carbon copies of letters written by Mendenhall to her parents and other family members detailing her
mountain climbing explorations. There are occasional annotations, copied transcripts, Post-it® notes and/or photocopies of
letters produced by Valerie Mendenhall Cohen; the majority of Post-it® notes were removed. The letters may have been used
by Valerie Cohen for her book Woman on the Rocks: The Mountaineering Letters of Ruth Dyar Mendenhall. The files are arranged
in loose chronological order.
Box 2, Folder 1
Letters about first season.
1937-1939.
Box 2, Folders 2-3
Letters about Base Camp.
1939-1942.
Box 2, Folders 4-6
Letters about Base Camp-summer.
1939-1942.
Box 2, Folders 7-8
Letters about war years.
1941-1945.
Box 2, Folder 9
Letters about Expedition years.
1946-1957.
Box 2, Folders 10-11
Letters about Family ascents.
1958-1966.
Box 2, Folder 12
Letters about later ascents.
1967-1976, 1978, 1985, 1987.
Box 3, Folder 7
Photocopies of Ruth Mendenhall's letters.
1934-1939, 1965.
Scope and Content
May have been used for Valerie Cohen's book, Woman on the Rocks: The Mountaineering Letters of Ruth Dyar Mendenhall. Some
items annotated.
Writings by Ruth Mendenhall and John Mendenhall.
1940s-1980s.
Scope and Content
The series consists of one folder of typescript and published writings by Ruth Mendenhall. Included are typed manuscript drafts
for The Saga of Snow Creek written for Desert Magazine, First Ascents in the Canadian Rockies, and Woman on the rocks, The
Early Years of the SMS and RCS (republished by the Sierra Club for the Internet) written by Ruth Mendenhall, among other items.
Additionally, there are a small number of items authored by Mendenhall’s husband, John Mendenhall such as The First Ascent
of Mt. Confederation. There is no specific arrangement to the series.
Box 2, Folder 13
Writings by Ruth Mendenhall and John Mendenhall.
1940s-1980s.
Scope and Content
With typed manuscript drafts for The Saga of Snow Creek written for Desert Magazine, First Ascents in the Canadian Rockies,
and Woman on the rocks, The Early Years of the SMS and RCS (republished by the Sierra Club for the Internet) written by Ruth
Mendenhall and a small number of items authored by Mendenhall’s husband, John Mendenhall.
Box 3, Folder 1
First Ascent of Mount Confederation.
1947-1948.
Scope and Content
Article, notes, photographs and clippings.
Writings about Ruth Mendenhall.
1950s-1980s.
Scope and Content
The series consists of writings about Ruth Mendenhall. The bulk of the items were created after Mendenhall’s death in 1989.
Included are memorials and a tribute by Vivian Mendenhall and a small number of items written about the Mendenhall family.
There is no specific arrangement to the series.
Box 3, Folder 2
Writings about Ruth Dyar Mendenhall.
1950s-1980s.
Scope and Content
Many pieces written by Vivian Mendenhall after Ruth Mendenhall's death in 1989. Small number of items about or mentions of
John Mendenhall.
Box 1, Folder 1
News clippings.
1959, 1962, 1964, 1967.
Photographs and ephemera.
1930s-2004.
Scope and Content
The series includes a scrapbook documenting the Mendenhall family mountain climbing trips, a small number of photographs of
mountains, some of which are identified, clippings about mountaineering, and a Sierra Club Angeles Chapter informational booklet.
There is no specific arrangement to the series.
Box 1, Folder 2
Ruth Mendenhall scrapbook (about mountaineering).
ca. late-1930s-ca. 1940s.
Box 3, Folder 4
Mountain photographs.
undated.
Box 3, Folder 3
Clippings regarding mountaineering.
1959, 1963.
Box 3, Folder 5
Articles and information regarding Sierra Club mountaineering and California highways.
1946, 1952, 1955-1956, 1992, 2004.
Scope and Content
Photocopies or internet reprints. Possible research for Valerie Cohen's book Woman on the Rocks: The Mountaineering Letters
of Ruth Dyar Mendenhall.
Box 3, Folder 6
Sierra Club Angeles Chapter informational booklet.
1959 Oct-Jan 1960.