Tourists Spot Skier On Mountainside And Realize He's Being Chased
To the untrained skier, it’s hard to believe that anything bad can happen on the picturesque slopes of Mount St. Helens. But those cheerful trees and craggy mountainside become much more sinister once night falls, and as generations of skiers and mountaineers learned the hard way, the real danger in the wilderness surrounding Mount St. Helens lurks in its darkest depths — the parts even the moonlight barely reaches.
"Baffled"
There was only one word for how mountaineer Bob Lee felt the day he investigated the wilderness surrounding Mount St. Helens: “baffled." Coming from a member of the exclusive Alpine Club and the future leader of a Himalayan expedition, that was saying something.
Mountain Search and Rescue
The Seattle Mountain Search and Rescue Unit were wrapping up one of their most confusing and thought-provoking investigations to date. All they had to go on was the story from one group of friends, who’d seen something — and lost someone — in a way they'd never fully understand.
Searching For Jim Carter
They were searching for a man named Jim Carter, who had led his group of 20 mountain climbers up Mount St. Helens, only to disappear before their very eyes. The group's story was a strange one, especially considering Carter’s impressive qualifications.
Experienced Skier
At 32 years old, Jim Carter was an experienced skier, climber, and mountaineer who knew how dangerous the wilderness could be. So when he offered to take a photo of his climbing group as they skied down the mountain from 8,000 feet, no one thought to worry.
The Blink Of An Eye
But what happened next definitely made some of the skiers worry. Carter had skied away from the group in order to take the photo, but in the blink of an eye, he’d suddenly taken off down the mountainside. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Carter wasn’t leisurely skiing down the mountain, either.
Something's Wrong
He flew down at breakneck speed, throwing any skiing rules or regulations out the window as he careened down the mountainside. It was clear that he wasn’t falling; he was very deliberately skiing in a way that made it obvious that something was wrong. He was running from something.
Fighting For His Life
Carter skied as if he was being chased, making huge, reckless leaps over crevasses and looking to everybody as if he was in a fight for his life. By the time the rest of the group got back to the ground, this hunch was confirmed: Carter had been fighting for his life.
What Happened To Carter?
The investigation team that included Bob Lee were at a complete loss as to what had happened to Carter. All they found of him was the box of film he’d dropped when he’d taken the photo of the group. What they did know, however, was where his mad dash down the mountain had started.
Retracing His Steps
Carter’s tracks were discovered at Ape Canyon. Unusually, his tracks didn’t lead to a body at the bottom of the canyon, but into the complete wilderness, where they eventually disappeared. As the team broke through this wooded area, a strange feeling came over Bob Lee.
Being Watched
Every time the search party got ahead of Lee, and he was relatively alone, he felt as if “somebody was watching me.” It was “the most eerie experience I have ever had,” he described. Weirdest of all, though, was how his body reacted to the change.
Eerie Encounters
“I could feel the hair on my neck standing up," he said. "It was eerie. I was unarmed, except for my ice axe, and believe me, I never let go of that.” The search for Carter’s body continued for two weeks with up to 75 people involved, but Lee left the canyon with more questions than answers.
Something Strange In Ape Canyon
“There was something strange on the high slopes of the mountain,” Lee concluded. It’s no mystery what Lee and the countless others who followed the story of Carter’s disappearance were secretly wondering. After all, Carter had vanished somewhere near Ape Canyon, which has a sinister history of its own.
Miners vs. Monsters
The aptly-named Ape Canyon is the setting of an unusual legend, one that’s survived in the dense wilderness of Mount St. Helens for over 100 years. It all started in 1924, decades before Carter’s disappearance put a spotlight on the region, when a group of miners found themselves face to face with a family of monsters.
"Gorilla Men"
Fred Beck, Gabe Lefever, John Peterson, Marion Smith, and Smith’s son, Roy, were at their cabin in the woods when they saw something that terrified them: four “gorilla men” lumbering through the trees. The creatures walked with huge, sure strides, almost as if they were human.
Ready, Aim, Fire
“They are covered with long, black hair," one witness described. "Their ears are about four inches long and stick straight up. They have four toes, short and stubby.” This brief description of the creatures was all the group managed to notice before one of the men aimed his rifle at them and fired.
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Sleepless Night
The bullet struck one of the creatures at least three times before it fell off the nearby cliffside. Then, the group ran like hell to their cabin, where they bolted the door shut. They were right to feel uneasy: that night, they woke up to the sound of small boulders hitting the side of the cozy cottage.
Nighttime Attack
Suddenly, the boulders were replaced by a much more terrifying sound: that of giant, furry bodies slamming into the walls, door, and roof. A hole tore through the roof, and before any of the men could do anything, two rocks hit Fred Beck in the head, knocking him unconscious.
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Getting Proof
The attack lasted for hours. When the sun finally rose, the unseen attackers scattered back into the dark wilderness, leaving behind a badly-battered cabin and a petrified group of seasoned miners. A few days later, the men brought two rangers up to the cabin to prove that their outlandish story was true.
Was It A Hoax?
But when they led the rangers to where they shot one of the “gorilla men,” there was nothing there — just like with Carter. When the rangers saw the miners’ cabin, they shrugged it all off as a hoax. They scoffed at the 14-inch footprints around the cabin, claiming instead that the men had made them themselves.
One Legendary Theory
No one could ever prove that what those miners saw was real, just like how no one could ever deduce what had really happened to Carter. But that doesn’t mean people didn't have theories, and ever since the 1924 encounters with those “gorilla men,” one theory has risen above the rest.
Generations of Sasquatch
Does a species of Sasquatch, or “Bigfoot,” really live in the dark wilderness of Mount St. Helens? People have wondered this since even before the 1924 sighting. Native Americans apparently reported a group of “skookums,” or cannibalistic wild men, living on Mount St. Helens as far back as 1847.
Reigniting The Legend
In his 1893 book The Wilderness Hunter, President Theodore Roosevelt toyed with the idea that Bigfoot exists based off of stories from his fellow American adventurers. By the time Carter disappeared in 1950, it was easier for some people to believe that the skilled skier had been taken by a monster than that he’d simply made a fatal skiing mistake.
One More Theory
But just because the legend has captivated generations of people doesn’t mean there isn’t a plausible explanation for what happened to the miners in 1924. In 1983, a man named William Halliday, director of the Western Speleological Society, offered up another theory.
Fact Or Fiction?
It isn’t far-fetched to believe that the miners, whose cabin was at the bottom of the canyon, had looked up at whoever was throwing the rocks and had seen dark figures silhouetted by moonlight. Halliday claimed that these weren't "ape men" at all, but teenagers whose outline and voices had been distorted by the tall, narrow canyon walls.
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He Isn't Alone
Maybe the monsters were simply bored kids throwing rocks into the canyon, unaware of the cabin below. But as anyone who’s heard the legend of Bigfoot knows, this is just another unproved theory. Still, stories of "monsters" aren't isolated to Washington.
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