If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 167

Chimney Rock, Idaho

Tall enough to be seen from Priest Lake, Idaho, Chimney Rock is a 400-foot high granite slab landmark in the panhandle or northern part of Idaho.  It is located in the Selkirk Mountain range that spans the northern portion of Idaho and parts of eastern Washington and southeastern British Columbia, Canada.   The highest point in the Selkirk range is Mount Sir Sandford at 11,545 ft. (3,519 meters). Chimney Rock is classified as a technical climb requiring ropes and special climbing gear as well as experience in mountain and rock climbing.  

The used postcard above does not have a postmark or any other date on it but it appears to be from the late 1950s or 1960s.  The Ross Hall Studio of Sandpoint, Idaho published the card using “genuine natural color” made by Dexter Press, Inc. of West Nyack, New York.  The unsigned message on the reverse reads in part:

“[We] climbed this bugger while I was home.  N-- has climbed it several times before.  The route marked (see the inked lines on the card face) is the one we used.  It is the least precipitous of all the sides.  The trip down is just two long repels.  I was scared spitless when I started but after you get going it isn’t that bad.”

In 1857 gold was discovered in the Selkirks and there is also coal, copper, mercury, marble, silver and zinc.  These mountains were considered formidable obstacles to the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway until a pass was discovered in 1881-1882.  The pass is named after A.B. Rogers who discovered it.  The heart of the Selkirks was among the first national parks created in Canada.  The only caribou (reindeer in Scandinavia) in the United States outside of Alaska can be found in this range.  Also found are deer, elk, black bears, cougars, bobcats, red fox, bald eagles, osprey, great blue heron, porcupine, badgers, coyote, martens, bighorn sheep, gray wolves and moose.  Rarely seen but known to roam through the area are grizzly bears.  The Selkirks were named after Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk.  


For an artist's rendition of the beauty of this area there is an 1886 painting by John A. Fraser entitled At Rogers Pass.  Fraser was a Canadian artist born in London, England in 1838 and died in the United States in 1898.  His paintings were praised for realism, the use of color and light. 

For additional information, please see:

http://www.summitpost.org/chimney-rock/151709
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/john-arthur-fraser/