The White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America's Deadliest Avalanche by Gary Krist

The White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America's Deadliest Avalanche Reviews

• 
  Sharon hiatus)

  Gary Krist has done an incredible job researching and writing about the deadliest avalanche in American history.
  
  Two trains were marooned at the Wellington station in the Cascade Mountains in Washington state in 1910 for six days. The high Cascades are the snowiest region in the US except for Alaska. The multiple snowstorms that blew through the area in late February 1910 completely covered the passenger train cars.
  
  Then heavy rains, coupled with very rare thunder and lightening in the PNW, created treacherous conditions that resulted in an avalanche a half a mile in width that careened into the two trains. 96 people were killed including many railroad employees.
  
  This book catapults readers directly into the tragic accident from the first page and keeps readers glued to the action and decision making of railroad leaders, passengers, striking railroad employees, and local restaurant and hotel owners.
  
  Highly recommend!
• 
  Barbara K.

  I’ve been thinking about what piqued my interest in this book (aside from Brendan Dowd’s enthusiastic review). My best guess is that it is because this story has something in common with the tales of polar exploration that I’m addicted to. In this instance, in 1910 we have a train navigating a treacherous pass through the Cascade Mountains during a snowstorm of historic proportions. One man has primary responsibility for making decisions about the safest place to “park” the trains, while avoiding a potential avalanche, until the tracks can be cleared and they can continue on their way to Seattle.
  
  See the parallels with those polar exploration books? Substitute tons of snow barreling down a mountain for floating ice, and a dedicated railway superintendent for a ship’s captain, and you have the same pattern of action and decision making.
  
  Working from primary materials, Krist does a great job of building tension even though he reveals the outcome in his opening paragraphs. We get a clear sense of why (for better or worse) a specific decision was made in response to each new predicament confronting the travelers and railway men. We get just enough background information about why the railroad went through this pass to create the setting. (I had no idea that although the Cascades aren’t as high as the Rockies, they are considered more treacherous because they are younger and steeper, hence the challenges of finding a route through.). We learn just enough about the back stories of the primary individuals involved to develop our interest in them. And just enough about the dominance of the railway trusts to provide context for much of the decision making.
  
  By the way, the image of the Orient Express in the recent Kenneth Branagh film of the Agatha Christie novel kept popping into my mind as I read. That definitely added a vivid element!
  
  Given the right subject, I wouldn’t hesitate to read another book of narrative non-fiction by Gary Krist. This was a good one!
• 
  Tracy

  Every time we drive over Steven's Pass, I can't help but think about this, the deadliest avalanche in the history of the United States. My goal for summer 2011 is to hike the trail, look in the tunnel, and think about the factors that lead to this disaster. I first heard of this when we visited the North Central Washington Museum in Wenatchee, and can't believe we didn't learn about this as kids when we had to take Washington State History. This story would have sucked me into learning more about local history!
• 
  Christine

  So this is what good non-fiction should be. A gripping story told with vim and vigor. Krist keeps the editorializing til the end and simply presents the story of two trains caught in a snow storm in the Cascade mountains. Really good book about a forgotten event.
• 
  Brendan (History Nerds United)

  This book is about a horrible disaster that very few people know about. I certainly didn’t until I was surfing Amazon’s recommendations and came across it. It also made Gary Krist one of my favorite authors.
  
  In 1910, two trains were stopped at the railroad depot in Wellington, Washington. A blizzard, which lasted 9 days, snowed in both trains. The blizzard was so bad that on one day 11 feet of snow fell. Once the snow stopped, it was replaced by rain and then a lightning strike started the avalanche and well…
  
  Before you accuse me of a “spoiler alert”, the basics of the disaster are not what you read the book for. Krist turns this into a book of suspense and then horror by creating palpable tension. You know the avalanche is coming. You feel the buildup just like the snow outside the trains. The aftermath is the horror movie.
  
  Krist does something most authors are incapable of. He takes something you know and still makes you dread what is coming. You are almost surprised when the avalanche finally comes.
• 
  Carlos

  More like a 3 1/2 star book for me , and that is assuming you like trains, train history and its logistics, because if you don't and you are reading this book because of the snow avalanche and the horror that followed it then you are for a disappointing surprise, the book mentions the tragedy but uses as a prop to talk more about train logistics in the late 19th and early 20th century , if I had to use percentages to describe this book I would say that only 20 % of it is about the snow avalanche, 50% is about train logistics, 10% is train history in the USA , another 10 % is about the effects this tragedy had on the train business and the last 10% would be personal details about the characters involved in this national tragedy. Recommend it to anyone who is into trains and natural disasters. But if you don't like trains then I don't think it's worth it for you to read this book.
• 
  Stefanie Robinson

  The Cascade Mountain Range is one of the major mountain ranges running through North America. Inside this mountain range are some pretty famous points of interest, including Mount Saint Helens volcano, Three Sisters, and Mount Rainier. (Being from Tennessee and never having traveled that far west, I thought this was revolutionary information.) Travel across this mountain range has been notoriously difficult during winter, especially in the days before paved roads, snowplows, and salt. In 1910, the region was hit with a massive blizzard, causing passenger trains and supply/mail trains to become trapped in many feet of snow. The relentless amount of snow made shoveling out virtually impossible. Once they were finally able to make some headway with that, an avalanche took them out. The onslaught killed nearly everyone, crushing them beneath ten acres of snow. Rescue operations in the aftermath were grim.
  
  I actually picked this book up at the used book store and then wound up buying it on Audible too. I gave the book to my sister and kept the Audible version, which I just finished up late last night. I had never heard of this particular incident, and I am not very familiar with the Northwest region of the United States, so I learned a great deal from this book. In addition to what I learned about the disaster and the mountain range, I learned a good deal about rail companies and rail transportation in the early 1900s. I thought it was well researched, and very interesting and informative. I generally love a good disaster book, probably because I am a morbid person, so this was right up my alley. I was not disappointed at all.
• 
  Jeanette

  This was an incredible historical record for this most dire tragedy of avalanche in the state of Washington. It reminded me of a minute to minute (but in this case day to day) record for another horrific catastrophe in Chicago when I was young on the Our Lady of the Angels fire that I read years ago. Two completely different kinds of horror but told in the same way and objective "eyes" style. Witness "eyes" and follow up research of their tales for the "afterwards" as well. And they are similar in another way, as well. In that being patient because the authority on the scene and off was trusted to "know better"- and so obeying and waiting as told heralded a demise in both events, in great majority.
  
  This also gives the history of the line, the CEO, the man in charge for these right of way and directional positions for the trains on the line, Jim O'Neill. And many geographic and logistical facts upon Wilmington, Everett, Spokane, Seattle - and many other entities and positional realities upon the Cascades lines.
  
  It's at least a 4.5 star (I wish the liability issue would have been addressed a bit more than it was) but you can't help but round that up when an event such as this is recorded in such an excellent and non-opinionated matter. And also such a reveal too for so many personalities involved, considering that it is over 100 years since this occurred. The photos are phenomenal.
  
  1910 and weather intervened in human affairs to an outcome that is hard to envision without the photos.
• 
  Heidi

  I have this strange attraction to books about natural disasters. I think this is for a couple of reasons. First, I'm always in awe of Mother Nature's power and second, I'm always interested in the ways people respond. Almost always there are courageous people who help others unselfishly, and usually there are others who are pretty self-centered, but most people fall somewhere in between. Krist does a fantastic job of setting the scene for the disaster by describing some of the people involved as well as giving background on the railroad and how they managed to build a line through the Cascades in the first place. As one might expect, there was plenty of blame to go around, but nobody could have predicted the severity of the storms that moved through leading the the numerous avalanches that stranded the trains in the first place. Despite the best efforts of the area train superintendent and his crews, they just could not keep up with the amount of snow that accumulated and then slid blocking the tracks in both directions several times. Experiences like this one almost always lead to changes in policies and procedures and this disaster was no different. And of course lawsuits and other things happened afterward as well. Krist is careful to cover the aftermath as well as the disaster itself, giving the reader a chance to see the changes that disasters bring about. Krist has written a very engaging book about a horrible event.
• 
  Michael Gerald

  Tells the true story of the worst avalanche in the US that killed tens of passengers and crew of a passenger train trapped by bad winter weather in a railway route that is intrinsically dangerous. In doing so, the book also provides a glimpse of the difficult and often dangerous work in railways, and the business interests behind it, in the early 20th century.
• 
  Tasha

  A really interesting piece of history I knew nothing about. I love weather event non-fiction and this kept me riveted.
• 
  Dan

  4.5 stars
  
  The geographical areas surrounding the scene of this tragedy in Wellington (Glacier Peak, Wild Sky and Henry Jackson Wildernesses) are some of the most beautiful landscapes in the country. I have hiked so much of this area (including the ghost towns) and never knew the complete story of what occurred on March 1st, 1910. It is interesting to note that there were also towns and work camps surrounding Wellington called Nippon and Corea, named for the nationalities of the workers who built these railroad sections of the Great Northern some twenty years prior. All of these towns were eventually abandoned. I bring this up because this area is an incredibly inhospitable winter environment to park a passenger train for a week and not think an avalanche could occur.
  
  This was a fair, balanced and non-sensationalized book on the winter storm and avalanche that caused the passenger train to derail and tumble down the mountain and the ensuing nightmare that followed. The story was impeccably researched and used well quoted sources as the entire nation was for a week in 1910 heavily focused on the event. This was also a sobering glimpse into big corporations and how they abdicate and rationalize away their responsibility in the pursuit of profits. And how the state Supreme Courts were often bought and paid for by the likes of Robber Barons like J.P. Hill.
  
  4.5 stars. Highly recommended for anyone who likes micro-history.
• 
  Blaine DeSantis

  A good initial effort in the authors transformation from novelist to non-fiction writer. I had only peripherally heard of this disaster and really enjoyed Krist's writing style and his almost hour by hour detail of what was going on both in in the train and with the workers of the Great Northern Railway back in 1910 during this catastrophic avalanche. I personally felt that the supervisor got a raw deal in some of the post-avalanche inquest and trials. They portray a man who was working almost 24 hours for days on end, doing heroic efforts to try and free the passengers that were stuck in the Wellington Station, when there was really nobody else who could make decisions or who had a better read on the situation. Basically we have a horrid storm that puts a freakish amount of snow on the mountain, then you combine that with both rising temperatures and thunderstorms that make the snow almost like concrete. Relief rotary plow engines could not make it to the Wellington station prior to the Avalanche - why? Well the rotary plows were about 13' in height and the snow pack on some large portions of the track was over 30' high! Rough conditions. Not sure who is to blame, if anyone, but after reading the book I guess it would have to be the designers of the rail line who took a torturous path through the Cascade Mountains to please rail owner James Hill (another person who can be truly blamed for a lot of the problems.)A fascinating local history lesson for all of us about when the industrial revolution had yet to be brought up to proper safety standards. Look at so many tragedies of that time period and safety conditions almost always are always a huge factor.
• 
  Kirsten

  Somehow, I managed to read this month's book selection with a week to spare!
  
  I had already had this on my to-read list, so I was happy to read it. I especially like reading books that are regional. I vaguely remember this disaster from a show I'd seen a few years back on the History Channel.
  
  The book really fleshes out the details; it really amazed me that the author could find such testimonials. He really gave life to the different characters and you could even feel the chill of the snow and wind coming off the page.
  
  Also, like many books I've read recently, you could see similarities between then (1910) and today, just over a century different. In 1910, the Gilded Age was just starting to tarnish. Today, we are in a new Gilded Age, I am rapidly becoming convinced. Let's hope progressivism will take hold as it did then.
• 
  Marty Mangold

  This is a wonderful read, exactly my kind of non-fiction: fact-driven, with a narration that ties things together, gives a focus, comes from a point of view that lets the reader draw their own conclusions.
  
  Our current age is not the first one with concerns about technology getting ahead of natural and societal restraints, a reminder that progress comes at a cost. The "temper of the times" changes across decades, and this marks the turning point between the Gilded Age and the sinking of the Titanic when even the biggest railroad barons of the time advised their sons to get out of railroading before much longer.
  
  This is an especially good read in the cold of winter - it makes you appreciate a warm bed.
  
• 
  Rebecca Huston

  A well-written account of an avalanche in the Cascade Mountains in 1910 that destroyed two railway trains. Those interested in natural disasters or railroads will find this the most interesting, and while the narrative does get dry in spots, it is worth reading. Krist draws on the narratives left by the survivors and the rescuers, along with a great deal of information about the expansion of railroads and how railroads were run and organized. Three and half stars rounded up to four stars overal. Recommended.
  
  For the longer review please go here:
  
  http://www.mylot.com/post/2891249/rev...
• 
  Ian Allan

  I live in Washington, so this one was more meaningful for me. I've driven over Stevens Pass many times there. I ski there. Will never go on the Tye Mill chair again without thinking that the Tye was originally named Wellington -- changed after the disaster.
  
  Krist isn't quite up there with the non-fiction superstars -- Erik Larson, Hampton Sides, Candice Millard, Daniel Brown. On a different day, I might give this 3 stars (I'm a tough grader). But I want to support this kind of writing.
  
  
• 
  Carrie

  My reading patterns have become somewhat eclectic -- I don't even remember where I heard about this book, and nonfiction is not my typical genre, but what a read! Bringing to life the Wellington train tragedy of 1910 (which I didn't even know had occurred) Krist paints with broad strokes to show the political climate of the time (progressive) as well as the financial boom of the Railroad Era, in particular the rise of the Great Northern Line under James J. Hill from MN. Lesser known than the era's other Robber Barons, Hill forged a railroad with sheer grit and now-embarrassingly cheap labor through the formidable Rockies and even more daunting Cascades to reach Seattle. Jim O'Neill, the superintendent of this particular tough stretch of mountain passage through the Cascades began work on the railroad at age 13: "What fetched [boys who went to work on the railroad] were the sights and sounds of moving trains, and above all the whistle of a locomotive. I've heard of the call of the wild, the call of the law, the call of the church. There is also the call of the railroad." (9) Quoting Miles C. Moore, an early governor of the Washington territory he notes: "Railroads are not a mere convenience. They are the true alchemy of the age, which transmutes the otherwise worthless resources of a country into gold." (15) Krist captures well the romance of the Iron Horse and the immense growth and progress in the country at this time. " the final victory of man's machinery over nature's is the next step in evolution" (5) and "It was ... a time when mankind's technological reach had profoundly exceeded its grasp, when safety regulations and innovations in fail-safe communication and operations technologies had not yet caught up with the ambitious new standards of speed and efficiency...." Think of the Titanic 2 years later. So the stage is set for a tragedy: a monstrous late-winter storm that started with temps in the single digits that progressed to thunderstorms and rain within days. More than 12 FEET of snow fell and the mountain wind whipped some drifts even higher and 2 trains: The Seattle Express and the Fast Mail Train (an innovation of its day) became stranded when they were sidelined in Wellington to wait out the storm and wait for the tracks to be cleared. Here, Krist skillfully fills in the details for the trip from boarding to disaster, with fascinating information about many of the passengers, the workers and the "town" of Wellington -- a handful of buildings on a single street. He is very sympathetic to James O'Neill, the man in charge of the entire situation, and rightfully so, for he was out there in the storm on the tracks, personally running some of the rotary snowplows and shoveling to try to get passage through for his passengers and cargo. He is a man of action and a leader by example. In general, the hardiness of people at this time was amazing -- some passengers chose to hike out the 5+ miles through the storm and fallen snow to a lower station. Slide after slide blocked the throughway in one direction then the other as men worked round the clock to try to fee the line and get the trains moving again. Meanwhile, avalanche conditions worsened in the area where the trains were parked, culminating in the final fall that wiped out the trains, track and killed 96 people. Though I knew the outcome, this was still a page-turner -- I became so invested in the people and the action. Krist seamlessly wove together facts from exhaustive research and good storytelling that followed through to the subsequent inquest and civil trials. If you like Jon Krakauer or Erik Larson, this is on par! Also includes authentic photos from the time period, which are fascinating.
• 
  Koren

  Interesting story of an incident that took place in the early 1900's. At least 100 people died in an accident that may have been preventable. I would have liked to have found out more personal information about the people that were on the train but I'm sure that information was not available. Even so, to have felt more like I knew the characters would have made it more enjoyable.
• 
  Suzette Alexander

  It was a pretty good book. It was well-researched. There were lots of personal details which made you feel like you knew the people. There were also lots of rabbit trails. Information on railroad presidents, bills in congress, that sort of thing. It made me feel as if I were trudging through the snow trying to get back to the main story. Overall, I was glad I read it.
• 
  Kemp

  I wish I could ask my personal railroad expert about the facts behind the book but, alas, he took his last train ride a few years ago. Perhaps he read it in his last few years but I don’t recall seeing it on his bookshelf during my visits. His life long love of railroads meant he’d know much about this tragic event on the Great Northern line.
  
  Tragic, indeed. At the time one of the biggest railroad disasters in American history.
  
  Krist used letters, interviews, newspapers, and court proceedings to piece together what happened in a very readable story. The subject is interesting. The disaster gripping. And we learn the history of the Great Northern and the challenges of operating a railroad in the mountains during the steam era.
  
  I like how Krist wrote about many of the passenger and railroad men. We read a lot about both James O’Neill, superintendent of the Cascade Division, who was attempting to clear the tracks of snow and James Hill, Great Northern Railway owner. But Krist also writes about many of the passengers – and through the letters and diaries succeeds in giving us the passengers’ perspective.
  
  This is also a story of the unrelenting weather and the prodigious amount of snow that fell those late February days of 1910. It highlights how a few storms flowing back-to-back into the mountains can create havoc. A foot an hour was quoted. For anyone familiar with the Washington mountains, that’s an unusually rapid pace.
  
  Any disaster book today must conclude with the legal ramifications – and Krist uses it as a bridge to the epilogue with a recap of the survivors and the building of the new Cascade Tunnel.
  
  Another four-star book read in January.
  
• 
  Becky

  How puny is man in the face of angered nature! And yet how indomitably and hopefully persistent. He is swept from the earth like the wheat before the sickle or the chaff before the wind. His toilsome labors are made nothing of; the greatest achievements are crumbled to dust. Yet, driven by that impulse within him, he buries his dead, clears up the debris, and returns to his task, even while he can yet feel the wings of Death hovering overe him.- Seattle Tribune

  
  
  

  "All wiped out! he cried before collapsing in exhaustion"

  
  
  I am truly stuck between 3 and 4 stars. The execution of the novel was textbook. The beginning gave perfect insight to the culture of the railway men, personal insights to those that would soon become our main characters, and a proceedure for operating a rail line in one of America's last untamed places: the Cascades. The climax was so good I couldnt put the book down; each day you draw closer to the event, but you've been so well placed with the passengers that you, too, feel the women are being hysterical, and feel a bored sort of tension like the men. Meanwhile you have a window that the passengers lacked to the trials and tribulations of the workers deserately trying to shovel themselves and the train out of the mountains, working 90 hours without sleep ceaselessly fighting a storm tat was dropping 3 feet of snow a day by some estimates. All this followed by the trial of the people vs. the great evil railroad, and an objective and brutally honest look back that I wont spoil for you.
  
  Still though the book was technically perfect, it lacked any sort of drive, ambition, or emotion. I felt like a passenger on a trolley, kind of along for a slow but bumpy ride, whereas I should have felt like I was on a train that was about to be knocked into a steep ravine by one of the greatest forces of nature. The beginning was too pragmatic to make for interesting reading. I learned a lot but it was very easy to put the book down and walkaway, only by determination did I actually make it through, and I am GLAD that I did, because pages 150-240 were absolutely riveting. I just dont feel that most people will give you the good graces to build a history novel up for 150 pages before succumbing to boredom.
  
  A 3.5 for sure for a great narrative, but a 3.0 rating on Goodreads because outside of the knowledge on avalanches, I dont think any particulars will continue to haunt me the way that Children's Blizzard or the Hinckley Forest Fire books did.
  
  To read my review of my Natural Disaster Themed read which included 10 different disaster books click link:
  Here!
  
• 
  Renee

  In February 1910, two trainloads of passengers and their crews were trapped in the Cascade Mountains as a blizzard swirled around them, their railcars gradually being buried in the rising drifts. The trains had stopped on a dangerously steep slope, so people onboard could not easily exit the train. They waited in the trains for the blizzard to pass and the snow to be cleared. As the days passed, food and coal supplies dwindled. Snow accumulated on the cliffs overhanging the trains. Panic and rage set in as the danger of avalanche increased.
  
  This book should be on the reading list of anyone interested in Washington State history.
• 
  Fishface

  A good read about a very ugly disaster. Reads like a novel. The author traces the progress of the situation through the letters and court testimony of the people who were there. The only drawback to his approach is that you don't realize the true scope of the avalanche's outcome until he lists all the dead and injured at the end of the book. The way the author put this story together makes you understand that everyone else on the two trains,, the ones you never heard about, were going through exactly the same anxiety, cabin fever, anger and finally devastation.
• 
  ˜”*°•.˜”*°• Sheri •°*”˜.•°*”˜

  The factual account of this American tragedy is very interesting and the book is informative about the railroad industry. The writer does a good job of describing the mood of the country at the time of the tragedy as well as the soon to be changing American political landscape. My only complaint is that it's very wordy and sometimes feels bogged down. It's important to note that the railroad people learned from this and took measures to make train rides safer.
• 
  Jane Ginter

  I really enjoyed this book. I am visiting the Cascade mountains this year and I decided I wanted to read about some of the local history. I will certainly appreciate the area much more after reading this book.
• 
  Erica Bauman

  Very well researched from multiple viewpoints. Very informative and well- written.
• 
  Cropredy

  I stayed up past my bedtime to read this ==> 5 stars
  
  For once, the title and subtitle are not click-bait puffery as in many other books. This is the real deal.
  
  The story takes place in the winter of 1910 in the Cascade Mountains east of Seattle. Two trains, both westbound - one, a first class passenger train, the other, an express train carrying the mail, become marooned outside Wellington WA in the shadow of a steep mountainside during the worst snow storm recorded to date.
  
  We have all the elements of a great story (one I knew nothing about):
  
  * A tick-tock narrative spanning just a few days
  * The reader's knowledge that there is foreboding doom
  * Many, many first hand accounts that give life to the passengers, crew, workers, and Great Northern railroad staff
  * Smaller disasters and setbacks leading up to the denouement
  * Individual heroism
  * Some useful background on the US railroad baron James Hill and the state of management-labor relations of the time
  * More useful background on the importance of the railroad to 1910 long distance travel life (no planes, cars, radio)
  * A tunnel through the mountains that features prominently in the story
  * A couple of beaneries
  
  Oh, and yes, a huge avalanche.
  
  Are there survivors? And if so, who and why? Once the snowfall doesn't let up and the coal runs out, the reader will be frozen to their seat to find out what happens. There's an inquest - are there blameworthy actors? Find out by reading this excellent book.
  
  A fairly quick read, especially once you get through the scene setting. As reader, you will easily put yourself in the shoes of the marooned and wonder what you would do, especially given 1910 options.
  
  - Two highly useful maps (though a topo map or birds-eye view map would have been better).
  - Period photographs
  - Notes and bibliography; well-researched from accounts of the time
  
  Fans of Jon Krakauer will enjoy this; a veritable Into Deep Snow