If there was any
one quality that especially characterized Chester, it was enthusiasm. Out of
his enthusiasm was born the Desert Peaks Section of the Sierra Club. It did
not, however, spring full-fledged, like Minerva from the head of Zeus.
Chester's flame all but died under the sorry indifference he encountered every
time he brought up the subject. It took a good deal of fanning and blowing
before it caught a few individuals who went along, at first, mainly because
Chester was such a persistent salesman.
We can see him yet, before a crowd
of Friday-nighters At Boos Bros Cafeteria, during, World War' II, trying to
warm us up to the idea. By the time the war ended, he had talked a small
nucleus of skeptics into a trip to New York Butte. From there on the Desert
Peaks sold themselves.
Chester was instrumental in naming many peaks and
getting the names registered with the proper authorities. Let's name an
outstanding desert peak for Chester, when a fine enough one becomes available.
Nothing would have pleased him more. |
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- Niles and
Louise Werner |
Having known
Chester Versteeg for the past 20 year's, and shared his companionship on many
climbing trips, both in the desert and the High Sierra, it seems hard to
realize that he has passed on.
Chester was the vigorous, outdoor type of
person who loved the mountains. He was always bubbling with enthusiasm over the
High Sierra; it was the country he knew so well after many years of climbing
and exploring in it.
In 1941 he originated the Desert Peaks Section of the
Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club which focused attention on the mountains of
the desert, and stimulated an interest in desert climbing and exploration.
In recent years, I made frequent trips with Chester to the Yosemite country
where he was carrying out a series of temperature measurements.
His
unfailing sense of humor made him one of the best companions in camp and on the
trail. Like all who knew him, I join in a feeling of great personal
loss. |
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- Parker
Severson |
It was while
climbing in the Sierra Nevada and looking across Owens Valley toward the
seemingly barren ranges that extended as far as the eye could see that Chester
decided to explore the desert ranges. But climbing these mountains was one
thing, and starting a section of the Sierra Club dedicated to the same
proposition was quite another. However, Chester's determined efforts won out,
and he finally obtained permission from the Angeles Chapter Executive Committee
to organize such a section. Following is Chester's own announcement of the
formation of the Desert Peaks Section as it appeared in the August, 1942 Sierra
Club Bulletin. |
DESERT PEAKS SECTION
by Chester Versteeg |
The Executive
Committee of the Southern California Chapter has authorized the creation of an
honorary climbing section (no dues, no meetings, no officers) to be known as
the DESERT PEAKS SECTION, membership in which |
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