Albert H. Sylvester climbed many mountains in the Cascades, often for surveying purposes. Many of his climbs were first ascents. In 1897 and 1898, working as a surveyor for the USGS, Sylvester made a number of first ascents. These included, in 1897, Mount Baring, White Chuck Mountain, Columbia Peak, Overcoat Peak, and Sahale Peak. And in 1898, Snoqualmie Mountain, Gardner Mountain, Star Peak, and Reynolds Peak. These ascents were mainly for the purpose of setting up cairns, poles, and other survey targets for triangulation purposes. In some cases others may have made an earlier, unrecorded ascent. Fred Beckey writes that Sylvester made the apparent first ascent of Sahale Peak, probably the first ascent of Columbia Peak, and that Snoqualmie Mountain may have been ascended for a railroad survey in 1867 and an earlier USGS survey party may have reached the summit earlier in the 1890s.