How did Roman Wall got its name?

I checked both Komo Kulshan and Range of Glaciers , both make reference to early parties climbing "what would later be known as the Roman Wall", but neither book explains the name.

Almost all of the other features on the mountain bear the names of early climbers (Coleman, Deming, etc,.) literal descriptions (Black Buttes), or obvious metaphorical descriptions (cockscomb, railroad grade), so the Roman Wall seems to be a bit of an exception.

To my knowledge, the Coleman Deming route was climbed frequently in the early 1900's, often by large groups from the climbing clubs and WWU, so it seems plausible that if the name wasn't in the history before that time, that it probably picked it up during the early days of PNW mountaineering. I've emailed Professor Miles to see if he can shed any light on it.

Cool question!

It could logically follow that the Roman Wall gets its name by proximity.

Another possibility, though that begs the question, how did the Roman Nose get it's name?

I'm not certain whether they're linked, but the term "Roman nose" is a descriptive term for certain shapes of human noses.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquiline_nose

Today a lot of people use "Roman Wall" to refer to the final slope of the Coleman/Deming climbing route.

I am certainly guilty of that, even though it never made much sense to me. I actually picked that up from the two maps I have.
Both the Mt. Baker Ranger District map (1:63,360; published by Forest Service in 2001) and the Mt Baker, WA - No 13 (1:69,500; Green Trails, Inc. map from 1996) show Roman Wall as the top part of Easton and Deming Glaciers.

Detail of the USFS map:


Detail of Green Trails map:


This might explain why some Easton Gl trip reports mention the Roman Wall. I remember reading at least one, specifically I remember my confusion, although of course some people might ski up the Easton then cross over to Deming. Anyway it never made sense to me and it is clear that on the above two maps the Roman Wall is mislabeled. Maps based on USGS data identify the wall correctly.

Detail of CalTopo map:

I think the Roman Nose connection makes sense. I never really saw the ridge climber's left of Deming Gl. as much of nose, but it might be that is much more pronounced in summer when the snow is gone.

Thank you all for your replies, perhaps Professor Miles will come up with the definitive answer.

On page 31 of Beckey's red guidebook (3rd ed.) he describes the route up the Coleman Glacier toward the Coleman-Deming saddle. While bearing toward the saddle, he says, "Avoid traveling close to the Roman Wall (a large cliff of unstable andesite) where there is potential avalanche hazard."

From the saddle he says to "ascend the pumice ridge c. 300ft [...] then diagonal S on steep snow right of the Roman Wall to where the slope gradient steepens; one may arrive at another pumice slope (depending on snow cover) between the old crater and the true summit." (emphasis added by me)

On page 30 is a photo with an arrow labeled "Roman Wall" which points to a rocky cliff high above the saddle, left of the climbing route, just below the summit plateau.

To my thinking applying the word "wall" to the upper slope of the climbing route makes no sense. I think it was applied to the "andesite cliff" due to its proximity to the Roman Nose, which is a perfectly sensible name for that bumpy rock ridge. I think the crude map legends you posted show how the name came to be associated with the climbing line.

Here's a link that may take you to the photo via Google Books:

books.google.com/books?id=5S0EVRXtK6YC&l...roman%20wall&f=false