Trail & Timberline, Issue #1005

in search of ice and snow 18 • fourteener files 26 • woman versus mountain 36

Trail & timberline The Colorado Mountain Club • Winter 2010 • Issue 1005 • www.cmc.org

winter's rewards Trail & Timberline

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If only money flowed like water...

Maintaining our programs requires a steady stream of donations.

Start donating year-round through our electronic funds transfer (EFT) program today.

www.cmc.org/support

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Letter from the Board of Directors Ninety-seven and counting Dear Members, Ninety-seven years ago, did the founders of the Colorado Mountain Club envision a 7,400-member orgnanization with groups in 14 Colorado cities, several thousand trips in summer and winter, and activities as diverse as hiking, fly fishing, technical ice climbing, snowshoeing, alpine skiing, extreme mountaineering, and conservation efforts to protect the environment we so cherish? Did they expect our horizons to have expanded from Colorado to trips around the world?

Probably not, no more than we today can imagine how the club will operate 97 years from now, in the year 2106.

Those founders did, however, have vision. They expected to take legions of people into the mountains, to help neophytes become mountain people who learned about and loved the high country. They expected to influence our governments to protect the mountains. They planned to let people know about these mountains which they loved.

[The above is paraphrased from the opening words of The Colorado Mountain Club, by Hugh E. Kingery and assisted by Elinor Eppich Kingery.]

These are the things I prize And hold of the dearest worth, Light of the sapphire skies, Peace of the silent hills, Shelter of the forest, Comforts of the grass, Music of the birds, murmur of little rills.

Shadows of clouds that swiftly pass, And after showers the smell of flowers And of good brown earth, And best of all, along the way Friendship and mirth.

—Henry Van Dyke

O

ne of our devoted volunteers once said, “members of an organization tend to become very comfortable with the status-quo and are easily unnerved at the prospect of change.” Change has certainly been with us this last year. The severe realities of the current economic recession that are affecting us in our personal lives, and at national and world levels, are also impacting us right here at the CMC.

Your board of directors reports to you here on the health of the club, on the many accomplishments over the past year, and on enhanced services for members, all achieved in this difficult and challenging economic

environment. Please take a few minutes to read this snapshot of the last 12 months to understand and appreciate the immense contributions of our volunteers and staff.

We’ve worked to improve group and member services, improve communications, shore up our finances, establish sound policies and controls, and oversee the implementation of programs to achieve the vision and values stated in our mission statement and strategic plan (www.cmc.org/strategicplan).

Here is what has been accomplished: ▶ Organizational strength: Our budget is balanced and we will end fiscal year 2009 with a positive net income and positive cash flow.

This has been achieved during a recession and after previous years of negative cash flows that were mitigated by capital campaigns.

Obviously, operating in a deficit position is not sustainable, and the CMC’s budget required significant cuts amounting to over $100,000 in expenses, including reduction and reallocation of staff, renegotiated contracts and agreements to lower rates, and reduced printing costs. We also established new revenue sources including: a partnership with 14erWorld.com, a merger with an existing nonprofit bringing in new funding sources, and an increase in events such as a club-wide Mountain Fest and many museum events.

We are moving towards being a stronger 501(c)3 nonprofit organization; we already have a devoted staff and superior volunteers devoted to fulfilling CMC’s purpose. ▶ Leadership: We are establishing a Statewide Leadership Plan that includes the “All Star” method of leadership, emails to leaders, monthly continuing education classes, and have begun construction of a leadership web page. ▶ Communications: The CMC has improved communications with a significant facelift to Trail & Timberline magazine; created dashboard reports so board members can review and understand financials each month; implemented the “Monday Memo” to groups and board members; begun quarterly group chair meetings; and created a new member orientation package. ▶ Program Revenue: We’ve created programs to generate revenue beyond membership

dues including: Mountain Fest, Backcountry Bash, group fundraisers such as the Aspen presentation with Jake Norton in August, December’s Backcountry Ball in Steamboat Springs, and the Wooden Ski Festival in February. ▶ Museum: The American Mountaineering Museum continues to gain ground and has increased attendance by 25 percent over last year. Seeing nearly 10,000 visitors since opening in 2008, the museum is becoming more of a known attraction through public relations and marketing efforts, as well as through excitement generated by its monthly programs. Currently, the museum has secured significant corporate sponsorship from companies like Keen, Vibram, Lowa, and Chums, and will continue to grow its corporate program in 2010. Exciting items brought into the collection this year include the summit boots worn by Jim Whittaker during his 1963 ascent of Mount Everest and one of Bradford Washburn’s large Fairchild camera film cassettes. In addition, the museum has provided visitors with an educational and inspiring exhibit line-up including On High: Cartography of Topography (a map exhibit made possible by renowned map collector Wes Brown); Bradford Washburn's Photographs: From the Favorites (an exhibit displaying some of Washburn’s personal favorite prints, on permanent loan from Cody Smith); and the latest exhibit Thin Air: An Exhibit on Altitude and Oxygen. ▶ Press: Sales from the CMC Press exceeded last year’s unit sales by 40 percent. Our revenue exceeded last year’s by 25 percent; we sold $211,000 worth of books for our best year ever. The three city pack guides were, in large part, a major source of our success. The Best Colorado Springs Hikes guide book sold exceptionally well. ▶ Governing Board: The board continues to move towards a governance role (although there are still many areas in which individual board committees are involved in operations).

Board meetings now encompass as much strategic evaluation as operational review. ▶ Conservation: In May, the CMC and our partners celebrated the creation of the Dominguez Escalante National Continued on page 14 Trail & Timberline

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22 The Secret Stash

36 Agnes Vaille vs. Longs Peak

Some days are made for floating on powder. Other days are just right for exploring. And then there are accidents. Yes, accidents do happen—and the results can prove phenomenal.

Though you may know the tragic winner of this duel, there still remains the question of why.

By Greg Mears Photography by Mark Sööt

By Woody Smith

40 Seeing the Peak for its Pebbles

26 The Fourteener Files (and Beyond) Who made the lists this year? More importantly, what did they learn on their journey?

Big views aren't the only things that are beautiful. Discover how some find beauty in details.

By Chris Case, Carol English, and Mike Foster

By Linda Crockett, Dave Goldwater, Chris Ruppert, and Teresa Gergen EXTRA: The Final Three A Touch of History

By Marlene Borneman

By Jim Rickard Saving the Fourteeners

By Alan Spriggs

Bike 'n' Hike

By Bart Miller

Winter 2010 Trail & Timberline • Issue 1005 • www.cmc.org

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Departments 01 Letter from the Board of Directors 05 Inbox 06 On the Outside 08 Mission Accomplishments

Learn the latest from the Conservation and Education Departments, as well as the Mountaineering Museum.

14 The Clinic

Winter's climbing rewards can be many—if you travel wisely.

By Dave Cooper

18 Pathfinder

Glaciers may seem exotic, but Colorado has its share. Visit a vanishing species in the Front Range.

By Chris Case

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42 CMC Adventure Travel

Want to get away? Join classic CMC trips to Alaska, the Grand Canyon, Mount Elbrus, Nepal, and more.

On the Cover

Wind-carved snows and the warmth of the afternoon sun are two of Colorado's many winter rewards.

Chris Case

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Editor’s Note

Continued from page 1

Conservation Area just south of Grand Junction. This 210,000 -acre swath of the Colorado Plateau has something for everyone—hiking, climbing, biking, hunting and fishing. It includes the 66,000acre Dominguez Canyon Wilderness, which is at the heart of the designation, and protects species such as the desert bighorn sheep and bald eagle; preserves petroglyphs, pottery shards, and other artifacts; and provides access to incredible geological points of interest. On the Front Range, we celebrated the designation of Rocky Mountain National Park's backcountry as wilderness. The designation is one of the final chapters in the long journey of protecting the park.

First recommended for wilderness designation under the Nixon Administration, the park's backcountry will be kept in its primitive state, ensuring future generations will be able to view and enjoy the peaks, valleys, rivers, and wildlife much as we do today. This continues the club’s rich conservation history: in 1915, the CMC played an instrumental role in the creation of Rocky Mountain National Park. ▶ Access and stewardship: Beyond protecting landscapes, the CMC's conservation department continues to promote access opportunities and stewardship projects. A perfect example of the CMC's leadership in these two arenas is our work on Wilson Peak near Telluride. As some of you may know, the most popular route to the summit of Wilson Peak was closed in 2005. Since that time, the CMC has been working with The Trust for Public Land, San Miguel County, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Telluride Mountain Club to re-open traditional access to the summit. Club volunteers recently completed a trail layout and signing project on the mountain. After the completion of a new trailhead and parking area, the peak should be re-opened in 2010. ▶ Education: Last year YEP introduced 5,100 students and chaperones in the Denver metro area to academics, fitness, and leadership in the mountains and foothills, in their schools, and at the American Mountaineering Center. Funding was secured to expand the Youth Education Program to Palmer High School in Colorado Springs, with the addition of five weekend field trips with refugee students. New techniques were developed to work with youth who have severe handicaps. For example, students with cerebral palsy and other mobility disabilities were able to experience adaptive rock climbing. For the first time, YEP provided a five-day rock climbing and outdoor skills course for kids who live in transient motel housing through the Colfax Community Network. YEP also implemented parent belaying/training so that parent volunteers could be active participants in their children’s school field trips.

We would not be successful as a club without the immense work and contributions of our groups, their chairs, leaders, and volunteers. The Colorado Mountain Club exists to provide its members with endless opportunities to enjoy the magnificent outdoors. It is our devoted group leaders and volunteers who really create this experience.

We invite you to visit www.cmc.org for more information and we ask you to call members of the board of directors (www.cmc.org/ board) with specific questions and suggestions. Or, you may send us an email at contactus@cmc.org or to the board president, Wynne Whyman, at wynne4@comcast.net. Your comments and input are valuable and important to the governing of our club.

Sincerely, The CMC Board of Directors 4

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The official publication of the Colorado Mountain Club since 1918.

Editor, Director of Photography & Design Chris Case editor@cmc.org

Advertising Sales Robin Commons

advertising@cmc.org

The Colorado Mountain Club 710 10th Street, Suite 200 Golden, Colorado 80401

The CMC is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization.

www.cmc.org The Colorado Mountain Club is organized to ▶ unite the energy, interest, and knowledge of the students, explorers, and lovers of the mountains of Colorado; ▶ collect and disseminate information regarding the Rocky Mountains on behalf of science, literature, art, and recreation; ▶ stimulate public interest in our mountain areas; ▶ encourage the preservation of forests, flowers, fauna, and natural scenery; and ▶ render readily accessible the alpine attractions of this region. © 2009 Colorado Mountain Club

All Rights Reserved

Trail & Timberline (ISSN 0041-0756) is published quarterly by the Colorado Mountain Club located at 710 10th Street, Suite 200, Golden, Colorado 80401.

Periodicals postage paid at Golden, Colorado, and additional offices. Subscriptions are $20 per year; single copies are $5. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Trail & Timberline, 710 10th Street, Suite 200, Golden, Colorado 80401. Advertisements in Trail & Timberline do not constitute an endorsement by the Colorado Mountain Club.

Please recycle this magazine.

Printed on 10% post-consumer waste recycled paper.

Inbox On the ascent Having the good fortune to grow up in Estes Park from the 1950s through the 1970s, I am very familiar with the beauty, serenity, solitude, majesty, and public value of Rocky Mountain National Park. Having recently completed reading the Fall edition of Trail & Timberline, I found it informative, interesting, and insightful.

While I was familiar with Enos Mills and the significant impacts he had on the Estes Park valley and the park, I was not aware of the major role that the other founding members of the CMC had in driving the establishment of Rocky Mountain National Park. I also knew that many of the peaks in the area had Indian names, but was fascinated and educated by the story about the Nomenclature Committee and the 1914 pack trip with the three Arapaho to secure the proper naming of the peaks for perpetuity.

This is a great example of the heritage of the CMC—started on a great foundation— and also gives me a better appreciation of its significance and the need to carry on such traditions.

William Burgess, Durango A group of us happened to be sitting at a table filled with CMC members in Glenwood Springs despite the fact that this was a non-CMC event.

Everyone was raving about the latest issue of Trail & Timberline. My wife, Marlene, and I had been in the San Juans for the better part of a week, so we had not seen our copy as yet. I got to it in my mail yesterday and can only concur at every level. The design, photos, and most of all, the content, are superb. You and Jerry Caplan deserve high praise for your leading articles and I see you even managed to work my old friend, Todd Caudle, into the mix!

I know that the CMC is talking about rebranding, but you have already begun that process in spades by producing an awardwinning, flagship publication.

Trail & Timberline keeps on climbing. Pikes Peak Group member Paul Franco continues a new tradition of carrying the Trail & Timberline to the top of the world's summits. Chachani, at a height of approximately 19,980 feet, is several hours outside of the city of Arequipa, in southern Peru. "Our base camp was at 16,500 feet, and we started up to the summit at 3 a.m., summiting at 8:30 a.m. on June 18, 2009. Nothing technical, just crampons and an ice axe." Continue the tradition—send us your photo. and agreed it was about the best issue we could recall. It was one of the few times that I didn't have to force myself to read every single article; I just wanted to. Each one, most certainly including “Borrowing from Our Children,” was extremely well written.

The timing of the issue couldn't have been better in light of recent statements on the club’s environmental heritage.

The photos were first-rate. The little birthday tribute to Paul Stewart was inspired. It reminded me of the magazine’s “good old days,” when there were many personal touches like this one. My father and Paul hiked together a lot. He's such a fine man and a true gentleman who's been devoted to the club ever since he joined.

Walt Borneman, Estes Park

Jan Robertson, Boulder

I was recently at a social event in Glenwood Springs. Several of us gathered had received the most recent issue of Trail & Timberline

Thanks for one of the finest editions of Trail & Timberline in my 55 years with the CMC. Hugh McCaffrey - Avalon, New Jersey

Outbox We want to hear from you. Send your letters to Trail & Timberline, Colorado Mountain Club, 710 10th Street, # 200, Golden, Colorado 80401 (attn: Letters to the Editor) or email us at letters@cmc.org. Please include your name, mailing address, email address, and phone number.

Published letters may be edited for length and clarity.

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On the Outside Crystals of ice form a diamond-studded waterfall along Andrews Creek in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Chris Case

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Mission Accomplishments ◀ One lucky winner brought home a pair of K2 skis, all for putting her hands on her head during the "heads-or-Tails" Game. ▼ Tom Gordon talks gear with auctioneer Norm Silver before the live auction, as the audience begins to gather. ▼▼ Quiet experiences like this are a result of advocacy work like the Backcountry Snowsports Initative. Heath Mackay

We Had a Bash

17th Annual Backcountry Bash

By Bryan Martin, Director of Conservation

What could dampen the spirits of a gathering of backcountry skiers? Certainly not a bit of November snow.

The 17th Annual Backcountry Bash, with its long and storied history as the annual fundraising event of the Backcountry Snowsports Alliance (BSA), went off with a bang on Saturday, November 14, at the American Mountaineering Center. Over 250 revelers braved the elements they love best to attend the first attempt by the Colorado Mountain Club to carry on the Bash tradition.

Through both silent and live auctions, ticket sales, and donations, the CMC was able to raise over $20,000 for the Backcountry Snowsports Initiative (BSI), the fruit of last summer’s merger between the BSA and CMC. The BSI continues the strong tradition of conservation within the club, and further expands the reach to the winter months: its highest priorities include engaging in winter travel management planning at Vail Pass, Rabbit Ears Pass, and other 8

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popular sites throughout the state.

“It’s a pleasure to be able to donate products for a good cause like the CMC’s Backcountry Snowsports Initiative,” said CMC member, former BSA board member, and Osprey Packs representative Tom Gordon. “The CMC does a great job of educating the public on outdoor issues and preserving the special places we play in.”

Former BSA members and CMC members are equally excited about the opportunities of the new initiative.

“The BSI powerfully expands the reach and efficacy of human-powered winter recreation advocacy in Colorado,” commented Lee Rimel, a CMC board member and longtime BSA member. “The energy and commitment of CMC members combined with the winter advocacy experience of former BSA members will ensure that humanpowered recreationists always have access to their favorite snowsports places.”

If the Bash itself is any guide, club mem-

bers have plenty of energy to go around.

During the Bash, CMC Conservation Director Bryan Martin introduced Jay Heeter, the new Central Mountains Conservation Coordinator. Jay comes to the club with degrees in law and public policy, as well as experience organizing campaigns and teaching downhill skiing. He is already working hard to implement the Backcountry Snowsports Initiative’s strategic plan.

“People around the state know the CMC name,” said Heeter. “And they know that it means a strong commitment to outdoor recreation. The Initiative ensures that CMC voices are heard on conservation issues year round, not just in the summer months.” △ To learn more about the Backcountry Snowsports Initiative, visit www.cmc.org/bsi.

Two for One

Two Adventure Travel Trips, Each a once-in-a-lifetime Experience If you’ve ever wanted to venture outside of the “comfort” of Colorado, to foreign lands whose beauty and lure are legendary, look no further than the Colorado Mountain Club. The Adventure Travel program will visit some of the most magnificent destinations in the world in the coming year, and bring you life-list views, experiences, and adventure.

Arctic Bliss Though it is well known for the controversy surrounding what commodity may lay beneath (if you haven’t heard, oil has often been sought underground), the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is one place whose floral and faunal inhabitants are its most spectacular attributes.

“The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a once in a lifetime place, where the wild has not been taken out of the wilderness,” says Bea Slingsby, the CMC leader of the trip.

Though she proclaims it a place you must visit at least once, Bea has been fortunate to visit three times before.

The trip offers that wild experience rarely found in the world today: Dall sheep, grizzly bears, wolves, Arctic fox, musk ox, thousands of migrating caribou, and nesting birds on the coastal plain make this trip truly unforgettable. And did we mention the golden eagles, peregrine falcons, loons, owls, and jaegers that you should expect to see, or the vast array of wildflowers?

And this comes just on land. Much of the trip distance will be covered by raft along the Kongakut River, a north-flowing river in the northeast corner of Alaska that empties into the Arctic Ocean. The 10-day raft trip will start in the northernmost Brooks Range, known as the British Mountains. Paddling north from the peaks on this clear river, you enter a region of rugged and rounded foothills with excellent views of the Brooks Range to the south and the Arctic Ocean to the north. Entering into the Kongakut’s delta, the raft will pick its way through a maze of river braids to a massive freshwater ice field (aufeis) acting as a gate to the Arctic Ocean.

Time spent on the coast will offer a

Bea Slingsby (2)

By Bea Slingsby

The Caucasus Connection

By Steve Bonowski

chance to explore old sod houses, tent rings, and relics from the whaling era. Here the tundra swans nest, along with other birds.

Seals can be seen on the shore-fast pack ice.

“We will be led by the most incredible and knowledgeable guides,” Slingsby says.

“Ron can tell so many stories, and share so many thoughts on his time spent in Alaska—it enriches the whole experience.”

As if a once in a lifetime experience wasn’t enough.

Baksan Valley, Garabashi huts, ski lifts, snow cats, Pastukhova Rocks. The common thread? They’re all part of any climb of Mount Elbrus. The inactive, double-summit volcano (it last erupted some 2,000 years ago) is located in the western part of the Caucasus Mountains of southern Russia.

The western summit (18,510 feet), due to its location just north of the main ridgeline of the range, is considered by cartographers to be in Europe. Thus, for all the lore associated with the Alps, it is Elbrus that is considered the highest mountain in Europe—and one of the fabled Seven Summits.

Beginning in 1994, the High Altitude Mountaineering Section of the Colorado Mountain Club has sponsored several trips to the mountain, the first being led by Steve Bonowski and Malcolm Wentling. There have been five trips since, each bringing out the flavor of Russia and its singular charm, Trail & Timberline

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Steve Bonowski

and the club has grown a connection to the mountain.

Elbrus is located in a remote area of the Russian backcountry; there is no easy access. From either Moscow or St. Petersburg, one flies south to the smaller city of Mineralnye Vody (pop. 75,000). Just north of the mountains, the city, as the name would indicate, serves as a gateway to the mineral waters of the Caucasus. The steppes around MinVody might be reminiscent of the plains of eastern Colorado if it weren’t for the crumbling, Communist-era high rise apartments and extinct, volcanic spat-

ter cones on the outskirts of town.

From MinVody, a drive of several hours will bring you to the Baksan Valley. Here, outside of the town of Elbrus, beautiful dachas once used for holidays by junior members of the Soviet-era Politburo make for a great resting place.

In the hamlet of Azau—sitting at 7,000 feet in the end of the valley—the climbing can begin. A two-stage cable car system provides transport to 12,000 feet. This is followed by the exotic, single-chair ski lift to 13,000 feet and the infamous barrel huts.

You have reached base camp.

During your stay, you’ll likely experience the notoriously fickle Elbrus weather.

The mountain has a maritime climate; it sits just 75 miles from the Black Sea. Imagine what happens when warm, moist subtropical air rises over three miles to meet ice and snow. The results can be both entertaining and spectacular, especially if you’re sitting inside a giant barrel.

On summit day, a pre-dawn snowcat ride takes you to exposed rock formations just under 15,000 feet, the aforementioned Pastukhova Rocks. Here, the real work begins: This is a major peak day, traveling two linear miles to gain another 3,600 feet. The route is well trodden, wandered by Russian guides, but because of the frequent summer storms and whiteout conditions, Elbrus is best climbed in first-class weather.

From the 17,700-foot saddle between the twin summits, climbers steeply traverse the west summit, to the top of what remains of the crater wall, now just a broad ridge. A stroll of several hundred yards brings you to the summit—and the rooftop of Europe. △ For more information on our other adventures of a lifetime, visit www.cmc.org/AT or see page 42.

YOUR MOUNTAINEERING LIBRARY NEEDS THIS BOOK “I

N FALL 2008, the Colorado Mountain Club published a guidebook that was riddled with typos and 70 years out of date, at a time when online competition has put the future of even the most current printed guidebooks in question. And it charged $185 per copy. “‘It sounds crazy,’ Alan Stark, the club’s publisher, said recently as he cracked open a new, hardbound copy of the guide. ‘Obviously, this is not a typical guidebook. It’s a collector’s piece. People will buy it not to use it, but to have it.’

“The book is called The San Juan Mountaineers’ Climber’s Guide to Southwestern Colorado. It was first published in 1933—hand-typed and hard-bound in less than a half-dozen copies. It was the first modern guidebook in Colorado, and with its maps, photos, and route descriptions, it set the template for the hundreds that have followed.

“Climbers have passed around photocopied and stapled versions for The San Juan Mountaineers’ generations, making it an almost mythic book. The club reproduced it Climber’s Guide to Southwestern Colorado exactly, down to the crossed-out letters and handwritten notes in the margins of the typed pages.

L I M I T E D E D I T I O N AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FROM THE COLORADO MOUNTAIN CLUB PRESS “In one sense, the Guide to Southwestern Colorado is a history book.

ORDERS: 303-996-2743 In another, it is still a living guidebook.” —Dave Philipps, The Gazette, Colorado Springs

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Colorado Kid

File Photo

Erin Youngkin Climbs High

By Chris Case

When you’re 16 years old, you don’t spend much time thinking about the consequences or rewards of playing outside.

For some kids it’s just natural and habitual—they play outside until they’re called in for dinner. For others, it couldn’t be more foreign or inaccessible—they might play video games until dinner is served.

It’s hard not to have heard of an initiative or symposium focusing on getting kids active and outdoors these days, even in the leanest state in the country, Colorado. Surrounded by an abundance of land and beautiful landscapes, parks and prairies, Coloradans seem like they should be immune to the epidemic of obesity. But a full 13 percent of kids in Colorado are obese.

The average American kid spends a paltry 30 minutes per week outside in unstructured play, the caldron of discovery.

There’s been so much discussion about this issue—due in large part to the popularity and acclaim for Richard Louv’s book Last Child in the Woods, in which he popularized the term “nature deficit disorder”—that Colorado's Lt. Governor, Barbara O’Brien, has even published a “Colorado Kids’ Outdoor Bill of Rights,” listing the things all Colorado kids should have the opportunity to do before they grow up.

It’s as if 16-year-old Erin Youngkin wrote it.

Ahead of the Times Erin is different. She plays outside and thinks about how that makes her feel; she sets goals for herself, often loftier than the goals of folks twice her age; she has a plan, inspirations and idols; and she’s a member of many classes of the Colorado Mountain Club’s Youth Education Program (YEP).

It isn’t often that you can say the CMC is ahead of the times. The club may not have the reputation for being trendy or cuttingedge. And that’s never been a bad thing.

The thing is, for a decade the club has been ahead of the times when it comes to getting kids outside.

And it makes sense.

“Using the power of nature to awaken a child’s senses, curiosity, and desire to learn is a powerful, inexpensive tool to educate our children,” said Katie Blackett, the club’s

CEO, during the last forum stop of the Lt. Governor’s statewide tour.

Since 1999, YEP has reached 50,000 students from kindergarten to twelfth grade.

The goals have remained the same: get kids outside for the health of the mountains and themselves; foster an appreciation for environments and academics, living, and learning.

“With YEP, I have been teaching little kids to climb, and seeing them get to the top is really cool,” Erin says. “I discovered rock climbing on my own. The first time I tried it, I hated it. Then I came to YEP and I really liked it. It was the people.”

She lists rock climbing, skiing, biking, and hiking as her favorite activities. Her answer to the question of how often she gets to do these things will probably strike a chord with most club members: “Not enough. I spend a lot of time thinking about the outdoors. Winter is better because I get to ski every weekend. Summers are different. But, not enough…”

The outdoors is more than just a playground for this Heritage High School student. She has higher aspirations. Coincidentally, they involve high places.

“I have a dream to climb the Seven Summits, to be on top of the world. Not a lot of people do it or think about it. It would be a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”

Originally, Erin wanted to be the first

person with diabetes to lay claim to having climbed the highest peaks on the Earth’s seven continents. Alas, someone beat her to it. Still, she wants to see the world, climb high, and experience her dream. But, why not start by climbing the fourteeners?

“The fourteeners would be training… climbing the seven summits would mean I get to see the seven continents.”

Her passion for the outdoors is just one small facet of this teenager.

She lists Gandhi as her inspiration; hopes to work with Doctors Without Borders; wishes for nothing more than to help people.

“Gandhi had a dream and went after it, nonviolently, and helped other people.

That’s what I aspire to do.”

After five years of summer classes and school programs—spending the past two summers in the Instructor-in-Training program of YEP—is Erin getting too mature for her years?

She looks over the Colorado Kids’ Outdoor Bill of Rights, something that she is only vaguely familiar with. She’s done everything on the list already, except visit a working farm. But she has a suggestion as to what she would add.

“If I was to add one it would be ‘play in the snow and build a snowman.’”

Still sounds like a kid to me, albeit a humble and mature one. △ Trail & Timberline

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Mary Mourar

cesses and provide necessities like clean air, clean water and healthy wildlife. Contact us to get involved in critical wilderness monitoring and inventory work.

What the CMC Does for Me Conservation accomplishments for 2009

By Anya Byers, Recreation Planning Coordinator

Does the question ever cross your mind, “What does the CMC do for me?”

With a multifaceted mission, the club is defined by accomplishments that mean something different to each member. To measure the successfulness of our work this year, the conservation department chose to place its accomplishments within the context of our mission, and highlight some of the categories of people for whom it was meant to serve.

To the Hiker, Climber, and Skier For avid outdoor recreationists, quality experiences matter and depend on well-maintained trails, public access to world-class climbs, and untracked backcountry powder.

As part of our mission to maintain access, the CMC helped secure a conditional reopening to public access of Mounts Lincoln and Democrat in June. We also finalized the trail to the summit of Wilson Peak, avoiding private land in the Silver Pick Basin. Upon completion of a new trailhead, it will be possible to re-open the north side of Wilson Peak to the public.

In 2010, we hope to regain public access to Mount Bross so that hikers can legally complete the Mounts Lincoln, Democrat and Bross triumvirate in one day. We also hope to re-open public access from the west side of Crestone Peak and Crestone Needle.

Also in June, the CMC merged with the Backcountry Snowsports Alliance, ex12

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panding the scope of the conservation department’s quiet recreation advocacy work to include winter recreation plans. Through the merger and subsequent formation of our Backcountry Snowsports Initiative, the club became the primary organization dedicated to quiet winter recreation in Colorado. To that point, the CMC submitted comments and supported partners on the North Routt Winter Recreation Plan, as well as summer recreation planning on the San Juan, PikeSan Isabel, White River, and Gunnison National Forests.

As the club continues its planning efforts in 2010, members are encouraged to contact us to voice their opinions, help draft letters, attend meetings, and more.

To the Scientist As a result of efforts by the CMC and our coalition partners, Congress passed the Omnibus Public Lands bill in March, designating more than 300,000 acres of new wilderness in Colorado. This included the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness in western Colorado and Rocky Mountain National Park.

The club has been a dedicated partner in pursuing wilderness designation for the Hidden Gems Areas of the White River National Forest, which we hope to secure in 2010. These wilderness landscapes—both designated and planned—represent natural laboratories for undisturbed ecological pro-

To the Nature Lover and Artist The CMC remains dedicated to protecting wildlife habitat and threatened landscapes around Colorado. During the 2009 legislative session, the club supported Colorado sportsmen to ensure the continuation and expansion of the Division of Wildlife’s Habitat Stamp program. The program will provide up to $10 million for the DOW to protect critical wildlife habitat throughout the state.

The club has also been a leader in the statewide effort to strengthen the Colorado Roadless Rule, closing loopholes that would allow for new road building in roadless landscapes. In September, the club hosted a presentation and exhibit of spectacular photos by Nelson Guda, taken in roadless areas across the country. We hope that these and other efforts will help secure full protection for Colorado’s roadless landscapes in the near future.

To the Loyal Coloradan and Student This year, CMC members volunteered over 2,200 hours on stewardship projects throughout the state in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and other public land management agencies, greatly exceeding our goal. In addition, 18 leaders received certification through the Outdoor Stewardship Institute’s Crew Leader Training program. The stewardship program offers opportunities to learn how to give back to the places you love at any age. The conservation department is committed to working with club members to donate 2,500 stewardship hours during the upcoming year.

On behalf of our members, the CMC reaches out to its partners and the greater community by taking part in a number of advisory councils and stakeholder collaborative processes. The director of conservation, Bryan Martin, currently participates in Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado’s Stewardship Advisory Board, co-chairs the Division of Wildlife’s Conservation Forum, and sits on two forest health collaborative groups: the Front Range Roundtable and the Colorado Bark Beetle Collaborative. △ It is only with the generous support of conservation donors that we will be able to accomplish our goals. We thank our current donors for supporting the work we have accomplished and we hope that you will consider joining us in shaping the future.

For Members member benefits → Join us on over 3,000 annual trips, hikes and activities in the state’s premiere mountain-adventure organization. → Expand your knowledge and learn new skills with our schools, seminars, and events. → Support our award-winning Youth Education Program for mountain leadership. → Protect Colorado’s wild lands and backcountry recreation experiences. → Enjoy exclusive discounts to the American Mountaineering Museum and Base Camp gift shop. → Travel the world with your friends through CMC Adventure Travel. → Receive a 20% discount on all CMC Press purchases and start your next adventure today. → It pays to be a member. Enjoy discounts of up to 25% from retailers and corporate partners. See www.cmc.org/benefits for details.

opportunities to get more involved Charitable Donations

Join our select donors who give back to the club every month by using electronic funds transfer (EFT). It is easy and convenient, you can discontinue anytime, and you’ll provide support for critical programs. Sign up at www.cmc.org/support.

By naming the Colorado Mountain Club in your will, you will be able to count yourself among the proud members of the 21st Century Circle. Read more at www.cmc.org/legacy. Please consult your financial advisor about gift language.

If you have any questions about donations, please contact Sarah Gorecki, Development Director, at 303.996.2752 or sarahgorecki@cmc.org.

Volunteer Efforts

If you want to share your time and expertise, give back to the club by volunteering on a variety of projects, from trail restoration to stuffing envelopes. Visit www.cmc.org/volunteer for a complete listing.

Contact Us Our Membership Services team can answer general questions every weekday at 303.279.3080, or by email at cmcoffice@cmc.org.

The Colorado Mountain Club thanks the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District and its citizens for their continuing support. www.scfd.org

Virginia Nolan

Happy 95th Birthday

January 7, 2009 ▶ Virginia on a foothills climb, circa 1948

The Colorado Mountain Club is a proud member of Community Shares of Colorado.

◆ Member since Nov. 12, 1946 ◆ Thirty-seventh person to climb all of Colorado's fourteeners (Aug. 23, 1952) ◆ First woman (and 3rd person) to reach the summits of all 69 peaks above 14,000 feet in the lower 48 states.

(Guinness Book of World Records Holder)

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The Clinic Winter Rewards Climbing Mountains in the Frosty Months

By Dave Cooper

A storm clears on the approach to the East Ridge of Mount Bancroft.

Dave Cooper

I

t might be cold, it might be windy, but winter can be the most rewarding time to climb Colorado’s mountains. Gone are the crowds on the fourteeners. Nasty scree slopes can be hidden under a blanket of snow. Also buried are the trails, requiring (and inviting) you to make your own tracks. Our mountains never look more stunning than when adorned with a coating of the white stuff.

Aesthetics aside, winter allows us to develop our mountaineering skills more completely than during the summer months. Remember, though, that while the rewards are greater, so too are the risks. Just as in summer, head up to the hills well prepared and you are likely to have a great time. Being unprepared in winter, however, leaves you open to having an unpleasant experience, at the least. The possibilities beyond that can prove much worse.

Still, the incentives are plenty. Below are five tips to help you reap the rewards of your winter adventures.

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Know Your Snow ▶ Take an Avalanche Awareness Course

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Heading into the backcountry in the winter without having an understanding and healthy respect for the vagaries of snow is like going into the mountains during hunting season wearing that nice, fur-covered antler hat that your ex- gave you.

You’re asking for trouble. Colorado has one of the least stable snowpacks in the continental United States.

In an avalanche awareness class, you’ll learn (at a minimum) to evaluate the stability of a snow slope, how to avoid dangerous areas, and how to use avalanche beacons, snow shovels and probe poles in rescue situations. You’ll also be able to interpret the backcountry forecasts put out by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (http://avalanche.state.co.us).

By the way, don’t just check the avalanche conditions the day of your trip. Make it a habit to check on a regular basis, so you’ll know the history of the snowpack.

It has been said that when it comes to avalanche prediction, there are no experts. But, you can do a lot to minimize your likelihood of becoming a victim. And learning how to safely launch a rescue of other team members can make all the difference.

Left to Right: Dave Cooper, Chris Case (2)

Winter Warrior ▶ Understanding the Hazards Specific to Winter Mountaineering During the summer, a simple equipment malfunction may be little more than an annoyance. Something like a broken ski binding in the winter can leave you stranded with no way to get out—unless you’re prepared.

An injury in the backcountry might mean a night out—not necessarily too serious in the summer, but possibly life-threatening in the winter. The same goes for getting lost.

Know how to avoid and provide first aid for frostbite and hypothermia. Check your team members for signs of frostbite on exposed skin and signs of confusion and slurred speech that may indicate hypothermia.

Remember that the days are much shorter, often necessitating a predawn start or moonlit finish to achieve your goals. A good headlamp and spare batteries (kept warm in an interior pocket, along with your spare camera batteries) are essential.

Trails will most likely be covered by snow. Don’t assume that you’ll be able to follow your track back down the mountain—footsteps can be filled in by the wind within minutes. Whiteout conditions can reduce visibility to zero. Also, just because there’s a track from a previous party, don’t assume that they knew where they were going.

Remember that a successful trip is one where everyone returns safely, having had a good experience. The probability of reaching your summit in the winter is lower than on a nice day in the summer.

And reaching the top is not the only reward. Some of my fondest memories come from winter trips that ended short of the objective. On a February attempt of Keiners Route on Longs Peak, we made a planned bivouac at 13,000 feet. A storm which moved in overnight destroyed any hope of completing the route, but the experience of lying in my sleeping bag in such a location, watching the sun rise on the Diamond Wall while spindrift avalanches cascaded down around us was too special to lament.

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Tricks of the Trade ▶ Caring for Yourself in the Cold Not much can spoil a day out like a frozen water bottle. Typically, the large-mouthed bottles are less prone to the cap freezing; storing your bottle upside down is another trick that works. Insulated carriers are essential.

Pre-heating the water before you set out can also help. Occasionally, I’ve carried a water bottle inside my parka.

Hydration systems can be problematic in winter due to freezing. I learned the hard way that foods such as apples freeze and become inedible.

When you stop for a break, have a warm, “puffy” layer at the top of your pack that you can quickly put on over all of your other layers (including your wind shell). Don’t take off layers before adding more. This can rapidly chill you. When you’re ready to start moving again, remove the parka so you don’t overheat. Carry multiple pairs of gloves, including some very warm mittens.

What do you do when the weather deteriorates while you’re descending from your peak? In the old days (i.e. before GPS), we would flag critical points on the way up using surveyor’s tape, removing them on the way down.

This can still be a valuable method, but these days I use a GPS to fulfill the same function. On several occasions, using the GPS to follow my uptrack back down with near-zero visibility has saved me from some suffering. Of course, the map and compass are also essential to have along.

Once, when descending Grizzly Peak in poor visibility, we met a group hiking up the mountain (lots of undulating terrain along the ridge). They thought they The snowshoe approach were descending and couldn’t be convinced otherto Greg Mace Peak in wise until I showed them the map and compass. the Elk Range.

Make sure you test and know how to use your Dave Cooper gear before the trip. There’s nothing like trying to erect a tent for the first time at dusk in a snowstorm. Same goes for your stove. You should know how to field-strip, clean, and repair the stove as well. If you’ve ever experienced a stove breakdown in the mountains, you know the feeling of panic when you foresee a long night of grumbling hunger pangs and the inability to melt snow for water.

Adjust and check crampons, skis, and snowshoes before the trip. Become an expert in the use of an ice axe.

Organize the contents of your pack so you don’t have to empty it every time you stop. Carry a few energy bars in your pocket so you can eat without taking off the pack (plus it keeps those bars from breaking your teeth). Have your water bottle accessible. Keep your rest stops short.

Expect to burn a lot of calories in the winter.

This isn’t the time to start your diet. Also, it’s easy to get dehydrated when it’s cold. Make the extra effort to drink enough fluids. Your energy will be depleted much sooner if you don’t.

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Bonus ▶ Beyond the Basics Learn how to build emergency snow shelters. I’ve used these on several occasions to avoid carrying a tent; a snow saw weighs much less. If an emergency does arise, you’ll be prepared.

The CMC offers a variety of excellent courses to help you develop and build on the basic skills.

Some of these cover basic mountaineering, high altitude mountaineering, backcountry skiing, technical ice climbing, and winter camping.

Colorado’s mountains in winter are to be respected, not feared. Develop the skills and you will have a much more rewarding and enjoyable experience.

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Decisions, Decisions ▶ Making Choices for Winter Travel In winter, trailheads are likely to be in a different spot than in the summer. This will influence your decision as to whether an objective can be reasonably accomplished in a day or not. Contact the appropriate U.S. Forest Service Ranger District (if in their jurisdiction) for current access information.

Likewise, your route will often be different than the summer route. Use your topographic map to evaluate a safe route, paying particular attention to slopes above treeline. In winter, routes will primarily be along ridges, on flat terrain or on very steep terrain. Pay attention to the aspect of slopes and evaluate with regard to recent weather events and avalanche conditions. For example, high winds will likely transport snow onto lee slopes. Always check the weather forecast for the area you’re heading to, not the Denver forecast presented by a television personality.

Start with less-committing objectives. Choose easy ridges with short approaches, straightforward routefinding, and low avalanche danger. As you gain new skills and confidence, you can progress to more challenging climbs.

For overnight trips, use your map to choose possible campsites. Good candidates in Colorado are often just below tree line, out of any avalanche paths and in a relatively flat area.

Remember that a route that has too many objective hazards for a mid-winter attempt may be very reasonable as a late winter/spring trip after the snow has stabilized.

When it comes to mode of travel (flotation), decide whether to use skis or snowshoes based on the route, skill level of the group, and snow conditions. On routes such as Byers Peak, with long approaches on snow-covered roads or gentle trails, skis are my first choice. I learned early, however, that there are times when skis become a liability. Trying to negotiate a steep, narrow trail or skiing slopes with changeable snow conditions, carrying a heavy pack, is more than I can handle. The “pile-driver effect” is particularly annoying—a split-second after you land face-first in the snow, the pack drives your face further into the snow bank. This is obviously related to your skill level.

Skis can also become a liability when carrying them attached to your pack, say, on a narrow ridge. They’ll act like sails if there’s any wind. I’ve found that having a mixed group where some members are using skis while others use snowshoes does not work well.

With wise decisions, you'll reap the just rewards. △

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Suggested objectives Trailhead

Round trip distance (miles)

Elevation gain (feet)

Loveland Pass

5.6

2,900

Low avalanche hazard; stay away from cornices

Marble Mt., E. Ridge2

S. Colony Lakes Rd.

10.8

4,700

Good snowshoe climb with great views

Byers Peak1

St. Louis Creek Rd.

13.0

4,140

Approach best done on skis to treeline

Fourmile Creek

9.2

3,100

Avoid cornices guarding summer route

Twin Peaks2

Zapata Falls

7.6

4,500

Some bushwhacking required to reach ridge

Mt. Ouray2

Marshall Pass Rd.

7.0

4,250

Routefinding, bushwhacking required to treeline

Atlantic Peak, W. Ridge1

Mayflower Gulch

5.4

2,900

Avalanche slope can usually be avoided

Drift/Fletcher, W. Ridge1

Mayflower Gulch

5.4

2,900

Avalanche slope can usually be avoided

Mt. Bancroft, E. Ridge1

Loch Lomond Rd.

7.9

3,030

Short technical section requiring rappel, then 5.2 rated climb out of notch

Longs Pk., North Face1

Longs Peak

12.2

4,850

Long, committing, and technical

Torreys Pk., Kelso Ridge3

Bakerville

12.5

4,530

Long, committing ridge climb

Peak Grizzly Peak1

Mt. Sherman2

Comments

See Colorado Snow Climbs: A Guide for All Seasons for more information Visit http://davecooperoutdoors.com/trailmix.html for more information 3 See Colorado Scrambles: Climbs Beyond the Beaten Path, for more information 1 2

Dave Cooper is the author of Colorado Snow Climbs: A Guide for All Seasons and Colorado Scrambles: Climbs Beyond the Beaten Path.

He writes the Trail Mix column for The Denver Post.

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Pathfinder

◉ Story and Photography by Chris Case

◉

Savor Our Snow and Ice Colorado’s Front Range Glaciers and Perennial Snow Patches

Arapaho Glacier on Sept. 6, 1914, and 95 years and one week later on Sept. 13, 2009.

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Glaciers are hot.

For years, scientists have been studying and reporting on the accelerating rates of retreat of the world’s ice sheets (the largest glaciers), the decline of mountain glaciers big and small, and the subsequent rise in sea levels. Media reports have followed: retreating glaciers around the world (at the poles, in the Alps, closer to home in Glacier National Park); polar bears that are quickly losing their habitat; island nations that are seeking to buy property elsewhere, fearing their land may soon be underwater. It all might seem a little foreign, a little too distant to have a profound impact.

But, if you need a small reminder of how things are changing ever closer to home, look no further than Colorado’s Front Range. The range boasts all of the 14 named glaciers in the state, most of them in Rocky Mountain National Park.

They’re all very small—and getting smaller.

As any good scientist would tell you, shrinking glaciers in the Front Range of Colorado do not equal an indicator of global change in our climate—it just isn’t that simple. But studies have shown that since 1999, most of the glaciers in the Front Range have shown marked recession.

All of this climate science has become controversial—because it’s become politicized. That’s too bad, because glaciers are an incredible species. They are worth visiting, if for no other reason than to witness his-

◀ OUT YOU GO Arapaho Glacier Near the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area Start Fourth of July trailhead, near Nederland Mileage 3.5 miles to the saddle between South Arapaho Peak and Caribou Peak Tip Many hikers climb to the summit of South Arapaho Peak (13,397 feet) after reaching the glacier overlook. There is the further option of traversing along the ridge from South Arapaho Peak to North Arapaho Peak, which at 13,502 feet is the highest mountain in the Indian Peaks Wilderness area.

Did you know? In 1927, the city of Boulder acquired the Arapaho Glacier as part of a 3,685acre land purchase from the federal government for the purpose of protecting the city's water supply. Boulder now has the distinction of being the only city in the United States that owns a glacier. Several pristine lakes further down the valley are also owned by the city and, like the glacier, are strictly off limits to the public.

tory. And whether humans are at fault for an environment significantly and irreversibly altered by our activity doesn’t really matter in this context. The climate is changing; the glaciers are shrinking, with indisputable evidence to prove both.

What may matter to you is that Colorado’s mountains may someday soon be void of its glaciers and the 135 other recognized permanent snow and ice patches. You love Colorado’s mountains because of the trees, flowers, wildlife, lakes, streams, and perennial snow patches that coat them. In no small part, you can blame the glaciers and snow for the aesthetic of our state.

“Glaciers are a manifestation of the seasonal snow that we depend on for water resources: water quantity and water quality,” says Mark Williams, a geographer with the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) at the University of Colorado. “Snow and icemelt provide water when we need it most, during the summer growing season.”

But, does Colorado have any real glaciers?

The basic definition of a glacier is an accumulation of ice that has formed from falling snow, one that’s thick enough to deform under its own weight. In other words, the ice moves. Snow cornices and snowfields can slip as a mass and exhibit movement, but are not actually deforming.

So, yes, we have glaciers.

You may also hear the term glacieret, something perhaps more familiar to scientists in Colorado than to anyone else, anywhere else.

“A glacieret is just a term for a very small glacier,” says Matt Hoffman, a geologist at Portland State University with an extensive knowledge of Colorado’s glaciers. “Using that term keeps the glaciologists working on ice sheets and in places like Alaska from saying things like ‘Colorado? There aren't any real glaciers there!’”

So, yes, we have glacierets, too.

But if you’re walking through the mountains of Colorado and come across snow or ice, it may not be so easy to tell what you’re looking at. To see glaciers as their denuded selves, without the cover of snow, there is a fairly narrow window.

“To the untrained eye, you would just look for massive ice, as opposed to snow, but it will probably only be exposed in late summer—August or September—but before fall snow begins,” Hoffman says.

Witnessing History Earlier this decade, two discoveries in the Front Range led to a startling suggestion.

On two separate instances, hikers stumbled upon what were later learned to be remnants of bison horn—radiocarbon dated at 2,090 and 2,280 years old—released from perennial snow patches as they slowly receded.

The suggestion?

Ice and snow coverage along the Continental Divide, where the discoveries took place, have retreated to levels not seen in

“Glaciers are icons of the unique wild environments at high elevation in the Rocky Mountains.

When the glaciers are gone, we’ll all have lost part of our soul.” two millennia—since the time of Christ, or the beginnings of the Roman Empire.

Glaciers in Colorado may form a little differently than in other places—most of them are found in cirques where wind and avalanche can deposit snow—but they still operate like any other glacier. They’re churning through the snow that enters them—at a place scientists call the bergschrund—and spitting it out at its leading edge every 200 to 300 years.

But more interesting may be what's permanent.

“Permanent snow and ice patches are different [from glaciers] in that they are static features,” says Craig Lee, an archaeologist at INSTAAR. Unlike the snow in glaciers, the permanent snow can be thousands of years old.

“I use glaciers as a proxy—their footprint might stay the same but the thickness Trail & Timberline

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of the glacier may have lessened—so I know that if runoff is greater, that ice patches near it are melting and might be revealing things that are older than what’s in the glaciers. I know that if something is found, that it has been revealed recently because things that are that old [3,000 years old] don’t last that long in the open air, on the ground.”

But don’t think that you can be the next Indiana Jones of glacial archaeology.

“Bison horns and skulls are found because they stand out,” Lee says. “Mule deer, elk, bird remains, other paleontological findings are out there… But any findings are protected by law, and you should contact land managers or archaeologists with any findings.”

to eliminate or severely reduce many of these glaciers and perennial snowfields.”

When they’ll disappear calls for much speculation, though what will happen when glaciers are gone is generally recognizable.

“We’ll lose diversity in the plant and animal species, and insect species,” says Lee. “More and more, we know everything is connected. Things will be affected further and further down the valley. Species that had been in equilibrium might then have to compete for fewer resources.”

And when it comes to a commodity that’s already in short supply—water—there will be even less for our rivers, and for agricultural, commercial, and municipal uses.

Beyond that, it could be that we would lose some of the essence of Colorado.

“Glaciers are icons of the unique wild environments at high elevation in the Rocky Mountains,” says Williams. “When the glaciers are gone, we’ll all have lost part of our soul.” △

Glacier Watch It wasn’t until late in the nineteenth century that the presence of glaciers in Colorado, past or present, was recognized. Clarence King, the first director of the United States Geological Survey, classified the state as having been formerly glaciated, but neither he nor Ferdinand Hayden identified any glaciers in Colorado in their now famous United Survey of the American West.

The first scientific description of a glacier in Colorado belongs to G.S. Stone of Colorado Springs, who described Hallett Glacier (now known as Rowe Glacier) in northern Rocky Mountain National Park in the journal Science in 1887.

Near the turn of the twentieth century, discoveries flourished. Tyndall Glacier had been identified in 1893 by Frederick H. Chapin and Sprague Glacier in 1895 by Enos Mills. W.T. Lee first described Arapaho Glacier (Colorado's largest) in 1900 in Science. Mills wrote a guidebook in 1905 that included a map locating Andrews, Hallett, Sprague, and Tyndall Glaciers. Isabelle Glacier was discovered by Fred A. Fair in 1908.

So, after only 100 years of knowing that glaciers exist in this state, are we close to losing these glaciers altogether?

“Based on my research, you might estimate anywhere from 15 to 50 years before these glaciers disappear,” Hoffman says.

“However, these glaciers exist in highly favorable locations where they get up to 10 times the local snowfall due to wind-drift and avalanching, and they are shaded from summer sun. I expect that as they get smaller, many will become increasingly resilient to additional retreat. That being said, sustained regional warming would have the potential

Tyndall Glacier Rocky Mountain National Park

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OUT YOU GO

Start Bear Lake trailhead Mileage 1.8 miles to Emerald Lake; 1 mile of steep scrambling with 1,800 feet of elevation gain through the talus of Tyndall Gorge.

Approach Start from Bear Lake, heading left towards Nymph, Dream, and Emerald Lakes. Though this area sees the most tourist traffic of any trail system in the park, the hike offers remarkable beauty. The trail ends at gorgeous Emerald Lake. From here, head to the south of the lake below the impressive north face of Hallet Peak. Once above the steep section, continue up a series of ramps and gullies, choosing the path of least resistance. The final obstacle before you reach the glacier's snout is the rubble of a terminal moraine.

Tip After climbing through the boulders of Tyndall Gorge, you may want to (a) climb the glacier (which would warrant the use of ice axe and crampons, at a minimum); or (b) scramble to the north side of the glacier reaching the summit of Flattop Mountain. From here, you can either walk south along the Continental Divide and descend Andrews Glacier or descend via the Flattop Mountain Trail, 4.4 miles back to Bear Lake.

Did you know? Rock glaciers exist below Taylor and Tyndall Glaciers, as well as in many other locations without glaciers. If you visit them, be careful, as the surfaces of rock glaciers are extremely unstable.

Rock glaciers are large masses of rock that actively flow like a glacier. The complex mixtures of ice and rock found in the park flow downhill at speeds of up to 20 centimeters per year.

While rock glaciers have a characteristic glacier- or lava-like appearance from the air, they can be hard to recognize on the ground, resembling nothing more than a talus slope.

The route to Tyndall Glacier may be the best part of the trip. ▲ Hallett Peak looms over Emerald Lake at the end of the maintained trail. ▶ It then looms over you as you scramble through the talus slope of Tyndall Gorge.

Andrews Glacier in 1913 and 2009.

▲ OUT YOU GO Andrews Glacier Rocky Mountain National Park Start Glacier Gorge trailhead, south of Moraine Park (near Bear Lake) Mileage 5.3 miles, one way Elevation Gain 2,510 feet Approach Hike towards Loch Vale, passing Alberta Falls along the way. Turn right at the trail junction just beyond Embryo Lake and head towards Andrews Glacier. Look for The Sharkstooth to the south as you hike through The Gash.

Did you know? Although glaciers always flow downhill, the idea of glacier “retreat” may give the impression that a glacier can move uphill. In fact, a glacier is in retreat when it is melting back faster than it is moving downhill.

For more information, visit www.glaciers.pdx.edu/Projects/LearnAboutGlaciers/ROMO/index.html ◀◀ The route to Andrews Glacier takes you past some of the most dramatic scenery in all of Rocky Mountain National Park, like the Gash and The Sharkstooth. ◀ Once there, investigating the glacier isn't too bad either.

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Secret Stash the

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By Greg Mears Photography by Mark Sööt

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E

very backcountry skier remembers the day they discover a new area to ski— copious amounts of mental energy and calories have been expended in the pursuit of that next “secret stash.” Some will spend hours poring over topo maps or digital equivalents. Some will be on the constant lookout for potential new slopes, evidenced by considerable head twisting and pointing while driving through the mountains. For those with skiing permanently on the brain, the twisting and pointing extends into the temperate months, their imagination focused on how the terrain will hold powder.

Picking the right day and partners to explore for a promising new spot can also take some time. Many of my touring partners and I won’t risk wasting a perfect ski day by exploring a new area, especially if it means breaking trail in deep snow. Perfect days are made for favorite spots, where we can predictably log powder turn after powder turn. We wait for days with poor skiing conditions to test our route-finding abilities—and scout for new terrain. Preferably, this is done during a long, dry spell when the avalanche conditions are low and visibility is good.

Then, there are the accidents.

Then there are the areas filed under “ski under specific and rarely-encountered conditions.” Today was one of those singular days.

We knew that a long period of warm weather had created a melt and freeze cycle on exposed west- and south-facing slopes. Overnight, a storm moved through that froze the snow surface before depositing 8 to 12 inches of new snow. Churning through valuable mental energy with a scientific analysis that Mr. Wizard would be proud of, our goal crystallized: ski a southwest face at Vail Pass that would otherwise be avoided (due to wind and sun crust) but today would have a supportable crust with powder on top. Simple.

blocking the way, we agreed to follow him the final 100 feet to the ridgeline.

Joining Mark on the ridge, we saw that his curiosity still had not been quenched.

Following his gaze, our eyes were drawn to a gently sloping fall line off to our east. Skiing down the rolling ridge we traversed onto the slope for a better look.

There it was. Draped beneath us was a 400-foot untracked bowl, sheltered from the prevailing westerly winds, loaded with light, undisturbed powder. Could it be ours?

Testing the Waters Yes, we had found some powder. But was it really a secret stash? Was it safe to ski?

The bowl’s slope was moderate; there were no signs of avalanche hazard. Still, we approached that first run cautiously. Steve volunteered to go first. He skied along the upper, convex arc of the slope, testing the snow pack’s strength, then descended close to the relative safety of the trees. Mark and I followed one at a time down the middle of the bowl.

Bliss.

The descent was only about 40 turns long, but as with most backcountry skiing, the quality of the thighdeep, untracked snow made up for the relatively short vertical. We caught our breaths long enough to let out a holler before eagerly reattaching our skins.

Back on top after a 20-minute climb, we saw that Mark had already slithered down the slope beside our previous course, stacking his tracks right next to our previous turns. Not only was he conserving the untracked powder, but he also gave us a reference point for starting our next run.

Our ability to match each other’s turns is another reason we are compatible ski partners. We’ve each practiced the art of stacking tracks while on hut trips in British Columbia, where it’s a common ski style used by large groups. Not only is it used as a survival tactic to safely ski between crevasses, but it’s seen as a method for preserving, or farming, untracked powder so it lasts throughout a week of skiing. Not to mention the fact that it looks very elegant and aesthetic when done correctly, leaving not a single track crossed by another.

...copious amounts of mental

energy

and

calories have been ex-

pended in the pursuit of that next secret stash.

Life’s Lessons Ski touring can mimic life’s lessons in many ways: no pain, no gain; quality is better than quantity; strength in numbers, to list a few. Life also teaches us that sometimes what we’ve been searching for has been in front of our eyes all along. Such was the case when, several winters ago while on a tour to one of my favorite areas, I made a beloved discovery.

The day began like many before, with skiing friends Mark, Steve, and me pondering our options for good turns. Like many backcountry skiers, we keep an inventory of areas in our mental databases, categorized by terrain, aspect, steepness, and wind exposure, among other things. We apply what we know about past and current weather and avalanche conditions to select an area that should have the best snow conditions each day. When sunny and windy weather creates crusty surface conditions, we choose areas with sheltered powder, usually on shady north-facing slopes. Likewise, by knowing what the prevailing wind direction has been, we can choose to ski lee slopes holding deeper wind-deposited snow. There is plenty of meteorological pondering in finding good powder.

24

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The Discovery Breaking trail in the cold morning silence, we worked as a team to put in an uptrack that would involve minimum effort and the least exposure to avalanche terrain. The three of us each have our own style of touring.

Steve is good at taking the line of least resistance. His measure of success is an uptrack that doesn’t require anyone in the group to deploy their climbing heels. He knows that the fastest course is not always the shortest distance between two points. Mark has an uncanny nose for navigating tricky terrain while still keeping the group on course. He’s adept at reading the slightest terrain changes even in dense trees so we arrive at exactly the right spot. We don’t always share the same opinion on how to get where we’re going, but we trust each other and follow the leader.

Now, at the top of our climb, Steve and I were preparing to descend. Mark had another idea and suggested we continue climbing to the top of the ridge. As an avid mountaineer with a self-admitted fever for peak bagging, this came as no surprise to Steve or me. Even with tight trees and snow drifts

Our Little Hidden Bowl After three bottomless runs we returned to

make an anticlimactic descent of the west side, as its conditions paled in comparison. Back at the car we reveled in our unexpected discovery and named it “East Bowl,” a name deemed fittingly vague and unpretentious for our little hidden bowl. Since that day, I’ve returned to East Bowl at least once a season, yet still haven’t seen another skier, or even signs of previous tracks. It’s the only area I frequent that I can say that about.

East Bowl represents what makes Colorado’s mountains so unique for backcountry skiing.

While the state may not lay claim to having the steepest or longest ski descents in the West, it makes up for it with the variety of terrain.

Few states have the number of mountain ranges and ease of access that we do in Colorado. As a result, unlike in some other states, it’s rare to experience crowds or trackedout slopes in our backcountry. If and when we do, Colorado’s endless backcountry terrain makes it possible for anyone to find their own little hidden bowl, whether by mental energy or accident.

As in life, sometimes the accidental discoveries are best of all. △ Greg Mears is a past president of the BSA Board of Directors.

Vail Pass Winter Recreation Area is one of the most effectively managed winter recreation areas in the western United States, including more than 25,000 acres of quality terrain protected for human-powered use. The Backcountry Snowsports Alliance (BSA) was instrumental in advocating for safe, quiet, and quality recreation for skiers, snowboarders, and snowshoers at the pass. Working in collaboration with motorized groups and the U.S. Forest Service it helped to successfully resolve growing levels of conflict experienced by recreationists at the pass in the early 1990s. The resulting system of mixed- and separated-use terrain effectively preserves quality areas for non-motorized recreation, including the entire eastern side of the pass. The BSA merged with the CMC in 2009 and its mission is preserved by the conservation department’s Backcountry Snowsports Initiative (BSI). To learn more about the BSI, visit www.cmc.org/bsi.

Trail & Timberline

25

Fou r teener Files the

By Linda Kothe Crockett

Those who reported completion of Colorado's fourteeners in 2009

A

nyone who has climbed Colorado's fourteeners has a singular story to tell. Who better to tell that tale of adventure than the completers themselves? Many sent letters when reporting their completion. These are their stories.

Kiefer Thomas reports having soloed all of the fourteeners, except the Maroon Bells, El Diente and Wilson Peaks. “This is something I’ll rectify in the coming few weeks!”

Alexi Lainis, 12, finished the fourteeners with a climb of Snowmass Mountain with his parents, Glenda and Andrew Lainis. His father carried him up nine fourteeners before he was able to climb his first, Castle Peak.

On his first fourteener, Mount Bierstadt, Kurt Mensch hiked with his seven-year-old daughter while carrying his three-year-old daughter. In all, he carried his youngest daughter up five summits. “While I did over two-thirds of the summits solo, the most important were the three summits we did as a family. It has been an incredible experience that took me to remote areas I never would have otherwise considered and provided me new friends and strengthened my family by giving me a project that kept me busy!”

Dan Akerhielm shares a tale that many may find familiar. “A freak snowstorm caught me on the summit of the first one and tried to kill me—I was hooked after that!”

Geoffrey Martindale writes, “When I first came to America from England, I flew into DIA and was bowled over by the incredible sight of the Front Range. I soon started hiking, and during my two years in Colorado, I climbed 18 fourteeners.

In 1998 I moved to Dallas because of work, and did the remaining 36 26

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No. 1282 1283 1284 1285 1286 1287 1288 1289 1290 1291 1292 1293 1294 1295 1296 1297 1298 1299 1300 1301 1302 1303 1304 1305 1306 1307 1308 1309 1310 1311 1312 1313 1314 1315 1316 1317 1318 1319 1320 1321 1322 1323 1324 1325 1326 1327 1328 1329 1330 1331 1332 1333 1334 1335 1336 1337 1338 1339 1340 1341 1342 1343 1344 1345 1346

Name Donna Allenbaugh Dan Akerhielm Sherry Richardson Richard Hahn Alan Spriggs Jeff Valliere Michael Busby Robert L. Drage Beth Bershader Keith Bershader Lon Carpenter Linda Pryor John Ward Stan L. VanderWerf Brandon Chalk Ron Erwin Erik Etheridge Del Gratz Nathan Hale John Martersteck Debbie Welle-Powell Kathy Deane Andy Jung Ellen Ritt Kiefer Thomas Ryan Aldrich Ken Beegles Tom Chapel Bo Johnson Mark S. Stover Denton Anderson Charlie Carter Chris Cash Barbara Churchley Dan Dennison Matt DiPaolo Jeff Eick Janet Farrar Dean Graves Dominique Hershberger G. Kent Keller Ryan Kowalski Alexi Lainis Andrew Lainis Glenda Lainis Bob Lewis Anne Lutz David Patterson Megan Patterson Jean Roy Barb Ruddy Jeff Shafer Martin Smith Ron Stauffer Robert White Dave Chavez Holly Chavez Philip A. Koneman Geoffrey Martindale Tom McClernon Kurt Mensch Debra L. Nelson Cory William Skluzak Roger J. Wendell Chris Casar

First Peak Longs Peak Mt. Princeton Grays Peak Longs Peak Longs Peak Quandary Peak Mount Elbert Longs Peak Mount Bierstadt Mount Bierstadt Mount Sneffels

Date July 1976 Aug 1985 July 1988 July 1991 June 1986 Aug 1995 Sept 1996 Aug 1962 July 1999 July 1999 July 1995

Mount Huron Mount Princeton Longs Peak Longs Peak Pyramid Peak Pikes Peak Mount Democrat Longs Peak Mount Princeton Mount Windom Mt. of the Holy Cross Mount Antero Longs Peak Quandary Peak Mount Democrat Longs Peak Mount Bierstadt Longs Peak Mount Yale Longs Peak Mt. of the Holy Cross Mount Shavano Grays Peak Grays Peak Grays Peak Grays Peak Mount Elbert Longs Peak Longs Peak

Aug 1971 July 1991 1998 Sept 1973 July 2001 July 1975 Aug 1995 Aug 1993 Aug 1999 1977 June 2002 Aug 1991 July 1991 Sept 2000 June 1968 Aug 2002 July 2004 Aug 1981 May 1983 1970 July 1986 Aug 1982 July 2000 July 2006 July 1990 Aug 1997 1993 Aug 1993 July 1950

Castle Peak Castle Peak Castle Peak Quandary Peak Longs Peak Wetterhorn Peak Mount Windom Pikes Peak Grays Peak Mount Democrat Little Bear Peak Handies Peak Mt. of the Holy Cross Grays Peak Grays Peak Mount Democrat Mount Bierstadt Mount Shavano Mount Bierstadt Grays Peak Snowmass Mtn. Mount Sherman Grays Peak

June 2002 June 1994 June 1994 July 1990 Aug 1987 July 1991 Aug 1992 June 2009 Aug 1988 Sept 1996 1981 May 2000 Aug 1981 Sept 1994 Sept 1994 1976 June 1996 June 2006 Aug 2001 Aug 1989 July 1986 July 1997 July 1989

List compiled by Linda J. (Kothe) Crockett, 11-15-09

Final Peak Mount Elbert N. Maroon Peak Pikes Peak Culebra Peak Wetterhorn Peak Capitol Peak Culebra Peak Snowmass Mtn. Crestone Needle Crestone Needle Snowmass Mtn. Capitol Peak Mount Wilson Mount Sherman San Luis Peak Capitol Peak Mount Sneffels Crestone Peak Snowmass Mtn. Mount Sneffels Sunlight Peak Ellingwood Point Crestone Peak Mount Tabeguache Snowmass Mtn. Mount Humboldt Mount Sherman Handies Peak Wilson Peak Pikes Peak Snowmass Mtn. Little Bear Peak Maroon Peak Capitol Peak Crestone Peak N. Maroon Peak Mount Eolus Capitol Peak Capitol Peak Culebra Peak Capitol Peak Pikes Peak Snowmass Mtn. Snowmass Mtn. Snowmass Mtn. Mount Wilson Mount Eolus Pikes Peak Pikes Peak Crestone Needle Ellingwood Point Little Bear Peak Snowmass Mtn. Pyramid Peak Crestone Needle Torreys Peak Torreys Peak Pyramid Peak Pyramid Peak Uncompahgre Peak Mount Elbert San Luis Peak Mount Harvard El Diente Castle Peak

Date Oct 1985 July 1994 Sept 2000 Aug 2004 July 2005 July 2005 June 2006 Aug 2006 Aug 2007 Aug 2007 Sept 2007 Sept 2007 Sept 2007 Oct 2007 Aug 2008 Aug 2008 Aug 2008 Aug 2008 Aug 2008 Aug 2008 Aug 2008 Sept 2008 Sept 2008 Sept 2008 Mar 2009 July 2009 July 2009 July 2009 July 2009 July 2009 Aug 2009 Aug 2009 Aug 2009 Aug 2009 Aug 2009 Aug 2009 Aug 2009 Aug 2009 Aug 2009 Aug 2009 July 2009 Aug 2009 Aug 2009 Aug 2009 Aug 2009 Aug 2009 Aug 2009 Aug 2009 Aug 2009 Aug 2009 Aug 2009 Aug 2009 Aug 2009 Aug 2009 Aug 2009 Sept 2009 Sept 2009 Sept 2009 Sept 2009 Sept 2009 Sept 2009 Sept 2009 Sept 2009 Sept 2009 Oct 2009

fourteeners from there—typically flying to Denver on a Saturday, climbing on a Sunday, flying out on a Monday and then going straight to work!

In recent years, I found a longer trip to be far more enjoyable.”

G. Kent Keller, a retired Presbyterian minister and leader in the club's Shining Mountains group, completed his fourteeners on Capitol Peak in July, at age 72. He climbed his nine most difficult fourteeners after turning 70. Keller began the fourteeners with Longs Peak in 1950, at age 13. In 1951, he read a National Geographic article by Robert Ormes, which spurred his interest in doing the climbs. Keller regards mountain climbing as a profoundly spiritual experience. He usually climbs with three other senior citizens, who refer to themselves as “The Medicare Four.” During his final climb, he was met with graupel, lightning, and buzzing trekking poles—and ended with sunshine, in what he calls a “grand finale for the fourteeners quest!”

Finally, Andy Jung provides us with a prospect for the future: “The thirteeners are the new fourteeners.” △

Beyond the Fourteeners*

By Chris Ruppert

No.

Name

Final Peak

100 Highest Peaks

107 155 158 162 165 168 169 170 171 172

Gerry Roach Brian Kalet John Curtiss Paul Monson John Balciar Bill Farrow Dave Longenecker Ryan Kowalski John Broadbooks David Butler

Turret Peak Rio Grande Pyramid Jagged Mountain Jagged Mountain Teakettle Mountain Rio Grande Pyramid Jagged Mountain Pikes Peak Jupiter Mountain Columbia Point

200 Highest Peaks 60 62 63

Wayne Herrick Penny Martens John Curtiss

Pilot Knob Silver Mountain Coxcomb Peak

300 Highest Peaks 30 31

Craig Patterson Kathee Thomure

Unnnamed 13462 B Sleeping Sexton

Date

10/3/99 8/19/07 8/28/07 8/2/08 8/25/08 8/8/09 8/22/09 8/29/09 9/6/09 9/19/09 9/3/08 9/17/08 8/7/09

9/30/08 8/20/09

*No one reported having completed the 400, 500, or 600 highest peaks, or all of the thirteeners.

Beyond the Thirteeners

TWICE THE SIZE MEANS TWICE AS MANY DEALS

By Teresa Gergen

800 Highest Peaks 6

Kirk Mallory

Ute Benchmark

900 Highest Peaks 5

Kirk Mallory

Dunsinane Mt.

1000 Highest Peaks 5

Kirk Mallory

Whetstone Mt.

7/26/09

8/8/09

10/3/09

THE ALL-N

EW

For recognition in next year's issue, send the registration form (visit www.cmc. org/14erform) by Oct. 15 to the Colorado Mountain Club at 710 10th St., #200, Golden, CO, 80401; or you may send an email to editor@cmc.org. For Beyond the Fourteeners/Thirteeners recognition, please include the date and name of the last peak. Letters received after Oct. 15 are held for the following year.

Trail & Timberline

27

al in Th

ree

eF

Th By

▲ The intimidating spire that is The Sharkstooth. Chris Case ◀ Marlene stands with Dick Chuttke (right) and Don Sturn atop Longs Peak after an ascent of Kieners Route. ▶ Marlene pauses on her way down The Sharkstooth.

Eli Helmuth

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rl Ma

ene

ne Bor

ma

n

Courage faces fear and thereby masters it.

Cowardice represses fear and is thereby mastered by it.

– Martin Luther King Jr.

It began innocently enough in 1974. I came to Colorado for a summer job at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park. I arrived from New Orleans—yes, below sea level—in midMay of that year and, being a proper young lady from the South, I wanted to make a good impression on my new employer. I wore a sleeveless silk dress—rather short as I recall—stockings, and the cutest little heeled sandals you ever laid eyes on. It was somewhere around 30 degrees and spitting snow. It turned out to be one of the scariest days of my young life. All I could think was, “I have made a terrible mistake!”

Fortunately, those feelings didn’t last all too long. Once over the cultural shock of my summer home, I settled into the rhythm of working—and learning about a phenomenon called “hiking.” I was fortunate to meet Dick Chuttke. He was a retired gentleman, a YMCA member, and a CMC member who enjoyed hiking with the YMCA groups. Ironically, he suffered from acrophobia, that irrational fear of heights. He became my climbing mentor for the next 20 years, taught me how to be fast and careful at the same time, and instilled in me the ethics of Leave No Trace before it was popular or common.

From short silk dress to summits, my progression came fast. By the end of that summer I had climbed most of the major peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Having graduated from college, I decided to stay in Colorado. You might say the rest is history, but it was not that simple.

I lived in Estes Park for 12 years and climbed in the park year-round. I found myself focused on the major peaks, and their different routes, with a few new peaks thrown in now and again. Then came a career move away from Colorado; to say I began grieving would be an understatement. But, by 2001, I had returned to live full time in Estes Park.

After completing the 54 fourteeners in 2005, I was hit with the pain of guilt. I imagine you all know what it’s like to ignore a friendship. This was worse: it was like ne-

glecting your own husband. After all, Rocky Mountain National Park was now my backyard. I began to rekindle my relationship with Rocky, started studying the map with new interest and curiosity. When you get down to it, though 35 years had passed, Dick’s spirit motivated me to complete the 126 named summits in Colorado’s crown jewel. This was the project I needed to turn neglect into passion.

First, I carefully laid out the list. There were 35 peaks I hadn’t yet climbed. By the summer of 2009, I had only three to go.

Then, reality struck me hard. The final three were The Sharkstooth, Hayden Spire (both Class 5, technical climbs requiring ropes and equipment) and Pilot Mountain (a difficult, though less technical, Class 4 climb).

Had I set myself up for this? Shouldn’t the last peak be easy, like Estes Cone or Twin Sisters? I hadn’t climbed anything beyond Class 4 in years.

I lost some sleep, talked incessantly to my husband, and consulted every book and person who I thought could set my mind at ease. Then I came to the realization that the final three were meant to be my grand finale. I needed a challenge; I wanted a challenge. I needed to gain my confidence back on the rope; I needed a plan. It sounds like I needed a lot.

The Sharkstooth was the first of my final three and, as it turned out, my most challenging climb in Rocky. My climbing partner and I left the parking lot at 3:45 a.m. I once read that eighty percent of success is just showing up. I liked my chances.

In past years I had gazed upon The Sharkstooth countless times, from various points, and not once contemplated climbing it. Most anyone that sees this spire knows it is an intimidating presence. Now, here I was actually moving toward it with the intent to climb this fang of a rock. I kept walking.

The sky turned cloudless—a deep blue, Colorado morning without a breath of wind.

We would be climbing the East Gulley Route (5.4). The first pitch was going easy enough, on ledges, until we came to a short, but very exposed traverse. I watched my partner go

across with ease, up to a small crack, out onto a smooth rock face, then scramble up another crack. Traversing the ledge looked feasible, but when I came to the first crack I just couldn’t visualize the move. I stared at it for what seemed like eternity. Here I was, committed to this menacing climb, and the first move was proving to be baffling. The staring must have helped. Finally, it all came together and it was over—behind me.

I was sweating like a pig. Good thing I had given up that silk dress.

Things were going smooth until the crux: a wall of 60 feet, extremely exposed.

Once again, I was paralyzed. I found myself looking at this wall, caught in my own world, for endless amounts of time. I had watched my partner climb straight up with ease. Finally, I took a deep breath, let it out slowly. I knew I needed to move quickly; no hesitating, just go. I stepped out onto the wall and got my fingers into the crack—trusting my climbing shoes to hold on what seemed to be nothing—and scampered up. Though my stares felt eternal, my moves seemed mere flashes; I was on top of the cliff.

As I climbed toward the summit, tears were in my eyes. This was what it was about: I hadn’t gotten here because of a list, but because I had taken a risk.

Ultimately, I reached the summits of the final three with a smile from ear to ear.

I found myself enjoying these peaks more than I imagined. I will forever remember the air beneath my feet, the sudden flight and song of finches above my head, the simultaneous sense of inner relaxation and burst of excitement, and the incredible sound of the silence around me.

You may ask, is there anything left of that southern girl from 1974?

My father was a riverboat captain; he lived with patience, endurance and perseverance. I gained these traits from him, checking catfish lines across the river, trolling for shrimp in Lake Pontchartrain at 5 a.m.

Maybe this is why I adapted so well to the mountains and persevered to the top of 126 of Rocky’s best.

And, oh yes, I still love wearing silk dresses (longer now) and cute heeled sandals. △ Marlene Borneman is a clinical social worker.

She has climbed 82 of the 100 highest peaks in Colorado and 33 of the 50 state highpoints.

Trail & Timberline

29

Bike ‘n’ Hike

By Bart Miller I’ve always liked hiking, especially above tree line. The landscape is fragile and rough, the air is full of color, wind, and clouds; it’s a place for dreaming. Being up in the high country enables epiphanies—often about how you’d be less hungry and cold if you got down into the trees.

So, I set out this summer on a sevenweek adventure to hike Colorado’s fourteeners with a special twist—riding to the trail eads by bike. I don’t recall when the idea first

went well, I’d summit 53 peaks in 48 days, ascending 150,000 vertical feet. Starting from my house and biking to the trailheads would be at least 1,500 miles, maybe even 1,800 miles. Even with light camping gear, my bike trailer with all of my gear would be a 60-pound sledge. With only a rough sense of whether this thing could actually work, I set out on July 24, 2009.

During the first week, things went smoothly. I summited Grays and Torreys

ways and bent my derailleur hanger again.

This time it was worse. I coasted to Redcliff, but couldn’t pedal. Fortunately, my brother, Nate, arrived the next day and a mechanic in Avon fixed me up with a new derailleur.

Unfortunately, I would get to know many more bike mechanics as the trip continued.

Then came the first real weather of the trip. As Nate and I climbed Mount of the Holy Cross, a big thunderstorm with hail and lightning dropped down. We retreated

Since getting stormed off peaks was likely to happen again, I thought maybe my adventure needed to change: perhaps it should be about getting to trailheads and making a good

attempt at summiting. came to me. By mid-winter, I had talked to my wife and boss (yes, two separate people) and secured the time off. Soon enough, I was telling other folks of my plan and by summer felt compelled to actually do what I was nonchalantly boasting about in advance.

I had climbed several fourteeners in the 1980s, so I had a rough idea of what hiking would be like. But fourteener “peak bagging” is much more popular today; it’s crowded up there. A weekend day on a fourteener near the Front Range is a far cry from “getting away from it all.”

Though I commute to work and ride around town by bike, I’m not a mountain biker and I’ve never been on a bike tour. So, you could say I had a lot to learn.

Less than a month before leaving, I finalized my route and likely mileage. If all 30

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Peaks, Mounts Bierstadt and Evans, Mounts Lincoln, Democrat, and Bross, and Quandary Peak. Most days I got up before 6 a.m., reached my first summit by 9 or 10 a.m., descended, then biked to the next trailhead (or near it) with time to shop for food (often at gas stations). I ate a lot—but never enough— and slept nine or more hours a night. It was sometimes stormy, but not while I was above tree line. The only glitch—on my first day out—was when my bike trailer bent my rear derailleur. I dropped in on a bike mechanic in Idaho Springs who straightened me out, and I was on my way. Or was I? After climbing Vail and Shrine Mountain Passes I descended a dirt road toward Redcliff. The road was narrow. When a car ahead of me stopped to take flower photos, I had to stop, too. And my bike trailer fell side-

and I made a fateful decision, to keep riding toward Leadville and the next peak— Mount Sherman. There would be no Holy Cross that day.

Since getting stormed off peaks was likely to happen again, I thought maybe my adventure needed to change: perhaps it should be about getting to trail heads and making a good attempt at summiting.

Then, Nate and I topped Mounts Sherman and Elbert. Back at it again by myself, I did two more Sawatch Range peaks—Mount Massive and La Plata Peak—before biking over Independence Pass into Aspen and the Elk Range.

Many peaks in the Elks are rotten rock; hand holds can break loose and rock falls from climbers above. Maybe not the best place for humans, it’s a good place for moun-

tain goats, and I saw many. The weather was mostly cooperative, but I returned from a stormy ascent of Pyramid Peak to find my tent blown over and my clothes soaked. But there are Laundromats in Aspen, next door to caviar stores, of course. The Elks were incredible, full of challenging peaks and great days.

I rode back over Independence Pass (the only place I’ve ever seen marmot and pika road kill) to the rest of the Sawatch Range. I was able to do several multiplepeak days—a must if I was to stay on schedule. And, best of all, I managed to squeeze in my “miss.” Ever since having to turn back on Holy Cross, it had been nagging me, like a mosquito bite.

After climbing Mount Princeton with my sister Carol, I biked (without my trailer) back to Leadville, over Tennessee Pass, and down to Minturn for the night. Then, it

trails. One night I saw so many stars I couldn’t pick out any familiar constellations. I reached my farthest point west on El Diente Peak and my farthest point south in Durango. Then, it was over Wolf Creek Pass with free gorp at the top from a fellow biker.

The days were getting shorter and fall colors came to the tundra. I hiked up rough roads to trailheads in the southern and northern Sangre de Cristo Range. On a crowded, Labor Day weekend it snowed above 12,500 feet and made the Crestone, Kit Carson and Humboldt Peaks much more difficult.

Finally, I climbed Pikes Peak and followed it with a long ride home to Boulder. I went back to work for a few days then rode and hiked Longs Peak from my house with Bill Briggs, a friend who also roped up with me on the traverse of the Maroon Bells.

By the end, I was one day behind

July 24 - Departed Boulder July 25 - Grays and Torreys (1-2) July 26 - Evans and Bierstadt (3-4) July 27 - Lincoln, Democrat, and Bross (5-7) July 28 - Quandary (8) July 29 - Derailleur fixed July 30 - Attempted Holy Cross. Turned back by lightning.

July 31 - Sherman (9) Aug 1 - Elbert (10) Aug 2 - Massive (11) Aug 3 - La Plata (12) Aug 4 - Castle Peak (13) Aug 5 - North and South Maroon Peaks (14-15) Aug 6 - Pyramid (16) Aug 7 - Snowmass (17) Aug 8 - Capitol (18) Aug 10 - Oxford, Belford, and Missouri (19-21) Aug 11 - Huron (22) Aug 12 - Harvard and Columbia (23-24) Aug 13 - Yale (25) Aug 14 - Rest Day Aug 15 - Princeton (26) Aug 16 - Back to Holy Cross (27) Aug 17 - Antero (28) Aug 18 - Tabeguache Peak and Shavano (29-30) Aug 20 - San Luis Peak (31)

▲ Traveling light was essential. Bart used the new technology of his iPhone to record his low-tech adventure.

From left to right: on the trail to Mount Sneffles; the bike's highest point; near the summit of Wetterhorn Peak; sunrise on Crestone Needle; near the summit of El Diente Peak.

schedule and skipped only the fourteener I had never intended to climb—Mount Culebra. It’s privately owned; the owners charge a fee to climb. I think you “earn” peaks with planning and sweat, not money. So, it wasn’t part of my trip.

This summer's adventure reinforced my love of hiking in Colorado and helped satisfy an evolving goal of using less fossil fuel as I travel about the planet. I also re-discovered how nice people can be when you're not locked in the bubble of an automobile. On the road, when the shoulders on the highway were narrow, it was clearly unsafe to ride, but I did it anyway. But, in other moments on the trail and road, people came out of the woodwork and offered their campsites, food, beer, stories, and advice. There's plenty of good out there if you're open to it. △

Aug 21 - Redcloud, Sunshine, and Handies (32-34) Aug 22 - Wetterhorn and Uncompahgre (35-36) Aug 24 - Sneffels (37) Aug 25 - Wilson Peak and Mount Wilson (38-39) Aug 26 - El Diente (40) Aug 28 - Sunlight, N. Eolus, Windom (41-43) Aug 29-31 - Hiking/riding from the San Juans to the Sangres Sept 1 - Ellingwood and Blanca (44-45) Sept 2 - Little Bear (46) Sept 3 - Lindsey (47) Sept 5 - Humboldt, Kit Carson, Crestone Peak (48-50) Sept 6 - Crestone Needle (51) Sept 8 - Pikes Peak (52) Sept 9 - Arrived home Sept 10-11 - Back to work Sept 13 - Longs Peak (53)

was up Holy Cross, followed by a ride back south to Buena Vista—a satisfying 150-mile detour, well worth it, to get rid of the itch.

After the Sawatch, it was over Monarch Pass and into my favorite 10 days of the trip—the San Juans. If you saw the range for the first time, you’d swear there were 100 fourteeners. In reality, only 13 reach above 14,000 feet, but many others get mighty close. It’s a remote part of the state with difficult passes (both paved and dirt) and quiet

Bart Miller is the Water Program Director at Western Resource Advocates, a nonprofit organization that collaborates with other groups— including the Colorado Mountain Club—to protect the West’s land, air, and water.

Trail & Timberline

31

A Touch

Climb enough mountains and you will inevitably see some remarkable things.

Peak-bagger extraordinaire Teresa Gergen (the fifth person to climb Colorado’s 800 highest peaks) certainly climbs enough mountains, and I was fortunate to join her last summer for a few peaks-less-traveled in Wyoming's Wind River Range. And, yes, we saw some remarkable things.

The remote Winds are best known for Gannett Peak, one of the country's more difficult state highpoints. Typically requiring a two-day backpack in (and out), this mountain is often the sole goal of climbers who venture into the wilderness areas that surround it. But, for those who can see beyond 13,804 feet, the range is populated with an impressive collection of other peaks—rocky spires to challenge climbers' strength, skill, and courage.

It was on one of these mountains, Twin Peaks, where we were reminded that peak-bagging isn't new, and that remote mountains like these have been beckoning climbers for a long time. There on the summit, in a heavy, galvanized steel canister, we found the original summit register— a Colorado Mountain Club register—placed during the mountain’s first ascent, 79 years ago.

That first climb (or more accurately, the first two climbs) occurred during the club's 1930 outing, advertised rather emphatically by Carl Blaurock: “Your committee is working hard and conscientiously to make this an outstanding outing, and you will be the loser if you are not 'among those present’” (Trail & Timberline, #138, April 1930).

Evidently the advertising threat worked, as 46 people attended the outing. In addition to participants from Denver, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Boulder, and Leadville, dedicated folk came from New York, Chicago, Westminster (Maryland), Nashville, Boston, and Jackson (Michigan). Bear in mind that this was 1930, and travel to this area of Wyoming presented its own challenges ▶

V

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of

History

By Jim Rickard

▶ A ten-mile motor-trek eastward from Pinedale brought us to the swamps which border the first foothills of the Wind River Range. Here the lighthearted Lizzies came into their own, for they could dance merrily over the spongy terrain and then look back with just a tinge of satisfied malice at the proud, heavy straight-eights bogged down to their very eyebrows in slush and gumbo.

– G. Wakeham (Trail & Timberline, #145, November 1930)

Out of the library, on to the remarkable discovery.

The first thing you notice about the old register is the address, or lack thereof, on the cover sheet. As with current registers

EE R F R ECTO

B

rado Mountain Club, Denver, Colorado."

The register may also hint at how mistakes, made long ago, can be carried forward for years. Twin Peaks, as the name implies, has two similar summits. The guidebooks we had didn't hesitate in indicating the northeast summit to be higher. The northeast summit is marked on the 1991 Gannett Peak quad map with a spot elevation of 13,185 feet; however, the southwest summit shows the same number of closed contours, though no spot elevation is given. We carried a sight level, climbed to both summits, and were unable to determine which one was highest.

The cover sheet of the 1930 register gives the summit elevation as 13,400 feet, much higher than the current recognized elevation, and higher than anyone would be likely to estimate from the modern elevations of the surrounding peaks. In his review of the trip for Trail & Timberline (#144, October 1930), Carl Blaurock states that they “placed a register on the highest summit” and later “proceeded up to the top of the second

s t n i r p r ge n i F : S IE

maintained by the CMC, the first page asks that it be returned to the club when full. In 1930, mailmen must have been expected to work a bit harder, for there was no phone number, and the address is simply "Colo-

peak,” with no indication of misgivings. Furthermore, notes left by the 1931 third ascent party indicate that they climbed over “the spire to the southwest,” with no suggestion that they considered the possibility it was the higher summit.

Finally, and of most interest, the first entries in this register (see photograph) read like a who's who of Colorado climbers.

The next entry, from July 30, 1931, begins with a lament: “After making 6 first ascents from our camp south west of here we were very disappointed on our last day to make a second and a miserable third ascent on this peak . . .”

Others would climb and sign the register on Twin Peaks in 1940, then 1960, and then the entries become regular in comparison. Still, the register of some 12, single-sided sheets remains nearly half empty. The five climbers in this party (Teresa Gergen, Adam McFarren, Dominic Meiser, Sarah Meiser, and Jim Rickard) proudly added their names to this piece of history. △ Sunlight strikes the southwest (Left) and northeast summits of Twin Peaks. Adam McFarren ▲ ▲ The first page of the register atop Twin Peaks in Wyoming contains the signatures of some of Colorado's pioneer climbers, including Henry Buchtel, Dave Lavender, Dudley Smith (these three made the first ascent on August 10, 1930), Charles Kendrick, Carl Blaurock, Dwight Lavender, Forrest Greenfield, W. Scott Hall, and Wm. Smedley. Teresa Gergen

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HIKES

Pikes Peak Group, CMC, with Greg Long

For centuries, mountaineers have been climbing higher.

Beyond the physical endurance that it takes to reach these heights, there is the constant battle against altitude.

Whenever you go higher, you lose more and more of that crucial fuel: oxygen. The relationship between altitude, oxygen, energy, endurance and the climber can mean the difference between success and failure...or life and death!

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Trail & Timberline

33

Saving

the

By Alan Spriggs

I didn’t start out trying to climb the fourteeners. Like many folks I know, when I first moved to Colorado in 1985 I just wanted to explore this incredible state.

Every

valley,

every

ba-

sin, every mountain range beckoned with tantalizing views. It was only natural that I should continue to climb higher. And that meant summiting peaks— peaks over 14,000 feet.

34

Trail & Timberline

Fourteeners

It was on one of my early climbs that I first encountered a strange breed of hiker.

They came to the top, signed in, and quickly left for the next peak. I was baffled and, I must admit, a bit offended. They didn’t even stop to enjoy the view! How could they? Didn’t they realize this was hallowed ground? It seemed sacrilegious.

I made a vow to myself: I would purposely split up groups of fourteeners and climb them one at a time. I would come back in different years and in different seasons and from different angles. And I would spend as much time on top as I could, soaking in the views. These early vows provided me with some of my most memorable climbs: a ski climb of Mt. Elbert in two feet of powder; a Fourth of July climb of Mt. Sneffels; a cooked breakfast on top of San Luis Peak.

Not many people understood. When asked why we climbed Mt. Wilson and not El Diente, my climbing partner shrugged her shoulders and said, “He’s saving them.” Like most of my friends, she started the peaks long after I did and finished long before. But I will never forget the climb of El Diente and the lazy soak in Dunton Hot Springs a year later. Nor will I forget the five trips to the Blanca Massif, the two-hour naps on top of La Plata and South Maroon, and the summers I took off to backpack the Continental Divide Trail and catch peaks along the way.

As the years wore on, though, I noticed a struggle. I found myself more and more focused on finishing the peaks. And I discovered that I, too, was capable of alienating others in my quest for the summit. Had I become a peak bagger? Was I just like one of them? When I stepped foot on the summit of Wetterhorn Peak in July of 2005, a wave of jubilation swept over me. After twenty years I had done it. I climbed the 14ers!

Or perhaps, suggested another voice inside of me, I had simply run out of peaks to save. △ ▲ Taking a cat nap with the dog atop Tabeguache Peak. ▼ Jumping for joy atop the state's highest peak, Mount Elbert.

There will be

blue skies

tomorrow...

but we still need your help today.

In these tough financial times, our monthly giving program makes it easy to support the CMC beyond your regular membership dues.

Sign up today by visiting www.cmc.org/support, or call Sarah Gorecki at 303.996.2752 to enroll.

Trail & Timberline

35

by woody sm ith

denver , colo., tu esday, jan uary 12, 1925

Agnes Vaille dies in blizzard on Longs Peak

In

the history of Colorado mountaineering, Agnes Vaille’s death on Longs Peak in January 1925 has become a dividing line of sorts— signaling an end to the early, innocent years of the Colorado Mountain Club.

Though many others had perished in the mountains—Longs Peak alone had already claimed about 10 lives by 1925—Vaille’s death by exposure was particularly notable due to her wide social, civic, and family circles.

Vaille was the daughter of F. O. Vaille who installed Denver’s first phone system in the 1880s, and made a fortune as a result.

While Agnes was a beneficiary of these efforts, she was hardly soft. Born in Denver in 36

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1890, she attended the Wolcott School for Girls, which had been founded by her aunt, Anna Wolcott. After attending Smith College in Massachusetts, she returned to Denver in May 1912 and became one of the earliest members of the fledgling Colorado Mountain Club. Her zest for the high country was legendary, branding her as one of the club’s “fire-eaters.” Her organizational skills were also extraordinary, and she was soon leading CMC trips and participating on various committees. She was elected to the Board of Directors in 1922. Ironically, in December 1923 Vaille was appointed chairman of the Local Winter Walks Committee.

Despite Vaille’s obvious enthusiasm for life, she is generally viewed through a prism

created by the manner of her death.

However, recent discoveries have helped shed light on some of the activities of her final year, and may help answer the question of why she was on Longs Peak that January, 85 years ago.

Vaille’s own photo scrapbook is most revealing, particularly in regard to her outdoor activities. She was out nearly every other weekend, winter and summer. Was her very comfort and familiarity with the mountains a factor in her undoing?

One thing is certain: Vaille’s final year, 1924, was a busy one.

The year began with a cold snap. The New Year’s Day edition of the Rocky Mountain News reported the Pikes Peak Adaman

◀ A photo of Longs Peak's East Face by Agnes Vaille on November 1 or 2, 1924.

Inset: Conditions were challenging on a November 15-16, 1924, trip to Longs.

Club “braved a temperature of 20 degrees below zero to reach the top of the peak.”

On Friday, January 11, 1924—one year to the day before she would begin her final climb on Longs Peak with Walter Kiener— Agnes Vaille attended the monthly meeting of the CMC’s board of directors. One item of business was a request by director Roger Toll to fund the building of a mountain shelter, most likely in Rocky Mountain National Park, of which he was the superintendent. In the post-mortem examination that followed Vaille’s death, it was thought that a shelter may have saved her life.

The matter was referred to the treasurer and continued until the next meeting, but

and Lost Park, southwest of Denver.

On March 1 and 2, 1924, Vaille returned to Stapps Lake with the club for more winter fun. On March 8 and 9, Agnes apparently took a solo overnight ski trip to timberline on Grays Peak. Her photos of snowy trees and trail show no one else.

The following weekend Vaille and the CMC revisited a favorite winter haunt, the Fern Lake Lodge in Rocky Mountain National Park, for the club’s ninth Annual Winter Outing.

“The mountains were banked on an average ten feet deep and the great pines groaned as though unable any longer to hold their burden,” wrote Fred Morath.

“And constantly there fell snow, and more snow.” Morath also reported that Elinor Eppich was “a close second” in the “girls ski race. …Those week-end ski trips,” he wrote “…have made terrors out of timid ones.”

But Henry Toll “shook the faith of a feminine cargo in his ability as a toboggan driver by rudely unloading his passengers in a ten foot snowbank.”

In late April, Vaille and one companion, possibly her niece Polly Bouck, made a

ment surveys in the 1950s demoted Stewart to 13,983.)

This was no easy feat since the peaks are separated by two and a half miles and a nearly 900-foot drop. The trip also presents a mini-mystery. Agnes signed in solo on both registers. Since the peaks, located north of Creede, are far from anything or anyone, it can only be speculated as to what brought Vaille alone to such out-of-the-way summits on a holiday weekend.

Meanwhile, a newcomer to the club named Walter Kiener was climbing in the San Juan Mountains in southwest Colorado.

According to author James Pickering, Kiener was born in Switzerland in 1900. In 1923, after an argument with his father, Kiener left the family sausage-making business, eventually ending up in Denver. He soon “went to work as a butcher, and almost immediately became involved with the Colorado Mountain Club” (Colorado Heritage, Vol. 1, 1990).

Once a member, Kiener gravitated toward the club’s admired elite. It seems he was received with mixed reviews. Nonetheless, this did not quell his swelling admiration upon finding a scrap of paper left in

the topic was not reintroduced until the end of the year. When the meeting adjourned that evening—“long after dinner time!”— Vaille had less than one year and twelve hours to live.

The early winter months of 1924 did not curtail Vaille’s outdoor pursuits. Most weekends she was on ski and snowshoe trips, or hikes—often with the club, though sometimes alone.

In early February, Vaille spent the weekend at the Brook Forest Inn—still in operation—west of Evergreen. A week later she attended a club scouting trip to Stapps Lake Lodge near Ward. Vaille finished out the month with a trip to Wellington Lake

boot (and snowshoe) hike to Gem Lake near Estes Park.

In early May the pair took a trip to the lower reaches of a still snowy Mt. Columbia, near Buena Vista. The next weekend it was the Beaver Brook Trail west of Denver. On May 17 and 18 Vaille and one or two friends made an early season climb of “Silver Plume Peak.”

Vaille’s summer climbing season began on the weekend of June 21-22, with a trip to Mounts Logan and Epaulet, just south of Mt. Evans. Also along were Carl Blaurock and Hermann and Elmina Buhl.

On Saturday, July 5, Vaille climbed her first known 14,000-foot summits of the year, San Luis and Stewart Peaks. (Govern-

Redcloud Peak’s summit register by Vaille and Mary Cronin during their epic 1923 San Juan tramp.

One year later, Kiener and companion added their scrap of paper to the register canister. In the best English he could muster, Kiener wrote: “Redcloud Peak, July 17, 1924.

(A most wonderful day.) We came over Sunshine Peak straight up from Sherman. We have a very good time and besides our great Colorado we admire greatly that splendid mountaineering spirit of two Colorado girls who preceded [sic] us on this peak…Long may live Colorado and his Mountain Club!

– Walter Kiener.”

▶ Agnes Vaille (left), Walter Kiener, and Hermann Buhl sit atop Mount Evans on October 12, 1924. ▶▶ Agnes Vaille (left), two unidentified women, and Walter Kiener on their way to Longs Peak in November 1924.

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While the entry is open to interpretation it could be argued that Kiener was at least in awe of the “two Colorado girls.”

Judging from subsequent events—Cronin attended none of the Longs Peak climbs— she, at least, did not seem to return Kiener’s admiration.

Three days after Kiener’s entry, Vaille, Cronin, and possibly Elinor Eppich climbed Longs Peak. Eerily, on this trip, Vaille took a sweeping photograph of the north face of Longs Peak—from the Diamond nearly to the Keyhole—including the very spot where she would freeze to death six months hence.

A week later, on July 25, Vaille and some friends visited The Bishop, a technical climb southwest of Denver. The next day, Vaille and party were off for a weekend in

backpack nearby is captioned “Villa Agnes.”

Vaille finished out the summer with another solo hike—a return to Mount Columbia, where this time she did reach the summit. Since the register was full, she signed in on a scrap of paper. The date was September 7, 1924.

On Friday, September 12, Vaille attended a CMC director’s meeting. One proposal that evening was in favor of changing the names Crestone Needle and North Maroon Peak to “Mallory Peak” and “Mt. Irvine” for the two Mount Everest explorers who had disappeared the previous June. Although the board “expressed approval,” the matter was later dropped.

The last weekend of September marked Vaille’s first trip of the fall season. She and at least one companion returned to Rocky Mountain National Park, visiting the area north of Longs Peak. They hiked to Bear and Fern Lakes, and climbed Flattop Mountain and Taylor Peak.

On October 12, Vaille, along with Kiener, determined to make the first winter ascent of Longs Peak’s forbidding East Face. The moment, as told by Kiener, was recounted by James Pickering: “Our inclination to ▲ On December 6 and 7, Vaille visited Mills Glacier climb the East Face of Longs near Longs Peak. It would turn out to be one of Peak came… while resting on her last trips. the summit (of Mt. Evans), we the Indian Peaks, west of Boulder. Climbs looked off north and beholding the grand included Navajo, Arikaree and Kiowa Peaks. appearance of Longs, we resolved to climb In early August, Vaille went east to visit its East Face in the near future….” relatives. Though she was from Denver, her The next few months were punctuated father Frederick was from Massachusetts. by the duo's attempts on the peak. The climbs Her 10-day visit to the family manse in took place on the weekends of November 1 Marion, Mass.—on Buzzard’s Bay—includ- and 15. Each tactical retreat only increased ed sailing, swimming, and croquet.

Vaille's determination. She returned to the

Within a week of her return to Colo- Longs Peak vicinity the weekend of Decemrado, Vaille was back in the mountains—on ber 6 for a ski trip to Mills Glacier. a CMC weekend trip to James Peak.

On Sunday December 14, Vaille led

On August 23 and 24, Vaille returned CMC Trip #400—her last—which was a to Rocky Mountain National Park on a club ski outing to the Brook Forest Inn and Cub climb of Mt. Meeker. For good measure, she Creek. Ironically the trip was only a partial and Mary Cronin led an impromptu party success, due to lack of snow. across the saddle and over to Longs—again.

Just before Christmas, Vaille attended But there were other mountains. to a small piece of business for the Chamber

On Labor Day weekend of 1924, Vaille of Commerce, of which she was the secreand the club visited the Sangre de Cristo tary: recruiting members to a committee on Range for climbs of Kit Carson and the Cre- oil shale development. Her letter to Frank stone Peaks. The outing was led by Bill Ervin Wadleigh of the Denver and Rio Grande and Henry Buchtel. Vaille apparently set up Railroad, dated December 23, 1924, is her quarters in a miner’s abandoned log home— last known correspondence. one cabin photographed with a claimant’s On Thursday January 8, 1925, less than 38

Trail & Timberline

48 hours before she was to set out on her fateful trip, the Rocky Mountain News reported that “Miss Agnes Vaille entertained the members of the Denver Altrusa club, an organization of business and professional women, at her home, 1401 Franklin Street…Following dinner a short business meeting was held. ...(Plus) Miss Elizabeth Kelly told in an interesting manner of her trip through the Orient.”

On Saturday, January 10, Vaille, Kiener and Elinor Eppich set off on their final fateful attempt of the East Face. This time even nature seemed to be warning them.

“We left Denver via Sheridan Boulevard…” wrote Eppich. “Just beyond the edge of town we skidded on a piece of ice, turned completely around so that we were headed back to town. However, we turned around again, and went on. Agnes was driving.”

But, fate was in charge.

The party pressed on, and despite having to abandon their vehicle below the usual starting point due to snow drifts, they did reach the Timberline Cabin sometime after midnight, where they spent the remainder of a cold, cold night.

“The next morning the sun was shining but it was very cold and the wind was cruel,” wrote Eppich. “I asked Agnes something about their going and she said ‘I don’t think we’ll go.’ I went outside for a few minutes, and when I came back, here were Walter Kiener and Agnes all ready to take off.”

The question posed by Longs Peak ranger Jack Moomaw, who helped recover the body, was “…Why an experienced mountain climber like Agnes Vaille would have insisted on continuing the climb after weather got rough….”

Perhaps one overlooked aspect of Agnes’ decision was an unwillingness to show weakness to Kiener—to disillusion him.

Kiener himself told of “the reputation that Agnes enjoyed in the Colo. Mt. Club as the equal of any member, man or woman, for daring endurance, and other qualifications of an able mountain climber….”

Did pride help push Vaille out the door that day?

Wrote Eppich in 1963: “Perhaps this was (the) real tragedy, in that, given the circumstances…the outcome was inherent in the characters of the two people.” △ The author would like to acknowledge the generosity and assistance of Giles Toll on the research for this article, as well as the support of the Colorado Historical Society.

Seeing the Peak for its olorado has big views. Whether you’re atop a magnificent peak, enveloped by an aspen grove, or touring through one of our state’s celebrated natural monuments— places with striking, majestic scenery like our national parks and wilderness areas— the landscape is almost certain to elicit ardent emotions. In fact, at the peak of the development of the National Park System, artists were commissioned to help build roads that offered views akin to art.

But the greatest and grandest of nature is, as we know, composed of much smaller ingredients. It’s just that we often overlook these smaller, less evident building blocks of grandeur: you might find it in a fleeting moment only when conditions allow; it might be underfoot. You might recognize it in the delicate dewdrop only if you’re looking for the flower petal; it might depend on how you define beauty. Whatever the case, beauty is elemental to nature, and there for the looking.

The ability to appreciate the intrinsic magnificence of a fragile leaf, however, can be an acquired taste—or skill. Sometimes it happens when you start to slow down, or when you’re forced to slow down by injury, age, or conviction. Then, peak bagging becomes less important than browsing among nature’s beauty. Sometimes, browsing and bagging can go hand in hand.

As a child, the mountains of New Hampshire were my track—climbing was simply a continuation of my competitive outlet. I was a runner and my mentality drove me to win—whether this was by crossing the finish line first, or reaching the summit before my parents did.

Since then, I’ve experienced a profound shift in my attitude towards nature and— now that I’m a wiser (and perhaps less energetic) man—I recognize that there is no such thing as winning in nature. My passion for photography has developed and completely changed the way I travel in the backcountry.

Where the park service looked to cast art before the eyes of park visitors, I look to pull artistic compositions from the grand canvas of nature. I see the long walk leading to that great panorama as equally deserving of my

Pebbles

Recognizing the Beauty of Details

C

attention. There is much to see if you care to see it.

Climbing high, hiking all day, taking calculated risks: these are all still part of what I do in the mountains, but I never forget to look around, look down, and study the minor surroundings while on my way to that mighty vista.

I’m not alone. Though their circumstances and inspirations might vary, there are plenty of us who have found that there is something grand in recognizing the beauty of details. – Chris Case

The Naturalist Maybe loving nature has to do with DNA, or maybe some of us are blessedly immersed in nature’s loving grip from the time we are tiny. I vividly remember the uphill walk home from kindergarten, California redwoods towering above me as I looked up in wonder and crunched the giant sycamore leaves with my shoes. In high school, my biology teacher took us to Yosemite Institute, an environmental education school in Yosemite National Park. Arriving in YosemTrail & Timberline

39

ite Valley in 1975, I knew I had arrived home—in nature.

Since that moment I have been hooked on the outdoors, especially the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountain high country. I backpacked constantly, got a job at the local mountaineering shop in San Jose, Cal., took a mountaineering course with the National Outdoor Leadership School, became an Outward Bound Instructor, and worked for Yosemite Institute as an environmental educator. I was blessed with a strong athletic physique, so bagging peaks came naturally. I loved the hardcore adventures in the backcountry, yet in my heart I began to feel a void that I knew needed to be filled. I remember many times climbing with various friends that would push so hard on the ascents—“to

began to fade. For the first time it felt fine to climb only halfway up a mountain if, for some reason, I got distracted by the Wilson’s warblers interacting in the willows.

I had fallen in love with nature. I became fascinated with plant-insect relationships. The Colorado Hairstreak, Colorado’s state butterfly, depends on sap from gamble oak trees that grow thick in our Front Range open space parks from Mount Falcon to the south. Blanket flowers are associated with what some refer to as the “fire moth.” The moth is perfectly camouflaged on blanket flowers and is, thus, protected from predators. Each of the species of yucca plant in Colorado—there are about 40 of them— teams up with and depends on its own tiny yucca moth for reproduction.

peace without a need for consumer therapy.

I go out into nature without expectations, yet come home relaxed, sometimes better educated, sometimes awestruck, and always more grounded. This journey literally keeps me alive. It is not that I will never climb big peaks, ski the powder, or raft a river again, it’s just that now when I do these things I will always be willing to stop, and let it in.

And now, because I have spent so much time observing and learning, I can listen and know which bird is to my right, and look to see what plant is over there, and predict what insect will most likely visit it. I know that sometime around July 18, I can expect a tiny flying visitor—colored with the most amazing Rufous gorget—to join me in my Colorado native garden. – Carol English

get there before the storms,” they would always say—and just as hard on the descents, for reasons I have yet to understand. It began to sadden my heart when we raced by the most amazing little flowers, birds, mushrooms and insects. More and more I found myself venturing off on slower-paced hikes, either alone or with friends who knew about the flora and fauna.

When I moved to the Rocky Mountains and began work as a naturalist with Jefferson County Open Space, the need to bag peaks

You know you are somewhere near Golden if, in late July, a Rufous hummingbird shows up at your feeder. The Rufous, a tiny little marvel of an athlete, migrates in early spring from South America up the North American coast toward Alaska. In early summer they begin to move south again.

Nature motivates me to be more alive by getting me out of my small-headed self. I am humbled, inspired and invigorated by the natural world. I feel in the moment and at

The Philosopher

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I am standing on a bridge overlooking Bear Creek, listening to the gentle current gurgle beneath me, and imagining this modest stream carrying its loamy load of creatures and bouncy baggage of stuff all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. The experience reminds me of a book I read as a child, Paddle to the Sea, which told the adventures of a small canoe, carved by a boy who placed it in a stream bound for the ocean.

Bear Creek begins at Summit Lake, beneath Mount Evans, and it has already visited four life zones by the time it passes this obscure bridge in an urban park just east of the town of Morrison. I too have wandered through many habitats of those four life zones along Bear Creek, mostly while looking for birds, so I feel a kinship with the stream. It has just completed a splashy, swift descent of the foothills; now it catches its breath, slackens its pace, and smooths its stride as it enters the plains and prepares to merge with the South Platte, just as I did a few weeks ago in a larger canoe.

It is autumn. Many are the treasures this stealthy creek has purloined from the surrounding land, none more beautiful or more vulnerable than the multi-colored

Some rush down the center, following the main current, but these racers rarely pause to notice their surroundings or to contemplate their journey. Others, more exploratory, swirl with an eddy, drift by a bank, linger for a time in a backwater, or stall on a snag. Still others plunge to the depths, often catching hold of something that temporarily arrests their inevitable recession.

Taking home a cottonwood leaf to examine under a magnifying lens, I find common patterns in the skin of the leaf and in the skin of my own arm, patterns that resemble plots of fenced land as seen from an airplane. Were I able to look even deeper, with the aid of an electron microscope, I would find a cellular structure that, if placed beside a specimen of my own cells, would

journs? We humans would seem to be the greater players on life’s vainglorious stage.

But consider how many of our roles are only more elaborate, perhaps frivolous, ways of growing, metabolizing, reproducing, and dying. And consider how much of what leaves and we do is programmed by our genes, and how many of those genes we and they share in common. Leaves are us.

We are leaves. Not precisely or completely, of course, but in the holistic sense that all living forms overlap and interrelate. We all descend from bacteria, in the short run of a few billion years, and, in the longer term, from exploding supernovae and from the original Big Bang itself.

The leaves and I are on a journey. It’s called life. Life flows like a stream, and carries

leaves. Some shimmer in the light like sparkles in a girl’s hair, still brightly colored as they float along the surface. Others shrivel, become splotchy, and begin to disintegrate as they sink into the flow. Red, yellow, brown, green—including many shades of each—even spots of black; all are beautiful in their spiraling dance.

Watching them, I notice different leaves find different ways of traveling along the stream. Each reminds me of different ways I have met the challenges of life’s stream.

be difficult to distinguish. Yes, the leaf is distinct in employing chlorophylls, its tissues are reinforced with lignin, and it depends on chloroplasts to manufacture proteins, but both I and the leaf have many similar organelles in our cells, including ribosomes, mitochondria, rough and smooth endoplasmic reticula, and Golgi bodies, not to mention various vesicles, membranes, microtubules, a nucleus, and DNA. And what of those tasks leaves and humans both perform during our brief so-

with it elements of all that is and all that ever was. The leaves floating beneath the bridge at Bear Creek Lake Park are in the last stages of their journey, at least in their present form.

Alas, so am I. That may seem sad, in a sentimental way. Yet, from a larger perspective, how uplifting and beautiful it is to see one’s own puny self as a part of that flowing, endless stream of life. – Mike Foster △

Photos by Chris Case Trail & Timberline

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CMC Adventure Travel For your benefit and enjoyment, the following trips have been reviewed and approved by the Adventure Travel Committee and are officially sanctioned by the Colorado Mountain Club.

Visit www.cmc.org/at for more detailed itineraries and registration forms.

Vietnam: Cultural Experiences and Bicycling

February 19 – March 1, 2010 $2200 for 8 travelers ($1960 for 10 – 11 or $1866 for 12 – 15) This 11-day trip with Bea Slingsby starts in Hanoi in northern Veitnam. We will spend two days in Ha Long (which translates as “dragon descending”) Bay. The craggy karst limestone towers rise hundreds of feet from the green waters of the bay. We’ll board a comfortable Chinesestyle junk with private facilities for an overnight cruise around 3,000 islands rising steeply from the bay. There will be stops at various grottos and caves and an opportunity to kayak here in this World Heritage site.

Then, from Hanoi we fly to Hue to explore and get ready to cycle. Our route goes south through fishing and agricultural villages, to Hoi An. Since this leg is 89 miles long, most of us will get picked up part way through by the support van, which will always accompany us. We have a second night in Hoi An as there is much to see and experience. There is also the option for more cycling.

On day seven, we will continue bicycling to Quang Ngai on country roads. Day eight, we will cycle from Tam Quan to Qui Nhon with excellent coastal views. There will be two climbs of about 10% grade, but the van is available. From there, we can ride in the van to Dieu, then cycle a delightful quiet road up a gentle valley and down to Chi Thanh, then finish the leg by driving into the city.

We will spend day 10 in Nha Trang, where you may opt to take a boat trip to surrounding islands, visit a fishing village, and return in Vietnamese round boats. On day 11, we will fly to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), then home.

The trip price includes two internal air flights, tips, all meals except two, snacks, bottled water, knowledgeable English-speaking guides, van support, bike mechanic, daily route maps, and a high standard of accommodations in French Colonial hotels or beach-front resorts. Our average daily distance by bicycle is 43 miles, while at a latitude similar to that of the Caribbean Sea.

Not included in the trip are: bicycle rental at a price of $140 (hybrid Trek 7.5 in a wide range

42

Trail & Timberline

of sizes), a single room supplement of $395, airport taxes, visa, alcoholic beverages, and sightseeing expenses other than those specified.

Contact trip leader, Bea Slingsby, for further information and an application at (303) 422-3728, or beahive@comcast.net.

Yellowstone in Winter

February 3 – 8, 2010 Cost $1020 – 1166 (depending on accommodation level) Steaming geysers, bison, elk, deer, wolves, and other wildlife are all part of the experience of visiting Yellowstone National Park in the winter.

Skiers, snowshoers, nature lovers and photographers will enjoy the convenient trails leading directly from the lodge to the geysers and waterfalls. The trip includes round-trip bus and snow coach transportation between Denver and Yellowstone, a one-night stay in a motel, 3 full days and 4 nights in the Old Faithful area of the park, snow coach drop-off fees, happy hours, and several meals (4 breakfasts, 1 lunch, and 3 buffet dinners). We depart Denver by bus on Wednesday morning, February 3, stay overnight in a motel in Jackson, arriving in Yellowstone on Thursday afternoon. We leave Yellowstone and return to Denver on Monday, February 8, 2010.

See website or contact leaders for full details.

Trip Leaders are Polly Hays (303-964-8225 or polly_hays@yahoo.com) and Joan Rossiter (303-695-0389, joan.rossiter@mindspring.com)

Death Valley Hiking

February 28 – March 5, 2010 $998 Snow-capped mountains, sand dunes, castles, abandoned mines, unique wildlife, canyons, layers of multi-colored rocks, and the world’s lowest golf course! Temperatures will be a moderate 65 to 75 degrees.

Springtime is Death Valley National Park’s most colorful time of year. Not only will you hike (several A or moderate B hikes) through the one-of-a-kind terrain that only Death Valley can offer, but you will also visit Scotty’s famous

castle, explore the remains of abandoned mines, see unique wildlife, and more. Massage therapy, horseback riding, tennis, golf, and horse-drawn carriage rides are only a few of the many enjoyable options that can be enjoyed during your spare time.

Price includes transportation between the Las Vegas airport and the park, lodging at the newly renovated Furnace Creek Ranch (a complete resort complex in the heart of the park), meals, admission to Scotty’s Castle, and a final group dinner.

For details, please visit www.cmc.org/AT or contact Terry Hardie at tnjhardie@msn.com or Sharon Silva at ssilva@q.com.

Barrier Islands - Georgia April 3 – 11, 2010 $1,107 (does not include airfare)

The United States has some beautiful places to visit and this area is high on the list. We will first visit St. Simon Island where we will bicycle and stroll beneath centuries-old oaks draped in Spanish moss, visit interesting historic sites and walk on sandy beaches. We will explore the marsh by kayak learning about wading birds, crabs and other water creatures.

Jekyll Island, founded in 1886, was the winter retreat for some of America’s most elite families, including the likes of Astor, Rockefeller, and Vanderbilt. For part of the day we will visit some of their restored residences in the Jekyll Island Club National Historic Landmark District and also spend time bicycling around the island.

Sapelo, reached only by ferry, is another island where we can see virtually every facet of a barrier island’s natural community. A guided tour will highlight the African-American community of Hog Hammock, University of Georgia’s Marine Institute, the beautiful Reynolds Mansion, and a working lighthouse built in 1820.

Another stop on our tour will be in Savannah, a few miles from the islands. Here you will be taken back to a time of opulent mansions, moss draped oaks and impressive architecture.

Enjoy Savannah’s southern hospitality that has been offered since the 1700s.

For more information, contact Betsy Weitkamp at 303-722-1656 or elaw@q.com.

Best of the Grand Canyon – Colorado River Raft & Hike April 10 – 22, 2010 $4,075 (Limit 18)

Truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, this unique trip to the Grand Canyon offers participants the opportunity to experience this World Heritage Site on a motorized raft for 188 miles through the best of the canyon. We will depart from the historic Lee's Ferry and end with a helicopter ride from Whitmore Wash and a plane flight back to the start. It is especially ideal for those who would like to hike in areas which can be reached only from the river, and those who have always wanted to experience the canyon but who do not wish to make the seven-mile, 4,500-foot trek on foot.

Our outfitter, Hatch River Expeditions, has been guiding river trips through the canyon for over 70 years. We will have three guides and 20 participants on two 35-foot S-rig boats running fuel-efficient and quiet 4-stroke outboard engines. The average motorized raft trip through the Grand Canyon runs seven days, so this 12 day trip will have plenty of opportunities for hiking. They offer us daily guided hikes at two or three hiking levels, or one may choose to rest in camp. There are several opportunities for point-to-point hikes where we may hike from one drainage to the next and the raft will pick us up later in the day.

The deposit is $300. Please visit www.cmc. org/AT for cancellation policy, payment schedule, and additional information, and to call leaders for availability. Register with leaders Blake Clark or Rosemary Burbank at (303) 871-0379 or blakerosemary@cs.com

Scotland

West Highland Way and Ben Nevis

May 13 – 25, 2010 $2,335 (does not include airfare)

We'll walk for 82 miles along lochs, waterfalls, and craggy mountains on Scotland's spectacular West Highland Way. Carry only what you need for a day hike on this fully supported trek. Daily mileage ranges from 9 to 14 miles for the seven day trip. At the end of the trek, weather permitting, we will ascend Ben Nevis (4,409 feet), the highest point of the British Isles.

Short excursions are planned in Edinburgh and Sterling en route to the trek starting point.

We'll visit Edinburgh Castle (built around 600 A.D.) and the William Wallace Monument. Before leaving Scotland, we’ll visit the Isle of Skye to see the Armadale Gardens. We'll also visit the Eilean Donan Castle, featured in many movies, and have lunch at Kinloch, a Scottish manor house.

Price includes 11 nights lodging in small hotels and inns, with breakfasts included. All lunches are included except for three travel days. Dinners will be included except for two each at the beginning and end of the trip. Price includes ground transfers to and from the Edinburgh Airport; Edinburgh to Drymen to start the trek; Fort William back to Edinburgh; baggage transfers during the trek; ferry and bus transportation on activity days; admission to the mentioned cultural sites; CMC fee; and partial leader reimbursement.

Price does not include airfare to Edinburgh, but leaders will assist participants with scheduling.

To obtain the trip application packet, contact Steve at nztrekker@earthlink.net or Linda at lvditchkus@hotmail.com. No phone calls please.

starting out on the 14-day loop trek in the stunning Cordillera Huayhuash. This supported trek will take us high into the Andes, skirting peaks over 17,000 feet, visiting high lakes and hiking over passes above 14,000 feet. We will circumnavigate Nevado Yerupaja: At 21,560 feet, it is the world’s second highest tropical mountain.

The trip carries a “C” classification for its high elevation and rugged trails. Not included in the trip cost are airfare to Lima, travel insurance, several meals, guide tips or personal spending money. For more information, contact Janet Farrar at wildjc@juno.com or 303-933-3066.

Montenegro with Rada Moab Mountain Bike and Hike May 20 – 23, 2010 $275 Before March 1

Our adventure will be based near Moab. We’ll explore the famous mountain biking and hiking trails in the Moab area, and in Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. We will ride (and hike) with groups of various sizes and abilities for four days of adventure in this amazing desert wonderland.

A favorite for biking or hiking is the seldom traveled Hidden Canyon trail, with its prolific Anasazi art and hunting ruins. Included will be savory foods prepared by experienced, desert gourmet chefs. Also included are camping fees, all your water needs, and sanolets. You will also receive a t-shirt custom designed for this year’s adventure.

A large campfire with live music, drum circles, sweat lodge, desert croquet and other games and group activities round out the afternoon and evening fun. You provide your own transportation to and from the rides and hikes which are accessible with any automobile. You also need to bring your own camping gear and bike (if you ride) or rent one in Moab. Carpooling is encouraged. There are rides and hikes suited for beginning to advanced riders of all ages. Not included: transportation to Moab, bike rental if needed. Price increases are as follows: March 2-April 10, $300; April 11-May 10, $325; after May 10, $350.

Contact Janet Farrar at wildjc@juno.com or 303-933-3066.

Peru: Huayhuash Trek May 29 – June 18, 2010 $1,950

Trek in the rugged and remote Cordillera Huayhuash in northern Peru, starting with a city tour in Lima, and then a bus ride north to Huaraz.

There, we will do a couple of day hikes before

June 7 – 22, 2010 $2,151 (does not include airfare) Rada Perovic, born in Montenegro and now residing in Golden, will be your host for a two week excursion to this unspoiled Mediterranean and mountain paradise.

Montenegro, with a population of 730,000, gained independence in May 2006 and has the distinction of being one of the world’s newest countries.

We will begin our journey on the coast, where beautiful beaches meet the crystal clear azure water of the Adriatic Sea. From our base in the old Medieval Town of Budva, we will explore the 15th century fortresses and other towns and quaint villages along the coast. We will hike on coastal trails, spend time on the beach and enjoy the warm hospitality of the Montenegrin people while exploring the culture and the history of the region. While hiking, you will often encounter sheep herder’s settlements, where you will experience people who provide the friendliest hospitality on earth.

We will then journey to the mountainous interior, where 7,000-foot peaks rocket up from sea level, creating stunning canyons, deep valleys, and dense pine and fir forests surrounding alpine lakes, known locally as “mountain eyes.” We will visit four National Parks: Lovcen, Biogradska Gora, Durmitor and Skadar Lake. In addition to the hiking excursions, there will be a two-day raft trip down the Tara River, referred to as “The Jewell of Europe.” Near the end of the trip, we will spend a night in a small village near Podgorica, where Rada’s family originated.

There will be a celebration at the family’s old stone house, which dates back nearly 200 years.

The cost of the trip includes all ground transportation in Montenegro, lodging, most meals, two days of rafting, guides, all park and museum fees, leader expenses, and the CMC outing fee. Final cost may vary depending on currency (Euro) exchange issues. Hikes will be 2 to 8 miles in length and gain up to 2500 feet in elevation. This trip is limited to 10-12 participants.

For more information, contact Rada Perovic at (303) 985-3263 or radaperovic@msn.com.

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Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Hiking and Rafting the Lower Kongakut River

June 19 – July 2, 2010 $4,523 (does not include airfare)

This is a special opportunity to see a part of the world that is a true wilderness. The quietness offers many opportunities for sightings of wildlife: Dall sheep, grizzly bears, wolves, Arctic fox, musk ox, thousands of migrating caribou, and nesting birds on the coastal plain. Expect to see Golden eagles, peregrine falcons, loons, owls, and jaegers. And there will be a vast array of wildflowers.

The Kongakut is a north-flowing river in the northeast corner of Alaska that empties into the Arctic Ocean. Our 10-day raft trip will start in the northern most Brooks Range, known as the British Mountains. Paddling north from the peaks on this clear river, we enter a region of rugged and rounded foothills with excellent views of the Brooks Range to the south and the Arctic Ocean to the north. As we enter into the Kongakut’s delta, we pick our way through a maze of river braids to a massive freshwater ice field (aufeis) acting as gates to the Arctic Ocean.

Our time on the coast will give us a chance to explore old sod houses, tent rings and relics from the whaling era. Here the tundra swans nest, along with other birds. Seals can be seen on the shore-fast pack ice.

We will begin with three to four layover days to explore the land of the midnight sun. On rafting days, we will travel from six to eight hours, going ashore often to explore or watch wildlife.

Fishing is good and any caught can be cooked by our guides. This trip is limited to 6 CMC members (accompanied by two guides) with two rafts.

Price includes flights from Fairbanks to Arctic Village, bush plane flight to a gravel bar by the Kongakut, flights from the Arctic Ocean to Fairbanks, camp gear, wholesome (mostly organic) meals, repair and safety equipment, all raft equipment including a life jacket, one medium-sized dry bag and bear spray repellent per person.

Not included in price is roundtrip airfare to Fairbanks, three nights lodging and meals in Fairbanks, sleeping bag, pad, tent, rubber boots, large waterproof dry bag, or tips. Rental equipment is available for a small fee. Estimated airfare from Denver to Fairbanks is $750.

Temperatures vary in the Arctic in June. It can be 60 to 80 degrees many days but when the wind comes from the north, it can drop to freezing. There may not be bugs but be prepared anyway.

For further information and application, contact leader Bea Slingsby (this is her fourth trip to the refuge) at 303-422-3728, or beahive@comcast.net

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Peru: Salcantay Trek

Hiking Circuit of Ecuador

Trek the longer, more spectacular approach to Peru’s Machu Picchu on the Salcantay route. The trip will start in Lima with a city tour. Then we will fly to Cuzco, sacred city of the Incas, where we will visit the valley towns and attend the Inti Raymi Solstice festival on June 24 at the huge fortress of Saqsaywaman. Then, a five-day supported trek will take us through rainforests up to the Salcantay Umantay pass at 14,763 feet. We will see glaciers and high peaks before arriving at Aguas Calientes, then take the bus up to Machu Picchu. On our second day in Machu Picchu, we will climb the peak behind it, Huayna Picchu, for a bird’s eye view of the famous Inca site.

The trip carries a “C” classification for its high elevation and rugged trails. Not included in the trip cost are airfare to Lima, travel insurance, several meals, guide tips or personal spending money. For more information, contact Janet Farrar at wildjc@juno.com or 303-933-3066.

This trip will give you an opportunity to travel to a private preserve nestled in a rustic mountain setting in the Pichincha Foothills near the Quito airport, offering peace and tranquility.

You will experience the bird and animal life and hike in the footsteps of ancient Incas on the Last Inca Emperor’s Trails. Throughout the circuit, take in incredible views of the mountains and volcanoes and enjoy superb photo opportunities with a new adventure around every corner.

Arriving in Quito, we will explore the capital city of Ecuador and learn about colonial art, history, archaeology, and folklore. One day will be reserved for trekking to the Highland Rainforest, visiting sacred waterfalls and learning about some of the 250 varieties of native medicinal plants in the region. We will visit a wild virgin cloud forest around Pichincha Mountain and trek on great jungle trails inside a natural paradise, observing everything from hummingbirds to orchids. The area is considered a paradise, with some 450 bird species, majestic waterfalls, and 300 varieties of orchids. A visit to the world famous Otavala Indian Market will give you a chance to shop for local handmade products.

An optional four or seven night cruise to the Galapagos Islands is available following the trip.

For more information, please contact Betsy Weitkamp at 303-722-1656 or elaw@q.com.

June 19 – July 4, 2010 $1,725

Russia: Climb Mount Elbrus August 17 – 29, 2010 $3,097 (does not include airfare)

For the seventh time, the CMC’s High Altitude Mountaineering Section will lead a trip to Russia and the spectacular Caucasus Mountains of southern Russia, between the Black and Caspian Seas. Mount Elbrus (18,510 feet) is one of the fabled Seven Summits and offers strenuous, but not overly difficult, climbing. Required are a basic knowledge of ice axe, crampons and roped travel. The trip will use the standard southern approach from the Baksan Valley and pass the ruins of the famous Priut (Hut), one of 11 that burned in 1998. Extra days are allotted for acclimatization and summit attempts. Transit is through Moscow and will include a daylong city tour at the end of the trip.

The cost of the trip includes domestic airfare within Russia, all lodging and most meals, ground transportation, guide fees in the valley, a Russian visa and permit fees, leader expenses and CMC fee. The final cost may vary slightly depending on airfare and currency exchange issues. For application requirements, please see www.cmc.org/AT.

To obtain the trip itinerary and application, contact Steve Bonowski at nztrekker@ earthlink.net or P.O. Box 280286, Lakewood CO 80228-0286. Trip packet is available only by regular mail. No phone calls please.

September 8 – 19, 2010 $2,501 (does not include airfare)

Trekking in Nepal

September 25 – October 10, 2010 $2526 (does not include airfare) Join Pemba Sherpa, a native of the Khumbu region of the Nepal Himalayas, on this spectacular trek through the foothills of some of the world’s highest peaks. Pemba has been guiding visitors to his homeland since 1986, and in 2010 will lead us into the heart of the world’s majestic Himalayan Mountains and into the rarely visited Lumding Valley. Very few Westerners have ever ventured into this unspoiled valley.

We will be surrounded by striking scenery as we trek through virgin terrain, all the while marveling at views of Mount Everest and its neighbors. We will also spend time with Pemba’s family in the small Sherpa village of Sengma and will relax for a couple of days in Nepal’s colorful capital city of Kathmandu. For more information, please contact Pemba Sherpa at (303) 525-6508 or pemba@sherpaascent.com

SPRING 2009 ORDER FORM S E N D O R D E R F O R M A N D PAY M E N T T O :

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FAX 303-279-9690

or order online at cmc.org BILL TO:____________________________________________________

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CMC MEMBERS: Please fill in your name, address, phone and email, Visa or MasterCard number and expiration date. Total your order, compute the tax at 7.6%, and add shipping and handling. Checks made out to The Colorado Mountain Club for the total are fine, too.

$ 1 – $19.99. . . . . . . . . . . $5.00 $20 – $49.99. . . . . . . . . . . $7.00 $50 – $75.99. . . . . . . . . . . $9.00 $76 – $99.99. . . . . . . . . . $11.00 $100+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $12.00

DISCOUNTED BOOK PRICING FOR MEMBERS OF THE COLORADO MOUNTAIN CLUB ___ Best Boulder Hikes, ISBN 978-0-9799663-4-7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10.36 ___ Best Colorado Springs Hikes, ISBN 978-0-9799663-6-1 . . . . . . $10.36 ___ Best Denver Hikes, ISBN 978-0-9799663-5-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $12.76 ___ Best Fort Collins Hikes, ISBN 978-0-9799663-0-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . $11.96 ___ Colorado 14ers, ISBN 978-0-9760525-3-1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $9.56 ___ Colorado Lake Hikes, ISBN 978-0-9799663-1-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $19.96 ___ Colorado’s Quiet Winter Trails, ISBN 978-0-9760525-1-7. . . . . . . . . $17.56 ___ Colorado Scrambles, ISBN 0-9760525-0-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $18.36 ___ Colorado Snow Climbs, ISBN 978-0-9760525-9-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $18.36 ___ Colorado Summit Hikes, ISBN 0-9724413-3-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15.16 ___ Colorado Trail, ISBN 978-0-9760525-2-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $19.96 ___ Colorado Trail Databook, ISBN 978-0-9760525-5-5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7.96 ___ Colorado Year Round, ISBN 0-9724413-2-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15.16 ___ Essential Guide to Black Canyon, ISBN 0-9724413-4-4 . . . . . . . . . $15.96 ___ Essential Guide to Sand Dunes, ISBN 0-9724413-1-X. . . . . . . . . . . $15.96 ___ Flatiron Classics, ISBN 978-0-9799663-2-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15.16

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___ Guide to the Colorado Mountains, ISBN 0-9671466-0-7 . . . . . . . . $15.16 ___ Hiking Colorado’s Roadless Trails, ISBN 978-0-9760525-7-9 . . . $10.36 ___ Morpha: A Rain Forest Story, 0-9671466-8-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $11.96 ___ Peaceful Canyon, Golden River, ISBN 0-9671466-5-8 . . . . . . . . . . . $11.96 ___ Playing for Real, ISBN 978-0-9760525-6-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $9.56 ___ Rocks Above the Clouds, ISBN 978-0-9760525-8-6 . . . . . . . . . . $11.96 ___ Rocky Mountain Flora, ISBN 978-0-9760525-4-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $18.36 ___ Roof of the Rockies, ISBN 0-9671466-1-5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $13.56 ___ Run the Rockies, ISBN 0-9724413-5-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $14.36 ___ San Juan Mountaineers, ISBN 978-0-9799663-3-0 . . . . . . . . . . . . $185.00 ___ Southern Rockies Vision, ISBN 0-9724413-6-0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15.96 ___ State of the Southern Rockies, ISBN 0-9724413-7-9 . . . . . . . . . . . $15.96 ___ Stettner Way, ISBN 0-9724413-0-1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $11.96 ___ Trad Guide to Joshua Tree, ISBN 0-9724413-9-5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $17.56 ___ What’s Up with Altitude, ISBN 0-9724413-8-7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10.36

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Don’t let this be you.

We offer expert boot fitting.

We rent cross country skis.

We rent big back country skis. ing gear.

We rent climb

We rent ice climbing gear.

Weekdays 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Weekends 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. 303-499-8866 633 South Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305 Table Mesa Shopping Center •

•

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www.neptunemountaineering.com

Providing discounts to CMC members for over 36 years.

Gary Neptune CMC member since 1964.

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