Climbing Colorado

REVISITING LIZARD HEAD 22 • AN APRIL CLIMB UP THUNDER PYRAMID 26 • THE CAIRN DEBATE 32

TRAIL &

TIMBERLINE The Colorado Mountain Club • Spring 2013 • Issue 1018 • www.cmc.org

Climbing

Colorado Trail & Timberline

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Letter from the CEO a hearty welcome to our new board president

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new season is here, and while many of our beloved activities can be done outdoors year-round, climbing is not one of those activities I enjoy doing outdoors during the winter. Something about cold rock on my hands or standing at the bottom of a rock belaying in the winter chill does not sound like fun to me. One thing I look forward to in the spring is getting back outside to climb! I hope you’ll enjoy the climbs in this issue; perhaps they will inspire you to get out and try some of the places you read about.

Before the end of 2012, on the same day as our final Centennial event, Saturday, December 8, we hosted a CMC Board President reunion. We had board presidents from every decade starting in the 1970s.

The following board presidents attended: Wynne Whyman, Gary Grange, Alice White, Janet Robertson, Dave Waddington, Russell Hayes, Glenn Porzak, George Saum, Sherry Richardson, Al Ossinger, Richard Jones, and Susan Baker. For a couple hours, CMC’s past and current leaders shared stories about their terms—good, bad, ugly, and great fun. We all noticed that many of us shared similar experiences during our tenures. Many of us dealt with “an issue” that had a major impact on the future of the club. In all of the stories, New CMC Board President Kevin Duncan.

Courtesy Kevin Duncan. ▼

it was clear that the dedication and love for the club’s history and future was immense.

Each and every president talked about the struggle to govern and further the organization, as well as the joy that came with promoting such an important mission and leading a great group of members and volunteers.

On the topic of the board, I’d like to introduce you all to Kevin Duncan, CMC’s new Board President. Kevin is the Executive Vice-President of Duncan Oil, Inc., and is responsible for a number of his family’s investments. From 1993 to present, he has focused on their outside interests, including film production and technology investments.

Kevin is the Board President of Kent Denver School. He also serves on the Colorado Advisory Board at UMB Financial Corporation. He is a graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder. Kevin is an avid mountaineer, having climbed in Ecuador, Russia, Alaska, and Africa. He has climbed all 54 of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks. He has also climbed 87 of the top 100 highest peaks in the state. If that isn’t enough, you know the amazing wine we offer at some of our CMC events? Well, Kevin’s family founded and owns Silver Oak Cellars. Please join me in welcoming Kevin to the President role,

as well as thanking Alice White, our outgoing President and a good friend of mine.

Lastly, many of you have likely noticed the CMC is getting ready to launch its new website. (For more on the site, please see page 8.) Believe it or not this site has been in development for over a year. With thousands of activities, as well as trip and member classifications; 14 groups throughout the state; and many different events, it was a challenge to create a dynamic and user-friendly website with a nonprofit budget. I hope you enjoy the new and improved site. It should be easier to find what you are looking for, and the statewide calendar is designed to make you aware of events you might not have otherwise known about. We are hard at work on phase two, which includes a forum for members and non-members, similar to other popular mountaineering forums. It is my hope that you will engage with other CMC members and mountaineers through the CMC’s new website, as well as out in the field! △

Have a great spring.

Katie Blackett Chief Executive Officer

Past CMC Board Presidents gathered in Golden last December. ▲

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18 Mega-Fires and Colorado’s Forests

32 To Cairn or Not to Cairn?

What are the impacts, and will they increase in frequency?

A stack of stones or something more?

By David B. Williams

By Janice Bennett

22 Fixed-Back Mountain

Lizard Head: Soothing one’s soul on an October day in the San Juans

By James Turner

36 Booth Creek Trail A preview of The Best Vail Valley Hikes

By Nathan Free

38 First Friends

26 Thunder Pyramid

A challenging spring climb in the Elks

Some of our favorite hiking partners are of the canine persuasion

By Jim Rickard

By Kristin Bjornsen

30 The 1921 Blanca Peak Trip A Labor Day weekend excursion to the Sangres

By Woody Smith

Spring 2013 Trail & Timberline • Issue 1018 • www.cmc.org

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Departments 01 Letter from the CEO 06 On the Outside 08 Mission Accomplishments

Learn the latest from the conservation, development, and education departments, as well as news on our new website and our new marketing and membership director.

12 Safety First

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Ultralight Backpacking

By Tim Heckel

14 Around Colorado

What’s happening in your group?

16 Pathfinder

On the Cover Lizard Head, from Cross Mountain Trail, south of Telluride.

Rod Martinez

Moderate Front Range Trad Climbs

By Brendan Leonard

40 End of the Trail Remembering those who have passed.

41 CMC Adventure Travel

Want to get away? Wander the world with your friends at the CMC on these classic trips.

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TRAIL & TIMBERLINE

The official publication of the Colorado Mountain Club since 1918.

Editor Christian Green editor@cmc.org

Designer Jessica D'Amato Advertising Sales Robin Commons

advertising@cmc.org

The Colorado Mountain Club 710 10th Street, Suite 200 Golden, Colorado 80401 303-279-3080 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. © 2013 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.

Save the Date!

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Please recycle this magazine.

Printed on 10% post-consumer waste recycled paper.

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. → 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 30% from retailers and corporate partners. See www.cmc.org/benefits for details. → Receive the Shared Member Rates of other regional mountaineering clubs and a host of their perks and benefits, including lodging.

Visit cmc.org/Alpine6 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.

By donating $1,000 or more to the Annual Campaign, you'll enjoy the exclusive benefits of the Summit Society, including hikes to places that the CMC's conservation department is working to protect, an annual appreciation event, and a complimentary copy of a new CMC Press book.

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.

SCFD

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

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

It PAYS to be a member!

SCFD

SCFD

SCFD

▶ 40% off admission at the American Mountaineering Museum

▶ 20% off titles from The Mountaineers Books

▶ 10% at Neptune Mountaineering, Boulder

▶ 10% at Bent Gate Mountaineering, Golden

▶ 10% at Wilderness Exchange Unlimited, Denver

Not a member?

▶ 10% at Mountain Chalet, Colorado Springs ▶ 10% at The Trailhead, Buena Vista

▶ 10% at Rock'n and Jam'n, Thornton Visit www.cmc.org/join Trail & Timberline

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On the Outside The effects of the High Park Fire, as seen from the William R. Kreutzer Nature Trail, near Fort Collins. Janice Bennett Trail & Timberline

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Mission Accomplishments Mission Accomplished-The New CMC Website

By Katie Blackett, CEO

THE CMC TOOK ON THE TASK OF overhauling the CMC website in late 2011.

While the hope was to launch the new site toward the end of 2012, we learned that the robustness and difficulty of our site due to our numerous types of trips and various classifications throughout our many groups would take a lot more time, and a lot more money. However, the wait was certainly worth it. In March, the CMC will launch a much more user-friendly website that is easier to navigate than our previous site.

One highlight of the site is the master calendar. The goal behind the calendar is to showcase all of the CMC’s many events.

The idea is that if it’s directly in front of you, you will sign up for an event you may not otherwise have known about.

You can still sort the calendar by the particular events or trips you are looking for, but you could also go to the calendar to find out what’s happening in your area on a Friday or Saturday! Didn’t know the CMC had an open climbing wall night in Golden? Well, the calendar will now show you that.

We have found that CMC members would like to be more engaged with the club and aren’t aware of all of the club’s offerings. We know our members will renew if they participate in at least three activities per year.

Hopefully, the calendar will increase the participation levels, as well as educate our members on all of our events, trips, and classes.

Another highlight is the member dashboard. If you are a frequent user of

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our site, simply click on the dashboard once you are on the Members' page and your preferred documents and sites will be there.

Do you often want to know about road and trail closures? You will find that information in the member dashboard, as well as training videos, and much more.

You will also notice a newsroom on the new site under the “About” tab. This is a gathering place for all of the CMC newsletters, press releases, and articles printed about us and our members. You may not be a Boulder member, but their monthly Compass is a good read. The same is true for Denver’s Mile High Mountaineer.

The next phase of the site involves an

interactive forum for members and nonmembers. Think of the site being comparable to the other popular hiking and climbing sites, but the majority of the users will be CMC members. Want to take a hike tomorrow with just CMC friends, but not on an official hike? Post it on the forum. Have a pair of skis to sell? Post it on the forum.

Want to try the new wine bar in Golden— you know the rest.

We hope you enjoy the new site and check back often for the changing photographs on the home page! △ A screenshot of the new trips page, on the new CMC website. ▼

Did You Know?

By Scott Braden, Conservation Director

BACKCOUNTRY SNOWSPORTS INITIATIVE (BSI) is a conservation program of the Colorado Mountain Club aimed at protecting human-powered winter recreation and the lands that support activities like backcountry skiing, snowshoeing, and winter hiking.

There are many users of Colorado’s public lands, all of whom deserve a chance to responsibly enjoy recreation on our public lands. However, land managers are struggling to balance the expanding number of users. As a result, conflicts do arise between so many different users, and human-powered opportunities for solitude and quiet are often negatively impacted by increased motorized use.

BSI works with the U.S. Forest Service, snowmobile clubs, and concerned human-powered backcountry users to develop collaborative winter management solutions for popular winter backcountry areas in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. BSI also participates in National Forest Travel Management Plan revisions to ensure land managers consider the needs of human-powered

users in making decisions regarding winter recreation on public lands.

The Backcountry Snowsports Initiative is the winter advocacy program of CMC’s Conservation department. It was

created in 2009 through the merger of the Backcountry Snowsports Alliance and the CMC. To learn more, sign up for the BSI E-news, published monthly during the winter months at www.cmc.org. △

▲ Photo by Frank Burzynski.

Looking Ahead Stewardship in 2013

By Lisa Cashel, Stewardship Manager

CMC CONSERVATION will present another year of fun and meaningful stewardship projects in 2013. We continue to build off of our past successes and implemented a new Request for Proposals process for 2013. This call for projects allows us to help land managers address priority recreation resource issues, as well as identify trips that are the best fit for CMC members. Our draft project schedule includes: ▶ Closing the old trail corridor on North Maroon Peak ▶ Hut caretaking for 10th Mountain Division Huts Association ▶ Re-routing the Ice Cave Creek Trail in Palmer Lake ▶ Mapping trails in Castle Peak Wilderness Study Area ▶ New trail construction at Brainard Lake Recreation Area ▶ Landscape restoration in the Midland Hills area near Buena Vista (family friendly) ▶ Spring Into Service on Jefferson County Open Space (family friendly) ▶ Restoring the Lyons Gulch Campground on the Colorado River ▶ And more! Also, check the activity schedule for CMC Group projects

Trail work on the Four Pass Loop, near Aspen. ▼

Last, our program requests leaders. We need CMC Trip Leaders to implement our projects. Project skills are not a prerequisite, because the technical leadership is provided by our partners. Contact CMC Stewardship at stewardship@cmc.org, or 303-996-2764. △ Trail & Timberline

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Spotlight on Corporate Partner: WhiteWave Foods

By Sarah Gorecki, Development Director

YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED THAT the Colorado Mountain Club has many members who work for WhiteWave Foods.

In fact, we have over 200 members from the makers of Horizon Organic and Silk brands. This isn’t by accident—WhiteWave Foods is a corporate member of the CMC, which means the company buys memberships to the CMC for their employees as a health and wellness perk. Pretty cool, huh?

The idea is that an employee who hits the trail on one of the CMC’s 3,000 backcountry trips per year will be a healthier, happier employee. WhiteWave Foods makes a generous donation to the CMC each year, helping to keep our programs healthy, too.

The CMC also coordinates off-site activities for WhiteWave employees such as family hikes, brown bag lunch events, and

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special seminars. Over the years, CMC volunteers have organized family climbing events; outdoor map and compass sessions; climbing clinics for women; brown bag lunch seminars on fly fishing, backpacking, hiking Fourteeners, snowshoeing, winter camping, the Ten Essentials; and more.

WhiteWave Foods has a team of staff dedicated to constantly promoting the company’s values, including energy efficiency in operations and making a positive impact in the local community. Their employees volunteered more than 10,300 hours in 2012, including time spent on CMC’s trail work projects and at Community Food Share, the company’s local food bank. WhiteWave Foods is committed to improving its environmental impacts and has goals in place to reduce greenhouse gas, waste, and water.

The LEED-certified WhiteWave Foods headquarters in Broomfield has offset 100 percent of the building’s electricity usage since 2006 by purchasing renewable energy certificates!

WhiteWave Foods has been a corporate member since 2007. We invite your company to think outside the gym membership by offering a CMC membership as an employee benefit. Contact Sarah Gorecki, Development Director, for more information at sarahgorecki@cmc.org or 303996-2752.

Help us to thank WhiteWave Foods for being such a generous partner. Next time you see one of their employees out on the trail, tell them “thank you” from all of us at the CMC! △

Introducing Amanda Larrinaga CMC’s New Marketing and Membership Director

By Christian Green, Director of Publishing

IN MID-DECEMBER, Amanda Larrinaga joined the CMC staff as our new Marketing and Membership Director.

Prior to coming to Golden, Larrinaga spent nearly the last decade working in marketing and communications throughout the West—Montana, Idaho, California, and Oregon—and for international companies in Spain, Australia, Nepal, and England.

She has extensive experience in brand strategy, in management support and training for nonprofits and start-ups, and in business development. Larrinaga has a B.S. in Health and Human Development from Montana State University, where she graduated with honors.

At the CMC, Larrinaga will focus on our strategic plan goals of improving measured levels of member satisfaction, increasing the presence of the CMC throughout the state, as well as membership and reten-

tion. “I am most excited about the opportunity to help the Colorado Mountain Club maintain its legacy into the future. The work that our organization does in the state of Colorado is critical to ensuring that current and future generations have the access, education, and appreciation for the outdoors,” Larrinaga said.

Although she has only lived in Colorado for a few short months, Larrinaga is excited to experience all that Colorado has to offer. “I love to hike, snowshoe, backpack, rock climb, and just generally explore . . . I can’t wait for referrals from Colorado Mountain Club members,” she said. Let's give Amanda a big CMC welcome! △

Volunteers Needed for New CMC Speakers Bureau

By Brenda Porter, Operations Director

Love to share your expertise with others? Whether it’s a slideshow of a grand adventure, a lecture about mountain wildflowers, or an outdoor skill like using a GPS, your topic might be just what another CMC Group is seeking for their program.

Sample topics (basically anything you can share/teach in 1-2 hours):

▶ Natural History: Wildflowers, geology, wildlife, weather, Pine Beetle epidemic/Forest Health, etc. ▶ Adventure Travel Trips

▶ Outdoor Skills: Map and compass, GPS, avalanche awareness, lightweight backpacking, etc.

▶ Colorado Mountain Club: Be an ambassador for the CMC by sharing your experience and the basics of our great cause to other groups.

Volunteerism is at the heart of the Colorado Mountain Club and the new CMC Speakers Bureau is a great way to meet folks across the Club. If interested, send an email to speakers@cmc.org. The State CMC will manage the list of people and topics and will share it with our groups. △

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SAFETY FIRST HOW A LIGHT BACKPACK CAN BE SAFE(R) IN THE BACKCOUNTRY

By Tim Heckel Ultralight Backpacking gear has become increasingly available during the past couple of decades, as we all strive to reduce the weight of our equipment. In recent years there has been a definite trend toward carrying technologically advanced lightweight gear. For some people, going ultralight can mean leaving some pieces of gear out of the pack altogether. And even if you include a piece of ultralight gear in your pack, sometimes it can be more fragile than its heavier counterpart.

So, what does this ultralight trend mean for safety in the backcountry? Does reducing the amount of gear you carry, and carrying lighter, more fragile gear, add up to being less safe? You CAN reduce the weight of your pack with little to zero compromise of your personal safety, with a little research, prudent training, and some well-thought-out planning.

SOME ULTRALIGHT PRINCIPLES 1) Take only what you need. ▶ Think about needs vs. wants and “nice to haves.”

2) Leave the “gadgets” out of your pack. ▶ Do you really need that backcountry espresso maker?

3) Use lightest in class gear. ▶ Select the lightest gear that will fulfill the need. ▶ For example, a 1 liter Lexan Nalgene bottle weighs 6.5 ounces, while the same size foldable Platypus bottle weighs less than 1 ounce.

4) Whenever possible choose multipurpose gear. ▶ Can your pack double as a pad for feet in your sleep system? ▶ Use your stocking cap as a cozy to keep your pot warm at dinnertime.

5) Think in systems, not individual pieces of gear. ▶ A well-thought-out system can be greater than the sum of its parts, and can weigh less, too.

6) Weigh EVERYTHING ▶ What is the most important piece of backpacking equipment? An accurate scale! ▶ Recording the weight of your gear gives you a baseline for finding lighter substitutes that perform the same function. ▶ Include every piece of gear, no matter how small.

7) Repackage stuff ▶ Rather than taking that 8 ounce bottle of sunscreen, pour some in a tiny shampoo sample bottle and take only

what you need for your trip. ▶ Food packaging is notoriously wasteful; repackage it so you carry less in and much less trash out.

8) Ounces add up to pounds. ▶ Never say “it’s only a couple ounces” so I’ll just toss it in.

SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS How light you should go will depend in part on your experience and skill—and you’re better safe than sorry, so don’t cut it too close.

Before you leave, you should review a last minute weather report and adjust your clothing and equipment list appropriately. Below are a few other criteria to take into consideration before heading out on your ultralight trip: ▶ Practice! Backyard camping in inclement weather is a great way to refine your ultralight gear systems.You can always retreat to the house if your gear isn’t working for you. ▶ Carefully plan contingencies, exit strategies, and destinations for every trip. These may become critically important when you are carrying a bare minimum of gear. Any gear may fail in extreme situations, but the simplicity of an ultralight kit may leave less margin for error. ▶ Don’t lose anything. Always keep track of every piece of your gear. This is especially important when repacking after that afternoon 12

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lunch and nap break. Make sure to scour the ground around every break site to be sure you have not left anything behind. ▶ It is often recommended that one carry extra clothing, extra batteries, etc. Apply logic to that “just in case” gear and consider the likelihood that you will actually need it. This is especially true for short trips with well-planned emergency exits; the probability you will need these extra items is very small. ▶ Coordinate group gear. A CMC group of 10 may have 10 first aid kits with similar items. Efficient planning can reduce weight for the group and increase the breadth of gear carried. ▶ One important principle is the use of multi-functional items; in some cases a single piece of gear can perform multiple jobs. This is one of the best ways to reduce weight, but be aware that if the item fails you may be without gear for those functions. ▶ New high-tech gear is leading to a generation of hikers who are more dependent on their gear than their experience and skills.

Learn wilderness skills that will serve you well in an emergency and make you less reliant on the technology. For example, the use of a GPS does not eliminate the need for map and compass skills. ▶ Instead of relying on gear, use your skills, experience, and creativity to solve backcountry problems. As storm clouds gather, consider a campsite that is sheltered and will adequately drain rain water, rather than one in a low-lying open area which could potentially flood. ▶ Lighter loads can lead to far less fatigue and stress, and potentially reduce your chance of injury. You will have much better balance and will be much less likely to twist an ankle, or worse, if your load is 20 pounds instead of 40. Lighter loads will certainly allow you to move faster in an emergency; for example, if you need to escape a high pass, as a fast moving thunderstorm comes in. ▶ Water weighs about 2.2 pounds per liter, so plan carefully! When looking at your map, review available water sources along your route. If they are reliable, such as when walking along a stream up a mountain valley, then you can purify and drink as needed with out having to carry a heavy supply of water. ▶ Take care of your gear; if it fails or gets lost in the backcountry, the consequences may be more negative than if you have redundant gear. ▶ Take a Wilderness First Aid class and use your knowledge to create a useful first aid kit for the most likely emergency situations you may encounter.

Using your skills and experience, employing ultralight principles, and being mindful of safety considerations can lighten your load and free you up for a heightened adventure. There is nothing quite as liberating as shedding that 40-pound backpack and enjoying your hike with an ultralight 20-pound pack.

RECOMMENDED READING Clelland, Mike. UltraLight Backpackin’ Tips. Guilford, CT: FalconGuides, 2011.

Ladigin, Don. Lighten Up!: A Complete Handbook for Light and Ultralight Backpacking. Guilford, CT: FalconGuides, 2005.

O’Bannon, Allen. Allen and Mile’s Really Cool Backpackin’ Book: Traveling & Camping Skills for a Wilderness Environment. Guilford, CT: FalconGuides, 2001.

A native of Colorado Springs, Tim Heckel grew up hiking and climbing in Colorado. Since 2006, he has been a CMC trip leader, Director of the Pikes Peak Group Backpacking and Ultralight Backpacking classes, and has taught in the PPG Basic Mountaineering School.

After a crossing of Cochetopa Creek made safer by carrying a lightweight, easy to balance load, Lisa and Tim Heckel enjoy a simple camp, with only the necessities. Photo by Lisa Heckel

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Around Colorado

Our groups across the State DENVER Who Are We? The Denver Group has more than 3,700 outdoor-loving, fun-seeking members living in Metro Denver. Our diverse membership ranges from young adults (18+) to the Trailblazers (21 to 40) to our very active Over the Hill Gang (50+). Are you new to the club and looking for information?

Be sure and check out the latest monthly edition of the Mile High Mountaineer, easily found on the Denver Group website: www.hikingdenver. net. Want to learn a new skill? We will be offering the following courses during Spring and Summer 2013: Fly Fishing School begins March 27; Wilderness Trekking School begins April 2; Alpine Scrambling School begins May 21; Basic Rock Climbing School Session A begins May 28 and Session B begins June 3; and Wilderness First Aid and Trip Leader School to be announced.

Already have the skills, so now you want to play?

Check out the online activity schedule and sign up. We have something going on just about every day of the week, from leisure wildflower hikes to technical climbs over 14,000’, fly-fishing adventures, rock-climbing in Eldorado Canyon, plus so much more. Check out the official Denver Group website for more information and updates: www.hikingdenver.net. Also sign up for our monthly electronic newsletter, the Mile High Mountaineer, which includes all of our fun Out and About Town activities, including group dinners, movies, happy hours, and more.

Get Involved!

As always, the Denver Group has many fantastic volunteer opportunities open to our members.

We are always looking for new Trip Leaders to lead A, B, C, & D hikes throughout the year and we do offer Trip Leader training to help you get started. Keep an eye on the Mile High Mountaineer for upcoming courses.

Learn More Keep an eye on www.hikingdenver.net and the Mile High Mountaineer for upcoming special events and monthly new member hikes and orientations. We are adding new events all the time.

Have a question today? Contact Denver Group member Sharon Kratze at skratze@gmail.com or Craig Campbell at cmcampbell24@gmail.com.

We invite you to join the Denver Group and look forward to playing with you this summer!

BOULDER Who Are We? The Boulder Group came into existence in 1920, eight years after the Colorado Mountain Club was founded. Today, the group’s 1,100-plus

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members enjoy a variety of climbing, hiking, backpacking, running, and skiing activities. Boulder Group outings range from casual after-work hikes and leisurely flower photography walks to high mountain meadows. With our proximity to the Flatirons and Eldorado Canyon, it’s no surprise that rock climbing is a favorite activity.

We help our members enjoy the outdoors safely with highly regarded training, such as: Boulder Mountaineering School, which offers a series of courses ranging from trip planning, survival, navigation, rock and snow schools, and mountaineering skills. For classes and outings information please check out our website at http:// www.cmcboulder.org/ Get Involved We have plenty of volunteer opportunities available, and we welcome new instructors.

Please contact the outings chair. Information can be found at http://www.cmcboulder.org/ trips/#TripCoLeaders. If you already have the skills and now you want to play? Check out the online activity schedule and sign up. We have a lot of activities happening and hope to see YOU soon!

ASPEN The Aspen Group has had an eventful winter with three hut trips, including avalanche classes at the Estin Hut, taught by veteran Aspen Mountain Rescue member Scott Messina, and an exciting trip to the new Opa Taylor Pass Braun Hut with

Scott. We are looking forward to our Wilderness First Aid Course March 23–24, taught by CMC Operations Director Brenda Porter. We welcome members from other CMC groups to attend. If interested, contact Brenda at brendaporter@ cmc.org. We love to meet members from other groups.

Also, we have a Wind River Llama trip August 5–9, leaving from Lander, Wyoming, that travels through breathtaking country. For information on that trip contact Carol Kurt at kurtskarma@ aol.com. Pictured in the accompanying photo are several of our members and guides who trekked in Ladakh and Kashmir last September. We are hoping to have more trips to exotic places. A trek to what could become Aspen’s newest sister city, Abetone, Italy, is in our future plans.

PIKES PEAK Who Are We? The Pikes Peak Group of the Colorado Mountain Club is based out of Colorado Springs. We are a diverse group of approximately 600 members with a variety of activities and challenge levels that include: hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, biking, ice climbing, skiing, snow climbing, conservation activities, and snowshoeing.

In addition, we offer courses in basic mountaineering, which includes wilderness fundamentals, land navigation, rock climbing, alpine snow mountaineering, ice climbing, and backpacking; high altitude mountaineering, which includes

glacier travel; backcountry skiing; anchor building; lead climbing (rock and ice); introduction to avalanches; snowshoeing; wilderness first aid; hut to hut clinic; scrambling clinic; lightweight and ultralight backpacking clinic; winter wilderness survival; and GPS training. Below is a list of upcoming classes, starting in March: Pikes Peak Advanced Backcountry Skiing— March 6, 9, 16. For more info contact Eric Hunter at ehunter67@yahoo.com PPG Basic Mountaineering School—Colorado Wilderness Fundamentals—March 12, 14, 20, 23, and 24. For more info contact Collin Powers at powerscollin@yahoo.com PPG Basic Mountaineering School—Colorado Wilderness Land Navigation—April 3, 9, 13, and 14. For more info contact Collin Powers at powerscollin@yahoo.com PPG Basic Mountaineering School—Colorado Alpine Snow Mountaineering—April 30; May 4, 5, 11, 12. For more info contact Collin Powers at powerscollin@yahoo.com PPG Basic Mountaineering School—Colorado Rock Climbing—May 16, 22, 25, 26; June 1, 2.

For more info contact Collin Powers at powerscollin@yahoo.com Learn More Attend the monthly Pikes Peak Group meeting the third Tuesday of each month (except May, November, and December) at 7:30 pm, at our new venue, THE GYM, 1604 S. Cascade, Colorado Springs (across from the Blue Star Restaurant), or connect with members of the Pikes Peak Group by joining us on one of our many trips or classes.

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◉

Pathfinder

◉

Rockin’ It:

Five Moderate Front Range Trad Climbs

By Brendan Leonard

A climber leads the first pitch of Wind Ridge on the Wind Tower in Eldorado Canyon.

Photo by Brendan Leonard.

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The Front Range is home to thousands of climbing routes, more than almost any other major metropolitan area in the United States.The diversity of climbing here also makes it a great training ground for climbers to learn any discipline—bouldering, sport climbing, traditional climbing, and, to get up high and scamper up hundreds of feet of rock in a single line, multi-pitch trad climbing. We’ve got a beginning multi-pitch leaders’ paradise, with plenty of long, easy routes where a novice can practice route finding, anchor-building skills, rope management, gear placement, and safe climbing.

1. Magical Chrome-Plated Semi-Automatic Enema Syringe, 5.7, 5 pitches, Lumpy Ridge

It’s probably one of the longest (and most awkward) climbing route names anywhere, but call it “Magical Chrome-Plated” and get on this slabby granite romp in Rocky Mountain National Park’s Lumpy Ridge.

Magical Chrome-Plated’s five pitches on The Pear, one of the lower-situated formations at Lumpy Ridge, has it all: slabby climbing to a moderate dihedral, a 180-foot pitch of low16

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angle 5.4, a hand crack that’s doable without much jamming, and a summit that plants you high in the middle of Estes Park’s famed granite backdrop.

Location/Approach: Start from the Twin Owls trailhead, 1.3 miles from downtown Estes Park on Devils Gulch Road. Hike west on the Black Canyon Trail for approximately 1.5 miles, following signs to the base of The Pear. The climb begins to the left of a large left-facing dihedral.

See Also: Batman and Robin, 5.6, 3 pitches

2. East Face/North Side, 5.4, 4 pitches, Seal Rock, Flatirons

Seal Rock isn’t the most famous of Boulder’s Flatiron formations, but it also doesn’t have the crowds that the First and Third Flatirons draw for their easy trad climbs. The 5.4 East Face/North Side is a solid outing for a beginning trad leader, offering easy slab climbing on good Flatiron sandstone with decent protection, comfortable belay stations, and an engaging 120-foot rappel (most of which is free-hanging) to descend from the climb. The

[

The author follows the third pitch of East Face North Side, Seal Rock. Photo courtesy Brendan Leonard.

A climber follows the fourth pitch of The Ridge on the Piz Badile. Photo by Brendan Leonard.

third-pitch finger crack is a gem, high on the face, but no harder than 5.4 with plenty of holds outside the crack.

Location/Approach: From the National Center of Atmospheric Research parking lot in Boulder, orient yourself with Seal Rock, the formation that looks like a Seal balancing a beach ball on its nose (except without the beach ball). Follow the Mesa Trail just past its intersection with the Bear Canyon Trail, and watch for a climbers’ trail heading uphill to the right. Pass the Harmon Cave and continue left to the south face of Seal Rock. The first pitch climbs to a small tree belay about 100 feet up the face.

See Also: North Arête First Flatiron, 5.4, 8 pitches

3. Wind Ridge, 5.6, 3 pitches, Wind Tower, Eldorado Canyon

A four-minute approach hike, straightforward climbing in the legendary Eldorado Canyon, a summit, views of climbers on the Bastille, all on a route first climbed by one of Colorado’s most famous climbers? Wind Ridge couldn’t deliver much more. Wind Ridge climbs three pitches on the left-hand skyline of the Wind Tower (it’s easy to see how it drew Layton Kor’s eye when he first climbed it with Jane Bendixon in 1959), a mix of cracks, in-cut face holds, and a bizarre roof problem to begin the third pitch—but if the roof seems a little daunting, skip it and walk off after the second pitch.

Location/Approach: Start at the East Parking lot in Eldorado Canyon State Park, crossing the bridge over South Boulder Creek and hiking up the approach trail to the west of the Wind Tower. The climb begins at a large flake on the west ridge of the tower—climb the flake for the optional 5.8 start, or climb the face to the left of the flake to keep it at 5.6.

See Also: Swanson Arête, 5.5, 3 pitches

4. The Ridge, 5.7, 5 pitches, Piz Badile, South St. Vrain Creek

The Piz Badile, a towering granite arête dropping down 400 feet to the South St. Vrain Creek along Colorado 72, north of Nederland, was so named for its similarity (maybe a little imaginative) to the “real” Piz Badile in the Swiss Alps. Colorado’s is much more mellow, less committing, and a fun multipitch outing that’s mostly 5.4 and 5.5 climbing after a short 5.7 section on the first pitch.

“The Ridge” climbs the Piz Badile’s left-hand skyline (best viewed while driving north on Colorado 72), starting with a short 5.7 pitch directly at the corner of the formation. If the 5.7 pitch is too tricky, scramble left and up to start the climb on a blocky 5.4 pitch. Either way, follow your nose to keep the climb 5.4– 5.5, staying near the ridge for four pitches until you gain the top of the formation for a fun but exposed scramble to the top.

Location/Approach: From Nederland, drive 18.8 miles north on Colorado 72 to a large parking lot on the east side of the road, from

]

which the huge Piz Badile will be obvious.

Park and walk downhill to the creek and spot a large log lying across the creek. Cross the creek on the log and hike north through the woods to the talus field at the base of the Piz Badile (The bridge downstream from the parking lot is private property and should not be used.) Scramble to the bottom left edge of the face where it meets the talus—this is the beginning of the climb.

5. North Ridge, 5.7, 2 pitches, Montezuma Tower, Garden of the Gods

You’ll be on center stage above all the tourists and hikers at Garden of the Gods on this two-pitch sandstone mega-classic. The North Ridge climbs Montezuma Tower’s narrow spine, exposed on all sides except right in front of your face—a unique position that makes a fall off either side feel like a scary possibility. The climbing is mostly 5.6 after the opening moves, and near the top, the ridge narrows to the point that you can straddle it as if you’re riding horseback 120 feet off the ground. Expect comments, cheers, and waves from the folks on the ground below. Take two ropes for the rappel off the west face.

Location/Approach: From the main parking lot at Garden of the Gods, walk the paved path between the Gateway Rocks, passing the Twin Spires. Montezuma Tower is the tall, skinny tower standing above the Three Graces.

See Also: New Era, 5.7, 3 pitches. △ Trail & Timberline

17

Mega-Fires and Colorado’s Forests

What Does the Future Hold?

By Janice Bennett

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A tree trunk after the High Park fire.

Photo by Janice Bennett

View of the fire damage from the intersection of CO 27 (Stove Prairie Road) and County Road 52E (Rist Canyon Road). Photo by Janice Bennett.

]

Colorado’s extremely dry winter of 2011–2012, with only 13 percent of average precipitation, created dangerous conditions that continued into summer. When temperatures soared above 100°F, more than a dozen devastating wildfires were ignited, destroying thousands of acres of forests and hundreds of homes. While the causes and long-term consequences of large “crown” fires are still being studied, it is clear that these fires, which advance with great speed by jumping from crown to crown ahead of the ground fire, are not the more easily contained forest fires of the past. Ecologists and other scientists do not know the extent such mega-fires may change the Colorado landscape, and this uncertainty is sparking flames of controversy on forest fire prevention policies.

Horrifying images of a real-life inferno flooded the news media at the end of June 2012, as the Waldo Canyon fire caused the evacuation of more than 32,000 residents of Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs, Woodland Park, several small mountain communities, and even the United States Air Force Academy. This mega-fire started near Rampart Road as winds increased. Within two hours the fire had jumped to Queens Canyon, and gusts as high as 70 mph drove flames down the Front Range, where nearly 350 homes in Colorado Springs were incin18

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erated, making the Waldo Canyon fire the most destructive in Colorado history.

Two months later investigators reported that the fire was human caused, although they still do not know if it was intentionally set. When that fateful fire started near the Waldo Canyon trailhead, the skies were clear with no thunderstorms. The fire was so hot that nearly 20 percent of the total 18,247 acres consumed was left without living vegetation. Subsurface root systems, essential for regrowth, were incinerated to a depth of about four inches. Five square miles were left

so barren that they resembled a moonscape.

On June 9 lightning ignited the High Park fire, Colorado’s second-most destructive. During the three weeks it raged, the fire consumed more than 87,250 acres, destroyed at least 259 homes, and killed a 62-year-old woman. Two thousand firefighters, along with 19 helicopters and five tanker planes, fought this fire, which cost more than $31.5 million. Officials reported that parts of the High Park fire near Fort Collins were so hot that mosses and lichens burned on granite rock.

Are Wildfires Occurring More Frequently?

The large number of fires in 2012 incited irrational fears that the State of Colorado would eventually burn to the ground. A September 2012 report issued by Climate Central stated that the total area already burned in the American West in 2012 was 30 percent higher than average, with a total of more than 8.6 million acres consumed. Contributing factors included rising spring and summer temperatures and shrinking winter snowpack.

According to the National Research Council, for every degree Celsius (1.8°F) of temperature increase, the size of the area burned in the Western United States could quadruple. Some experts predict that temperatures will increase by two degrees Celsius by the year 2050.

Analysis conducted by the Huffington Post of 42 years of U.S. Forest Service records for 11 Western states shows an alarming increase in the size and frequency of forest fires.

During the last decade there were seven times more fires greater than 10,000 acres each year compared to the 1970s, and nearly five times more fires larger than 25,000 acres, with twice as many smaller fires over 1,000 acres. Compared to 40 years ago, wildfires are burning twice as much land area each year with a burn season two and a half months longer. Spring and summer temperatures have increased more rapidly across the West than the rest of the country.

Destruction from wildfires does not end with the flames. Flash floods can occur within minutes after the onset of a rainstorm.

Fires cause landscape changes that create risks even for areas that are not traditionally flood prone. Flooding and debris flows often occur without warning, so immediate steps to protect life and property must be taken, even with moderate rainfall. The High Park burn area experienced flooding, mudslides, and road closures so severe that the canyon was closed on several occasions. One flash flood warning was issued after a stream jumped its banks, leaving black soot, rocks, and debris on Stove Prairie Road and Highway 14. Waldo Canyon had its own flash flood warnings after the burn.

Post-fire flooding is not temporary; experts say it could last a decade because the vegetation left in fire-ravaged areas can no longer absorb rain, while burned soil is so badly damaged that it repels water. Rain mixes with the ash, producing dramatic mud and ash flows. According to The Associated Press,

teams of biologists, hydrologists, and soil scientists are analyzing what can be done about the post-fire flooding and erosion in Colorado. They are building water bars, removing hazardous trees, and spreading seed to help offset fire damage.

Many experts paint a grim outlook for Colorado’s forests, some of which might not regenerate due to the intense heat caused by mega-fires. Dr. Craig Allen, USGS research ecologist, reported on The New York Times Green blog (June 26, 2012) that the fire pattern has changed from frequent and large ground fires to infrequent crown fires that utterly destroy the landscape. When added to natural climate cycles, the trend could spell destruction for Colorado’s forests, which many fear will be replaced by grasses and shrubs, rather than aspen and ponderosa pine.

In spite of fears that abnormally dry conditions are the result of climate change, wildfires are not a recent development in Colorado. With the state’s high desert climate, it ranks 44th in the nation in average precipitation per year. Only Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming are drier. Added to the problem are massive tree kills caused by the pine beetle, which have destroyed 1.5 million acres of lodgepole pine in Colorado since 1996. In 2007 beetles killed an estimated 3.9 million acres of lodgepole pine across the entire Rocky Mountain region, according to the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center at the National Advanced Fire & Resource Institute in Tucson, Arizona.

Large beetle kill areas have raised concerns for catastrophic fires in the future, which could be ignited by just one lightning strike.

Ecological Impacts of Wildfires Massive wildfires are frightening, but ecologists emphasize that the consequences are not all negative. Ecologically, fire initiates a growth process. The forest reawakens to sunlight that causes new shrubs and plants to grow. Fast-growing aspen trees normally sprout from the roots that have been left behind, which hold the soil in place and reduce the danger of flash floods. With aspens returning, slower-growing ponderosa pines tend to revive and thrive in the increased sunlight. Wildflowers and berry bushes grow in the new open spaces. Although the forest may never be quite the same, ecologists believe it will adapt to the new ecosystem. Benefits include cleaning a forest of dead and decaying matter, maintaining ecosystem balance by removing diseased plants and harmful insects, and regeneration of seeds.

Although fire ecologists recognize that many plant species rely on fire, other ecologists, such as graduate researcher Silvia Milanova from Stanford University, are not convinced that the benefits outweigh the negative effects. In an article published on www.ecoplum.com, Milanova reports that, aside from deforestation and the release of carbon dioxide into the air, wildfires can affect the environment, depending on the soil and the fire’s intensity, as well as species population and distribution. Fires can damage structures, with costly evacuations and human deaths. Fires also create heavy smog, harmful to human and animal life, and deplete natural resources such as water.

Because Colorado has always been a fireprone state, some experts question the current policy of fire prevention that protects homes built in forested areas. The hundreds of thousands of gallons of red slurry dropped by air tankers, to shield mountain houses from wildfires, has its own serious effects.

Slurry contains toxic ammonia and nitrates, with the potential to kill fish and taint water supplies. Fire prevention causes dense shrubs and small trees to proliferate, which easily burn and cause the ravaging “crown” fires.

Many experts believe this is an unacceptably high price for populating Colorado’s mountain forestland.

Preparing for and Resisting Wildfires Many Coloradoans decry the fact that the state does not have a law requiring homeowners in high-risk areas to use non-flammable building materials and to clear vegetation around their residences. Nearly 40 percent of new homes in the United States are built in residential communities bordering forests and grasslands. Almost one-third of the $3 billion spent to fight fires every year goes toward protecting homes in high-risk areas, double the cost of a decade ago, according to Ray Rasker, executive director of Headwaters Economics, a Montana-based research firm that analyzes the costs of wildfires. Burned homes decrease property values, causing a reduction in the tax revenue that finances local fire districts.

A new fire hazard scale has been designed to help landowners and communities better prepare for and resist the threat of wildfires in what is now called the “wildlandurban interface” (WUI)—those places where suburban development has invaded forests, natural grasslands, and other areas where fire Trail & Timberline

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[

A close-up view of the devastation caused by the High Park fire. Photo

by Janice Bennett.

New growth along the forest floor.

Photo by Janice Bennett

is part of the natural ecology, especially in the American West. According to The Christian Science Monitor, researchers with the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Forest Service are responsible for creating the fire hazard scale.

“Wildfires are among the few natural disasters in which risk levels can rapidly change as the event progresses, and the threat doesn’t weaken with distance away from a well-defined epicenter, as in a tornado,” says William Mell, a Forest Service researcher who helped design the WUI Fire Hazard Scale. According to Mell, the new scale is a matrix with three dimensions: fuel sources, topography, and weather conditions, particularly winds. The goal is to improve building standards, codes, and practices, including those involving trees, shrubs, and other fuel sources growing near homes and other structures, pinpointing where protective measures are most needed. That’s where things can get politically sticky as the various stakeholders—property owners, builders, and regulating agencies—become involved, weighing risks, benefits, costs, and rights.

But, says Alexander Maranghides of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, “If homes and other buildings in the most susceptible zones can be built or retrofitted to high-risk standards, they could potentially serve as a ‘frontline defensive wall’ for the structures in the lower-risk zones they surround. In effect, we may be able to mitigate the entire dynamic of a WUI fire 20

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event if the frontline structures don’t ignite.”

Prescribed burns are essential for the health of Colorado’s forests by reducing fuel buildup, preparing the land for new growth, promoting the germination of plants and trees, thinning dense forests, and creating the habitat diversity essential for wildlife.

Although the smoke generated from these fires is undesirable, such fires are safe when executed by trained professionals, who use special techniques to protect residents and property. Sometimes naturally occurring fires are allowed to burn without intervention, under the supervision of professionals.

Although the burn site may appear charred and lifeless after a prescribed burn, it is soon replaced by resprouting grasses, shrubs, and seedling trees. By reducing dead wood; overcrowded, unhealthy trees; and thick layers of pine needles, prescribed burns set the stage for new growth and prevent more catastrophic wildfires.

Some experts believe tree thinning may provide another solution. At the Forests at Risk conference in Aspen in June 2012, Craig Allen, research biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, reported that global-warming models indicate that hot, dry conditions will reach a level by 2050 that has not been seen in the last thousand years. While such models are not a certainty, it is undeniable that overgrazing and the Forest Service’s policy of fighting fires during the past century have allowed natural fuel to accumulate to unsafe levels. Allen explained that these fuels are so ripe for burning that forests can survive only if humans intervene to help them adapt to climate change, through mechanical thinning.

] Frank Lowenstein, climate adaptation strategy leader for The Nature Conservancy, also endorses creating lower-density forests.

Because it costs about $1,000 per acre for mechanical treatment, however, it is doubtful federal funding will be available for forestthinning projects. Other environmentalists, such as Connie Harvey of Aspen, believe the proposed cure is as bad as the disease. She points out that the Forest Service’s policy of putting out all fires in the 1900s was later found to be incorrect, and believes the consequences are unforeseeable. Defenders of forest thinning call it a “drastic step” necessary because of the equally drastic threat created by drought and rising temperatures, but as a policy it remains controversial.

Precautions One Can Take Meanwhile, be careful! The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) urges caution when hiking in burn areas. Burned areas are so devoid of vegetation that flooding and mudslides can happen quickly, even with light precipitation, wiping out trails and potentially trapping hikers. In a storm, it is essential to avoid streambeds and seek higher ground. Fast-moving frontal systems are the norm in Colorado, often with violent changes in mountain weather, so before heading out, always get a weather report and stay aware. Precipitation can cause mudslides, loosen rock, and even dislodge massive boulders. Another hiking hazard is trees, because fires can weaken their root systems. Weakened pine trees can fall without warning, even with a light wind, making little or no sound due to the lack of needles.

Because wildfires spread quickly and are often caused by accidents, here are a few common-sense tips: 1) If you notice an unattended or out-of-control fire, report it immediately, even if you are the cause of the fire. 2) Never leave a campfire unattended and completely extinguish it before sleeping or leaving the campsite. 3) Never use stoves, lanterns, and/or heaters inside a tent. Refuel these devices only when cool. Avoid spilling flammable liquids and store in a safe place.

4) Do not discard cigarettes or matches from moving vehicles or on park grounds. 5) Do not park your vehicle on dry grass. 6) Check to see if there is a burn ban in effect. The most current information can be obtained from the Colorado Office of Emergency Management at www.coemergency.com, or from the forest service or your local county.

Before hiking, camping, or backpacking, always check local conditions for fire danger and active fires. Plan several escape routes,

inform friends and relatives where you will be hiking, and fill out any trailhead registers.

Do not hike or camp in areas that have been closed due to fire danger. Be on guard for the sight and smell of smoke. At the first sign of fire, leave the area immediately on established trails or roads. The backside of the fire and wind is the safest, so hike downhill and upwind. Avoid canyons, which are considered a natural “chimney.”

If caught in a wildfire, do not try to outrun the blaze. Search for a lake, pond, or stream to take refuge. If there is no water, find a depressed, cleared area with little vegetation, such as ditches, caves, rock overhangs, and large, open areas of green grass.

Lie on the ground and cover your body with wet clothing, a blanket, or soil. Remove any synthetic clothing and gear, which can melt to your skin. Breathe the air closest to the ground through moist cloth, and wait until the fire has passed. Notify authorities to let

Charred pine cones along the forest floor.

Photo by Janice Bennett.

them know you are safe and watch out for burned trees that may fall without warning.

With the constant threat of wildfires in Colorado, a little knowledge goes a long way toward protecting lives and property. △ Janice Bennett, a member of the Denver Group, is a freelance writer and the author of two books, Sacred Blood, Sacred Image: The Sudarium of Oviedo and Saint Laurence and the Holy Grail: The Story of the Holy Chalice of Valencia, which were featured on National Geographic’s Ancient X-File series and The History Channel’s Decoding the Past. She is now designing and self-publishing her book about the Camino de Santiago, a medieval pilgrimage road in northern Spain. A board member of CMC Press and the CMC Photography Section, she loves hiking and photography, and is learning to ski this season.

] A burned out hillside along the William R. Kreutzer Nature Trail, west of Fort Collins.

Photo by Janice Bennett.

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Hiking along the William R. Kreutzer Nature Trail in the burn area. Photo by Janice Bennett

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Fixed-Back Mountain

Solitude and Healing on Lizard Head Peak

By James Turner

“Inaccessible” and “unclimbable” are strong words, and are like a red flag to the enthusiastic alpinist.

—Albert Ellingwood

Nearing the base of Lizard Head, along Cross Mountain Trail.

Photo by Christian Green.

T

here is a thin layer of ice on the creek, as I leave my truck at 10:40 am and head out on the Cross Mountain Trail in a t-shirt. The mellow grade of the trail passes quickly underfoot as I approach the south face of the peak, which is basking in the sun like its namesake. I need to be alone for this. I have a smile on my face and butterflies in my stomach; this is rare for me, because I am usually a cool customer. “All Along the Watchtower”, the Jimi Hendrix version, comes on my iPod as I leave the trail and head up the ridge that leads to the base of the summit block.

By 12:30 pm, I am 20 feet off the deck and I am moving vertically, the butterflies are gone, and I feel like my old (young) self again. I carry a few cams and a skinny 60-meter rope, which leaves me the option of selfbelay if I need it, but I know I will not use it. Stepping left from the intermediate belay 22

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that breaks up the first pitch, I move on to a few thin face holds and then up to a fantastic pocket for my right hand on route to a finger crack. I pass a few fixed pitons, one of them a ring piton, which testifies to the age of the route. I breathe in the exposure; it has been far too long.

*** It is the end of October, and I am seven weeks post-op from a back injury that had me down physically and emotionally since the beginning of July. Needless to say, I hadn’t done any real climbing since the end of June.

There were a few weeks when I couldn’t even climb out of bed. I got past that and was able to walk around, but even after extensive “alternative treatments” and therapy, I was left with surgery as the only option. On September 10, the evening before the surgery, my friends and I soloed some easy stuff in Boulder's Flatirons, and then had a couple mar-

]

garitas in town to try to ease my nerves. The surgery went well and I left Colorado for a few weeks so I wasn’t tempted to do anything I shouldn’t. (I was supposed to only walk on paved roads; though I live in Ouray, Colorado, which didn’t leave me with too many options since there is only one paved road in town.) When I returned to the San Juans 5 ½ weeks later, the aspen were just about finished but the cottonwoods and other trees in town were still holding a little color. The faintest traces of an early snowfall still clung to the northern aspects up high. I started hiking immediately, taking it fairly easy but really soaking it up.

I hike every day but rarely see any people. The mountains were empty, and there was that very distinct autumnal feeling in the air—that warm early afternoon sun and the slight breeze that has that little bite and lets you know that winter will be here before you

know it. It is a nice contrast to the hustle and bustle of the summertime crowds that flock to little mountain towns, such as Ouray.

I had been following the doctors’ and physical therapists’ orders to a “T”: stretching, doing nerve glides, lifting light weights, even hanging on my pull-up bar, and of course hiking. I love hiking, but I was jonesing to go climbing. My friends didn’t make it any easier, saying, “Hey, Jim, can you go to the Black [Canyon] this weekend?” or “There’s three of us going to climb Monster Tower tomorrow, and if you come we could be two teams of two!” It was nice to feel wanted and it was great to see my climbing partners again, but I explained to them that if I could just wait a couple weeks, I should be able to start getting after it again by Thanksgiving.

***

The finger crack widens to perfect hands; I shake out and chalk up out of habit.

[

I traverse left on a four-inch foot ledge with slopey hands, and I am on the scree-covered ledge that joins the two sections of vertical climbing. It is loose, very loose. Rocks slide down as I step up; it has the consistency of a sand dune, only the grains range from pebble size to basketball size. I pull up my rope and re-flake it at the base of the final pitch.

The first eight or nine feet was an overhanging pocket or alcove, and above this the wall was vertical and unbroken save for the narrow end of the crack to which we aspired. It was a difficult problem—one of the four real pieces de resistance of the whole climb.

Unlike Albert Ellingwood, who used a shoulder-stand from Barton Hoag on the first ascent of the peak to pass this section, I am alone and chimney up into the crack which accepts fist jams and allows me to get my feet up. For me this is the crux of the route; I stick my arm up to my shoulder and

flex, but my atrophied bicep slips back and forth like a little boy’s feet in his father’s work boots. I use the ageless technique of counterpressure between the hand and elbow, known today as the “chicken-wing”, and manage to get up a little higher. The angle then eases and I make quick work of the rest of the pitch.

I gingerly scramble over to the true summit and take in the amazing 360-degree views.

The Wilson group is stunning; the knife edge ridge between Mount Wilson and El Diente Peak brings back memories, as do the views to the four corners and the high peaks of the Sneffels Range. I even make a few phone calls from the summit, which is absolutely unlike me, but I want to thank a few friends who supported me during the last few months.

*** This far-advanced disintegration was our greatest obstacle. Absolutely the whole surface of the rock is loose and pebbles rain

Routes from left to right: Original route, South Face route, South Crack route (standard route). Photo by James Turner.

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down from the sides as readily as needles from an aging Christmas tree.

Lizard Head Peak, which is a striking spire in the southwestern part of the state, can be seen best from Colorado 145, just west of the pass that bears its name. It is the prominent and obvious high point on the ridge that divides the San Miguel and Dolores River systems.

From afar it looks like a volcanic plug, but it is actually composed of extrusive volcanic ash flows.

In some parts of the San Juan we had run across the rumor that the Lizard Head or a large part thereof had fallen off a year or two ago; but though the ridge is covered with the detritus of the ages, there is no evidence of a recent catastrophe of any magnitude. However, it is more than probable that large masses plunge down to the long talus slopes from time to time.

During the course of the last century, many have wondered how this peak received its interesting, yet perhaps not well-suited name. However, there was truth to the rumors that Dr. Ellingwood heard in 1920. It is well documented in both the December 28, 1911, Telluride Journal and the December 29, 1911, Mancos Times-Tribune that a large portion of summit block fell down and permanently altered the appearance of the peak.

Prior to this, the peak resembled the head of the reptile for which it is named. I pondered the naming of the peak myself, when I first saw it in 2001, while on a thru-hike of The Colorado Trail, which skirts Hermosa Peak on the opposite side of the upper Dolores River valley.

The first ascent of Lizard Head in 1920 has the reputation of being one of the hardest ascents of the era, and was definitely a climb that was well ahead of its time. Many climbers today start indoors or at bolt-protected sport climbing areas, and few understand the boldness of early first ascensionists. I have had the privilege of climbing with a few climbing legends who have done cutting-edge ascents in the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s before the advent of the current generation of climbing equipment. I have nothing but the utmost respect for their accomplishments. However, the thought of climbing on the equipment that the generation of climbers used before the World Wars almost turns my stomach.

As with many of the other technical mountain choss piles of the San Juans, the rock of Lizard Head Peak has cleaned up a bit over the years. This is at least mostly true on the vertical sections; the third class section is terribly loose, especially on the down climb back to the fixed anchors. This can’t be avoided but could be a little less dangerous on the way down by staying on rappel, which would require using two 60-meter ropes. The standard route, often called the South Crack Route, which I ascended, is not the original route on the peak, but it is the favorable line since it has much less loose rock. It is located near the eastern edge of the south face and begins with an obvious wide crack. Once the ledge is gained, make your way up and left to the base of the next technical pitch. This regains the original line of ascent in an alcove that leads to a wide crack; from here the route to the top is straight forward. A single set of camming devices up to #4 and a ½ set of

stoppers are probably sufficient. Helmets are mandatory and a safe position should be obtained before pulling the ropes on the decent.

This is not a route to climb below another party! Lightning is obviously a concern; it would be a horrible place to get caught during a storm. An ascent in autumn reduces the likelihood of lightning, but climbers should wear blaze orange on the approach, because the area can be popular with hunters.

*** To some people, four months off might not seem that long of a time. For me it was an eternity. It wasn’t just the time off; it was 10 out of 10 pain; it was walking with a limp and avoiding the slightest of inclines; it was no work and worse, no fun. I have committed a lot to climbing, to that feeling you get as you leave the horizontal world behind. The thought of never watching the sun set far too early or rise way too late from an alpine wall was terrifying. The embrace on the summit, or bailing in rapidly deteriorating weather, or continuing on because the only option is up and over when the point of no return is far below. The commitment. The partnership of the rope. All of this and more could have been gone forever with one slip of the surgeon’s hand.

Quotes from Outing, Volume LXXIX, November 1921, Number 2, “First to Climb Lizard Head” by Albert Ellingwood. The full account can be found at http://home.comcast.net/~gibell/trip_reports/EllingwoodLizardHead.html. In August 1920, Albert Ellingwood and Barton Hoag became the first climbers to ascend to the summit of Lizard Head Peak. A member of the Colorado Mountain Club, Ellingwood was a Rhodes Scholar and a professor of political science at Colorado College. △ James Turner works as a mountain guide in Ouray, Colorado. He has climbed in the Central Alaska Range, the Canadian Rockies, Peru’s Cordillera Blanca, and Argentine and Chilean Patagonia but never has a problem returning home to the Colorado Plateau and his beloved Black Canyon. He can be reached at jamesturner.ouray@gmail.com.

Heading up Cross Mountain Trail toward The 13,113-Foot Peak.

Photo by Christian Green.

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Thunder Pyramid An April Adventure in the Elk Range

By Jim Rickard

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The top of Pyramid Peak from Thunder Pyramid, during the summer. Photo by Ken Kunkel.

Well, OK, April isn’t “calendar winter” for all the purists out there, but when it’s all on snow and the road is closed, it’s close enough—unless you really love short cold days.

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Ward Hobert at the summit ridge of Thunder Pyramid. Photo by Doug Kruesi

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made one previous attempt at this high Thirteener in September 2006, only to be beaten back by incessant rain, loose and sliding rock, and its namesake, thunder.

I had put up with a lot of grief that day, and reached a bit above 12,000 feet, but when lightning started striking below me with disturbing regularity, it was time to turn around and head back. In March 2007, I was looking for a hard climb to do, and the only centennial remaining on my list with a reasonable chance of being completed during a two-day weekend in the winter was Thunder Pyramid. A friend and I cleared a weekend, arranged who would bring what, and were all set; that is, until a solid week of snow. Some avalanche risk is one thing, but when slides are almost guaranteed, it didn’t seem wise to climb 3,000+ feet of steep, unprotected face.

This was getting frustrating. While working on my Fourteeners, Pyramid Peak had given me the most trouble in the way of false starts. Due to weather, auto accidents, climbing partners, and road closures it had taken five tries to get that one under my belt; and now its little brother was beginning to give me similar trouble.

We rescheduled for April 13, 14, and 15. Now the question became: What would the conditions be like? Would the road be open? Dry? Snowpacked? For being perhaps the most famous valley in Colorado, it was

remarkably difficult to get any information about the current conditions. The Forest Service even lists the Maroon Creek Road as a snowmobile trail, with the recommendation that you contact them regarding current conditions. We did; they didn’t know.

In the end, we prepared for everything.

During the afternoon of Friday, April 13, Doug Kruesi, Ward Hobert, and I left Denver looking like the Beverly Hillbillies goin’ climbin’. We had backpacks loaded with snow, rock, and ice gear. We had avalanche beacons, helmets, and shovels. We had bikes, a snowmobile, and a sled.

We reached the closure gate on the Maroon Creek Road around 5 pm, under cloudy threatening skies. Certainly later than we would have liked, but sometimes work schedules interfere with fun. Well, the road at the closure gate at about 8,200’ was dry, but we couldn’t see up it very far. As we started to organize gear, we sent Doug off on his bike with a radio to see “what’s around the next bend.”

The answer, of course, is always “another bend.” He continued on to the entrance station, and reported the road mostly dry, with occasional patches of snow. Based on that marginal information we decided Ward and Doug would bike up the road as far as possible, while I tried to take a snowmobile up in case the road became impassible higher up.

In keeping with the graceful form of this

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trip, we now had two people riding mountain bikes with climbing boots, while wearing full packs with snowshoes strapped on, while a third was trying to drive an old snowmobile up bare pavement with wheelbarrow tires tied to its skies, wearing, of course, the requisite backpack complete with snowshoes. This went on, with various difficulties, for about five miles, after which the snow cover became (nearly) continuous, and the bikes useless. The bikes were chained to a convenient tree, and the rest of the party and gear shuttled to the Maroon Lake parking lot on the snowmobile.

Our plan had been to backpack in to Crater Lake or beyond, but by the time we reached the end of the road it was nearly 8 pm, and snowing. We set up the tents on a little bare patch of the concrete trail between snowdrifts, used the lovely outhouses, which, much to our surprise, were unlocked and clean, and crawled into bed. Fortunately we had eaten on the drive down, and didn’t have to take the time to cook dinner.

Morning broke cold, but crystal clear.

We ate, loaded our packs for the climb, strapped on snowshoes, and headed out. It seemed terribly strange to leave tents and gear on the paved walkways that in another few weeks would be crawling with thousands of tourist, but there was no one here now, and not a footprint—other than ours —to be seen. Watching the first rays of sun hit the Trail & Timberline

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Couloir on Thunder Pyramid.

Photo by Doug Kruesi.

snow-covered Bells, and knowing we had the entire valley to ourselves was quite a treat.

The first mile or so of the trail was relatively easy to see, with numerous bare spots exposed on the south-facing slopes, but eventually it was lost, and unnecessary to follow, under the previous night’s new snow. We took a shortcut across Crater Lake—which had more than an ice-axe shaft’s depth of snow above the ice—and then further diverged from the summer route. We did a long climbing traverse across the west face of Pyramid Peak to reach the basin formed by Thunder Pyramid and the Len Shoemaker Ridge.

In summer, this would be a miserable traverse on loose talus. As it was, I can’t say whether it was a good idea or not; we did avoid a portion of the steep climb from West Maroon Creek, but side-hilling for that long on a face that steep—and always facing the same direction—was rough on the ankles. Somewhere in that stretch we traded snowshoes for crampons, which allowed a little more variety in how we placed our feet.

From the relatively flat bench at 11,800’, there were several promising couloirs—and whaddaya know: Every one of them was white. So much for the route descriptions we had read. The original plan had been to head for the saddle between Thunder Pyramid and 13,722, but one of the more direct couloirs was just too enticing. The weather was perfect, the snow was good, we were making good time; this was going to be a great day.

What can I say after that? The couloir climbed 1,700 vertical feet to the ridge in 1,850 horizontal feet. No trigonometry is required to figure out that that is steep. There 28

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were a few difficult steps where rock or ice protruded to keep life interesting, but by far the greatest challenge was the unrelenting steep climb. In that entire length there were perhaps only one or two undulations large enough to offer the possibility of sitting to rest. For the most part, it was one step after another, with an occasional standing rest while making a switchback. Many thanks to Doug and Ward: they put in far more steps than I did. The eight inches or so of new snow made the footing more solid (for the most part) but took its toll in extra energy required.

We reached the ridge, or at least our best guess of what was the “ridge”, as opposed to the enormous cornice hanging over the east face, after two hours or a bit more in the couloir. Whether through exhaustion or a trick of light—in the still perfect weather—we had trouble determining where we were. The summit, at 13,932’, was plainly visible 700’ north and 250’ above us, but for whatever reason it seemed much farther, and I was convinced we were looking at Pyramid “way over there” and not our goal, just a couple hundred yards away. After catching our breath and deciding that the way to the summit must be up, we continued on.

The smooth gentle pillows of the cornice were an alluring siren’s call compared with the ragged loose rock of the ridge. The few times my axe poked through that snow into nothing were just enough reminder of the quick ride to the bottom that would result from a misstep.

One more rocky step had to be overcome, and then we were there! Three o’clock in the afternoon, a long dangerous descent

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ahead, but we had made it; a beautiful place on a beautiful day, all the more satisfying due to the difficulty in reaching it.

The descent really highlighted the benefits of a snow climb. The sun had loosened the new snow, and while there were numerous small point release sloughs—both natural and caused by us—we were rolling snowballs at each other rather than rocks! Here and there as we descended the couloir we managed a glissade, but the angle of the slope was intimidating, and there were still those rock and ice steps we had climbed to negotiate. After passing the worst of these, we removed our crampons, which were balling severely in the late afternoon sun, and continued down to the 11,800’ bench.

With our calf muscles exhausted by hours of front-pointing, we decided to descend directly to West Maroon Creek rather than retrace the long traversing route we had ascended. This worked well, but involved descending a couloir-then-gulley, which we had not climbed. At one point we found ourselves atop a small cliff band. A stone spur projected from the middle of the gulley, from which we could assess our choices: A frozen waterfall to the right, ice and rock to the left, or climb up out of the gulley and look for another route.

We were all too tired to consider the prudent approach. Ward began down climbing the rock; while, for some reason, I got the idea in my head that I could just glissade off the waterfall and land in the soft snow below. I put my foolish notion into practice, and realized—while in mid-air—that I wasn’t sailing off to the soft landing I had envisioned, but plummeting vertically downward a few feet from the face of the ice. My legs plunged directly into the (thankfully) soft snow, while my torso and pack continued on down the 35-degree slope. In an instant I was tumbling out of control. Fortunately, there wasn’t anything to hit, and it proved a fine opportunity to practice a self-arrest. I stood, dug snow out of every orifice, and yelled up to Doug and Ward that I really couldn’t recommend the waterfall as a good descent route. The two of them completed a careful down climb of the rock without incident, and we continued down to the creek.

Finally on flat terrain, we put our snowshoes back on, crossed the creek, and began

the long march back to camp. We again took a shortcut across, rather than around, Crater Lake, and rejoined our morning tracks. One final series of obstacles remained to annoy our tired trio on the return: The intermittent snow on the lower portions of trail hadn’t been a problem in the early morning, it had been hard, and we had just walked over the top of it in our boots, or along the rocks or bare trail as may be. In the evening the snow was soft, and the bare portions of the trail were mud. It wasn’t clear whether the greater difficulty was slogging through mud in snowshoes, or post-holing through snow in boots.

We each made our choices and changed our minds a few times on the way back to the tents.

We made it back to camp around 7 pm, and found the tents, parked snowmobile, and wheelbarrow tires looking incongruous, but thankfully undisturbed amid the outhouses, benches, and trail signs of this popular, but currently deserted, trailhead. The lower portion of Maroon Lake was ice free, which allowed us to start dinner and refill our water bottles with liquid water, rather than waiting for snow to melt; a convenience for which we were quite grateful.

In the morning, Sunday, we packed up and shuttled people and gear down the snow covered road on the snowmobile. It had melted significantly since we had arrived resulting in half a mile or so between the end of the

snow and where the bikes were chained.

While the others walked that portion, I reattached the tires to the snowmobile skis. The sloppy steering associated with just barely attached tires meant that I couldn’t go much over 10 mph without losing control. Doug and Ward, rolling down hill on their bikes, now clearly had the better part of the deal, leaving me far behind. I putted slowly down the road, wondering what on earth I would say to explain myself to anyone I happened to pass. Fortunately for my ego, I didn’t see anyone all the way to the closure gate, where a single individual just stared as I rolled, scratched, and sparked by into the waiting trailer.

About 9 am, sore but satisfied, we headed off for a well-earned breakfast in Carbondale.△ Jim Rickard is a longtime CMC member, as is his mother, Jo Anne Rickard. He recently joined the Colorado Wilderness Families Group to introduce his children to the CMC. Jim has climbed more than 270 Colorado ranked peaks, including the hundred highest; along with numerous mountains in the Western States, Alaska, South and Central America, Africa, and Eurasia.

Thunder Pyramid from the 13,450’ saddle, after ascending the steep couloirs in September. Photo by Bob Cole.

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The Story behind Peak 13,932 Although Thunder Pyramid is only about three-fifths of a mile south of Pyramid Peak, it was simply listed as “No. 60, unnamed, 13,932” in William Graves’s list of the 100 Highest Summits in Colorado published in the May 1968 issue (No. 593) of Trail & Timberline.

During the summer of 1969, CMC members Spencer Swanger, who was the first person to complete Graves’s Centennial list, and Stewart Green noticed Peak 13,932 while they were descending South Maroon Peak. That winter, they initiated plans to climb the peak the following summer, and it was included in the Pikes Peak Group’s summer schedule. They decided to limit the trip to six climbers, because, as Jim Rickard notes, the peak, like many mountains in the Elk Range, has plenty of loose rock and requires a good deal of steep scrambling.

On August 3, 1970, Swanger, Green, Carson Black, Gordon Blanz, Jack Harry, and William Graves

left from Maroon Lake to ascend Peak 13,932. Surprisingly, when they reached the summit they found no sign that anyone had been there before—no register, no cairn, no forgotten article of clothing. “It is most interesting that as late as 1970 there could be found a distinctive peak of nearly 14,000 feet which apparently had not been climbed,” wrote William M. Bueler in Roof of the Rockies. Indeed, Peak 13,932 was among the final Colorado Centennials to be conquered.

While the group ate lunch on the summit of Peak 13,932 during that early August afternoon, they heard a rumble of thunder in the distance and agreed that Thunder Mountain would be apropos for the peak’s new name. The name morphed into Thunder Pyramid shortly thereafter, to go along with its neighbor Pyramid Peak.

—Christian Green Trail & Timberline

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The 1921 Blanca Peak Trip

A Routine Climb in the Sangre de Cristos

By Woody Smith

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D

uring the early days of the Colorado Mountain Club, information on the state’s peaks was a rare commodity. People may have wanted to hike, but they weren’t always sure how to get to the trail.

Part of the club’s attraction was its members’ ability to navigate the rough spots and get climbers to the mountains. One resource that helped make hikes successful was the reports

by CMC trip leaders, which were compiled and made available in the club rooms.

The CMC also contacted local forest rangers regarding access, services, and the best routes up nearby peaks. By the late 1910s, the club’s collected works—Data on Colorado Mountains—included railroad, vehicle, and hiking routes; information about geology, flora, and fauna; weather statistics; topographic maps; plus guides to lodging and livery stables. For example, the CMC party planning to climb Blanca Peak on Labor Day 1920 would have known the town of Blanca was best for nearby services, including a railroad stop; the Waldorf was the “best hotel” in town; automobiles could be driven to the “foot of Big Bear Grade, 10 miles northwest of Blanca”; the Potts livery 30

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barn and C.M. King Ranch were best for obtaining horses; and that “special information” could be obtained by Steve Calkins and C.M. King, “both of Blanca, Colo. Both men have phones but don’t get their mail very often.”

All information was supplied to the club by Forest Ranger J.D. Wright, “respectfully submitted January 12, 1916.” It was also noted that Mrs. Webster, owner of the Waldorf, could “furnish meals to 75 people provided she is notified in time.”

Despite the apparent wealth of information, CMC trip leader Fred Braun, who worked as social secretary for Olinger’s Mortuary, was compelled to find out more.

Through a friend, Mr. O.J. Clark of Denver’s Interstate Trust Company, Braun contacted J.M. Pinney, mayor of Blanca, and soon to be president of the Blanca State Bank. Wrote Clark: “Mr. Pinney is a dandy fellow and a good climber so that I believe he is [an] authority as to the time it will take to go to the summit of the mountain.”

On June 2, 1920, Mr. Pinney replied: In regard to the climb of Mt. Blanca on Labor Day, I am willing to do all I can to assist the Club in making arrangement

Blanca Peak, as seen during the September 1921 CMC trip. Courtesy Colorado Mountain Club Archives.

for this trip, having Automobiles take the party to the foot-hills it will take two days to make the trip, if they intend to walk from Blanca, three days, I could make it from Blanca and back in two days but it would make a fellow hump some to do it.

I will go with the party if you will, in order to catch a few trout and show you Lake Como. Very Truly Yours. J.M.Pinney.

It was late July before Mr. Pinney heard anything more. In the meantime both trip leader Braun and co-leader Fred Morath of Colorado Springs had withdrawn. Taking their place was Denver Local Walks Chairman Billy Myatt, who attempted to keep the trip on track. But August 1920 was a busy month for the CMC. The Club’s first Outing to the San Juan Mountains was planned for two weeks in mid-August, and Billy Myatt doubted “very much whether we will have a large crowd” for the Blanca trip.

Pinney wrote Myatt on August 25, still offering “to get you a good man who knows the trip well . . .” but tempered with the advice, “I believe that if your leader has fallen down, and you have no one to lead, it would be well to give it up at this time, as this is a

Agnes Vaille takes some time to do a bit of reading before the hike up Blanca Peak.

Courtesy Colorado Mountain Club Archives.

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two days trip of hard Mt Climbing.”

Under such pressures the Blanca Peak trip was postponed one year.

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By July 1921 Billy Myatt was again preparing to lead a party to Blanca. Among the preparations was hiring transport from town to the base of the mountain. A Mr. Stevenson of Blanca estimated a charge of $12.50 round-trip in his truck for the expected party of 10 climbers.

On August 31, 1921, Billy Myatt again wrote to Mr. Pinney: Last year, as you remember, we contemplated making a trip up Mt. Blanca which was given up owing to a lack of registrations. We have put the trip on again this year but have not had much luck with registrations. However there will be four of us to make the trip and we will reach Blanca Station Saturday morning . . . [if ] you care to accompany us, we shall be very glad to have you. Yours very truly, William L. Myatt.

Myatt even received updated directions for the peak from Forest Ranger Paul Gilbert.

From the town of Blanca: Get a team to take you as close to the mouth of Holbrook Canon, from here it will be a horse back trip for about five miles to the upper end of Holbrook Lake, here you will find a comfortable cabin and camp over night, from here it is possible to make the summit of Blanca in about four hours.

I would further suggest that [the next morning] you immediately climb the ridge to the south of this cabin and . . . follow it on to the top Blanca.

And so it finally came to pass, at 5:26 am,

on September 3, 1921—after a year of planning and an all-night train ride from Denver—four mountain climbers disembarked at the town of Blanca. They were Grace Harvey, a music teacher; Agnes Vaille, Secretary of the Denver Chamber of Commerce; John Baker, a CPA; and Billy Myatt, a wholesaler. There was no truck to meet them at the depot, their transport was horse-drawn.

Myatt recalled that day almost 40 years later: We were to be taken to camp by the local garageman and he met the train and helped us unload our gear, but looked at us distrustfully when he saw two girls in the party. They surely weren’t mountain climbers! His distrust increased as the morning wore on, and his actions in apparently trying to discourage the trip only increased our determination to make it. How was he to know that the two men had had less experience and were poorer climbers than the girls?

We finally convinced him we all were fit for the ordeal but even so he continued to hold back, so that it was noon before we got under way, with a buckboard drawn by a spindly, moth-eaten old gray mare and a rather indolent burro to handle the balance. We were a motley crew. It was 6 pm when we reached our destination after a rugged journey over a once-road and trail.

After we cooked our meal and made camp it was time to turn in as we had planned a 6 am start. We made it. The packer took our equipment back to Blanca and was to pick us up at the foot of the mountain [later that] Sunday afternoon so we could make the train back to Denver.

As we say it was “a routine climb to the summit,” where we signed the register

at 2 pm and after drinking in the superb views of the magnificent Sangre de Cristos and the plains below, we started down— down the wrong ridge all afternoon. We must have traversed the entire southern end of the Sangre de Cristos as we wandered, always downward, through the moonlit night.

Oh, we were lost all right, yet now and then we could see tantalizing auto headlight far below us. We could hear a stream gurgling [or was it just the wind in the pines?], but couldn’t find it in the darkness to allay our now burning thirst.

The sun came up, just as it has for eons, and we spied a ranchhouse in an aspen grove, to which we dragged ourselves only to find it locked. However, it showed signs of recent habitation, and at long last a Mexican lad appeared in the yard. Our first desire was to get to the phone, and we asked him to let us in the house. He didn’t speak English and our sign language about the phone was to no avail, until someone thought of crossing his palm with silver.

Open sesame! No words were necessary.

He unlocked the door and we phoned our garageman, explaining our location, and while he couldn’t understand how we got there, he knew the ranch, Hansons. He came out in his jalopy, arriving in 20 minutes, which indicated we weren’t too far from town. This was 8 am Monday.

He later probably muttered to the old gray mare that he knew something like this would happen. Women climbing mountains! (T&T, December 1959, 175–176). △

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TO CAIRN OR NOT TO CAIRN? Ecological and Cultural Concerns of Those Wonderful Trail Markers

By David B. Williams

To some people it’s essential and to others it’s an eyesore. It is the massive cairn that marks the turn off to Pyramid Peak from the Crater Lake Trail in the Maroon Bells–Snowmass Wilderness. “At one point the cairn served a purpose, but now with so many people hiking the route it’s a monstrosity,” says Lisa Cashel, CMC’s Stewardship Manager. She adds that she is not anti-cairn, but that they have their place. “It really depends on where you are on your journey. The cairns on the talus field on Pyramid are essential.”

Over the past decade or two, the choice of whether to build or not build a cairn has become more complicated. For example, the CMC no longer builds summit cairns to house summit registries. Historically, perhaps a handful of people would reach a summit and write in the register, but now weekend ascents on busy trails in the summer resemble a freeway with a constant flow of hikers. It would be a logistical nightmare to maintain registers. Plus, on some summits people can take a photo with their smart phones and upload it directly to Facebook.

At the same time, some areas have experienced an epidemic of cairn building with hundreds of cairns, or stacks of stones, in a single location. These cities of cairns are especially common in national parks, which has forced park rangers across the country to try and stop visitors from making their own cairns. Rangers have put up signs, taken down cairns, and published handouts, often to no avail. “We’re knocking down cairns all over the place,” says Charlie Jacobi, a ranger 32

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at Maine’s Acadia National Park. “The mountaintops are being dismantled. Most hikers think they are seeing a natural landscape, but everything is now in cairns.”

People have been using cairns to mark their way for thousands of years. The word itself comes from the Gaelic carn, or “heap of stones,” but cairn is not an absolute description. In a way cairn is like the Supreme Court’s definition of pornography: you know it when you see it. Neither size nor shape really matter. An effective cairn might simply be two narrow rocks placed vertically next to each other, a small pile located on one side of a trail fork, a massive pile high on a ridge and visible for miles, or a big rock with a little one on it pointing toward the correct route.

Although most people probably associate cairns with trails, they have many uses. In central Mexico, fatigued people would pick up grass and a stone, spit on the items, rub them on their knees, cry out Kenestíquai!

(May I not get tired!), and then lay both on a cairn. The Navajo refer to their cairns as tsé

ninájihí (where stones are repeatedly placed).

Adding a stone to one would bring good luck. And in Iceland, a tradition developed of leaving bawdy poems in cairns known as beinakerlingar, or bone crones, because the piles were given the persona of old women.

One might also argue that cairns are one of our earliest means of communication. We have built cairns to mark territorial boundaries, good hunting grounds, places of danger, and burial spots of dead relatives. When we didn’t all carry cell phones or GPS units, cairns provided an enduring message from one person to another. It said: You are here.

You are not alone.

In addition, we build cairns for less tangible reasons. Some do it because it’s fun to stack and balance and build. Others do it as a way to establish a connection to those who came before. At a talk I recently gave in Boulder, one person told me of coming across a mass collection of cairns and adding one himself. “I thought they were interesting and wanted to join with the community,” he

A cairn along one of Colorado’s many high-country trails.

Courtesy Colorado Mountain Club.

said. Or consider those who deposit a rock on a summit cairn because they have a desire to leave a mark or a part of themselves on the mountain.

We are not alone in exploiting cairns.

Plants and animals seek them out, too. When we build cairns, we create a new ecosystem of a three-dimensional structure on a twodimensional ground surface. For example, bone-filled pellets or white droppings signify that a bird or mammal took advantage of the elevated perch and used it as lookout spot.

Around the bottom, plants exploit the rocks as a protected niche in which to grow. The abundant nooks and gaps can also provide safe spots for reptiles, insects, arachnids, and small mammals.

The wonderful ecological aspects regarding cairns does not mean that you should rush out now and go build a cairn to better the lives of desert and alpine beasts. Removing rocks can damage lichens and mosses, which have grown in protected spots that provide water and sunshine. Larger plants

face similar challenges, often congregating around a water source at the edge of a rock.

As to their use by animals, undisturbed rocks fit the landscape like a jigsaw puzzle and form protected crevices that keep out predators and debris and keep in moisture. One researcher told me “if you remove 20 rocks to build one cairn, you might create sub-standard habitat for one reptile, but the remaining 19 reptiles will be homeless.”

Ecological concerns are a central issue to land managers, trail builders, and outdoor advocates. “A well-engineered and planned use of cairns can lead to more sustainable travels,” says CMC’s Cashel. Cairns help prevent hikers from creating multiple routes and slow down the development of braided trails where hikers don’t know which exact route to follow. Protecting the environment is especially important in fragile ecosystems such as alpine and desert areas where even a single off-trail user can damage sensitive habitat.

And in some places, building cairns is against the law, says David Pettebone, Wil-

derness Program Manager at Rocky Mountain National Park. He notes that the Wilderness Act uses broad terms but “ultimately the influence of man should be unnoticeable,” and that any marking of trails, be it flagging, blazes, or cairns, is prohibited in Wilderness areas. Despite this, he and his staff constantly remove cairns in the park. “We hope that people are simply unaware of the park’s policies about cairns and that they understand that Leave No Trace practices are intended to protect park resources and other visitors’ experiences,” he says.

Steve Cassells of Laramie County Community College adds a cultural caveat to consider. He studies game drives in the high country of the park and in the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area. The drives, which consist of rock walls and rows of cairns that helped direct elk, deer, and bison to locations where they could be hunted, date back more than 7,500 years. Cassells and others have found where people have dismantled these ancient structures to make modern cairns and New Trail & Timberline

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David B. Williams is a freelance natural history writer and author of The Street-Smart Naturalist: Field Notes from Seattle and Stories in Stone. His work has appeared in Smithsonian, Popular Mechanics, California Wild, and High Country News. He can be found online at http://geologywriter.com/books/. His newest book, Cairns: Messengers in Stone, is available through The Mountaineers Books. To order call 206-223-6303 or visit their Web site at http://www.mountaineersbooks.org/. CMC members receive a 20 percent discount on all Mountaineers Books titles. △

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CMC members help build a cairn on the summit of Crestone Needle, July 1922. Courtesy Colorado Mountain Club.

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Age medicine wheels. “Beyond the illegality of such acts of vandalism, it is robbing future generations of their heritage. When in doubt, don’t move a rock,” he says.

Ultimately though, all of the people I spoke with agree with Cashel’s initial statement. Cairns are an essential part of hiking.

In part, this has to do with trust. When we see a cairn on a trail, we trust that whoever built it did so to help others. And, who hasn’t felt that reassurance when you are lost or temporarily misplaced and you come across a cairn letting you know you are in the right place. It is one of the great feelings in the backcountry.

In this light, I see cairns as a sign of community. As such, building one is not something to be taken lightly for it is a bond between you and your fellow hikers and travelers.

A new cairn constructed during the Blanca Peak Summit Route Project. Pictured here is volunteer Aaron Mojica. Courtesy Colorado Mountain Club.

A cairn along the trail up to Greys Peak. Photo by Rick Gaither

A cairn along the trail to Mount Democrat. Photo by Rick Gaither.

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THE 14,000-FOOT CAIRN Although Colorado is home to more Fourteeners than any other state, some residents have greedily coveted more. Such was the case with Mount of the Holy Cross. Best known for the massive cross of ice and snow on its eastern face, it has not always been over 14,000 feet tall. When James Gardner and William Henry Holmes made the first ascent in August 1873, they found it to be 14,170 feet high.

Unfortunately, the two men got it wrong.

By the 1920s, the United States Geological Survey had dropped Holy Cross to a mere 13,978 feet. Then a new study in the 1950s pushed the mountain up to 13,996 feet, but this was not good enough and someone decided to enhance the height. Said person left a note in the summit register reading “We built it up to 14,000 on 10/6/63—Hope winter winds won’t blow down our unstable cairn!” The impatient cairn builders need not have worried for yet another survey in 1964 gave Holy Cross the mantle of respectability it had long sought. The mountain now measured 14,005 feet, its elevation ever since.

This isn’t the lone story of people using a

molehill to make a mountain. For many years, fans of Mount Massive (14,421 feet) operated with the knowledge that their peak was actually taller than Mount Elbert (14,433 feet). To make sure, they would climb to the summit and build a cairn, at least 13 feet high. Elbertophiles, who “knew” that their summit was higher, didn’t take to the Massive upstarts’ cairn-erections, and they would hike up Massive and take down the cairn, which led to the Massive people heading back for another cairn raising. And, so on and so on.

Finally, at some point the feud fizzled.

But the height of Massive still troubled some locals. In the late 1930s, an official survey determined that Mount Massive was taller than Washington’s wonderful Mount Rainier, pushing Rainier down to the fifth highest peak in the lower 48. Leo Weisfield, chair of the Washington State Progress Commission, was so incensed that he contacted the superintendent of Mount Rainier National Park and asked if someone could build a cairn on Rainier’s summit.

Even more irate was Col. Clarence B. Blethen, the publisher of The Seattle Times. “For

some reason the public has supinely accepted official measurements of mountains from theoretical sea level as indicating their actual height . . . This is sheer nonsense,” huffed Blethen, in a front page editorial on August 25, 1939. “It is perfectly true that Mount Whitney and probably the two hitherto unknown Colorado mountains are more than 14,000 feet 'high' in the sense that their tops are that much above sea level, but there actually is no mountain in the United States that is 14,000 feet tall excepting the one which rises straight and clear from the sea level to peak and that is Mount Rainier.”

Despite Blethen’s logic and Weisfield’s plan, nothing changed. Then in 1948, four Seattleites proposed to build a cairn atop Rainier. It would be a 24-foot-high cairn made of rock and snow.

Again, the superintendent of Mount Rainier rejected the request. At present, none of the four peaks has elevation altering cairns atop them.

—David B. Williams

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Booth Creek Trail

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A Beautiful Year-Round Hike Close to Vail

Booth Lake, looking up to the ridge crossing to Upper Piney. Photo by Scott McClarrinon.

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trip up the trail following Booth Creek is an annual “pilgrimage” for me, my wife, and our dog; it’s also one of the most popular hiking trails in the Vail area. The ascent up the beautiful valley, with Vail Mountain at one’s back, is really quite special. And of course the addition of having accessible water is a special bonus. Most hikers are happy to simply make the first two miles—getting to the lovely 60-foot Booth Falls—and enjoy lunch on one of the rocks overhanging the water, then head back. This particular day, we had bigger plans. Not only were we continuing on to the lake, another 2.5 miles up the valley, but we then planned to continue on up to an obvious low point on the ridge, where we could look northward down to Upper Piney Lake. After that, we planned to travel along the ridge to the east and up to the 13,047-foot summit along the Eagle/Summit County line.

With an early morning start from the trailhead at 8,400 feet, we immediately started gaining elevation as the trail begins with several switchbacks between the parking lot and the wilderness entrance sign, 0.25 miles up the trail. The traffic noise from Interstate 70 only competes with the sound of Booth 36

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By Nathan Free

Booth Creek. Photo by Nathan Free

Creek for about the first half mile. We were then engulfed in the sounds and sights of nature: the gurgling of the creek, the rustling trees, the chirping birds, and wildflowers galore! This particular morning there was a fine mist in the air. A herd of elk had wandered from the ski area’s “Back Bowls” and were munching on grass, while keeping a comfortable distance from us. (Vail’s Back Bowls are noted as a large “maternity ward” for elk during the month of June.)

The grade of the trail during the first 1.5 miles is moderate and steady as we traveled through aspens and open fields of the broadening valley, which is enclosed by imposing, red-sandstone

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Hike Details Booth Creek Trail Maps: Trails Illustrated, Vail/Frisco/Dillon, Number 108; USGS Vail Pass/Red Cliff Trails, 7.5 minute Latitude 40, Vail & Eagle Trails Elevation Gain: 1,600 Feet—Falls; 3,080 Feet—Lake Rating: Moderate—Falls; Difficult—Lake Round-Trip Distance: 4.0 miles—Falls; 8.6 miles—Lake Round-Trip Time: 3 hours—Falls; 7 hours—Lake Getting There: The trailhead is only about two miles east of Vail Village, on the South Frontage Road, about half a mile past the Vail Golf Course. After crossing underneath I-70, to the north side, take the second left onto Booth Falls Road. Drive up about one block and you’ll find the marked trailhead, with limited parking. Note, this is also one mile west of Exit 180 (along the North Frontage Road). If the two small lots are full, overflow parking can be found at the nearby Vail Mountain School.

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Heading up the trail. Photo by Nathan Free.

walls. The trail then steepens and becomes a bit more rugged over the next 0.5 miles, as the pine forest thickens and the trail approaches the falls at 9,720 feet. This would typically be our destination, and we would take time to relax and enjoy the falls. But not today. We still had much to do and wanted to reach the lake before 10 am.

From here the trail is a bit more demanding, as it becomes steeper and less maintained above the falls. At 2.5 miles, there’s an opening in the timber, as we continued up from one shelf/basin to the next. At 3.0 miles the grade is moderate and the views more open.

Then at 4.0 miles the trail becomes steep and twisting, as we start to approach the grassy eastern shores of the lake, at 11,480 feet, right around tree line. Booth Lake is located

in the Eagles Nest Wilderness Area, at the head of the valley, nestled into a large cirque.

The area around the lake is open and easy to explore, as are the open, flowery slopes above. There is a low ridge above the lake’s south shore, which provides a wonderful vantage point of the entire basin, as well as an opportunity to look back down the valley, where we could see the Vail Ski Area and Mount of the Holy Cross farther southwest.

As I looked north and skyward, we could see our goal: the ridge between Booth Creek and Piney River basin. The sky was still quite clear, but as any experienced hiker knows, there can often be clouds building to the west. Also, with the depth of the basin I couldn’t be sure what lay beyond the ridge, so I wanted to push on without much rest.

We made the 600-foot elevation gain to the ridge in about 20 minutes; the sky was still clear to the west, so we continued along the ridge eastward—to the high point at 13,047' and the border between Eagle and Summit counties. This county line is the “spine” of the Gore Range and is quite rugged. Looking

down the north facing sides I could see snow fields that probably wouldn’t melt away this year. After an hour and a half of down climbing boulders and rock, we were safely back at the lake, where we enjoyed a wonderful foot soak and snack. It wasn’t until we were halfway down to the falls that we saw our first hikers. How great it is to have wilderness so close to home, for an escape!

We made it back to the falls in no time and soon encountered several families playing along the trail and in the creek, as we descended back down into the hospitable reaches of the valley.

Although most tourists who visit the Vail Valley might not explore as much as we did, any amount of this trail is worth the effort! This is also a wonderful hike almost any time of year! Wildflowers are usually very prolific, due in large part to all of the moisture from the creeks. If hiking in fall, there’s an abundance of color, because the valley is full of aspen trees. In winter the trail is usually packed down, so a very nice snowshoe trip can be had, because the trail is protected from the wind and experiences plenty of sun.

I have even enjoyed nighttime snowshoeing here, under the full moon! △ A member of the Gore Range Group, Nathan Free is the project manager for The Best Vail Valley Hikes. He has spent more than 30 years of his life in Colorado, enjoying Mother Nature and the mountains. During the past 20 years, he has summited all of Colorado’s 54/59 peaks over 14,000 feet.

The Best Vail Valley Hikes The thirteenth book in CMC Press’s pack guide series, The Best Vail Valley Hikes includes 20 of the best hikes within an hour or so drive of the Vail Valley. Offering detailed directions and full-color photos and maps to help you find your way, this 4 x 7 paperback easily fits in your pack or back pocket. Project manager Nathan Free and contributors from the Gore Range Group have hiked, and in some cases, snowshoed all of the routes in this pack guide. Easy hikes, such as Shrine Ridge and Vail’s Wedding Deck, are wheelchair accessible and offer a great adventure for kids and grandparents. Moderate hikes, including Lonesome Lake and Upper Piney River, are somewhat more demanding and offer splendid views. For a more difficult, all-day excursion, experienced hikers can ascend to the Tuhare Lakes, outside of Minturn.

Available mid-March! To order, visit our online store at http://www.cmc.org/ store or we can take your order over the phone at 303.279.3080 (in Colorado) or toll free at 800.633.4417.

104 pages, 4 x 7, 40 color photographs, 21 maps, paperback, $12.95, ISBN 978-0-9842213-6-3.

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First Friends

u A Tribute to Our Climbing Dogs

By Kristin Bjornsen

Kaya in the snow. Courtesy Robert Bjornsen

Sara was the consummate water dog; no errant stick was safe. Courtesy Robert Bjornsen

Our family dog Chani had so many porcupine quills protruding through her snout, she couldn’t close her mouth. Her furry face had become a pincushion. My father, Robert, and his climbing partner, Fred, were about three miles up the trail to Vermilion and Fuller peaks in the San Juan Mountains when the close encounter of the prickly kind occurred. The spiny critter ambled off unharmed, but our golden retriever–yellow Lab mix was in a world of hurt. Agony swirled in her liquid brown eyes. “Sit,” my father bade her.

Chani sat. He then reached into her mouth like a lion tamer and began to extract the major quills that had bayoneted her mouth and nose. The process probably hurt far more than had the quilling.

And yet, Chani did not growl. She did not bite. She did not run away. Trust and loyalty eclipsed pain and primal instinct.

Later, after a three-hour drive to the vet38

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erinary clinic in Montrose, a mending Chani, still groggy from pain meds, padded unsteadily across the vet parking lot toward us, her tail wagging in weak but gallant greeting.

The trust exhibited that day had been born of many years of my dad and Chani exploring the high country together—climbing mountains, huddling through hailstorms, and dozing side by side in sunny alpine meadows.

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My dad summited more peaks with Chani than with anyone else, human or canine.

Their relationship isn’t unprecedented.

Man and dog have long been wilderness companions. John Muir had the “good and brave” Stickeen—the little dog with whom Muir perilously crossed a tempestuous, crevasseridden Alaskan glacier in 1880. (Muir’s account, Stickeen: The Story of a Dog, is a classic.)

After his “storm-battle for life” with Stickeen, Muir wrote that “through him as through a window I have ever since been looking with deeper sympathy into all my fellow mortals.”

Then there was Barry, the early Saint Bernard rescue dog who lived with the Catholic monks at the Great Saint Bernard Hospice high in the Swiss Alps. As historical records indicate, from 1800 to 1812, Barry saved more than 40 lives. His most famous rescue was of a young boy trapped in an ice cave by an avalanche. Though the details are disputed, Barry is said to have found the boy, warmed him, and then lifted the boy onto his back and carried him to the monastery.

And you, the reader, perhaps have your own FuzzBall lying, even now, devotedly at your feet after a long hike. You can then understand the depth of the bond. Not everyone does. A good friend of mine remains baffled. “Why go through all the hassle of dogs—the leashes, the water bowls, the poop bags?” he asks. “Dogs can’t even talk to you.”

Sara and Kaya breaking trail.

Courtesy Robert Bjornsen Chani in her element, with her owner Robert Bjornsen, on the way up to Navajo Peak. Courtesy Robert Bjornsen.

the poop bags?” he asks. “Dogs can’t even t Exactly. Sometimes the most important things are communicated in silence.

And although I certainly understand some wild places needing to remain dog-free (in one such area, I glimpsed a doe nursing her fawn, a tranquil scene my hound dog would have tragically disrupted had he been present), dogs have been man’s best friend—or “First Friend,” as Rudyard Kipling puts it—for 14,000 to 35,000 years.

Emerging research shows just how tightly we’re bonded—and how well the two species communicate. To wit, in one fascinating study, British researchers found that dogs have a keen ability to read our emotions. As it happens, we humans display our emotions more intensely on the right side of our faces than the left. Consequently, during encounters, we look leftward, at the right side of a person’s face, in what’s called the “left gaze bias.” The scientists discovered that dogs also have a left gaze bias when viewing human faces, to better gauge our emotions.

Dogs are the only animals known to do this.

Humans, likewise, can speak “canine.”

Hungarian researchers recorded dogs barking in six situations (such as the owner holding a

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Chani climbed more than 200 peaks in Colorado, including 95 fourteeners.

Courtesy Robert Bjornsen

leash for a walk; a stranger approaching the house; and the dog being left in a park tied to a tree, etc.). When study participants heard the audio recordings, they all correctly categorized the barks as playful, aggressive, or fearful, and often even guessed the situation. And of course numerous studies show that playing with dogs or making eye contact with them releases the “love hormone” oxytocin, which reduces stress and depression, and boosts trust.

But we don’t need science to tell us these things. We experience this allegiance firsthand. I saw it when another family dog, Sara, a golden retriever, would stick absolutely by your side, even when a bunny sat mere feet away. And I witnessed it one day on Grays Peak with Kaya, our maverick husky–black Lab mix. As we approached the

summit and its interminable switchbacks, I saw a woman sitting beside the trail crying in exhaustion and despair. The independent Kaya, who rarely kissed anyone or sought affection, trotted immediately up to the woman and kissed her face copiously while the woman bear-hugged Kaya’s neck. “You’re right,” she said, laughing. “Everything will be fine.” And she stood up and forged on to the summit with Kaya at her side. △ -Dedicated to all Dogs and those who are blessed by their companionship.

Kristin Bjornsen is a freelance writer living in Gunbarrel, Colorado, with her Plott hound, Clyde. She has been a member of the Fort Collins Group for several decades.

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End of the Trail Patricia Wallace ▶ 1938–2012

By Georgia Briscoe and Susan Harris

Patricia “Pat” Wallace loved the mountains and she loved to hike.

Growing up in Kansas and spending most of her early professional and married life in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, made moving to Colorado in 1980 all the more special because it was close to the mountains. Pat moved to become the Head of Technical Services at the University of Northern Colorado Library system. As soon as she moved to Greeley, she became active in the Shining Mountains Group of CMC. When she relocated to the University of Colorado Libraries at Boulder to head the serials department in the early 1990s, she was even closer to her beloved mountain hiking trails.

Pat retired as a tenured professor emeritus in 2000. Her employees in the library were extremely fond of her.

Pat’s loves also included her family: daughter, Katherine Moore, in Pennsylvania; three grandsons, Josh, Ben, and Sean; four greatgrandchildren; and her brother, John, and his family in Michigan. Pat always had a dog and it was always a sheltie. Her most recent sheltie, Julie, was adopted by a generous Lafayette neighbor who also has a sheltie.

Travel was another of Pat’s delights, often as part of a major hiking trip. In Europe she hiked with Gudy Gaskill in Norway, on the Italian coast with other CMC friends, near Mont Blanc with her buddy Georgia Briscoe, and on the major trails of New Zealand. She also went on safari with her relatives in Africa; to Greece and Hawaii with her daughter; and she joined several Earthwatch scientific expeditions to Australia, Ireland, and Costa Rica.

Long before Pat retired, she was a weekly volunteer for the CMC–American Alpine Club library. She oversaw the serials conversion project and helped numerous library directors over the years. She was also an active volunteer with the Denver Museum of

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Nature and Science, frequently participating as a docent for special exhibits.

Pat hiked all but four sections of The Colorado Trail with Georgia, their dogs, and numerous other people over the years. She particularly enjoyed the CMC In-state Outings in 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2010. After retiring, Pat often hiked with Susan Harris and with the Boulder Tuesday Hikers. It was on a July 3, 2012, trip with Tuesday Hikers in the Peaceful Valley area of the Indian Peaks Wilderness that Pat disappeared after taking a different trail back than the other hikers took. Major search and rescue efforts have failed to turn up any trace of Pat. Pat’s quiet demeanor and friendship are missed by her many hiking companions, as well as her family and close friends.

The slogan on Pat’s T-shirt in her missing-person poster says it all: “You meet the nicest people in the mountains.” You are welcome to join friends of Pat by making donations to The Colorado Trail Foundation in her name, 710 10th Street, #210, Golden, CO 80401.

The search for Pat’s remains continues, so if you are hiking in Peaceful Valley, please notify the Boulder County Sheriff of any evidence.

Fred Hopper ▶ 1921–2012

By Betsy Weitkamp

Fred Hopper was a longtime member of the CMC, leading hikes and backpacks for the club. He loved the outdoors and spent many hours biking, hiking, skiing, and boating. A Denver native, he received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Denver. After returning from duty in World War II in the Philippines and after the war in Japan in the Occupational Forces, Fred started Rocky Mountain Research Lab, with two other classmates from DU. The company, now called Great Western Inorganics, is still in business today. Much of his working career was with Martin Marietta, where he helped develop and apply the LTARP program to the flight data during Viking 2’s mission to Mars in 1976. He loved to learn and until the end of his long life he continued to read and learn as much as time allowed. Writing was one of his passions, and he enjoyed piloting planes and gliders. With his wife, Mary, he spent his last years in Steamboat Springs and Parachute, Colorado. During his very active life, he made many good friends and will be greatly missed by them and many others who passed through his life. Fred passed away on September 28, 2012.

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.

Grand Canyon Backpack March 23–30, 2013 $442 As one of the seven natural wonders of the world, Grand Canyon National Park waits to be explored by the adventurous backpacker. Join fellow club members as we discover the canyon’s hidden treasures. The Park Service has approved our hiking route, which will descend the canyon’s south rim via the Tanner Trail and explore along the Escalante and Beamer Trails.

Campsites for the first three nights will use various locations along the Colorado River. The last night will be a dry camp as we ease the climb out of the canyon by hiking out over two days.

This is a remote, rugged, and highly scenic area of the Grand Canyon that showcases the beauty of the canyon’s colorful layers of rock.

The group will carpool from Denver and car camp the first two nights at the Mather Campground near Grand Canyon Village. The second day will feature short day hikes on trails along the park’s south rim, and optional visits to the shops and visitor centers in the village. We then backpack for 5 days/4 nights, experiencing up close the fascinating geology that makes this national park so famous. After hiking out we begin the drive back home, staying at a motel along the way (shared lodging).

Participants must be experienced backpackers and able to hike up to 10 miles per day at a moderate pace. All hiking between campsites will be on trail, with the first day involving a descent of 4,650 feet. Time will be available most days for optional exploration, which may include off-trail travel.

Trip cost covers all expenses except food.

Required pretrip meeting a couple weeks before departure. Limited to 9 participants.

Full payment of $442 ($75 nonrefundable) due upon registration. Trip leader

has previous Grand Canyon backpacking experience. For more information or to check space availability, contact Tim Musil (303) 384-3521 or tmusil@comcast.net.

Llama Trip in Tsegi Canyon, Arizona April 22–26, 2013 $1,553 We will hike with day packs and llamas will carry the camp gear. The guides will do the cooking. We will have a base camp which we will reach the first day after hiking 8 miles and gaining 1,200 feet, and we will do day trips out of that camp.

We will meet in Kayenta, Arizona, on April 22, and be guided to our base camp, which offers impressive views of the Four Corners area, as well as Monument Valley along the way. We will see secret ruins in good condition that our Indian guide knows. Camp will be at the mouth of Bat Woman House Canyon. We will see such ruins as Twin Caves, Bat Woman House, Lolamai ruin, and other unnamed cliff dwellings. The first day will be a hike of 8 miles and 1,200 feet elevation gain. The remaining days will be hikes of 5–8 miles moving quickly along the creek. The trip will end with a traditional Navajo dinner waiting for us at the guide’s aunt’s hogan, or traditional Navajo house.

Participants will see ancient ruins in mostly pristine condition with interpretation by a native American and will also get firsthand experience with his reservation.

The highlights of this trip are all the large cliff dwellings, many of which are in really good condition. This is a very remote system of canyons that only the local Navajos know how to get into. We may see other Navajos in the canyon but no one else! It kind of feels like Canyon de Chelly without all the tourists. The canyon itself is very large and scenic.

The cost is $1,553 and includes 3 guides for hiking and explaining the ruins, all meals prepared by guides from lunch on day 1

through dinner on day 5, llamas carrying our equipment, and tips for the guides.

Tents, sleeping bags, and pads are also included if desired. The hiking is rated B-level with minimal water crossings and good walking conditions. For more information or to register for the trip, contact Carol Kurt at kurtskarma@aol.com, or phone (H)970-925-6648 or (C)970-948-6412.

Best of the Grand Canyon—Colorado River Raft & Hike 2013 April 27–May 9, 2013 CMC members: $4,165 Non-CMC members: $4,290 One Spot available due to cancellation!!!

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, departing from the historic Lee’s Ferry and ending 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 that 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 7 mile, 4,500’ trek in and out.

Our outfitter, Hatch River Expeditions, has been guiding river trips through the canyon for over 70 years. We will have 3 guides and 20 participants on two 35’ S-rig boats running 30 hp 4-stroke outboard engines (fuel efficient and quiet). Each boat holds 18, so for this trip we will have plenty of room.

An average motorized raft trip through the Grand Canyon is for 7 days with short daily hikes. Hatch is adding 5 days to the trip with over 100 possible hikes, depending on the group’s interest and the weather.

They offer us daily-guided hikes at different hiking levels, or one may choose to rest in camp. There are several opportuniTrail & Timberline

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ties 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.

Hatch provides all meals, snacks, eating utensils, life jackets, tents, camp chairs, and the helicopter and plane rides back to the put-in. A sleeping kit is available for those who need camp gear—a sleeping bag, pillow, sleeping pad, ground cloth, and waterproof bag. The park entrance fee is included.

The cost of the trip also includes all tips and one night (double occupancy) at the Cliff Dweller’s Lodge near the put-in on Saturday (4/27/13).

The cost does NOT include carpooling to and from Lee’s Ferry, any meals other than those on the raft trip, and extra beverages for the raft trip (water, lemonade, and sports drink are provided by Hatch).

We will carpool or meet at the lodge in Marble Canyon, Arizona, near the put-in on Saturday evening, April 27, and begin our raft trip on Sunday, April 28. The trip ends on Thursday, May 9, when we helicopter out of the canyon and fly back to the put-in area.

The Grand Canyon, designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations in 1979, is among the Earth’s greatest ongoing geological spectacles. About 65 million years ago in Earth’s shifting, a huge area of land was lifted a mile and a half above sea level, forming what is now the Colorado Plateau. For the last 6 to 10 million years, the Colorado River has been slowly carving its way down through the center, exposing 2 billion years of geological history. There are also prehistoric traces of human adaptation to a particularly harsh environment.

For maximum enjoyment, a person may wish to participate in several hikes prior to the trip. The hikes will vary in difficulty in the range of our CMC levels A, B, and C. In general, a couple hiking levels will be available for most days. There is always the option to take the day off and rest in camp. All of our hiking will take place below the altitude of Denver (the river is at about 2,500 feet). Because this is the desert, one must be able to adapt to the heat and cold. Some of the hikes offered will be full day hikes of significant distance and altitude gain.

Cancellation Policy for Participants: ▶ Trip deposit of $500 is payable at time of registration with leaders. ▶ $300 of this deposit is non-refundable. ▶ For cancellation on or before November 15, 2012, there will be a refund of $200 ($500 less the $300 non-refundable fee).

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▶ Any refunds for cancellations after November 15, 2012, will be made only if a qualified replacement is accepted. ▶ Travel insurance is recommended.

The leaders, Blake and Rosemary, have led 4 winter trips to Yellowstone for the CMC. They have been on 24 one-week backpacks in the Grand Canyon, as well as a 7-day commercial raft trip and an 18-day private raft trip through the canyon. They led this from CMC Grand Canyon Raft and Hike trip from 2008 through 2012.

Best of Russia: Three Capitals May 17–28, 2013 $2,450, plus international airfare (estimated at $1,200–1,500) Join Svetlana Ehrhart, a native of St. Petersburg, Russia, who will be your hostess and trip leader. Svetlana worked as a tour guide for 12 years in St. Petersburg. This trip is a unique combination of a great cultural experience and easy hiking activity.

We’ll start our journey in St. Petersburg, which was the capital of Russia from 1712–1918. We’ll explore the main museums in the city, like the Hermitage and the former summer residences of the czars.

These are surrounded by gorgeous parks where we will hike. We will also visit a typical apartment and dacha of today.

We’ll then take a night train to Moscow, the capital from 1340–1712 and 1918– present. We’ll visit the famous Red Square, the Kremlin, and other well-known sites.

Late in the evening, we’ll go to Suzdal, which was the capital of a small Russian principality in the 12th century. It’s a small town with a lot of ancient churches and monasteries, and will afford some pleasant rural hiking.

We’ll return to Moscow and stay overnight before our departure to the United States.

Hiking will be level A–B; the number of participants between 10 and 15. The trip cost covers all ground transportation, all lodging, some meals, park and museum admissions, cost for letter of invitation to enter Russia and visa, gratuities, leader expenses, CMC fee. Cost does not cover airfare to/ from Russia, trip and health insurance, airline baggage fees, some meals, bar tab, souvenir purchases, taxi from and to the airport.

For more information, please contact Svetlana Ehrhart at svetochka12342@gmail.com or 303-915-8597.

Trek Bolivia! 2013 June 9–21, 2013 $1,880 + airfare (5–7 persons) $1,780 + airfare (8–11 persons) Bolivia is a largely undiscovered country in South America that features spectacular hiking and climbing, friendly people, and low prices. With this trip, we’ll acclimatize several days on the shore of beautiful Lake Titicaca at the small resort town of Copacabana, including one day to hike on the Island of the Sun (Isla del Sol) in the lake.

We then will trek for 7 days in the Cordillera Real northwest from La Paz, dropping down to 4,900’ on the east side of the Andes before we return to La Paz. We finish our visit with a bus tour to the preInca ruins at Tiwanaku, west of La Paz. Excellent physical conditioning is needed to do this trip as we will hike daily at or above 12,000’ until the last several days of the trek. On trek, we will cross several passes over 16,000’. Also on trek, we will camp several nights at 15,000’.

The leader will arrange training and team building hikes beginning in early 2013.

Trip cost covers all lodging in Bolivia, all ground transportation, all airport transfers, guided tour to Tiwanaku, food while on trek, all group camping and cooking gear, mountaineering tents (we may take our own), trekking guide, mules or porters when needed, park entry fees and ferry boat rides, Bolivia visa and service fee, contingency, gratuities, most leader expenses, and CMC fee.

Cost does not cover round-trip airfare to La Paz, meals in La Paz and Copacabana except as noted, personal gear, trip insurance or in-country rescues and medical expenses, indicated shots and personal medications, bar tab, souvenir purchases, baggage fees of any kind, lodging single supplement, lunch in Tiwanaku, any travel in country separate from the CMC trip.

The leader, Steve Bonowski, has led prior CMC trips to Bolivia in 2006 and 2011. To obtain the trip packet, contact Steve via e-mail (climbersteveb@ gmail.com). No phone calls please.

Appalachian Trail Slackpack, Roan Highlands, Tennessee

June 16–23, 2013 $825 (8 participants) Hike a section of the grand daddy of longdistance trails and fall in love with it! The Roan Highlands in Upper East Tennessee are widely regarded as the most scenic part of the entire Appalachian Trail. Backpacker magazine featured it among “The Top 36 Hikes on America’s Classic Trails” in 2008; National Geographic’s Adventure magazine listed it as one of the “50 Best American Adventures” in 2009; and Andrew Skurka considers it one of his top 10 hikes. So sign up and find out where you rank this stretch of trail on your list!

All the accolades are for great hiking, stunning views and incredible wildflowers. The Roan Highlands are home to the longest stretch of grassy “balds” in the entire Appalachian range. There are more rare and endangered plants here than in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. And in the spring and early summer the wildflowers are simply spectacular. Most notably, you will be hiking through the largest natural rhododendron garden in the world during peak rhododendron blooming time. Our first day is the last day of the local Rhododendron Festival which attracts around 200,000 visitors each year.

We will gather at the airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, and travel by van to a hiker hostel in Roan Mountain, Tennessee, where we will stay for the entire trip.

We will hike 65 miles of the Appalachian Trail in five days—in slackpacker fashion.

What this means is that we will be shuttled to a trailhead after breakfast each morning and picked up at another trailhead in the afternoon and shuttled back to the hostel.

We will day hike 12 to 15 miles each day; the terrain is up and down all day long. Due to the nature of the trip, not every participant has to hike every day. The expectation is, however, for everybody to intend to participate in all hikes. One sightseeing day is planned with a visit to the Boone, North Carolina, area and Grandfather Mountain State Park, where we will visit the museum, scramble to the top of the mountain, and walk across the Mile High Swinging Bridge.

Our hostel is a rustic, open-design cabin with four single beds in a loft and a queen and a king downstairs, separated from the common area by curtain. The cabin has two full bathrooms. Linens and towels are provided. The innkeepers provide a full breakfast each morning and sack

lunches on days two through seven. We will cook our own dinners at night. Every participant is expected to participate in dinner planning, preparation, and clean up. Due to the communal living and cooking arrangement, flexibility, a laid-back attitude, and teamwork are necessary to make this trip enjoyable for everybody.

Hiking difficulty will be equivalent to difficult B level hikes in Colorado at a moderate pace. Rain is always a possibility in that part of the country and the trail can be wet, slick, rocky, and full of roots. A good sense of balance is necessary to have a good time.

Conditioning hikes will be offered prior to the trip. Participation in at least one of these hikes is mandatory. We will also have at least one planning meeting before we depart.

The trip fee includes transportation from the airport in Charlotte to the hostel and back, as well as all lodging, transportation, entry fees, seven dinners, seven breakfasts, and six sack lunches during the trip. We will travel in a 12-passenger rental van. Travel between Denver and Charlotte is not included in the trip cost.

The trip is limited to eight participants.

The trip leader has lead hiking, bicycling, and backpacking trips for years and lived and hiked in East Tennessee for 12 years. Your leader is very knowledgeable about the area, its culture, history, flora and fauna, and is a NOLS WMI certified Wilderness First Responder. Need more information? E-mail Chris at cattanooga@gmail.com. No phone calls please.

In-State Outing Week 1 Sunday, July 21–Friday, July 26, 2013 CMC Members: $410 Non-CMC Members: $450 The 2013 ISO will be staged from Ridgway State Park. Only 15 miles from the town of Ouray, Ridgway’s great outdoors—the “Switzerland of America”—welcomes you!

The park’s beautiful reservoir and swim beach, playground areas, extensive trails, and diverse wildlife offer activities for all types of outdoor enthusiasts. Meals from Sunday dinner through Friday breakfast will be served at the pavilion, a covered, outdoor picnic area. Our fantastic chef, Michelle, will be back again this year! The ISO fee includes meals, evening programs, and tent camping at the Pa-Co-Chu-Puk

Campground loop G. Yurts are available separately at Ridgway State Park. Additional lodging is available nearby in Ridgway. Free CMC hikes (A–D) in the San Juan Mountains will be offered each day and are open to all CMC members.

FAMILIES, PLEASE CALL THE CMC TO REGISTER: 303-279-3080 x 2.

Cancellation Policy: If you need to cancel, send a written request to brendaporter@ cmc.org. If you cancel by May 31, you will receive your payment minus the $50 deposit. After JUNE 1, THERE WILL BE NO REFUNDS. Trip cancelation insurance is recommended in case you may need to cancel after June 1. You can get trip cancellation insurance at http://www.insuremytrip.com/ Attention Members: To get the member price simply go to the members section and log in to the system, then come back to the Adventure Travel page to register and you will be charged the member price.

In-State Outing Week 2 Sunday, July 28–Friday, August 2, 2013 CMC Memebers: $410 Non-CMC Members: $450 The 2013 ISO will be staged from Ridgway State Park. Only 15 miles from the town of Ouray, Ridgway’s great outdoors—the “Switzerland of America”—welcomes you! The park’s beautiful reservoir and swim beach, playground areas, extensive trails, and diverse wildlife offer activities for all types of outdoor enthusiasts.

Meals from Sunday dinner through Friday breakfast will be served at the pavilion, a covered, outdoor picnic area. Our fantastic chef Michelle will be back again this year!

The ISO fee includes meals, evening programs, and tent camping at the PaCo-Chu-Puk Campground Loop G. Three yurts are available separately at Ridgway State Park. Additional lodging is available nearby in Ridgway.

Free CMC hikes (A–D) in the San Juan Mountains will be offered each day and are open to all CMC members.

Cancellation policy: If you need to cancel, send a written request to brendaporter@ cmc.org. If you cancel by May 31, you will receive your payment minus the $50 deposit. After JUNE 1, THERE WILL BE NO REFUNDS. Trip cancelation insurance is Trail & Timberline

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recommended in case you may need to cancel after June 1. You can get trip cancellation insurance at http://www.insuremytrip. com/Attention Members: To get the member price simply go to the members section and log in to the system, then come back to the Adventure Travel page to register and you will be charged the member price.

Wind River Wyoming Llama Trek August 5–9, 2013 $1,645 This trip will be a classic Wind River Range Trip, including glacial cirques and many high alpine lakes with plentiful trout fishing. Typical wildlife seen is moose, deer, and elk. We will move camps each day except for one layover day. Participants will carry day packs and llamas will carry all of the camp gear. The guides will do all of the cooking.

We will start out at the Worthen Meadow Reservoir trailhead, more specifically the Sheep Bridge trailhead (no reservation permits required for this trip). Starting at approximately 8,800 feet we will drop down to the Middle Fork of the Popo Agie River and follow the Middle Fork Trail to Bill’s Park, an open, meandering, high alpine meadow just below tree-line (10 miles).

On day 2 we will hike to the Ice Lake and Deep Creek Lakes area, just below Wind River Peak. We will gain about 1,000 feet of elevation and camp at approximately 10,600 feet, with the maximum elevation at a 10,900 foot pass on the way in, approximately 6 miles. We will stay here for 2 nights. On the layover day we could split up the group, if desired, to take various day hikes of different abilities. Historically, most participants really enjoy our Deep Creek Lakes day hike loop, with some of the best views in the Wind River Range. On day 4 we will hike a relatively short distance of 5 miles, down a few hundred feet and back up a few hundred feet to Pinto Park, a spectacular high alpine park with the “Cirque of the Towers” in full view 7 miles in the backdrop. Short mountain ridge scrambles are available from Pinto Park for even better views. On day 5, we will continue the loop and descend on the Pinto Park Trail, merging back up to the Middle Fork Trail on the Popo Agie River and back to the Sheep Bridge Trail to Worthen Meadow Reservoir, approximately 11 miles (a mostly gradual descent, except the last 2 miles up 700 44

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feet). Total trip length is about 32 miles exclusive of the elective day hikes from camp.

You should be in good shape and be able to hike in elevations between 9,000 and 11,000 feet. This is a B-level rated trip with hiking up to 8 miles per day. We will see the remote Wind River Range and learn how to travel with llama support. We will be able to explore hiking and climbing in this range and feel the wilderness experience. We will be able to fish if desired and find out what fresh fish tastes like. We will experience glacially carved cirques.

The per-person cost is $1,645. Price includes all food from lunch on day 1 through lunch on day 5, llamas to carry gear, guides and cooks, camp gear, and tips for guides.

Provided at no extra charge are tent, sleeping bag and pad, or you may bring your own. Trip expenses NOT covered are travel to and from Lander and the hotel on the nights before and after the trip.

A deposit of $625 must be paid with acceptance of application, and the balance of $1,020 is due by May 5, 2013.

Register by contacting Carol Kurt at P.O. Box 7977, Aspen, CO 81612, or phone (H)970-925-6648 or (C)970948-6412, or email kurtskarma@aol.com.

Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness August 27–September 2, 2013 $620 Two days of travel and a five-day canoe trip within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) of the Superior National Forest of northern Minnesota and the Quetico Provincial Park of Ontario, Canada. BWCAW Rules limit the group size to 9, with a maximum of 4 water craft per group. The canoeing portion of the trip will begin and end north of Ely, Minnesota, at Mudro Lake. The entire trip is aprx 33 miles: over 10 lakes, several rivers, and 12 portages (maybe more depending on water levels) over a period of 5 days. For approximately the middle 1/3 of the trip we will be on the waters that are the border between the U.S. and Canada. This area is part of the original “Voyageur's Route”— these were well-established canoe fur trade routes which ships and larger boats could not reach or travel. Average physical conditioning is required for this trip. In addition to an organizational meeting the leader will

arrange for two canoe practice and getacquainted outings. One will be a half-day outing on Chatfield Reservoir and a fullday outing on Lake Dillon. During these outings we will practice loading and unloading canoes, portage methods, and paddling skills. The trip includes the following: round-trip transportation to Ely from the Minneapolis airport, two nights lodging in Ely (before and after the canoe portion of the trip), shuttle to and from Mudro Lake (our entry point into the Boundary Waters), BWCA permits, canoe package in Ely (canoe, paddle, and personal floatation device), individual Duluth Canoe pack (yours for the trip), canoe rental package in Colorado for 1 ½ days (a half day on Chatfield and a full day of paddling on Lake Dillon0, a celebration dinner after we return from the BWCA, and all tips and gratuities along the way. To obtain the trip application, itinerary, and more details about the trip, please contact the leader, Vern Bass, at 4efs@eazy. net or call (cell) 303-902-2905.

British Columbia Coast Mountain Getaway September 8–14, 2013 $3,200 Journey into one of Canada’s best kept secrets: The undiscovered natural paradise of British Columbia’s Cariboo Chilcotin Coast region. Trip includes inspiring alpine hiking in the Coast Mountains; flight from Nimpo Lake to camp; scenic float plane flight over the Monarch ice fields and expansive Coast Mountains; alpine lake canoeing; Grizzly Bear River float tour with a professional local bear guide to watch grizzlies feeding on spawning salmon; explore 10,000-year-old Nuxalt native petroglyphs; alpine flowers and crystal blue glacial lakes; giant cedar trees; breathtaking waterfalls; drive the famous Heckman Pass, with grades of up to 18%; discover the remote and dramatic Bella Coola Valley; enjoy healthy gourmet meals (day one lunch through day 7 lunch); six nights cozy accommodations in backcountry cabins, lakefront cabins and lodges; scenic flight along the spine of the Coast Mountains from Bella Coola to Vancouver. This is a partially supported trip, sleeping bags will be carried by participants on two hikes, from hut to hut on days two and four. Other hikes will be day hikes, mostly off trail and over uneven ground but led

by experienced, personable, and passionate guides. Hiking difficulty is mostly B or C, with off-trail conditions. NOT INCLUDED: Flight to Vancouver, British Columbia, ($545–$630 depending on stops); optional nights in Vancouver depending on flight times; flight to Williams Lake (Estimated $120—guide will assist with booking); travel insurance (recommended); alcoholic beverages if desired; tips. Minimum 6 persons, maximum 12. Call Janet Farrar 303-933-3066 or e-mail wildjc@Juno.com.

Sikkim Himalayan Trek October 15–November 5, 2013 $3,220 Gyeljen Sherpa invites you to join him on a trek through exotic Sikkim. Once its own kingdom, tiny Sikkim is now a state of India.

Sikkim is home to the third-highest mountain in the world, Kanchenjunga (8,586 meters/28,169 feet), one of the largest mountains in sheer size in the Himalayas.

From Delhi, we will take a domestic flight to Bagdogra, then on to the legendary city of Darjeeling, home of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, and the Tibetan government in exile. One day by jeep will bring us to the beginning of our two-week trek. We will be traveling through the Kangchenjunga Biosphere Reserve, walking in rhododendron forests, camping in small villages, visiting Buddhist monasteries and shrines, traversing high alpine passes, and experiencing breathtaking Himalayan vistas. We will camp beside the sacred lake of Lam Pokhari and cross the high pass of Goecha La, 16,207 feet, the highest point on our route. Along the way we will interact with the local people, getting to know their customs and culture and making new friends.

The minimum number of participants is 8. Not included in the price: International and domestic airfare, travel insurance, personal spending money, and Indian visa fee of $73. Indian visas must be obtained before departing the United States. For more information, please contact Gyeljen Sherpa at alpineadventurel@gmail. com or call Gyeljen at 720-2073-7158.

Everest Trek Nepal November 9–25, 2013 $2,540

Join Pemba Sherpa, a native of the Khumbu region of Nepal, in the Himalayas on this spectacular trek along the foothills of some of the world’s highest peaks!

Pemba has been guiding visitors to his homeland since 1986 and will do so again in 2013, taking us into the heart of the world’s majestic Himalayan Mountains.

We start our trek with an exhilarating 35-minute scenic flight into the airstrip at Phaplu, a small town in Solukhumbu district. We will trek over gentle paths through agricultural farming land and small Sherpa and Rai settlements. We will then trek into the rarely visited Lumding Valley. Very few Westerners have ever ventured into this completely unspoiled valley! We will be surrounded by striking scenery as we trek through virgin terrain while marveling at views of 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.

This journey is sure to satisfy your thirst for adventure, let you meet the people and learn the culture of Nepal, as well as bring you in person to some of the best views on Earth! For more information please call Pemba Sherpa 303-525-6508, or e-mail pemba@sherpaascent.com.

Best of the Grand Canyon—Colorado River Raft and Hike, 2014 April 26–May 8, 2014 CMC members: $4,265 Non-CMC members: $4,390 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, departing from the historic Lee’s Ferry and ending 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 that 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 7 mile, 4,500’ trek in and out.

Our outfitter, Hatch River Expeditions, has been guiding river trips through the canyon for over 70 years. We will have 3 guides and 20 participants on two 35’ S-rig boats running 30 hp 4-stroke outboard engines (fuel efficient and quiet). Each boat holds 18, so

for this trip we will have plenty of room.

An average motorized raft trip through the Grand Canyon is for 7 days with short daily hikes. Hatch is adding 5 days to the trip with over 100 possible hikes, depending on the group’s interest and the weather.

They offer us daily-guided hikes at different 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.

Hatch provides all meals, snacks, eating utensils, life jackets, tents, camp chairs, and the helicopter and plane rides back to the put-in. A sleeping kit is available for those who need camp gear—a sleeping bag, pillow, sleeping pad, ground cloth, and waterproof bag. The park entrance fee is included.

The cost of the trip also includes all tips and one night (double occupancy) at the Cliff Dweller’s Lodge near the put-in on Saturday (4/26/14).

The cost does NOT include carpooling to and from Lee’s Ferry, any meals other than those on the raft trip, and extra beverages for the raft trip (water, lemonade, and sports drink are provided by Hatch).

We will carpool or meet at the lodge in Marble Canyon, Arizona, near the put-in on Saturday evening, April 26, and begin our raft trip on Sunday, April 27. The trip ends on Thursday, May 8, when we helicopter out of the canyon and fly back to put-in area.

Cancellation Policy for Participants: ▶ Trip deposit of $500 is payable to the CMC at time of registration. ▶ $300 of this deposit is non-refundable. ▶ Final payment is due November 15, 2013. ▶ For cancellation on or before November 15, 2013 there will be a refund of $200 ($500 less the $300 non-refundable fee). ▶ Any refunds for cancellations after November 15, 2013 will be made only if a qualified replacement is accepted. ▶ Travel insurance is recommended.

The leaders, Blake and Rosemary, have led 4 winter trips to Yellowstone for the CMC. They have been on 24 one-week backpacks in the Grand Canyon, as well as a 7-day commercial raft trip and an 18-day private raft trip through the canyon. They led this CMC Grand Canyon Raft and Hike trip from 2008 through 2012. The 2013 trip is full and names for the wait list are being accepted.

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