Exploring Colorado in the Fall

leave it on the trail 18 • lily lake and california Peak 20 • fall colors 24 • chimney peak 30

Trail & timberline The Colorado Mountain Club • Fall 2012 • Issue 1016 • www.cmc.org

Exploring

Colorado in the Fall Trail & Timberline

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Letter from the CEO summer centennial

I

love the general theme of this fall’s Trail & Timberline of just getting out there and exploring. I am guessing that most of us moved to Colorado because we loved the state and all the beautiful towns, cities, and wild places. Rumor has it that Colorado boasts the most “staycations” of any state. While that may be a rumor, it sure makes sense to me.

During the weekend of July 21, I got to explore the town of Buena Vista with many of you at the Centennial Celebration Festival. As you all rolled into the park exhausted from a hike or other CMC adventure you went on earlier that day, I couldn’t help but think how lucky we CMCers are to celebrate such a huge birthday in such a beautiful state. Throughout the year, all of the communities we have celebrated in have come out to welcome and congratulate the CMC on our 100th anniversary. These folks aren’t members, or corporate sponsors;

just local Coloradans saying thanks for all the CMC does for the mountain landscape and congratulations on a major milestone.

After Buena Vista, I headed south with my family to spend our traditional summer break in Telluride. I love all areas of Colorado, but Telluride has always been my favorite town in Colorado. When I was a young girl growing up on the ski team in Flagstaff, Arizona, we’d often head out to Telluride to race. I made my first and only Toyota commercial in Telluride, where they graciously closed the mountain down for the afternoon so we could film. (I’m guessing they were paid a hefty penny by Toyota.)

As I neared the end of high school, my ski team friends and I would wreak havoc on the town and townspeople of Telluride, trying to turn the downtown streets into a nightclub. Needless to say I have a lot of memories! I don’t know that many people are as lucky as us Coloradans, in that we

seem to never tire of just getting out there and exploring our state. I would love to hear your stories about exploring Colorado this summer and fall with friends and family. Please share them with all of us through the CMC facebook page: https://www. facebook.com/#!/ColoradoMountainClub.

I don’t know that many people are as lucky as us Coloradans, in that we seem to never tire of just getting out there and exploring our state.

Lastly, as we explore the state and marvel at our landscape, remember that we are stewards of this land. We are fortunate in that we get to take care of the land, and maintain it so that we leave it as precious and pristine as possible for the next wave of recreationalists, whether later that day or in the next 100 years. If you want to learn more about becoming stewards of the land, join one of CMC’s impactful stewardship projects (visit http://www.cmc.org/conservation/action.aspx for details) and protect and maintain the lands with your own hands.

Timeless

Colorado's Mountains are

By designating the CMC or the CMC Foundation in your will, your investment in them lives on.

Tollie and Rooney enjoy the water on a beautiful day in Telluride. ▲

Katie Blackett Chief Executive Officer

Join the 21st Century Circle today. Contact our Development Director at 303-996-2752 to learn more about planned giving.

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Photo: Glenn Randall Photography

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Departments 2412

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

Learn the latest from the conservation and education departments, as well as the Mountaineering Museum.

16 Around Colorado

What's happening in your group?

18 The Clinic

Leave It on the Trail.

By Kristen Moegling

20 Pathfinder

A Singular Fall Day in the Sangres

By Greg Long

24 Capturing the Fall Colors of Colorado

34 Commemorating the Club’s First Outing

Fall is a great time to traverse the state in search of the perfect hike . . . and photo.

A hike up South Boulder Peak provides an opportunity to reflect on the past.

By Rod Martinez

By Woody Smith

30 Chimney Peak

38 The Story behind Mountain Rescue

Once described as “the most difficult peak in Colorado” to climb, this San Juan monolith continues to be a vertical challenge.

The American Mountaineering Museum presents “Risk and Reward”

40 End of the Trail

Remembering those who have passed.

42 CMC Adventure Travel

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

By Christian Green

By John Lacher and James Turner

On the Cover Maroon Bells and Maroon Lake Rod Martinez

Fall 2012 Trail & Timberline • Issue 1016 • www.cmc.org

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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.

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

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

www.cmc.org The Colorado Mountain Club is organized to

→ 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.

▶ 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;

SCFD

▶ 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. © 2012 Colorado Mountain Club

All Rights Reserved

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

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

Please recycle this magazine.

Printed on 10% post-consumer waste recycled paper.

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!

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▶ 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 4

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On the Outside First snow of the season, Maroon Lake.

Rod Martinez

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Lending a Helping Hand

Mission Accomplishments

Wilderness First Aid Expands Skill Base for CMC Trip Leaders

By Brenda Porter, Operations Director

The Evolution of Recreation The CMC Presents a New Slate of Activities

By Rachel Scott, Marketing and Membership Director

Organizations, as a species, are subject to evolution. They are born, they live, they die, and they each have unique properties; i.e., different ways that they operate, which determine their characteristics.

Much like people, not many organizations make it to their 100th birthday, let alone still provide many of the same services while fulfilling their mission. Could you imagine if Sony® were still making VHS players and Walkmans or if it were still a common medical practice to use leeches to drain infected blood from patients?

While these companies and practices are still being used today, the services and products they provide had to change with the times. Maybe consumers influenced change or technological advances did; either way, if you don’t evolve, you won’t last.

Just as most companies and organizations have done, the CMC has evolved as well. If you’ve called our offices at any point during the course of your membership, you’ve heard our automated answering service: The Colorado Mountain Club—serving hikers, climbers, and skiers since 1912.

Yes, the CMC continues to provide these services and help those interested in hiking, climbing, and skiing, as well as many, many other activities; however, listing them all on a phone message would be cumbersome. But our membership and

Colorado residents want more options. In April 2011, we posed the following question to our membership: What additional activities would you like the CMC to offer?

Responses flooded in from eager participants of the following recreational activities: trail running, trail building repair, cycling, hikes with dogs, and water sports.

Since that survey, and with the help of excited volunteers, we’ve been able to fulfill our members’ requests.

In June of this year, we hosted a free trail running clinic with the Boulder Group, led by our CMC CEO and professional athlete, Katie Blackett. Because of the popularity of the first workshop, many CMC members emailed requests to host another clinic. Katie will host a second free trail running clinic in Golden, at the American Mountaineering Center, Saturday, September 29. Visit www.cmc.org/trailrunning for more details or to register.

In addition to trail running, our Development and Marketing Coordinator, Kristin D’Epagnier, a five-year certified guide, led a rafting trip down Blue River immediately following the survey last year. Jan Monnier, Denver Group Leader and Membership Services Representative, took on the week-long 10th Mountain Division

Rachel Scott, pictured here in the pink “Leaders” jersey during the 53-mile Superior Morgul Road Race in 2011, will lead a free introduction to road cycling clinic on Sunday, September 16. ▼

Hut Caretaking at Uncle Bud’s service trip.

Of all these activities, each one filled quickly and completely. As an avid and elite-level competitive cyclist, I will personally be leading a free Intro to Road Cycling clinic open to the public, Sunday, September 16, in collaboration with the Bicycle Racing Association of Colorado. Visit www.cmc.org/roadcycling to sign up.

When we ask our members for feedback, it is to ensure that we are continuing to satisfy the expectations of CMC membership, as well as attract new members to the club, while supporting our mission.

Also, Katie and I are happy to venture from the Front Range to do three traveling clinics with Group support, similar to our traveling Wilderness First Aid classes, which were held in Durango, in March, and in Fort Collins, in June (see page 9). △ Please email me, Rachel Scott, at rachelscott@ cmc.org, if you would like to participate in cycling or trail running clinics in your area. As always, your feedback is welcome.

◀ Trail running is among the new activities offered by the CMC. Lucas McCain

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I think it was between 4:30 and 5 a bit over a mile north of Campo Noche, Mexico, when the accident happened. Annie and I were out front, and Dave was behind us when he slipped on a slick boulder and somehow caught his foot in a way that twisted his knee. With a cry of pain, he went down. He wasn’t sure what had caused his slip, and he wasn’t sure what injury he had sustained— but his knee hurt! We rolled his pant leg up to reveal what looked like a dislocated patella (kneecap). At least the upper portion of the patella was sticking up above his leg in a grotesque manner, quite different from his other knee.

John Bregar, trip leader in the San Juan Group, sent this report just two weeks after he and Annie Sutherland completed a Wilderness First Aid (WFA) course offered by the CMC in Durango. They were with three friends in Baja Mexico last April when they used their WFA skills to assess the patient, construct a full leg splint, assist in moving him to a safe campsite, maintain on-going care and observation, and organize evacuation. John said, “for this emergency, we had everything we needed, and we made the correct decisions, and we had a happy ending.”

CMC trip leaders and members throughout the CMC have expressed that they want to be able to respond in case of an accident or illness in the backcountry, where adverse weather conditions and limited first aid supplies are the norm. First aiders often must make difficult decisions and work together for the common goal of good patient care.

“I took MOFA (Mountain Oriented

pm,

▲ Members of the Denver Group practice Their newly acquired assessment and treatment skills during the Wilderness First Aid course this past June.

First Aid) many years ago, and I wanted up-to-date training in wilderness first aid to be better prepared as a trip leader. I found out that things have changed a lot,” said Rico Argentati, a Denver Trip Leader, after completing the Wilderness First Aid course offered by the Denver Group in June.

The 16-hour WFA course is designed to teach first aid skills needed when emergency medical service (ambulance or emergency medical care) is an hour or more away. CMC uses curriculum from the Emergency Care and Safety Institute, which reviews and updates course content.

The WFA course provides a mix of lectures and scenarios. Classroom lectures cover a wide range of injuries and illnesses, and offer easy-to-remember phrases and acronyms to help wilderness first aiders respond in an emergency. “It was very informative. I especially enjoyed being educated on medical situations that occur at high altitudes,

lightening, and other mountain specific concerns,” commented Celia Dunlap, who is working to become a CMC trip leader.

In practice scenarios, students find “patients” and practice their newly acquired assessment and treatment skills, using only the equipment in their backpacks. First aiders designate a first aid leader and students quickly learn to improvise bandages and splints using socks, bandanas, sleeping pads, and hiking poles. “I learned the most in the scenario where I did the worst.

Hard to experience, but a great lesson,” said Diane Donovan after the Durango class.

It is recommended that all CMC trip leaders have Wilderness First Aid (WFA), and since January 2012, WFA certification is required of new CMC trip leaders who plan to lead C, D, C-E, and D-E hikes and climbs, moderate and difficult backpacks, and showshoe and ski trips. CMC Groups may have additional first aid requirements.

Denver, Boulder, and Pikes Peak Groups offer WFA courses, and The State CMC is helping to bring WFA to other CMC Groups throughout Colorado. Last spring we offered courses for the San Juan and Fort Collins Groups and are planning a course for the El Pueblo Group in October. The feedback from these classes is positive: “Great job! I learned the most from the real life scenarios and thought the class was good. I’d recommend it to other trip leaders,” wrote one of the WFA students. △

YEP Community Gear Bank

Bringing the Outdoors to Underserved Youth

By Brenda Porter, Operations Director

Last spring CMC’s Youth Education Program embarked on a new way of helping youth experience Colorado’s great outdoors. We expanded our capacity to serve low-income and ethnic minority youth by developing a new Community Gear Bank, available for organizations that provide camping experiences for underserved youth. The gear bank was originally operated through the REI Denver gear rental program.

However, last March, REI Denver announced closure of the Gear Bank before the summer season. Youth group leaders were dismayed because they depend on the gear bank’s sleeping bags, tents, and backpacks to conduct camping trips with their kids.

Ninety-seven schools and youth groups have used the gear bank in recent years.

CMC’s staff approached REI to see if we could continue to provide this im-

portant service. By taking on the management of the YEP Community Gear Bank, YEP will help to strengthen the capacity of non-profits and schools that provide positive experiences in the outdoors for youth. △ Contact gearbank@cmc.org if you would like to help with the Gear Bank operation.

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Making the Mountains Available for the People Denver Mountain Parks Celebrates Its Centennial Anniversary

By Jay Clark, Director of Marketing & Communications, Parks and Recreation Department, City and County of Denver

▲ Echo Lake Park, at the base of Mount Evans, was acquired by Denver in 1921 and quickly became a popular destination for sightseers and hikers. Union Pacific Railroad museum.

One hundred years ago, in 1912, the sinking of the passenger liner Titanic captured headlines and imaginations worldwide, but here in Colorado, another important event happened that same year.

This event may not have been as dramatic or as movie-ready, but it has had a profound impact on the state: the official formation and approval of the breathtakingly beautiful Denver Mountain Parks system.

Denver Parks and Recreation is thrilled to celebrate this 100-year anniversary and is proud to look back on the history of the system. In early 1911, a group of three Denver committees that were studying different aspects of the mountain parks concept came together to form the Mountain Parks Committee of the Commercial Bodies. The committee had no national precedent to follow, and citizens were innately opposed to the idea of spending city money way off in the mountains, especially since the mountains were largely inaccessible except by team or on horseback. By the end of 1911, the committee had a complete written plan for the Denver Mountain Parks System, which included a one-half mill levy for Mountain Parks, a change to the city charter authorizing expenditures for Mountain Parks, and a state legislative act granting Denver the powers of eminent domain 10

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and police in respect to Mountain Parks.

Before the Mountain Parks Commission (MPC) was fully organized and funded, private companies planned to log mountain areas just outside Denver of old-growth Ponderosa Pine. Advocates of the new park system rushed to acquire these lands and held them until the MPC was ready to purchase them. Genesee was the first park in the system, and remains the largest. Later, in May 1912, the campaign for the adoption of the Mountain Parks Amendment went forth, and thanks to the efforts of public officials, newspaper editorials, labor organizations, and several prominent citizens, the campaign was a success and the Mountain Parks Amendment passed with a substantial majority, thus marking the official beginning of the Denver Mountain Parks system. When the first money for Denver Mountain Parks became available in 1913, the committee and an independent report called for Lookout Mountain Road to be the first capital project. Construction on the “Lariat Trail” project was finished in 1914.

“A Mountain Park for Denver will be the first step, and perhaps, the greatest step, in the great movement of making our mountains available for the people,” wrote the Mountain Parks Committee in 1911.

“We believe the Mountain Park should be

more than a picnic place, it should be a summer home for the people of Denver, and indeed for the tourists of the nation.”

Those modest yet visionary beginnings have led to one of the most distinct city mountain parks systems in the nation.

Fast-forward 100 years and the Denver Mountain Parks system has grown and evolved to consist of 22 developed parks and 24 conservation/wilderness areas encompassing approximately 14,000 acres of mountain and foothills land owned by the City of Denver, where citizens can find, just to name a few amenities, an alpine lake (Summit Lake and Echo Lake, near Mount Evans), a world-class concert venue (Red Rocks Amphitheatre), a ski resort (Winter Park), two bison herds (at Genesee and Daniels Parks), and Buffalo Bill’s grave.

While access to the Denver Mountain Parks 100 years ago would have seemed arduous or impractical, today’s visitors will find nearly any Denver Mountain Park within an easy drive, with most less than an hour from the Denver city limits. According to the 2008 Executive Summary of the Denver Mountain Parks Master Plan, 68 percent of Denver residents visit at least one Denver Mountain Park annually (excluding Red Rocks and Winter Park), and more than two million people visit the entire system annually.

Although scattered in four counties (Clear Creek, Douglas, Grand, Jefferson), the Denver Mountain Parks make up a cohesive system of significant lands connected by watersheds, forests, sensitive ecosystems, trails, and scenic drives. Each park has its own distinct character, but the system as a whole shares an audience, uses, geography, character, and historic integrity.

These similarities offer a way of organizing the parks according to the roles they play in the larger system. “Denver pioneered this system with the new automobile in mind, making mountain scenery available to picnickers from a network of improved roads. But Denver’s early collaboration with the Colorado Mountain Club to create the Beaver Brook Trail also provided the foothills west of Denver with its first mountain recreational hiking opportunity, one that is still unsurpassed for beauty and

variety of scenery,” notes Denver Mountain Parks Superintendent Dick Gannon.

“We’ll continue this historic collaboration with a joint DMP-CMC volunteer project on the Beaver Brook Trail on September 15th to celebrate the centennial. Join us!” (please see below for more information) A few highlights of Denver Mountain Parks system include: ▶ Genesee Park: the first and still the largest park in the Denver Mountain Parks system, it covers 2,413 acres and features the incredible Chief Hosa Lodge for events and camping, as well as a ropes course, hiking, volleyball, and bison viewing. ▶ Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave: Lookout Mountain Park hosts the grave of the legendary showman William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody. By his request, Buffalo Bill was buried on Lookout Mountain in 1917, overlooking the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains. The gorgeous park also includes the amazing Buffalo Bill Museum, which has thrilled countless visitors.

▶ Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre: Since the 1870s, the 300-million-year-old rock formations have captivated local residents and visitors in this 868-acre park. Red Rocks boasts a 200-mile panoramic view of Denver and the plains. First called the Garden of the Angels, the Park was renamed Garden of the Titans by John Brisben Walker when he purchased it in 1906; the City of Denver acquired it in 1928. Walker’s vision of an amphitheatre in the park was finally realized when the Civilian Conservation Corps completed construction in 1941.

The amphitheatre is now known as one of the premier outdoor venues in the world. ▶ Summit Lake Park: Acquired in 1924, Summit Lake Park, at an altitude of 12,840 feet (3,914 meters), anchors the high-altitude end of the Denver Mountain Parks system. The route to the top of Mount Evans, the highest auto road in the United States, is (usually) accessible from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and provides a taste of Colorado’s high peaks to thousands of Denver visitors annually. The 160-acre Summit Lake Park is surrounded by National For-

est lands and the Mount Evans Wilderness.

Economic difficulties and funding issues continue to make maintaining the Denver Mountain Parks a challenge, but one thing is certain—the internationally known cultural attractions and natural beauty of the Denver Mountain Parks system will remain an integral part of Denver’s reputation as a world-class city. △

Calling All Volunteers

Beaver Brook Trail Project Planned for September 15

By Lisa Cashel, Stewardship Manager

The Beaver Brook trail is one of the most popular hiking trails in the Denver metro area, located in Genesee Park, Denver Mountain Park’s largest and oldest mountain park. The trail currently connects Genesee Park to Windy Saddle Park, which overlooks Clear Creek Canyon, Golden, and Denver.

Colorado Mountain Club volunteers originally contributed to planning and construction of the Beaver Brook Trail in 1918. Each year, CMC’s Denver Group performs trail maintenance on this historic 8.75-mile trail, repairing tread and signage for the safety and enjoyment of thousands of locals and metropolitan area residents. This year, our project is in celebration of our centennial anniversary and is a partnership with Denver Mountain Parks. While enjoying beautiful views up and down Clear Creek Canyon and west to the Continental Divide, volunteers will help repair water bars and other structures to keep the trail in good condition.

Volunteers will receive a T-shirt and lunch.

Our volunteer project on this hikingonly trail will help build upon the legacy

of conservation and stewardship within the Colorado Mountain Club and help build a constituency for future maintenance protection of this recreation resource by our membership and the public.

This project is funded by the CMC Boulder Group. The CMC Boulder Conservation Grant Program provides grants to non-profit organizations, as well as local, state, and federal land management agencies working in the areas of trails stewardship and conservation in Colorado. The purpose of the Conservation Grant Program is to provide greater capacity within the state to accomplish projects that align with the CMC’s stewardship and conservation objectives, that educate the public about stewardship and conservation, and that preserve the high quality of Colorado’s wild places for future generations.

CMC has also received funding from the American Hiking Society’s National Trails Fund. American Hiking Society’s National Trails Fund is the only privately funded, national grants program dedicated solely

to building and protecting hiking trails.

Grant funds provide for project oversight and planning, lunch, tools, and materials. △ Register for our project! www.cmc.org/beaverbrook

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A Second Lease on Life

BLM Plan to Drill on Roan Plateau Struck Down

2012 CMC Foundation Fellowships Announced

By Michael Freeman

By Tom Cope, Colorado Mountain Club Foundation

In short, the ruling gives the BLM a clear path to make a new decision that allows careful energy development on the Roan, while preserving the top of the plateau and the most sensitive areas around its base.

We should take this opportunity to develop a better plan for a place that really 12

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matters. The BLM and the Colorado Natu- BLM and only about 33 percent of those ral Heritage Program have described the top leases are currently in production. As of of the Roan as one of the four most bio- September 2011, companies weren’t even logically rich places in Colorado; the other using more than 700 of the drilling perthree are already protected as part of the mits the federal government has issued in National Park System. The Roan is home Colorado. There’s simply no rush to drill to pure strains of native trout, prize deer the Roan. We have time to get this right. and elk herds, tens of thousands of acres of The BLM should do what ordinary wilderness quality lands, and some of the Coloradans want: take the time to develop rarest plants in North America. All of these a new, more balanced solution that allows are found in an area that represents only 1.3 some careful development while protecting percent of the federal lands that have been one of the places that makes Colorado great. leased for oil and gas drilling in Colorado.

Protecting this island in a sea of develop- Michael Freeman is an Earthjustice staff atment will help ensure that hikers, mountain torney at their Rocky Mountain office. He bikers, sportsmen, and other recreation- was counsel for Plaintiffs on the Roan Plateau ists still have a place to get away from it all. case. Plaintiffs include the Colorado Mountain

The plan struck down by Judge Krieger, Club, Colorado Environmental Coalition, on the other hand, would have turned the Colorado Trout Unlimited, Center for Native Roan into an industrial zone. It would allow Ecosystems (now Rocky Mountain Wild), Rock companies to drill more than 3,000 wells on the Earth, Natural Resources Defense Council, top of the plateau, destroy wilderness qual- National Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, The ity lands, and decimate critical elk and deer Wilderness Society and Wilderness Workshop. △ winter range around the base. The BLM has acknowledged that the plan would cause permanent, irreversCMC's Centennial ible damage to these natural resources.

Some have tried to present the Roan Plateau as a “jobs versus the environcmc.org/centennial ment” decision for the BLM. This is a false choice: sacrificing the Roan for oil and gas drilling will not create new jobs. The reality is that with the mar1 DAY. 54 MOUNTAINS. ALL ABOVE 14,000 FEET. ket price of natural gas at historically low levels, energy companies aren’t drilling most of the leases they already have. Even without the Roan Plateau, 54 14ER CLIMBS ▲ SAT. SEPT 8 more than 4.3 milAFTER PARTY ▲ SUN. SEPT 9 CMC is organizing and leading climbs on all of Colorado’s 14ers, all in one day (weather lion acres of federal The permitting). Members and non-CMC members welcome! All trip leaders are carefully screened minerals in Colora- to ensure that they have the appropriate knowledge and skill-level for the selected peak. do are leased by the Following the climbs, an after party will be held at the Frisco Marina in Summit County.

This is a year of anniversaries. CMC is celebrating its centenary, and 30 years ago the CMC Foundation began awarding academic fellowships to support scholarly research to further CMC’s 1912 mission statement.

This year, the three named fellowships were awarded to Ph.D. students. Teresa B. Chapman, recipient of the Neal B. Kindig Fellowship, is researching the effects of mountain pine beetle and fire on lodgepole pine regeneration at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Mario Bretfeld, a student at the University of Northern Colorado who is studying changes in distribution of aspen in response to the mountain pine beetle outbreak, was awarded the Kurt Gerstle Fellowship. For the second year in a row, Monica Rother was awarded the Al Ossinger Fellowship. A student at the University of Colorado at Boulder, she is study-

▲ From left to right: Teresa B. Chapman, Mario Bretfeld, and Monica Rother. ing the effects of temperature and moisture on conifer seedlings in a recently burned area.

Other awards were made to Apryle Craig, an M.S. candidate at Colorado State University; Laura Heiker, a Ph.D. student at the University of Northern Colorado; Jo-

seph Statwick, a Ph.D. student at the University of Denver; and Sarah Bangert and Emily Cornell, seniors at Fort Lewis College.

This year’s review committee consisted of Jim Gehres, Kent Groninger, Al Ossinger, Giles Toll, and Tom Cope. △

CMC's Centennial

Colorado 14er Challenge

54 14ers

In June, U.S. District Court Judge Marcia Krieger in Denver struck down the Bureau of Land Management’s plan for oil and gas drilling on the Roan Plateau, ruling that the agency failed to consider a more balanced management alternative that would have better protected the Roan’s wildlife and unspoiled lands. The judge also found that the BLM had failed to consider the effects of the air pollution that would result from drilling the Roan. The ruling gives the BLM another chance to protect 86 square miles of some of the most biologically rich public land in Colorado.

In striking down the Bush administration plan, the Court ruled that the BLM violated the law by not considering a more balanced approach to the Roan that had been supported by the overwhelming majority of public comments. Judge Krieger’s decision allows the BLM to forbid surface disturbance on the areas it does lease and to require that oil and gas companies access the gas reserves from adjacent lands that are already being developed. The Court also ruled that the BLM must grapple with the air pollution resulting from oil and gas development in western Colorado.

Three Ph.D. Candidates Awarded Grants

The Colorado Fourteener Challenge is part of the CMC's Kaiser-Permanente Centennial Celebration series, marking 100 years of backcountry education, conservation and adventure. Thank you to all our generous Centennial sponsors: Kaiser Permanente, Exempla Healthcare, Osprey Packs, Silver Oak Winery, Town of Frisco, Gateway Canyons Air Tours, WhiteWave Foods, REI, MountainSmith, Chums, Adventure Medical Kits, Backpackers Pantry, DaVita, Odell Brewing Co, Town of Frisco, and RC Special Events.

www.cmc.org/centennial

jad

designs

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Night at the Museum

Third Annual Hall of Mountaineering Excellence Gala Was a Great Success

By Sherry Richardson

▲ Dee Molenaar shares his K2 experience with the audience. Craig Hoffman. (http://Photography.eclimb.net)

On April 7, 2012, 150 museum supporters and mountaineering enthusiasts gathered at the American Mountaineering Center for the annual Hall of Mountaineering Excellence (HOME) Gala and Induction Ceremony. Created in 2010, the Hall of Mountaineering Excellence Award celebrates American climbers who have made major contributions as mountaineers/ climbers and also have made exceptional contributions in the larger arena of life.

The evening began with a wine and cheese reception in the Mountaineering Museum. Following a catered dinner, this year’s four HOME recipients were honored. To top off the “peak” event, Bernadette McDonald, author of Brotherhood of the Rope: the Biography of Charles Houston and I’ll Call You in Kathmandu: The Elizabeth Hawley Story, discussed her newest book, Freedom Climbers.

This year saw the first living woman inducted into the HOME. Arlene Blum, most well known for her role in organizing the 1978 all-women’s climb of Annapurna, joined Dee Molenaar, Louis Reichardt, and posthumously Henry W. Kendall, to be recognized and celebrated.

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Arlene Blum faced some daunting obstacles when she began climbing in 1966.

At that time women were not welcome in university climbing clubs. Although she was accepted to Harvard University, when she learned she couldn’t join the Harvard Mountaineering Club, she instead went to MIT, only to find they, too, wouldn’t accept females into their mountaineering club. It is no wonder Blum focused her efforts on all-women climbing expeditions. In addition to Annapurna, Blum was a member of the first all-woman team that climbed Denali and a member of the 1976 Everest Expedition as the first American woman to attempt to climb Everest.

Today, Blum works as a biophysical chemist, continuing her research on flame-retardants and their use in home and office furniture and other common products. Her life’s work is to protect people and the global environment from toxic chemicals in consumer products.

Thanks to technology, Louis Reichardt, PhD, attended the gala via Skype.

Reichardt is the director of the Neuroscience program at the University of Cali-

fornia, San Francisco. His research opens doors into the unknown at the interface of biochemistry and neurobiology, which supports medical advances that stave off disease and improve lives.

As a climber, Reichardt broke new ground on the highest peaks on Earth.

In 1973 he made the third ascent of Dhaulagiri via the Northeast Ridge. In 1976 he reached the summit of Nanda Devi with Jim States and John Roskelley. In 1978 he and Jim Wickwire became the first Americans to climb K2 via the Northeast Ridge and upper Abruzzi Ridge. In 1983 he, Kim Momb, and Carlos Buhler became the first people to summit the Kangshung Face of Everest, a route that remains unrepeated. With this ascent, Reichardt became the first American to stand on the summits of both K2 and Everest.

Henry W. Kendall was born in 1926 and died in 1999 at the age of 73 during an underwater photo dive. Kendall was an American particle physicist who, in 1990, was awarded, along with his colleagues Jerome Friedman and Richard Taylor, the Nobel Prize in Physics for their pioneering investigations of the quark model in particle physics.

In 1956 Kendall joined the Stanford Alpine Club, where he was mentored by the club president, John Harlin. Through his membership, he also met the Ortenburgers, Herb Hultgren, and Tom Frost, friends with whom he climbed throughout his life. His climbing accomplishments included new routes in the Cordillera Blanca, the first American ascent of the Walker Spur in Chamonix, and a new route on Lobuje East with Tom Frost and Jeff Lowe.

Dee Molenaar joins three of his “brotherhood of the rope” compatriots in the Hall of Mountaineering Excellence—Bob Craig, Bob Bates, and Charlie Houston. Perhaps his first view from high up came as he flew over the bar as a young pole-vaulter, a sport for which he received a W from the University of Washington. For Molenaar, Rainier was his spiritual place to learn and discover.

He and Bob Craig guided on the mountain and pioneered new routes, including the Nisqually Icefall. In 1953 Molenaar

and his team of friends found themselves atop K2, and what followed is one of the greatest climbing/rescue feats in mountaineering history. In 1960 Molenaar was able to repay Pete Schoening for his lifesaving belay; Molenaar helped evacuate an injured Schoening and his companions off Denali after a fall while descending.

Dee Molenaar received a degree in geology from UW in 1950 and by then had developed a keen interest in photography.

While our other inductees excelled in the sciences, Molenaar’s love is in the arts: photography, writing, and watercolor paintings.

His most well-known book, The Challenge of Rainier, was published in 1971. Last year on the 40th anniversary of its release, the Mountaineers Books published an updated edition of this classic. Perhaps what most sets him apart is his unique way of painting mountain watercolors. He still holds the record for the highest paintings ever done on

Earth, waiting out a storm at 25,000 feet on K2. And his depiction of him and his team tumbling down the GodwinAusten Glacier brings to life that heartstopping moment.

Each inductee had the opportunity to share their stories with the audience, and each was greeted with large applause and appreciation.

Two past recipients were also in attendance, Tom Hornbein of West Ridge fame, and another brother of the rope, Bob Craig. To see such legendary mountaineers in one room is a once-in-alifetime opportunity not to be missed. △

▲ Arlene Blum with long-time CMC fans Sherry Richardson and Linda Lawson. David Hite.

Thanks to Walt Borneman, Alison Osius, Tom Hornbein, and Phil Powers for excerpts from their presentations.

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Around Colorado

Our groups across the State FORT COLLINS The Fort Collins group is the fourth-largest group in the CMC with nearly 400 members from the North Front Range area. We offer year-round activities from monthly programs, to hiking, climbing, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, various schools, and more. This year our Annual Dinner Meeting will be held on November 10 with keynote speaker, Laura Pritchett, speaking about her book Great Colorado Bear Stories. Normally our programs are on the third Wednesday of the month ( January through June and September through October) and feature a potluck dinner with talks by members on topics such as lessons learned from recent trips.

In addition, we have our annual picnic BBQ in June. We recently concluded our highly successful mountain hiking school with a graduation hike up Mount Mahler. Our activity leaders are trained and lead trips at all levels of difficulty and interests. Our Young Adventurers section focuses on trips for those from 18 through 40s+ years old, and isn’t exclusive. We also have a highly successful Third Saturday Scrambles, which is leaders’ choice. We are always looking for volunteers and currently have a need for a director of our Rock Leading Course and a Trail Coordinator for our adopted trail, Grey Rock.

Work on Grey Rock Trail as well as other trails in the lower Poudre were heavily impacted by the recent fires in the Poudre Canyon and work is expected to continue through the fall on these heavily used trails. For information on the group and our trail rebuilding efforts, visit http://fortcmc.org/ WESTERN SLOPE The Western Slope group is 100 members strong, from all professions and walks of life, each with a keen interest in hiking, backpacking, cross-country, skiing, cycling, geology, wildflowers, stewardship, and conservation. The group has adopted Flume Canyon in the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area for trail monitoring and restoration.

Despite being a relatively small group, our outings cover a wide range of outdoor activities, from hikes in our “backyard” canyons—e.g., Colorado National Monument, Dominquez Canyon, Little Book Cliffs Wild Horse Range— to “distant” canyons in Utah; hikes on the Grand Mesa, where we also enjoy the superb cross country skiing opportunities; plus climbs in the San Juans and other more distant ranges.

Learn More If you are interested in joining our meetings, they are held on the first Wednesday of every month at the American Bank Building in downtown Grand Junction. For more information, contact membership chairperson Lon Carpenter at (970) 245-5103 or coloradobluesky@yahoo.com.

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PIKES PEAK 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: backpacking, biking, conservation activities, hiking, ice climbing, rock climbing, skiing, snow climbing, 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; 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 September: Intro to Mountain Biking—September 11, 13, 15, 22, and 29. Please check Member Education on the CMC website for more information.

Safety in Leadership Course—October, date TBD. Please contact Bill Houghton (bill@ anapraxis.com) for more information.

Wilderness First Aid—October, date TBD. Please contact Bill Houghton (bill@anapraxis. com) for more information.

Colorado Ice Climbing—January 28, 30; February 2, 3. Please check Member Education on the CMC website for more information.

DENVER 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? Join us for a New Member Orientation on September 24 or November 20. Want to learn a new skill? The always popular Wilderness Trekking School begins September 11 and is sure to sell out, so sign up today. And remember this course is a prerequisite for Basic Mountaineering School, which starts spring 2013. Winter 2012–2013 will be offering the following courses: Backcountry Ski School; Telemark Ski School; Winter Camping; Beginning Ice Climbing; High Altitude Mountaineering Seminar and School; Trip Leader School; and Wilderness First Aid. 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,

Technical Ice Climbing School— February 7. Please check Member Education on the CMC website for more information.

To 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 the All Souls Unitarian Church, or connect with members of the Pikes Peak Group by joining us on one of our many trips or classes.

Aspen The Aspen Chapter is vibrant and always getting out to explore the local mountains. With approximately 200 members the group hosts a variety of club activities throughout the summer and fall, including day hikes, backpacking trips, hut trips, the annual picnic, and more. The membership of the Aspen group encompasses the entire Roaring Fork Valley from Aspen to Glenwood Springs and beyond to New Castle along the Colorado River.

This summer we’ve had a number of successful day hikes and a backpacking trip too. The Aspen Chapter and the Trailblazers Group from Denver co-hosted a Mount Sopris backpack trip for young adult CMC members. In August we hosted a multiple-day excursion, a Four-Pass Loop backpack, and our annual membership picnic. One of our trip leaders, Sarah Johnson, led one of the state-wide CMC conservation trail projects on Buckskin Pass, near the Maroon Bells also in August.

In addition, from August 10–12, we hosted the second annual Exploring Wilderness with Body, Mind, and Spirit: A Unique Aspen Seminar, at the 10th Mountain Margy’s Hut near Woody Creek, led by Paul Andersen. This three-day wilderness-institute-type experience included hiking, reading influen-

tial wilderness authors’ writings, and discussing the origins and meanings of wilderness, while experiencing firsthand the Hunter-Fryingpan Wilderness with a diverse group of club members who share a love of the wild.

We’re looking forward to many fall and winter excursions to include hut trips, slide-show evenings, cross-country ski outings, and social gatherings. Follow the Official Aspen Chapter of the Colorado Mountain Club on facebook or email us at aspencomtclub@gmail.com to stay in touch.

We are always excited to welcome new members.

See you out on the trails!

rock-climbing in Eldorado Canyon, plus so much more. Check out the official Denver group website for more information & 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 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. September 25 is our next trip leader training.

Annual Dinner Celebration The Denver Group is thrilled to announce this year’s annual dinner will be a celebration of Everest proportions! Join us at the Historic Mile High Station as we ring in 100 years with music, friends, and delicious food! This year’s speaker is acclaimed mountaineer, speaker, and author Jeff Evans. Jeff will inspire and entertain with stories of guiding blind climber Erik Weihenmayer to a successful summit of Everest and a 2nd place finish on ABC’s Expedition Impossible in 2011. For more information on this fun evening and to buy tickets, please visit www.hikingdenver.net.

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 Council member Sharon Kratze at skratze@gmail.com. We invite you to join the Denver Group and look forward to playing with you this summer!

GORE RANGE From May 25–27, the Gore Range Group danced with wolves. Okay, maybe we didn’t exactly dance with the wolves, but there was plenty of interaction between our GRG members and the 37 wolves sheltered at Mission: Wolf preserve.

We arrived at the preserve in Westcliffe on time to share dinner with the incredible volunteer staff. It was fascinating to learn about their individual backgrounds and to find out why they are spending their time, talents, and energy at the preserve. Meanwhile, as we interacted with “the kids,” the wolves serenaded us with the most incredible songs. Their howling was hauntingly beautiful.

On Saturday, we were treated to a tour of the grounds. Our guide, Hilary, explained everything about the preserve from the animals and their personalities, to the ecology and quest for sustainability, to the architecture, history, and hopes for Mission: Wolf. Tracy, cofounder of Mission: Wolf, spoke to us about her work with horses, and how her experience with training horses has helped her communicate with and handle

the wolves. Three of the wolves comprise what they call “The Ambassador Pack.” Their job is to meet, greet, and spend time with people, both at Mission: Wolf, and on the road, visiting schools, nature centers, and other facilities in which humans have an interest in their canine counterparts.

Then, we had an opportunity to look into the eyes of Zaeb, Abraham, and Magpie; pet and scratch them; and let them get to know us by licking our faces and smelling our teeth. (Who knew that this was a social greeting? We always thought a smile was enough).

Saturday is “feast” day for the animals, which are kept on a feast or famine diet, resembling what their life in the wild would probably be like.

So we were able to help feed the animals with the staff. What an incredible experience this was.

One would certainly never want to get between a wolf and his dinner!

Meanwhile, the humans were fed, from dinner on Friday through breakfast on Sunday by our amazing trip leaders, Sonia Webb and Ann Stevens. The staff was so appreciative of the fresh

foods and home-cooked meals, they treated us like family and let us know that the GRG of CMC was welcomed to return at any time. According to Sonia, we just might do that.

Our “howliest” thanks to Sonia and Ann for facilitating this wonderful experience for us. This trip is highly recommended by all of us who attended as one of life’s “unique” experiences.

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The Clinic

Leave It on the Trail

By Kristen Moegling

This is the first in a series about new offerings for CMC members. In this piece, CMC Boulder Group member Kristen Moegling describes how she got involved in trail running and what one needs to get started in the sport. To find out more about new CMC recreational activities, see page 8, and visit www.cmc.org for more details.

Running up the North Rim of the Grand Canyon during my April Rim to Rim to Rim run. Shelly Camp

mimics the cycle of our real lives; the feeling of wanting to give up framed by complete euphoria from achieving your goals and the need to keep pushing forward, because, truly, no one can save you from yourself.

I didn’t get into trail running thinking I would ever run 50 miles. When I started in late April 2011, I could barely run 3 miles.

For years, I had been racing bikes as a local Cat 3 racer. I had a solid cardiovascular base but running challenged my mind and body in an entirely different manner. I was drawn to the trail because I loved being in woods and out on the local peaks, and while hiking got me there, it didn’t quite push me the way I needed. I wanted to feel that runner’s high and go places where there were no cars, noise, and stress. Mountain biking would have provided the outlet I was looking for, but I was broke and a new bike was going to cost $2,000. A pair of running shoes was only $100. It was simple too: No loading bikes on the car; remembering helmets, gloves, and shoes; or worrying about bike parts. Just me, my water bottle, and shoes.

into. On the more pragmatic side, though, a couple of solid decisions will help make your transition into the sport a bit easier. ▶ Spend the money to get a solid pair of trail running shoes from a knowledgeable salesperson at a local store who will analyze your stride. I also suggest skipping the minimalist shoes despite the fact that many might argue with me. After you’ve been running trails for at least six months and have built your leg strength, then you can reevaluate the idea.

You don’t need those $200 super-cushioned, correcting, butt-enhancing, miraclepromising shoes, but a little support in the beginning will make a huge difference. ▶ Accept and embrace the fact that you are probably not going to be very good at this at first (unless you are one of the 1 percent of insanely talented natural born running savants).

Give yourself permission to go slow and learn the feel of the trail. If you are used to

“Just keep walking. You can’t stop because no one is coming for you, no one is going to carry you out of this canyon, and you can’t just sit here and give up.”

There is one mile to go up the south rim of the Grand Canyon and I am weeping like an inconsolable child. My quads are complete toast, and I am staggering back and forth across the trail in the pitch black.

The headlamp I have wrapped around my waist is bouncing ominous looking shadows in my path, and I’m certain I see mountain 18

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lions sitting on top of the red rocks. Shelly, my best friend for as long as I can remember, is just ahead, pushing forward, and I am begging her to let me sit down. She turns to me, screaming, “Just keep walking. You can’t stop because no one is coming for you, no one is going to carry you out of this canyon, and you can’t just sit here and give up.”

It took me more than an hour to do that last mile, one tiny shuffle step after another. All that my life had brought me during the last year swam in my head, and I left it all there, on that trail that painful night. From that moment, I knew that trail running would always be a part of my life.

Perhaps even a daily reminder of how it

Trail running is a fast growing sport.

Ultrarunning race directors are seeing their numbers increase significantly and are suddenly faced with determining ways to limit entry. Races are filling up in record time.

Yet, the most common comments I receive when I tell people I like to run endurance events are, “Oh, I hate running” and “I could never do that.” People seem to believe that I am something special, some sort of genetically gifted athlete, or just crazy. Well, I’m here to tell you that I am a completely average athlete with no special prowess and that if I can do this, so can you. Oh, and I am not crazy; well, maybe just a little bit.

I love trail running and I believe that if more people approached it with a different mindset they could too. The most important piece of advice I have is to enjoy the trail and all it has to offer. Enjoy the peace and meditative state it can bring you

running on the road, you are going to feel the sharpness of rocks and roots under your feet. You are also going to have to build ankle strength and struggle to deal with uneven surfaces. If you are transitioning from another sport that you have been successful at, it may be difficult to overcome the fact that you may struggle at first. Trust me, I’ve been there. My first month of running I often half walked and half jogged three-mile stretches, cursing under my breath. Let it go! ▶ Build your miles slowly, even if you come from a road running background.

Most of us who come from other sports know that you have to increase difficulty and time in 10 percent increments over many weeks. One way to get started or to build mileage is to join a local trail running group, such as the trail running section of the Boulder Group, and meet for their long run.

▲ On top of Green Mountain in Boulder in route to Bear Mountain. One of my favorite local runs.

Amy Dickerson

They will probably run much farther than you can manage, but run part of it with the group and plan an exit strategy. Every week you will be able to hang a little longer. One Sunday, you might make the entire 30-mile run and realize that you’ve come a long way! ▶ Learn to appreciate that not all pain is significant. In fact, sometimes pushing ourselves out, past, and over the comfort zone is the best thing for our psyche. Doing something extraordinary, not for a medal, money, a race place, or for the admiration of others, but for yourself; to see what you are capable of doing, even when it gets painful and difficult, teaches you something monumental about life. Life isn’t easy and it isn’t about reaching the end.

It is about the journey and the experiences along the way. If you can see trail running this way; to see it as a reflection of life with all its pain and joy, ups and down, victories and defeats, then I promise you, you will fall in love with the trail, just as I have done. △ Trail & Timberline

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Pathfinder

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A Singular Fall Day in the Sangres Hiking Lily Lake and California Peak

By Greg Long

▼ Fall colors from atop California Peak. Greg Long

I started from the Upper Huerfano Trailhead on the trail to Lily Lake. This trailhead is shared by the fourteener Mount Lindsey, and I was one of several car campers getting an early start. After the first mile, the Lily Lake Trail turns right (west) while the Mount Lindsey Trail continues straight (south). I wished the peakbaggers well and began switchbacking up toward the lake. A variety of cascades provided a distraction as the trail climbed toward my destination, so much so that it was not until I was almost at the lake that I noticed Blanca’s sheer north face looming above me. Once at the lake, the terrain levels and there are boulder fields to be explored and cliff walls to be marveled at. Taking advantage of the solitude, I spent some time in quiet meditation on the shore before continuing on my way.

Lily Lake itself is a fine destination—I recommend it as a spot for a leisurely picnic lunch—but the weather was grand and there was a peak to be explored. California Peak, at 13,849 feet, is a centennial, one of the 100 highest mountains in Colorado.

From the west side of Lily Lake, a turn to the north and a little over one thousand feet of scrambling on mostly solid scree and talus brought me to California’s summit ridge. Traversing the ridge over point 13,577’ and another smaller subpeak brought me to the summit of California.

Along the ridge, the fall colors came into stark relief against the rocky terrain. As a

Lily Lake shimmers. Greg Long ▲

native New Englander who hasn’t quite gotten a handle on the concept that fall means trees turning from green to yellow and that’s all, I particularly appreciated the diverse palette provided by extensive scrub oak in the foothills to the northeast. To the northwest, Great Sand Dunes National Park came into view. Turning back to the south, Little Bear peeked out from behind Blanca and the zoom lens of my camera allowed me to see a small crowd on the summit of Lindsey.

My own summit photo required a self tim-

Solitude on the Summit of California Peak. Greg Long ▼

It’s fall in Colorado; the afternoon thunderstorms have passed, and it’s time to spend long days above treeline—provided, of course, that it’s not snowing. The occasional September blizzard notwithstanding, fall is my favorite hiking season, because I can avoid those afternoon sprints to get below treeline before the lightning strikes. Last September found me in the Sangre de Cristos scouting hikes for a new CMC Press guidebook: The Best Southern Front Range Hikes. In one spectacular day, I scouted two hikes, spent hours above treeline, enjoyed phenomenal fall colors, and—once I was beyond a mile from the trailhead—had it all to myself.

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er; although the centennial 13ers are gaining in popularity, it’s not unusual to have one to yourself. The register indicated two climbers had visited earlier in the day (one a fellow CMC member), but that was all.

Rather than retracing my steps, I descended via the north ridge, the traditional ascent route. This route is entirely Class 1 terrain and a much easier climb than the Lily Lake approach. With only a few clouds in the sky and no storms threatening, it provided a particular bonus on this day: almost two and one half miles of worry-free ridge walking above treeline. The sand dunes stayed over my left shoulder, the fall colors over my right, and high alpine grasses, plants, and lichen-covered rocks blanketed the immediate foreground. Any good size rock provided an excuse for a snack and/ or view break. I had no place to be, so why hurry? I smiled at the pleasure of hiking in the fall; such a long ridge walk would be a source of stress and constant sky watching in the summer. Finally, I dropped off the east side of the ridge onto the Zapata Trail and continued a mile and a half to the Lower Huerfano Trail. A mile of road walking brought me back to my vehicle at the upper trailhead and once again to the world of people. Most had just climbed Lindsey, but I stopped to chat with a fellow CMC member who had been hiking on a less-traveled trail in the area. When I mentioned writing a guidebook, he made me swear not to reveal the name of his trail, “Let everyone else have Mount Lindsey, I’ll take the rest of the area and the solitude.” I couldn’t have agreed more. △ Trail & Timberline

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Hike Details

A cascade along the trail. Greg Long

▶ Lily Lake (12,340’) Map: Trails Illustrated Sangre de Cristo/ Great Sand Dunes NP, Number 138 Elevation Gain: 1,700 Feet Rating: Moderate Round-Trip Distance: 6.80 miles Round-Trip Time: 3-4 hours

▶ California Peak (13,849’) Map: Trails Illustrated Sangre de Cristo/ Great Sand Dunes NP, Number 138 Via North Ridge Route Elevation Gain: 4,100 Feet Round-Trip Distance: 8.2 Miles Via Lily Lake Elevation Gain: 4,200 Feet Round-Trip Distance: 10.5 miles Rating: Difficult Round-Trip Time: 8 to 10 hours Getting There: A high-clearance, 4-wheel drive vehicle is recommended to get to this trailhead. From I-25, take exit 52 toward Walsenburg. In 0.4 miles, turn right onto Colorado 69. Take 69 23.3 miles to Gardner; pass through Gardner and turn left toward Redwing. At 7 miles from this turn, the road becomes dirt and at 11.4 miles turn left toward Upper Huerfano and Lily Lake.

At 15.5 miles, pass the Singing River Ranch.

The road becomes rougher at this point. At 19.8 miles, pass the Lower Huerfano Trailhead, and continue 1.2 more miles to the Upper Huerfano, aka Lily Lake, Trailhead.

The last mile of road is particularly rough.

The Best Southern Front Range Hikes A wonderful companion to CMC Press’s The Best Front Range Hikes, The Best Southern Front Range Hikes includes 54 of the most superb hikes found anywhere in Colorado. Author Greg Long and contributors from the Pikes Peak Group chose the hikes for a number of reasons, including the beauty of the scenery, the variety of terrain, the quality of the hiking experience on the trail, and the fact that many of these trails don’t get used as much as the trails in other parts of the state. Some are close to town, while others are more remote. Many make excellent family outings, while others challenge the seasoned mountaineer. All can be done in a day from Castle Rock, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, or Trinidad.

Available Now! 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.

200 pages, 6 x 9, 100 color photographs, 58 maps, paperback, $24.95, ISBN 978-1-937052-01-0.

A member of the Pikes Peak Group, Greg Long is a hiker and climber who has thru-hiked The Colorado Trail and summited high peaks throughout the world. He teaches high school and lives in Palmer Lake, Colorado.

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23

Capturing the

Fall Colors of Colorado Photo Opportunities Abound throughout the Mountains story and Photos By Rod Martinez

A view from McClure Pass.▼

How did Colorado acquire its nickname “Colorful Colorado”? There are many reasons why Colorado is colorful, starting with the golden plains, or the blue spruce or green conifers, to our never-ending blue skies, or our abundance of red rocks on the Western Slope.

When I think of Colorful Colorado I think of the aspen trees that fill the lower mountain slopes and turn golden in early fall. A fall hike in Colorado’s mountains is a great way to view and photograph the gold in the hills that may only last a couple of weeks.

If you wish to take a hike and view the aspens, take note that they normally turn gold the third week in September in the north24

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ern part of the state and last, weather permitting, until the end of the first week of October in the San Juan Mountains. Elevation also plays a role in when they change to gold, with the higher elevations in the northern part of the state turning first. The gold will then work its way down the mountain slopes into the lower elevations and to the southwest part of the state by Cortez

and Dunton. The change to gold can be finicky and oftentimes does not follow scientific theory or the normal effects of weather.

There are a number of great fall hikes throughout the mountains of Colorado, but I will describe a few of my favorites based on the trails and the beauty that I love to photograph in central and southwestern Colorado.

American Lake One of my favorite hikes is American Lake, which is located to the west of Aspen. From the round-a-bout in Aspen take the Castle Creek Road and follow it for about 10 miles until you reach the trailhead, which is located on the right. The hike is 3.2 miles one way and it is strenuous only because of the 2,000-foot elevation gain. In the beginning

is an inviting place to take a lunch break.

Admire the jagged mountain peaks and the ever-present gold of the aspens. This is also a terrific hike in the summer, as the meadows are awash in a great variety of wildflowers.

Maroon Lake and Crater Lake Trail The 14,000-foot Maroon Bells Peaks are probably the most photographed peaks and

able to photograph a superb reflection of the “Bells”, because there is barely a ripple on the lake. Pine trees and aspens then frame the lake and set the peaks off in the royal majesty they deserve. Aspen groves on the right side fill the landscape with color, and they are enhanced by the ragged red rock peaks that dominate the skyline. The Maroon Lake Scenic Trail is an easy .75-mile

there is a steady to steep climb. The trail is well-maintained as it rises through the aspen groves. Stop and take a breath and follow some of the side trails to get great panoramic vistas of the high peaks located at the head of Castle Valley. The trail will take you to a large high-alpine meadow, which is surrounded by spruce forests and the evercolorful aspen groves. As you approach the end of the trail you will hike through a boulder field. Depending on the moisture that year you will pass by a cascading waterfall located on your left. Hike through the last section of trees and you will reach American Lake. The small emerald-green lake

are some of the most spectacular mountains in all of Colorado because of their red color and distinctive “bell” shape. This location is one of the most popular destination spots in the Aspen area. Most people hike the trails to the Maroon Bells in late spring and early summer, when the wildflowers are at their best, but fall is the most colorful time of year. If you want this place almost to yourself, then leave Aspen early in the morning and drive the 9.5 miles to the parking area at Maroon Lake. You may even see deer early in the morning on the way to the lake. Early morning will give you great light on North and South Maroon Peaks, but you will be

walk to the end of the lake. You can continue another mile to Crater Lake. You will hike through more aspen groves and catch an occasional glimpse of Maroon Creek as it cascades over the boulder fields. After .75 of a mile you will see Crater Lake to your left. It is then a short hike to the lake and a very nice view of North and South Maroon Peak, Crater Lake, and an impressive waterfall if you hike all the way to the west end of the lake and look to the northwest.

Because of the elevation of Crater Lake the aspen groves are fewer, but they come back into your picture as you descend back down to Maroon Lake. Take your time descendTrail & Timberline

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ing so you can get a beautiful view of Maroon Lake surrounded by the golden aspens and green pines. You have now hiked one of the most scenic areas in Colorado. It is equally beautiful during the summer. If you are in the Aspen area and an early fall snow takes place, attempt to drive to the lake and photograph the white “Bells”, golden aspens, red jagged rocks, and green pine trees.

This is the epitome of “Colorful Colorado.”

Silver Basin Trail On the west side of the Maroon Bells and near the town of Crested Butte are a myriad of fabulous trails that will get you into the mountains as you hike through aspen groves that never seem to end. The most spectacular way to get to Silver Basin Trail is to take Highway 133 from Carbondale over McClure Pass to Kebler Pass Road. On the way to Kebler you will once again witness spectacular fall foliage as you ascend then descend McClure Pass. Shortly after Paonia Reservoir you will arrive at Kebler Pass Road.

The next 31 miles to Crested Butte include some of the largest and most colorful aspen groves in Colorado. Stop often to absorb the beauty as these groves unfold before your eyes all the way to the West Elk Mountains, which are located in the West Elk Wilderness Area. Our destination is Silver Basin Trail, located about 20 miles from HighWhite River from Meeker to Ripple Creek Pass.

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way 133 or 11 miles from Crested Butte.

Turn left off Kebler Pass Road (Colorado Road 12) at Horse Ranch Park and park your vehicle at the Dark Canyon Trail #830. Silver Basin Trailhead is located about 2 miles from Horse Ranch Park. The Silver Basin Trail, #834, is one of the most picturesque trails in the Raggeds Wilderness Area, whether in the summer for wildflowers, or during the fall, when the aspens are in all their glory, creating a mosaic of yellow, green, or a sprinkling of red leaves amongst those trees whose leaves may have already fallen. As you ascend the trail, you will traverse high around the Ruby Range.

Beautiful vistas unfold around you as you get a panoramic view of the Raggeds Wilderness and in the distance the West Elk Wilderness. Eventually you will top out at Silver Basin. Continuing on will give you a descent of 1,800 feet down a ridge, where you will rejoin the Dark Canyon Trail just above the Devil’s Stairway. This loop will take you back to Horse Ranch Park. Be sure to have plenty of memory cards for your camera. You will need them and use them.

Wilson Mesa Trail Another awe-inspiring hike is the Wilson Mesa Trail outside Telluride. There are a number of ways to hike this trail. One way is to start at Woods Lake (13 miles one way to

Sunshine Mesa); another is to start at Silver Pick Road (7.5 miles one way to Sunshine Mesa). I like to hike the trail from Sunshine Mesa to Silver Pick Road. This is a trail that can make for a great car shuttle or a long 15-mile hike. Take Highway 145 out of Telluride to Ilium Forest Access Road #625 to the Ilium church camp, turn right on Road #623 and follow it to Sunshine Mesa and the signed junction to Wilson Mesa Trail. During the course of this hike, you will have a chance to view Sunshine Mountain (12,930 feet), the rock spire known as Lizard Head (13,113 feet), Gladstone Peak (13,913 feet), and the dominant 14ers of Mount Wilson (14,246 feet), El Diente Peak (14,159 feet), and the ever-present Wilson Peak (14,017 feet). Once again you will hike through endless groves of aspen interspersed with some conifers, but one of the above mentioned mountains will always be in your sight. If you leave early enough in the morning, you will increase your opportunities to view deer, elk, and maybe even a coyote. Panoramas of mountains, streams, and an occasional waterfall can always add to the beauty of the gold in the hills. When you are high on the trail be sure to turn around and catch the view of the Sneffels Range dominated by the queen herself, Mount Sneffels (14,150 feet).

Fall is a spectacular time to hike when the leaves are changing from dark green, to

▲ Wilson Peak.

light green, to yellow/gold, orange/gold, and occasionally red. The mountains of Colorado are truly a palette of many colors when you combine a bright blue sky, white puffy clouds, and snowcapped peaks.

Fall Foliage Drives If you simply want to view the aspens and the mountains, here are a few drives I recommend. On the east slope, the Peak to Peak Highway from Estes Park to Nederland on highways 7 and 72 affords many opportunities for real up-close and vista photos.

This is a great drive, passing interesting sites along the way. Gravel roads crossing the main highway lead to ghost towns at Hesse and Apex; others lead to high country lakes. There are many aspen stands, so it is a golden marvel in the fall. Established in 1918, this is Colorado’s oldest scenic byway.

From Colorado Springs to Cripple Creek, especially from Divide to Cripple Creek, you will have a hard time choosing between photographing the old gold mines or the golden leaves of the aspens. As you leave Colorado Springs and head west on Highway 24 you will pass through Cascade, Green Mountain Falls, and Woodland Park before you take a left on Colorado Highway 67 at Divide. Take the time to enjoy driving past Pikes Peak and the aspen stands intermixed with the old gold mines. Highway 67 continues south for an additional 4 miles to another colorful town, Victor. On your way back to Colorado Springs, you may find another form of gold in the casinos of Cripple Creek, but I would bet the aspens will give you gold you can count on.

Another truly fabulous area is along Ripple Creek Pass in North-Central Colorado. From Wolcott, on Interstate 70, go north about 43 miles to just north of Yampa

and turn left (west) onto County Road 17, which is a very good gravel road. Shortly after that you will turn left onto Forest Road 16, which in a few miles turns into County Road 8. The fall foliage begins in about 8 miles and continues until a few miles east of Meeker. A beautiful side trip can take you to Trappers Lake. From on top of Ripple Creek Pass you will have great vistas that stretch for miles all the way to the Flat Tops.

Another scenic drive is around Chimney Peak, near Ridgway. From Highway 50, about 45 miles from Gunnison, or 20 miles from Montrose, turn on to Cimarron Road.

The vistas of the San Juans Uncompahgre Massif are a sight to behold. You will pass

by Beaver Lake as you head toward Silver

Jack Reservoir. Along this gravel road there are massive rock outcroppings intertwined with stands of aspen. Late afternoon is the best time of day to capture the gold, a beautiful Colorado blue sky, and the rock outcroppings. As you continue on this road you will traverse Owl Creek Pass in about 7 miles. As you travel down the west side of Owl Creek Pass, Chimney Peak and Courthouse Mountain will be visible on the left. Again you will pass through many aspen stands before you encounter a large meadow with Chimney Peak (see “Chimney Peak: A Vertical San Juan Icon” on page 30) at the south end of the meadow. Adding the pink glow of a sunset on Chimney Peak surrounded by the golden aspens will

A view from the Peak to Peak Highway. ▼

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give you a spectacular photo. If you didn’t capture sunset by the meadow, then continue on down the road until you find the view area. From the view area and to the east a large vista of Chimney Peak, Courthouse Mountain, and the West Cimarron Range is enveloped in gold. To the west you will see the incomparable Sneffels Range of the San Juans.

On Highway 145 drive south of Telluride on your way to Lizard Head Pass. There are numerous viewpoints and wide turnouts to once again photograph the peaks and a lake or two, including Trout Lake, before you reach the rest stop on top of Lizard Head Pass. When photographing the lakes zoom in close and photograph just the reflections. Once everyone else is done photographing keep your camera ready and zoomed in, then skip a rock on the water and photograph the artistic and fun ripples in the water.

A couple of miles past Lizard Head Pass stop at the next wide turn out to photograph Lizard Head Peak. It does not take much imagination to see how this mountain peak resembles the head of a lizard.

Keep going on Highway 145 past the mining town of Rico until you reach Hillside Road on the left, close to mile marker 37. Turn left here and you will soon see why this is my favorite fall foliage area. As you traverse this great gravel road, vista after vista will unfold in front of you. This road is not heavily traveled, and it is wide so you can stop about anywhere on the side of the road to take your photos. As you look across the canyon, you will see the tall stately aspens which resemble soldiers standing at attention just waiting for you to photograph them. The colors will vary from light green to deep gold, and a variety of conifers will be interspersed to add to the variety of the endless waves of gold. The road keeps climbing and when it plateaus you can continue shooting the myriad of vistas and/or walk in the groves of aspens to feel their golden majesty. Find a nice bunch; lay down flat on the ground and with your widest angle lens or setting shoot straight up. The trees will converge to the center of your photo and you will now have a striking photo of the stately and up close beauty of these trees. Your drive back toward Telluride will give you different lighting, views, and photos that you will treasure. This area is great from mid-morning to late afternoon, and it will take you a number of hours to photograph and absorb all this Colorado gold.

“There Is Gold in Them Hills”, whether you drive or hike in Colorado’s mountains. Take the time to enjoy and be sure to photograph those memories. △

Looking up through aspen gold.

Gold in Cripple Creek.

The former program director of the Western Slope Group, Rod Martinez currently acts as treasurer and trail steward. A professional photographer, he has been named Grand Junction’s Photographer of the Year four years in a row. Martinez served as project manager for CMC Press’s newest pack guide, The Best Grand Junction Hikes.

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Chimney Peak

A Vertical San Juan Icon

By John Lacher and James Turner

Chimney Peak and Courthouse Mountain ridge from the north.

Rod Martinez

Chimney Peak is a prominent peak on the Cimarron Ridge east of Ridgway.

I had seen it from a distance during summers when my family vacationed in

the Uncompahgre Valley during the l940s and l950s. Growing up, I became

the proud owner of a 120-foot Goldline rope, a few pitons, and some carabiners. I also gradually gained the ambition to climb Chimney Peak.

This grew, no doubt, from the knowledge that it was a challenging rock climb, and by addition that Mel Griffiths said he had climbed it some years previously. At that time, Mel was a gentle, slow speaking, university professor. I did not realize that he had carried out some of the most 30

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challenging and difficult climbs in Colorado. My ambition grew over the years, resulting in several attempts on the peak.

The San Juan Mountains have a reputation for being unstable. The country around Chimney Peak and Courthouse Mountain is wild and the rock is extra San Juan loose. The

rock is a volcanic tuff, with stone and hard fragments imbedded in soft, fine grained matrix. How these peaks and the neighboring peaks manage to assume such an upright posture is a wonder. There is plenty of evidence of active erosion around the area, and the Cimarron River tributaries often run

slightly cloudy with the suspended sediment.

Chimney Peak has an interesting mountaineering history. It is officially named Chimney Rock, but has been known locally as Chimney Peak. Rising to an elevation of 11,781 feet, it gives a view of many major peaks in the San Juan, except the areas in the direction of the Wilson Peak Massive.

The San Juan Mountaineers detailed Chimney Peak in their classic 1933 description of the area. They noted that the only hope of ascent was by the vertical crack that splits the south face, but as far as they knew, it had not been climbed.

They also stated that it was composed of a well cemented conglomerate, and was

“quite firm.” Subsequent climbers did not always confirm the degree of firmness.

Dwight Lavender was the driving force for the assembly and publication of the San Juan Mountaineers’ Climber’s Guide to Southwestern Colorado, published in 1933. Dwight died suddenly and tragically from polio while in graduate school at Stanford the following year. Mel Griffiths and Robert Ormes, upon hearing of Dwight’s death, resolved to remember him with a climb instead of staying at home moping. They chose Chimney Peak.

The ascent took place on September l5, l934, and was recorded by Carleton C. Long in Trail & Timberline the following February. It was described as “the most difficult peak in Colorado.” Anyone familiar with mountaineering literature has seen several peaks with that description. Suffice it to say that they were impressed by the overwhelming sense of verticality. They were able to get to the base of the vertical crack on the south side by means of several “courte echelles,” or shoulder stands. The crack itself was described as 400 feet in length, containing several interesting chockstones. Ormes, being much smaller than Griffiths, tended to climb more to the inside of the crack.

Ormes recorded a “curious booboo” in later editions of the Guide to the Colorado Mountains. At the large chockstone near the top they found that one had climbed inside and one to the outside. Instead of stopping to untie one climber on top of the chockstone, dropping one end of the rope around, and then bringing the rope up to re-tie, they sent one climber down to climb up the other side!

“Must have been excited,” quoth Ormes.

I first tried the climb with a friend from Boulder High School in l956. We clambered around the low cliffs, knocking loose several large rocks and nearly ourselves, but didn’t get anywhere near the base of the ascent crack. He suggested we try going back home, adding baking yeast to apple cider, and continue our ongoing studies of fermentation.

I tried it in the early l970s with my wife, Jan. Unfortunately, I kicked off a rock which hit her. She suggested we go back home, and I buy her a very nice present.

I tried it about two years later with my nephew. We scrambled around, and eventually got to the base of the crack.

After taking turns trying to boost each other up into the crack, we became discouraged with all the loose rock that came down. We both thought an ominous cumulous cloud must be about to appear,

followed by torrential rain. We agreed on a retreat to Ouray to buy a milk shake.

Mike Barlow, Mike Hamrick, and I climbed it in July l975. Once into the crack, the climbing wasn’t very difficult from a technical standpoint. Getting up into the crack presented some problem. It is slightly overhung, and the crack immediately above was filled with rubble which tumbled down with little pressure. After boosting the fearful leader over that, it became easier. The main trouble was choosing a handhold which was likely to stay in place. I would test two or three before finding one I trusted. We found ourselves pushing the cobble/holds back into the rock to keep them in place in passing. Loose stones pelted the two below. We found a few cracks for pitons and chocks.

In those days, pitons were still acceptable, and we were just learning to trust chocks.

Most cracks were a bit loose though. Slings around chockstones were the main security.

Run-outs were really a bit too long. The view from atop was spellbinding. The three of us stayed spellbound perhaps unduly long, I think out of apprehension about reentering the crack. Eventually we rappelled back down into the crack. The exit move from the crack, however, was a non-standard climbslide-jump maneuver to avoid having a rope from above bringing down even more rock.

The next year, Mike Hamrick, Glen Fortner, and I tried the crack on the North side. As far as we knew, no one had climbed it. The crack is narrower, just as loose, and hard to protect. The climbing was mainly jamming and counter-pressure moves. Eventually we got to where the crack widened into a large alcove about half way up. It was filled with talus along the back. Each piece seemed to move when stepped on. This, in turn, caused some others to shift. We began to feel a little jittery, and agreed to bail out, go to Ouray, and buy some refreshments.

Two years later Mike Hamrick climbed it from the south with another friend.

Sitting on top, they thought they heard voices. Sure enough, a few minutes later, a cheerful young woman finished up the north chimney, said “Hi!” followed with “On belay!” The young man who followed was ashen faced and very quiet.

Evidently he was glad to be among the living, and contemplating taking up contract bridge or chess in place of mountaineering.

As far as I know, nobody has died on Chimney Peak. It does have that potential, though. The climbing is not really that hard, but there is a fair amount of vertical Trail & Timberline

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The route up Chimney Peak from the south.

John Lacher

▲

real estate that is not too well cemented together. Although no one has died there, John Wayne, starring as Rooster Cogburn, did manage to drill three no-good scalawags with his 30-30 just north of the peak a few years back. At least that’s what is recorded in the original cinematic version of True Grit.

I asked Jim Turner, an active climber in Ouray, to give an update about more recent conditions and climbing. As he relates:

As Scenic; Not Quite as Loose I was recently in Ouray Mountain Sports buying some chalk, when I was introduced to John Lacher. He informed me that he had climbed Chimney Peak a few years back and was wondering about the current conditions. I had climbed the route once 32

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and had some friends visiting from New Mexico, so I agreed to climb it again, with the intention of writing a brief review of it.

I figured the first thing to do was gather as much information as I could, so I headed to the Ouray Library and borrowed the movie True Grit, starring John Wayne. I have always been more of an Eastwood fan when it comes to Westerns, but the John Wayne movie was filmed locally and did have some great shots of the Cimarron Range. My friends Corey and Akara arrived on a Saturday evening, so we headed to the bar in town and discussed strategies for success over margaritas and whiskey. I quoted Rooster Cogburn, “Young Fella, If you’re looking for trouble, I’ll accommodate you.” We had a final round or two and then went home.

I have been fortunate to climb a lot and to stand on some cool summits, both in North and South America; it doesn’t matter if you are in the Central Alaska Range or on the South Patagonian Ice Field, I always find it advantageous to get a nice early start.

The next day, I staggered over to the coffee pot at 9:45 am; three cups of coffee later and we were ready. We left Ouray about 10:30 and headed up toward Owl Creek Pass. We started the approach and I remembered going the wrong way the last time and compensated (you need to go much farther north than you would think).

We got to the first third-class section and lo and behold there was another party on the route! I was amazed. We sat and ate our sandwiches and hoped they would keep it moving. We pressed onward to the base of the route taking in the spectacular views of the Sneffels Range and the immense west face. I scampered up the first pitch and clipped into the slung block anchor and put my friends on an auto-block so they could simul-climb. I headed up the second pitch and passed a chockstone and equalized the manky anchor. This is where we caught up to the other party of three. I brought up Corey and Akara, and we waited for the other party to top out and belay their seconds. They were moving a bit slowly with their fat ropes and heavy rack. They also had jumars, pulleys, and other gadgets that seemed to encumber their upward progress. I felt a little under-racked with two cams and two nuts, but there is very little opportunity for gear placement. I led the third pitch directly behind their third climber with the thought that it would be better to be close to her in case of rock fall.

We topped out on the spectacular finned summit, snapped some photos, and then got down before the other team. The descent went smoothly, and we were at the truck before long. As we headed back toward Ridgway, we had to make a brief stop to take in the magnificent alpenglow lighting up Chimney Peak, Courthouse, and the rest of the Cimarron Range. The only logical conclusion to a beautiful summer day was a stop at the True Grit Café in Ridgway for much-needed food and libations.

It might be worth noting that my friend Corey has very little climbing experience; his fiancée, Akara, on the other hand is quite a talented climber, but her background is in sport climbing. That being said, they both had an excellent time and I was psyched

▲ Aspen turning in front of Chimney Peak and Courthouse Ridge. Louis A. Spomer

to share a San Juan experience with them.

The rock in the South Chimney of Chimney Peak has cleaned up quite a bit over the years. The cobbles you climb on seem pretty well cemented in, but the old alpine saying of “pulling down, not out” definitely holds true. The main loose stuff is in the bottom of the chimney, and if you use caution, it can mostly be avoided. There is very little gear needed on the route; I averaged about one piece per pitch. The climbing is usually fairly easy if you are comfortable with run-out chimney climbing. You need two 60m ropes, along with ½ set of cams, and a ½ set of stoppers. Make sure you bring webbing to replace the existing anchors. One thing that may be useful is an ice screw, if you are climbing the route early-season. This could be used as protection on the ascent and used to make a V-thread on the descent. Helmets are mandatory. Also, don’t follow my lead. Start early, as lightning is a major concern during most of the summer.

On a side note, there is also a rock climb on the west face of Courthouse, just south of a prominent arête. This route has most likely not been repeated. It is an X-rated climb in the 5.8–5.9 range. There may be some fixed drilled #1 angles if they haven’t fallen out yet.

This route was put up in the early 2000s by Bill Leo of Ouray Mountain Sports and the prolific Jeff Lowe, who is known for cuttingedge climbs around the world. Contact the first ascentionists for more information. △

Climber in the south crack testing hand-holds. Mike Barlow ▲

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Commemorating the Club’s First Outing

◀ CMC members gather for a photo during their South Boulder Peak outing. Courtesy of Colorado Mountain Club Archives

By Woody Smith

1916 Ike and Mamie Eisenhower honeymooned in one of the cabins.

A 100th Anniversary Tramp Up South Boulder Peak

Amid the host of festivities celebrating the Colorado Mountain Club’s 100th year, I was surprised to learn there was no plan to commemorate the club’s very first hike, up South Boulder Peak, which occurred May 30, 1912. Not wanting to let the anniversary pass uncelebrated, I decided—on about the 28th—that I must go But who to take? Since the hike was on a Wednesday, reputable people with jobs were out, so I called a few CMC notables who I thought might be available. David Hite was resting for a CMC hike to Mount Sniktau that Thursday, plus he had recently been up South Boulder and Bear Peak in April and wasn’t ready to go back. I also contacted the answering machines of Bob Melzer, John Devitt, and Tyle Smith (of the Climbing Smiths), but didn’t hear back in time to include them.

As it turns out, this anniversary hike has a speckled history. While the climb was re-enacted during the twentieth, thirtieth, and fortieth celebrations, none of the hikes took place on the actual anniversary.

In 1932 it was on May 15, in 1942 the hike was on May 17, and in 1952 it was on May 25—all Sundays. Attendance may have been good, but it changed the occasion from an anniversary to a commemoration.

They may have been better off waiting.

Wrote Evelyn Runnette of the 1942 hike: “Forty-eight [went] up South Boulder Peak in spite of lowering weather, snow on the ground and beautiful hoar frost on the pine needles and spider webs.” Or Frances Perkins of the 1932 outing: “The weather was restful for hiking. An occasional snowflake drifted down on the summit, enhancing the attraction of the fire.”

The first three trips were led by George Barnard. Barnard has many Mountain Club credits to his name. He was a Charter Member (April 26, 1912), he served 34

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on the Board of Directors for nine years (1912–1921), he was the Club’s third president (1919–1920), vice-president twice (1917–1918, 1921), spent three years as treasurer, and served on the Local Walks, Legislative, Program, and Outing Committees.

Barnard was born on July 31, 1876, in St. Clair, Michigan. His parents moved to Denver soon after, and were considered among the city’s “pioneers.” His mother later became principal of East High School. From 1897 to 1910 George was employed in the treasurer’s office of the Colorado & Southern Railway in Denver. In 1910 he founded ▲CMC members on top of South Boulder Peak, after completing the Colorado Realty Invest- the club’s first hike, Thursday, May 30, 1912. Courtesy of Colorado ment Company, later branch- Mountain Club Archives ing into loans, insurance, and property management. He was also a member of the Denver Civic League, the Denver Planning Commis- of the Civil War. Back then it was celebratsion, the Denver Board of Realtors, and ed on May 30, no matter what day of the the Mountain Parks Improvement Associa- week it landed on. Lest it be thought that tion. He was both Mason and Presbyterian. olde Denver was a dull place, there was no shortage of holiday activities: An estimated crowd of 100,000 watched the city’s parade; 40,000 visited City Park for festivities that The day of the club’s first hike, a Thursday, included the first band concert of the seawas also Memorial, or Decoration, Day, to son; Lakeside and Elitch’s attracted 15,000 honor the veterans, both living and dead, visitors each; And, reported the Denver

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Post, “Fully 7,000 excursionists passed through the Union Depot this morning to spend the day in the mountains . . . All will be back in the city by midnight tonight.”

Among these “fair picnickers” was a group of 15 brand-new Mountain Clubbers, and 11 “guests” heading to Eldorado Springs.

Of the 26, 24 were from Denver, with President Rogers listed as “Englewood.” The final hiker was from the Chicago area. There were 19 women and 7 men. Transport was via the C&S Railway, or its offshoot, the Denver & Interurban. Roundtrips, an hour each way, cost about $1.20. Admission to the resort and thermal pool was a quarter. Other attractions included the new Eldorado Hotel

(1908–1939), a restaurant, picnic and dancing pavilions, and 1,350 feet of “crazy stairways”, which snaked among the nearby formations and up the canyon to Harmon Falls.

On special occasions tightrope walker Ivy Baldwin would cross 635 feet from cliff to cliff on a cable suspended 582 feet above South Boulder Creek. He made a total of 90 trips across the wire between 1906 and 1949.

His last trip, on his 82nd birthday, left his daughter quite upset. Baldwin passed in 1953.

The Springs were popular during weekends and holidays and drew an estimated 2,000 visitors a day, even some famous ones. Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and Jack Dempsey vacationed there. In

On May 30, 2012, much like 100 years before, my day began with washing up, breakfast, and last minute packing for the hike. What was different from 100 years ago? I toasted bread in an electric toaster, and drank milk chilled in a refrigerator.

I watched digital cable television with 100+ channels as I ate. At best my counterparts had a morning newspaper. Their food was gruel.

My trail snacks were packed in zipseal plastic bags, a by-product of the Space Race. For water I brought two quart-sized plastic Nalgene bottles. The best portable food storage available in 1912 was cellophane and waxed paper. Canteens ware made of lead.

My footwear: Wolverine work boots.

Since the company was founded in 1883, it’s possible someone in the 1912 party was wearing Wolverine. My pack was North George Barnard led the first three anniversary hikes up South Boulder Peak. Barnard is pictured here on Lookout Mountain, with other CMC members. From left to right: George Barnard, Emma Barnard, Louise Brooks, Henry Brooks, George Harvey, James Grafton Rodgers and his wife, and Elvia Harvey.

Courtesy of Colorado Mountain Club Archives ▼

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▲ Hikers ascend to the top of South Boulder Peak. Woody Smith.

Face, 100 percent nylon, and very sturdy. I’ve had it since 1999. In 1912 satchels and such would be made of canvas.

I wore shorts and a Reyn Spooner beach shirt from Hawaii. It was passed on to me when its former owner, Dr. Taylor of Grosse Ile, Michigan, passed away. The Dead Guy Shirt, as it’s come to be known, has been my favorite climbing shirt since I arrived in Colorado in 1988. But now, threadbare and nearly worn through, it mostly hangs out in the closet. This, I decided, would be the Dead Guy Shirt’s final hike.

In pictures from 1912 the party seems dressed for a formal picnic. There were no shorts, only long sleeves and heavy skirts, ties, and suit coats. And of course all clothing, even underwear, was made of burlap.

I packed my plastic cooler, including homemade ice blocks, loaded the car, and was on my way—to 7-Eleven, where I bought another bag of ice. Cold drinks after a hike, aah. Driving west on Alameda to I-25, I tuned in the radio news. It was already 10 am, but I would be at the trailhead in about an hour via the Boulder Turnpike. It had taken about 90 of the intervening 100 years to fill in the land between Denver and Boulder, but it finally had been accomplished, and the turnpike—opened in 1952—can be given most of the credit, or blame if you prefer.

What would they have thought, our forebears? It seems the greatest civic de36

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sire of most 1912 Denverites was to have a real city, like back east. With this accomplished, as in 2012, who wouldn’t want to see Denver as it was 100 years ago? Given a choice, aspects of both are appealing: modern conveniences, medicines, cars, highways, and entertainment, coupled with less people and less development. 1912 land prices and 2012 pay. An impossible utopia.

Upon reaching the Springs by train the 1912 party likely gathered at the pool entrance, as they did in 1942. Once organized they had a short hike back down the canyon. At the mouth, they turned left, or north, and crossed South Boulder Creek into the meadows beyond.

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The parking area was nearly full when I arrived. Among the cars were four or five trucks from an Open Space trail crew. They didn’t need open space in 1912. I paid $5 to park, stuck the receipt on my windshield, took a pill for my achy back, traded shoes for extra socks and boots, applied sunscreen, locked my car, secured my keys and wallet in a baggie, hefted my backpack, and started solo on the CMC’s 100th Anniversary tramp.

Immediately the trail crosses the creek on a log bridge, and then passes through a mile of rolling meadow—the very threshold of the Rocky Mountains. I passed the trail crew within the first half mile. Hard at

work, yet courteous too. Passenger jets flew overhead. 1912 didn’t have those either.

The day was hot and unusually humid for Colorado, and I was happy to be wearing shorts. The descendants of crickets from 100 and 100,000 years ago chirped in the meadows around me. I passed creamy white Sego Lilies and blue Alpine Penstemon, and numerous other flowers, just as previous parties had done.

Our routes were the same: Shadow Canyon between South Boulder and Bear Peak.

While not extra long, it was steep, 2,700 feet in 3 1/2 miles from the parking area. A good work out for heavy lungs and legs. As I neared the base of Shadow Canyon, the forest became dotted with huge boulders that had rolled down from above. Somewhere along the trail the 1912 party had posed on these boulders for a photo. Hoping to find them, I had brought a photocopy which I tried to match. The site eluded me.

Wrote Frances Perkins of the 1932 anniversary hike: “Up the lovely Shadow Canyon, thickly carpeted with violets, ferns and Oregon grape, overshadowed by high rock formations, to the summit of South Boulder Peak, George Barnard led the first Mountain Club trip, May 30th, 1912. Twenty years later . . . the same leader led the same trip, but how his tribe increased! Seventysix people and two dogs accompanied him this year—more than the total membership of the Club at the time of the first climb.”

Barnard was assisted by George Harvey, Gayle Waldrop of Boulder, and seven others. “Roscoe Stockton, past whose cottage the trail leads, offered his hospitality in case of rain, and with his family joined the hike.”

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There were a few others on the trail, and I asked most of them if they were with the CMC. None were. The trail up Shadow Canyon was both steep and lovely; it’s a protected and shady canyon, with large pines that were 100 years smaller in 1912. I huffed and puffed my way up. Near the top I caught up with another hiker, Silas from Arizona, who had passed me earlier. He was not a Mountain Clubber, but I invited him to summit with me in honor of the anniversary, which seemed to please him.

At the saddle we ran into a large party, about 15, who had come over from Green Mountain and Bear Peak. I asked if any were with the CMC and a few were. News of the anniversary drew interest, but the photos of the 1912 party caused a mild up-

roar and witty wardrobe comments. We fell in with the larger party, now part of a herd.

In about 15 minutes we reached the summit. I replaced the register, noting the anniversary. Photos were taken, and I enjoyed my summit pudding cup: butterscotch.

The view was top notch, the chief attraction being Longs Peak to the northwest. Also in view was the smoke from the High Park forest fire. Within weeks the Front Range would be thick with smoke from several wildfires. A lightning strike would ignite west of Bear Peak within a month. Only a three-day downpour at the end of June stopped the flames.

It was nearly 2 pm when I left the summit of South Boulder Peak to a young couple, the last to arrive. Solo, I headed for Bear Peak. It had been 20 years since I first climbed these peaks, so I decided to get them both while I could.

Wrote Frances Perkins of the 1932 anniversary hike: “At the suggestion of the Boulder people (“bolder” would be an equally correct spelling) those who wished returned over Bear Mountain and down the knife-edge trail. ‘The word trail,’ said Mr. Barnard, ‘is slightly misleading.’ Those who chose to follow Gayle, and this included the Junior Group, voted this the most thrilling part of the trip. A lovely mesa trail led from the foot of the rocky descent to the cars.”

She continued: “When the fortieth anniversary of the Club is celebrated, may we again follow the team of Barnard and Harvey to the summit of South Boulder Peak.”

But George didn’t make it. He

▲The view from atop South Boulder Peak, overlooking Boulder. Woody Smith

passed on June 1, 1947, at age 70. He was survived by his wife, three children, and five grandchildren. He was buried at Fairmount, the final resting place of many CMC old-timers, including Carl Blaurock, Mary Cronin, and Bill Ervin.

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I reached the top of Bear Peak about 2:45, just ahead of three students who had

hiked up the front side on a lark. They had no water. Two of the three accepted a juice pack. The view over Boulder was swell, but we were soon driven from the summit by the flies. I wonder if the fire did anything to reduce their numbers?

Hiking down I was happy I had been able to make it up the peaks, and satisfied that I had fulfilled my Historian duties for the day. Soon I was back at my car, all hot, but the drinks were cold. I took another pill for my back, changed my boots into shoes, and joined the rush hour traffic crawling home.

Writing in June 1942, Evelyn Runnette provides an epilogue: “The Anniversary trip . . . was a great success . . . While there was no 1912 fashion parade, Cedric Kaub displayed something new in climbing gloves which have the advantage of informing the leader where he is. It was fine to have Boulder and Denver members together. Would have been nice if other group members had joined the merry throng.”△ Thanks to David Hite for technical support and J. Wendell Cox and Bruce Hanson from the Denver Public Library Western History Department.

◀ Hikers sit atop South Boulder Peak, as they did a century ago. Woody Smith

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The Story Behind Mountain Rescue

What: Risk and Reward: A Mountain Rescue Exhibit Where: The Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum

American Mountaineering Museum Exhibit Showcases This Little-Known Endeavor

710 10th Street, Golden, CO 80401

By Christian Green To the average person, the term mountain rescue conjures visions of news clips in which an unlucky hiker is airlifted from an remote mountain in the San Juans. The news rarely delves into the men and women who volunteer their time to make these rescues happen. Thankfully there is a new exhibit at the Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum that brings to light the “impact and importance of this often overlooked but heroic specialty.” Appropriately named “Risk and Reward: A Mountain Rescue Exhibit”, the exhibit not only addresses the culture, history, and tools of mountain search and rescue, but also introduces some of the individuals who devote their time to such an important avocation.

The exhibit is presented in four sections and emphasizes the people and stories behind mountain rescue. Museum Director Shelby Arnold said that the exhibit is the first of its kind: “Until now, an overarching look at mountain rescue had not existed in one location. We gathered information from everywhere and everyone to get the full picture. Luckily, mountain rescue is full of storytelling; the people I met with, the books I read, everyone had a story to tell.”

The top floor of the exhibit, which is the entrance to the museum, focuses on the history, equipment, and people of mountain rescue. Although mountain rescue doesn’t have an official governing body, many groups are members of the Mountain Rescue Association (MRA), which was established in 1959, at Timberline Lodge, on Mount Hood, Oregon. There were 15 founding members, including the U.S. Army 10th Mountain Division, and today there are 89 member teams. The exhibit displaying the

▲ The acronym ALAST visually illustrates the search and rescue process. Shelby Arnold

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MRA’s 2011 statistics provides visitors with a sense of how prevalent mountain rescue is in Colorado, with 1,850 missions in this state alone, in 2011. Another fascinating display provides insight into the debate about who should pay for mountain rescue missions, while a timeline evinces the development of mountain rescue over the years. In addition, the types of mountain rescue—Technical Rock Rescue, Search and Tracking, and Winter Rescue—are explained in detail.

The second part of the exhibit focuses on the equipment used during search and rescue missions, particularly the ropes that have been used in mountain climbing throughout its history and the litters used for rescue missions. Ropes have come a long way since the development of the Manila rope sometime around 17,000 bc. Today, mountain rescue personnel primarily use Kernmantle and Paraloc ropes. Litters, too, have evolved over the years, and each type of litter that’s been used in mountain rescue hangs high above the first floor of the museum, giving visitors an opportunity to decide which litter they would feel most comfortable in while being transported from the mountain. For Arnold, who spent a good deal of time planning the exhibit with Steve Chappell and Bill May of the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group (RMRG), in Boulder, and Dale Atkins and Paul "Woody" Woodward of the Alpine Rescue Team, in Evergreen, this part of the display was essential in illustrating the importance of the equipment used in mountain rescue.

“I want people to walk away with a better appreciation of all the moving parts required to make a mountain rescue happen and how the creation of new techniques, equipment, and specialties have furthered mountaineering in general,” said Arnold.

The final section of the second floor revolves around the personalities who are involved in mountain rescue, including both people and canines. As Arnold points out, dogs have played a large role in the rescue process, dating back to Saint Bernards during the 18th century. Some of Colorado’s most famous rescue dogs, such as Summit County Rescue’s Hasty, are featured in the display. Perhaps the most compelling feature of the exhibit is located next to the rescue dog display. The volunteers section includes

photos and quotes from a cross-section of search and rescue volunteers, who comprise more than 80 percent of this workforce, and provides insight into what motivates these men and women to help save people’s lives.

CMC members, such as Lynda Wacht, share their motivations for getting involved with search and rescue. In addition, the dedication and determination of these selfless individuals is profiled, along with the history of their service in Colorado, which officially dates to 1947, with the formation of Boulder County Rescue, the first of its kind in the state.

For Arnold, the volunteer aspect was a key part of the exhibit: “We really wanted to emphasize the dedication of these un-paid professionals. Most of them have full-time jobs and view mountain rescue as their passion.”

On the museum’s first floor, the process of mountain rescue is further described via a 27-minute video called “Mountains Don’t Care, But We Do!”, which profiles the early history of the Mountain Rescue Association and some of the key individuals, such as Dee Molenaar, Jim Whittaker, Wolf Bauer, and Dick Pooley, who were members of mountain rescue teams in the Pacific Northwest. In addition, in the reading room, a set of panels that spells the acronym ALAST, which stands for Alert, Locate, Access, Stabilize, and Transport, is used to visually illustrate the search and rescue process. As Arnold says, the average person may only consider part of the process, rather than each step. “People often see the most shocking elements of a rescue as shown on the news or in the papers. Not many people understand the details within that rescue— the people, the techniques, the material that are used . . . the things that build up this story, that make the story possible.” In addition to giving visitors an appreciation for the process, this part of the exhibit also gives tips for what one can do when faced with a dire situation in the mountains. △ “Risk and Reward” is open through December 8. For more information, call 303-996-2755, email info@mountaineeringmuseum.org, or visit www.mountaineeringmuseum.org.

When: Now through December 8 Admission: Free for museum members; $5 for non-members; $1 for children under 12; 40% off for CMC members For More Information: If you have a smart phone, check out the exhibit’s companion mobile site: rr.mtnrescue.org ▲The four primary types of rope used throughout the history of mountain climbing: Manila, Goldline, Kernmantle, and Paraloc. Shelby Arnold

CMC Member Mark Nelson Plays an Active Role in Mountain Rescue “It is a tremendous honor and with an intense level of humility that I’m regarded inclusion into this presentation of the AMC Museum focusing on the incredible history of my amazing brothers and sisters dedicated to mountain rescue.”—Mark Nelson For Mark Nelson, who has been a CMC member for the past eight years, mountain rescue is an integral part of his life. He has climbed on and off since he was a child in the mid-1980s and has been heavily involved in this endeavor with the CMC. He is a member of the Denver Group’s Technical Climbing Section, serving as a lead instructor and trip leader; Chair (two past terms), and most of all, student of accomplished CMC mentors. He has volunteered with YEP!, and he has worked in conservation, which included helping to establish climbing guidelines for the Jefferson County Open Space Parks.

He wanted to get started in mountain rescue several years ago, but he had to work to free up his schedule and cultivate relationships with other mountain rescue volunteers. At first he was involved with alpinism and technical climbing, but he has since expanded his knowledge base in large part because of what happened the first year he worked in mountain rescue. “I actually had firsthand experience that initial summer and winter in 32 life saves. Then that same year my brother was hit by a suicide bomber in Kabul, Afghanistan. The next few months, I was offered many unique experiences to learn about traumatic injury and medical intervention by doctors, medics, nurses, and, as well, the huge support of team members,” said Nelson.

These experiences led to a sea change in his focus, both in mountain rescue and in his career in civil and heavy highway construction. Today, he is working toward a master’s in the medical field and plans to be a physician’s assistant in emergency medicine. Dur-

ing his five years in mountain rescue, he’s been a part of more than “250 wilderness and mountain saves, medical emergencies, and fatal accidents.” Nelson particularly takes pride in recovery operations, because it helps to bring closure to a victim’s family.

“Whatever my initial thoughts to motivate myself to help in rescue, they have evolved with my understanding about accidents and what it takes to make a real difference in the life of someone else. One particular mission was a recovery off Challenger Point, where we were called in as a last ditch/last chance effort to attempt something seemingly impossible. After 22 grueling hours in the field struggling against dangerous technical terrain and endless rock-fall, we safely evacuated the fallen climber back to his family,” said Nelson.

Although Nelson believes that the average person perceives recoveries as being the most difficult part of his job, he thinks rescue operations can be more taxing. “Rescues have the heavy tax on mental and emotional aspects of someone that might be dying, but if we could get to them in time and get them stabilized and evacuated, they might have a chance. Everyone wants to do their best to save a life,” said Nelson. Whereas each rescue mission presents its own set of challenges, two stand out for Nelson, both of which were in the Sangre de Cristos. In each instance, falling rock presented a unique and dangerous challenge. “ . . . One was a high-risk night rescue off the Crestone Needle with thousands of feet of exposure and intense wind; we safely stabilized and transported an injured climber off the Needle to

▲ Mark Nelson participates in a training exercise on Mount Evans. Steve Gosselin, ART

an awaiting Flight for Life helicopter. All the agencies involved received the National Association for Search and Rescue’s Valor Award, given only a few times previous in its decade’s long history,” said Nelson. The other rescue mission was to attempt to find an experienced mountaineer, who had been missing near the Continental Divide. They found this individual nearly lifeless in a stream; he had experienced a debilitating fall in a boulder field a day or two earlier. Nelson recalls: “With maybe a few hours until he would pass, we wrenched him out of his predicament, and along with the considerable help of a Good Samaritan, we worked for hours trying to warm and feed our climber in distress, and stabilize life-threatening injuries. A high-risk night operation was accepted by the Air National Guard to send a Blackhawk for an evacuation.

Between major storm cells, they landed at timberline and transported the individual to an awaiting ambulance, where he ended up in intensive care for weeks, and survived.”

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End of the Trail Bob Brockwehl ▶ 1947–2012

By Stacy Wolff

I am honored to have worked with Bob Brockwehl for almost five years with the Colorado Mountain Club’s Youth Education Program. His dedication to what he believed in is something all people can be inspired by. His belief in the goodness of people, conservation of our natural resources, education, and exploration of the outdoors permeated his being and were the driving forces for all that he did.

Bob’s natural curiosity and desire to explore were supported and encouraged by his mother, father, brother, and sister starting at a very early age. He loved to explore and invent. For example, he rebuilt old engines and figured out how to power his bicycle and a go-kart with these engines. Bob and his siblings, Neil and Ginger, built a ski jump in their backyard to refine their skills. After obtaining a B.A. in Philosophy and two master’s degrees (Montessori Education and Environmental Sciences), he taught youth in Albany, New York, and eventually moved to Yellowstone National Park, where he worked as a planner for the National Park Service.

Upon moving to Colorado in 1989, he joined the Colorado Mountain Club and found tranquility in the mountains and rivers, and in explorations with his friends. He dedicated his energy to enhancing the lives of those around him through volunteering with the CMC and Habitat for Humanity.

Through his involvement with the CMC, he touched the lives of thousands of youth and adults. He wore many hats with the CMC, including Youth Education Program (YEP) volunteer teacher and climbing instructor.

Krista Javoronok, YEP Manager for many years, shared with me that Bob was instrumental in helping to establish the YEP Climbing Program. This included showing her the intricate rope set-up at Supremacy Slab in Eldorado Canyon State Park and volunteering week after week with the summer programs.

All of the 3-legged stools in the YEP classroom were donated and assembled by Bob.

When I joined YEP years later as the School Program Manager, Bob was still working tirelessly to inspire youth. Bob was a man of initiative, and when he noticed the ropes on the indoor climbing wall 40

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needed maintenance, he would simply get the job done on his own accord. He loved teaching kids about nature and science, and did so with school groups, scout troops, after school programs, and summer classes with the Youth Education Program.

Even when Bob became sick with pancreatic cancer, his heart remained with his friends and family, and with the CMC. I recall that at the first chance of having enough energy, Bob was back with YEP, volunteering to teach climbing at Castlewood Canyon State Park. Even though the day tested his strength and energy, he was out there with purpose, enthusiasm, a positive attitude, and a smile.

I find comfort in thinking about all the young people he inspired and how that as those kids grow older, they will surely be able to make more informed decisions about life, climbing, and evaluating mountain weather and hazards because of the time they spent with him.

Bob made a lasting impact on my life and many others, and I know he will continue to live on in our hearts and in our minds.

Bob Brockwehl passed in Golden on April 23, 2012.

Virginia E. Nolan ▶ 1915– 2011

By Woody Smith

Virginia Nolan was a name well known in the CMC during the 1950s and 1960s.

She joined the Club in 1946 to learn mountain climbing and self-reliance. By 1952 she had become the 37th known

person to climb all of Colorado’s 14ers.

The next summer she climbed the 14 known California 14ers between June 23 and July 14. She topped it off by climbing Mount Rainier on July 19, 1953, becoming the third person—and first woman—to climb all 67 known 14ers in the 48 States.

Virginia was born in Ohio on January 7, 1915. She married young but her husband passed due to illness after just a few years. She came to Colorado on vacation and liked it so much she moved here in 1947. She was employed for decades by the Small Business Administration.

Although Virginia never remarried, she led an active social life which included the CMC. She led trips, wrote articles for T&T, and served on committees, such as 1951 “Summer Sports Leader’s School.”

In 1953 she was chairman of the Denver Group. She was also a member of the American and International Alpine Clubs.

Virginia traveled extensively through the West, including Alaska and Hawaii. She sat on Lincoln’s nose at Mt. Rushmore. She visited Montana and the Grand Canyon.

In Utah she saw Arches, Canyonlands, the Needles, Capitol Reef, Goblin Valley, the Escalante, and others. She ran the Colorado River in 1956. She floated Glen Canyon—before the dam—every year from 1957 to 1963. She also went to Lake Powell. She visited Europe, Africa, and China.

“Aunt Ginnie” was much beloved by her extended family. Grandniece Jordan Bingham remembered: “Virginia meant Colorado, and Colorado meant adventure.”

Virginia Nolan passed in Denver on November 2, 2011, at age 96.

From William J. Hirth, Jr.: Many years ago the Denver Group of the Colorado Mountain Club met on Wednesday nights at the defunct Wyatts Cafeteria in the Cherry Creek shopping center. It was here that I met a very outgoing and friendly lady who made me feel welcome. Her name was Virginia Nolan.

Two years passed before we hiked together on a CMC trip. In the meantime I had become a leader for the club. That day I was leading a trip on Kineo Mountain, and I noticed that here was a lady well-versed

in mountain knowledge. We talked and I learned a lot from her. I feel I was blessed to have known her and to have been with her, scouting trips she was to lead, at various CMC business meetings, on my trips, and most of all, our trips with a splinter group composed of CMC members, current and dropouts, called the Colorado Desert Explorers.

I’ll share one tale of Virginia: On July

14, 1982, Virginia and I started scouting a climb of Copeland Mountain in Rocky Mountain National Park, which she was to lead the following weekend. We had to park at the winter closure in Wild Basin due to a lot of snow remaining from the previous winter. As we hiked along the trail to Calypso Cascades, the St. Vrain River seemed quite high and I remarked something may happen soon.

As we neared Ouzel Lake we left the trail and climbed to the ridge of Copeland Mountain. We paused at the ridge and looked across the basin at the snow melting off Mount Meeker and Pagoda Mountain and the water running off. I asked Virginia if she wanted to climb to the summit of Copeland and she declined, so I asked her if she wanted to scout another trail to Copeland that might be easier to climb.

She agreed, so we dropped off the ridge through the cliffs above Pear Lake. The trail to Finch Lake and Allenspark trail junction and out was drier than our route in.

After such a long hike she swore she’d never ask me to scout again! (we did).

Lawn Lake Dam failed the next day, gouging out Roaring River, forming the Alluvial Fan in Horseshoe Park. Writing this brings back more memories but space limits putting those on paper. I’ll miss her and the good times we had, but I’ll always remember what she gave me in knowledge.

Reflections from George of the Climbing Smiths: Virginia played an important role in our climbing history; however, we only did one climb with her. I met Virginia through square dancing, not mountain climbing. I was the caller for the Homemakers Singles Club, who met weekly at the Central YMCA at 16th and Lincoln Street. She was a member, as were Dave Waddington, Jim Schofield, Bob Wains, and Freda Ubele, to name a few.

At that time the Colorado Mountain Club had their office on the third floor of an old house owned by AAUW at 14th and Josephine. An auditorium had been added to the property, and I called several square dances there that were sponsored

by the Colorado Mountain Club. This was in the mid-1950s and early 1960s. During that time frame I became aware of Virginia’s climbing achievements. (In 1953 Virginia became the first woman to climb all 67 14,000 feet peaks in the Lower 48 States.)

When we as family voted to finish climbing the Colorado 14ers, I asked her for assistance on the Crestones. She in turn contacted Bill Arnold, who led our group of seven in a climb on Crestone Peak and Needle, August 5, 1967. That was our only climb with Virginia; however, she was a vital contact for us on a couple of other occasions.

Robert W. Ellingwood ▶ 1918–2012

By Woody Smith

The passing of Bob Ellingwood, 94, on May 22, 2012, marks the end of a link to the earliest days of the Colorado Mountain Club.

He was born in Colorado Springs on May 16, 1918. His parents were Albert and Rea Ellingwood. Albert was a political science professor, but is best known for pioneering difficult routes and cat-like climbing exploits throughout the state. Albert was the third person known to have climbed Colorado’s 46 known 14ers, finishing in 1925.

Albert passed his zest for the mountains on to his son by taking him on short hikes near the family cabin when he was small. Most summers were spent in Colorado no matter where Albert was teaching.

In the summers of 1932 and 1933, father and son drove around the state in the old family Studebaker, camping, climbing, and revisiting the mountain ranges where Albert had “become famous.” Bob climbed his first 14er, Longs Peak, with his dad in 1933.

Bob would go on to attend Northwestern, graduating with a B.S. in Math and Engineering. He later earned a M.S. in Geology from the University of Illinois.

Bob continued to visit Colorado during the summers, studying geology, visiting CU Boulder, exploring ghost towns, and working various jobs. He worked as a surveyor and a tour bus driver on Pikes Peak, at times helping rangers find lost hikers.

He hiked and practiced rock climbing at Garden of the Gods with Robert Ormes, who had been a student of Albert’s at Colorado College. According to the younger Ellingwood, Ormes had learned mountaineering from his father.

After graduation, Bob worked for the USGS as a geologist in southern Illinois from 1943 to 1948. He returned to Colo-

rado, teaching geology at CSU for two years, before moving to Boulder 1951. Beginning in 1952, Bob began a 45-year career teaching math at CU. In August 1954 he married Barbara Brown, a Wyoming schoolteacher. She passed in 2005.

Bob first joined the Colorado Mountain Club in 1940 at age 22. He renewed his ties when he moved back from Illinois.

He led trips, a favorite being geology field trips, and helped organize club functions. In 1951 he went with the Club to the Tetons.

Wrote Outing Leader Hal Brewer: “Ellingwood stayed the entire two weeks doing yeoman guide service. He made two trips up the Grand, South and Nez Perce, and one ascent of the Middle Teton, besides two trips up the couloir to Surprise and Amphitheatre Lakes” (T&T, 10/1951, 131).

In 1952, Bob helped lead the club’s San Juan Outing, which included the 14ers Uncompahgre, Wetterhorn, Redcloud, Sunshine Handies, and the Wilsons. He was also known to lead math conference attendees on mountain hikes.

In 1955–1956, Bob served as CMC president. On September 16, 1957, Bob climbed his 52nd 14er, Pyramid Peak, near Aspen. He was the 57th person to report climbing all of Colorado’s 14,000 foot peaks. Bob’s climbing career trailed off during the 1960s due to back problems. As a result he became less involved with the CMC. He renewed his support in recent years making monetary and material donations to the AAC Museum, including his father’s climbing notebooks.

After retiring in 1997, Bob kept giving lectures, on history, throughout the Boulder community. His topics included state history, narrow gauge railways, and the origins of mountain place names. He recorded eight oral histories for the Boulder Public Library. These can be viewed online.

The regret felt at Bob’s passing can be summed up in his own words at the close of the 1952 Summer Outing: “Quite understandably there was a feeling of nostalgia around the fire that evening, for although we were having our usual fun singing, we knew that this meeting would bring to a close our wonderful mountain holiday. The food had been fabulous and the trips had been grand. We were truly sorry to have it end." (T&T, 11/1952, 161.)

Bob Ellingwood is survived by his daughter, Beth, his son, John, four grandchildren, and a great-grandchild. △ Trail & Timberline

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

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

The Southern Appalachians: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, and Appalachian Trail Slackpack September 29–October 10, 2012 $1,100 + travel to starting point in Atlanta Experience one of the most biodiverse regions in the country and discover its incredible beauty. If your bucket list includes the Appalachian Trail, Great Smoky Mountain National Park, or the Blue Ridge Parkway, then wait no longer! This trip combines some of the most fabulous places at one of the best times of the year: Early October is prime fall foliage season in the Southern Appalachians! We will spend the first three days exploring Great Smoky Mountain National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway while staying at the Pisgah Inn, right on the parkway. The view from the rooms’ balconies is something you will cherish forever! This sightseeing portion of the trip will include driving in the van, some short hikes, and a lot of stopping and enjoying the views. Due to its proximity, we will spend one evening in Asheville, NC—undoubtedly the hippest town in the region. Then it is time for some serious hiking: The entire Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail! For our slackpack, we use the hiker hostel in Dahlonega, GA, as our base. We will be shuttled to a trailhead each morning and will be picked up at a different trailhead in the afternoon. So we will be day hiking every day. Daily distances will range from 6.5 to 16.5 miles on rugged, mountainous trails. This trip is an introduction to hiking the AT and it may just be the beginning of your next big adventure! The trip is limited to 11 participants. The trip cost is $1,100. Transportation to our meeting place in Atlanta, GA, is not included.

The trip fee includes all lodging, transportation while on the trip, and most meals. All you need to bring is clothing, daypack, and 42

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personal necessities. Leader approval is required for this trip. Participants should have good hiking skills at the CMC Difficult B level, good balance, and a great attitude.

Weather conditions may be wet and soggy.

To obtain a trip application packet, contact Chris Dohmen at cattanooga@gmail.com

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 additional information, please call Pemba Sherpa, at 303-525-6508, or e-mail at pemba@sherpaascent.com.

Nepal Everest Trek to Gokyo

Torres del Paine Circuit Trek and Buenos Aires Cultural Experience Dec 16–Dec 31, 2012 Circuit Only: $3,333* Circuit + Buenos Aires: $3,712*

October 13–30, 2012 $2,692 + airfare

Join Pemba Sherpa, a native of the Khumbu region of the Nepal Himalayas, on a memorable adventure into Gokyo, Nepal. Pemba has been guiding visitors to his homeland since 1986 and will do so again with a trek to Gokyo. This is a classic Nepal experience that will take you into the heart of the world’s majestic Himalayan Mountains. The trek to Gokyo provides an excellent opportunity to see majestic views of Mt. Everest at close range, and is an alternative to the traditional Everest Base Camp trek. This area has fewer tourists and offers more magnificent views of the mountain peaks and the Ngozumpa Glacier, the largest Glacier in the Nepal Himalayas. The image of this region is associated with the soaring views of the most popular mountains in Nepal at an altitude of 8,000 meters, including: Cho Oyu, Everest, Lhotse, and Makalu, which are clearly visible from Gokyo Ri (18,200 feet) above Gokyo Lake. One of the most remarkable features of the trek is the view of the tremendous ice ridge between Cho Oyu and Gyachung, located in the Khumbu region. This extraordinary trek also offers ample opportunities to explore amazing destinations and impressive sights, which are beyond human imagination. We will also spend time with Pemba’s family in the “off-the-beaten path” small Sherpa village of Sengma and will relax for a couple of days in Nepal’s colorful capital city of Kathmandu.

Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park, set in the heart of Southern Patagonia, was declared a World UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1978 and on the list to be declared a World Heritage site. Torres del Paine is one of the most impressive natural geographical spectacles on Earth. It becomes very apparent when you stand and stare in amazement at the unbelievable sight of this monumental cluster of mountain peaks that appear to stand all on their own in the middle of an otherwise flat plateau. These spectacular granite mountains, known as the Torres del Paine (or Blue Towers), jut out some 9,000 feet above the Patagonian steppe. They dominate this landscape of radiant blue glaciers, azure lakes, roaring rivers, and emerald forests. Join us on this amazing world-class CMC backpacking trip to Torres del Paine Circuit in Chile, rated #2 best backpacking trip in the world by Backpacker magazine.

We will hike around the most spectacular Patagonia landscape of dramatic granite peaks, spires, horns, and towers in ten days.

Due to long summer days, the sun doesn’t set until 10 pm, giving you plenty of time to enjoy the vistas of the impressive mountains, which are bound to uplift your spirit and bring joy to your heart every day during the 52-mile trek. You need to be “C” level hiker or approved by the trip leader. You

only have to carry your backpack, since our guides will carry the tents and food. You will sleep in refugios (cabins) where available or in tents under the clear blue southern sky.

After the amazing trek in Torres del Paine, it’s time to rest your tired body and explore your cultural side. You’ve an option to spend three glorious days relaxing and sampling exquisite Argentine cuisines and soaking in the sights, sounds, rhythms, and culture of Buenos Aires, which is known as the Paris of South America and was named by UNESCO as one of the three Cities of Design. The time in Buenos Aires is free for you to choose to do nothing or enjoy many activities this world-class city has to offer. There’ll be an opportunity to participate in free walking tours of the city. We’ll arrange a group dinner and a tango show one night before we depart for home. Some points of interest: Eva Peron Museum; the city’s magnificent structures, such as Teatro Colon, Palacio de las Aguas Correntes, and Palacio Barolo, just to name a few. You’ll return home stronger, relaxed, and recharged to take on 2013! This trip is for you if you have a sense of adventure, enjoy hiking, love being in the mountains, and like to enrich your life by learning about different places, cultures, tasting different cuisine, and interacting with people from different cultural backgrounds. A pretrip group hike with the trip-leader in late summer is mandatory for all participants.

Sign-up before May 1st and you’ll receive a complimentary dinner of succulent Argentinean lamb or beef with a glass of wine or beer in El Calafate. INCLUDED: Ground transportation, guide, accommodation, and meals during the backpacking trek. Three nights of hotel with breakfast and a dinner and a tango show are included in Buenos Aires. NOT INCLUDED: Airfare, travel insurance, visa fees, insurance, incidental, and personal expenses. *Price may change depending on the exchange rate and number of participants. Contact P Vilas Tulachan at ptulachan@hotmail.com or phone 408-4202723.

Best of Australia 2013 February 2–17, 2013 $1,675 basic land cost + optional $1,125 side-trip to Uluru (Ayers Rock) + estimated $1,600 airfare Say “G’Day” and explore the unique wonders of the Land Down Under with CMC Adventure Travel! Upon arrival in Sydney,

we’ll explore this fascinating city and its scenic harbor, and begin to get a glimpse of the unique Aussie wildlife and culture, including an option to tour the world-famous Sydney Opera House. Then we’ll head up to explore the hikes, vistas, and waterfalls of the Blue Mountains. From here, we’ll drive to Kosciuszko National Park and hike Australia’s highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko, one of the fabled Seven Summits. After returning to Sydney, we’ll change gears by flying to Cairns in the tropical north of the country, and spend a day snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, and another with a visit to the rainforest—and keep a good watch out for crocodiles! An optional extension will have us flying from Cairns to the Aussie “Outback”, for hikes around the iconic Uluru (Ayers Rock) and rock domes of Kata Tjuta National Park, as well as getting to know more about the local Aboriginal culture.

Then we’ll return to Sydney for a final night before departing for home! We will be hiking scenic paths of the Blue and Snowy Mountains, and prospective participants should be fit enough to tackle climbs up to 12 miles round-trip and with elevation gains of up to 2,000 feet. Basic alpine trekking skills are required. We will be using hostel or budget hotel accommodations, and a maximum of 12 participants will be accepted. Price includes all in-Australia transportation, lodging, park entry fees, and package Great Barrier Reef/rainforest tour; participants will be responsible for their own U.S.–to-Australia airfare, Australian visitor visa, meals, gear, and entry fees for optional Sydney tours. Final trip price is subject to change depending on number of participants and fluctuations in exchange rates. Request trip application packets by email from Gary or Daedra, or by mail at 1017 O’Connell Drive, Bozeman, MT 59715.

Yellowstone in Winter 2013 February 6– February 11, 2013 $1,025–$1,195 per person, depending on accommodations. Note: If the trip fills up there will be a $75 discount on the above for everyone. This will be determined before your final payment is due.

Steaming geysers, bison, elk, and other wildlife are all part of the experience of Yellowstone National Park in winter. Skiers, snowshoers, and photographers will enjoy the convenient trails leading directly from the lodge to geysers and waterfalls.

The trip includes round-trip bus and snow coach transportation between Denver and Yellowstone, a one-night stay in Jackson, Wyoming, 3 full days and 4 nights at Old Faithful, happy hours, and several meals (4 breakfasts, 1 lunch, and 3 buffet dinners), plus park entrance fees and gratuities. We depart Denver by bus on Wednesday morning, February 6, stay overnight in a motel in Jackson, arriving in Yellowstone on Thursday afternoon. We leave Yellowstone and return to Denver late on Monday, February 11, 2013. Prices are per person, based on double occupancy. Most rooms have 2 double beds (we also have 5 king sized beds) and private bath. If you sign up as a single, the leader will assign another solo participant as your roommate. The trip cost for the newer Snow Lodge hotel rooms is $1,195, the “Western” cabin is $1,150, and the rustic “Frontier” cabin is $1,025. (The cabins are 300 yards from the lodge so you may be “breaking trail” to the lodge when it snows.) The lodge contains meeting areas, a coffee shop, and two restaurants. Cabin accommodations are limited so sign-up is on a first-come, first-served basis for each level of lodging. Trip cost does not include remaining meals, (1 breakfast, 5 lunches, and 2 dinners), optional sight-seeing excursions within the park, equipment rental, or trip insurance. There is a 3% guest fee for non-CMC members. Register with the leader by calling 303-887-3717 or e-mailing rpratt905@gmail.com.

Multi-sport in Québec: Including Winter Carnival and a Night in the Ice Hotel February 15–23, 2013 $2,300 Canada is more than Moosehead beer, flannel shirts, and “Eh?” Participants will be immersed into Canadian culture. The outing coincides with Québec’s Winter Carnival, where we will view sleigh races, international ice and snow sculpture competitions, snow bathers, and a night parade. Participants will explore Québec City, a UNESCO world heritage treasure that cradles 400 years of French civilization, Canadian history, and First Nations cooperation. After Québec City, the group will move to nearby Duchesnay Station Touristique, which has access to 37 kilometers of cross country ski trails and 30 kilometers of snowshoe trails that are groomed and well-marked through spectacular wooded terrain, with warming Trail & Timberline

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huts along the routes. While at the Station, participants can also arrange a dog sled ride, ice fishing, or spa treatments (all for an additional fee). The final night will be spent at Québec’s ice hotel (called the Hôtel de Glace) experiencing the ultimate Nordic adventure by sleeping in a hotel made of ice and snow. While the Hôtel and its furniture are entirely made of ice and snow, guests will sleep comfortably in an ice-framed bed with a real mattress. A cozy sleeping bag (good to -22°F) is provided (the room temperature stays between 27°F and 23°F). An Ice Bar (with disco) and hot tubs are available nightly. A warm pavilion is a short distance away (open all night), with bathrooms and a snack shop. The price includes most meals, entrance to various events, and 8 nights’ accommodation. The price does not include airfare to Québec; trip insurance; bar tab; snacks; souvenir purchases; and several breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. Final cost may vary slightly depending on possible 2013 fee increases by local hotels or bus companies and exchange rates. For additional information, please call or e-mail the leader, Linda Ditchkus, and she will contact you.

New Zealand Great Walks: Milford and Routeburn Tracks February 22–March 09, 2013 (See additional date information below) $1,775 + airfare (est. $2,000–$2,500), food, and incidentals.

Join the CMC for an unforgettable adventure to hike two of the famous Great Walks in New Zealand—the Milford and Routeburn Tracks. This trip features 7 days of moderate hut-to-hut backpacking in Fiordland National Park on the South Island of New Zealand. These scenic walks are considered some of the finest tracks in the world. Layover days in Queensland (between tracks) and in Auckland (at the end of the trip) will allow participants to explore additional cultural activities on their own.

If bookings are available, the trip will also include an overnight excursion on Milford Sound. The trip is limited to 11 participants. Final cost may be adjusted based on exchange rates at the time of bookings.

Final trip dates may be adjusted by a day or two depending on bookings for the Milford Track, which will become available in July 2012. Total trip length will not change.

Trip fee includes all track booking fees, all ground and water transportation in New 44

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Zealand, and all lodging in New Zealand.

Not included are airfare, and food and incidentals. Tents and stoves are not needed on the tracks, as we’ll stay in the bunkhouses managed by the New Zealand Department of Conservation. Food will be individual, or in small groups, and can be purchased in New Zealand. Leader approval is required for this trip. Participants should have good hiking skills at the CMC Difficult B level, and be able to carry a moderate (35–40) pound pack on good trails for 6–10 miles a day, some with elevation gain, in possible inclement weather conditions. To obtain the trip application packet, contact Polly Hays, at polly_hays@yahoo.com, and she will contact you.

Kilimanjaro 19,340’ February 25–March 11, 2013 $3,575 (not including international airfare to Tanzania) Here’s another great Kili outing sponsored by the High Altitude Mountaineering Committee. Kilimanjaro is the world’s largest free-standing mountain and is one of the fabled Seven Summits. The CMC uses the Machame and Mweka Routes. The trip will include a four day budget safari to Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. Nights are a mixture of a comfortable and rustic hotel used by CMC members since 1957; travelers’ camps; and tents. Trip size is limited to 14 persons. To join, you must be in excellent physical condition and be comfortable with travel in the Third World. Final cost may vary slightly depending on currency exchange rates and increase in park admission fees. Posted price includes lodging at double occupancy; ground transport; all meals on mountain; half board at hotel and on safari; climb package; park fees; Tanzanian visa; gratuities; leader expenses; and CMC administrative fee. Not included in posted price is international airfare to Tanzania; indicated shots and medications; trip insurance; airline baggage fees; a few meals; souvenir purchases; single supplement for lodging; bar tab. There will be a mandatoryattendance planning meeting in September to answer questions. The trip packet is available from the trip leader, Roger Wendell, at rogerwendell@rogerwendell.com, and he will contact you. No phone calls please.

Best of the Grand Canyon—Colorado River Raft and Hike 2013 April 27–May 9, 2013 CMC members: $4,165 Non-CMC members: $4,290 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 dailyguided 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. What is provided: 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). Dates: We will carpool or meet at the lodge in Marble Canyon, AZ, near the put-in on Saturday evening, April 27th, and begin our raft trip on Sunday, April 28th. The trip ends on Thursday, May 9th, when we helicopter out of the canyon and fly back to the put-in area. Training and Physical Conditioning Requirements: 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.

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 in 2008–2012. Register with leaders: 303871-0379, or blakerosemary@cs.com

Best of Russia: Three Capitals May 17–28, 2013 $2,450 + 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 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 U.S. 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, and 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, and she will contact you.

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The Colorado Mountain Club celebrates its 100th birthday in 2012.

What will you give as a gift?

Join the Summit Society or 21st Century Circle today.

The 21st Century Circle honors CMC members who have designated a legacy gift in their will or estate plan to the CMC or the CMC Foundation. The Summit Society is a giving society established for Colorado Mountain Club donors who contribute $1,000 or more to the CMC’s annual campaign.

Help us reach our goal of 100 Summit Society and 21st Century Circle members by the end of 2012.

Join the Summit Society or the 21st Century Circle today and receive a complimentary signed, numbered copy of the CMC’s Centennial book, 100 Years Up High, Colorado Mountains & Mountaineers.

To learn more, contact our Development Director at 303-996-2752.

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