Trail & Timberline #1030

TRAIL &

SKIING THE CENTENNIALS 16 • MOUNTAIN BIKING THE COLORADO TRAIL 24 • GORE RANGE FIRST ASCENTS 32

TIMBERLINE The Colorado Mountain Club • Summer 2016 • Issue 1030 • www.cmc.org

ADVENTURE in the MOUNTAINS

COLORADO MOUNTAIN CLUB

24TH ANNUAL

BACKCOUNTRYBASH FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28 MCNICHOLS BUILDING | DOWNTOWN DENVER

Connect with other adventure-loving mountaineers at the newly renovated, historic McNichols Building in downtown Denver for the 2016 Backcountry Bash. This exciting evening will bring together our mile-high outdoor community to celebrate this year’s achievements while raising critical funds for mountain conservation, education, and recreation. Join us as we take this event to new heights and help support Colorado’s awesome outdoor playground and CMC’s efforts to educate generations of Coloradans.

cmc.org/bash

BOULDER STORE

Letter from the Executive Director Adventure in the Mountains

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he Colorado Mountain Club has a century-old reputation as a hub for top hikers and climbers, and rightfully so. For decades, CMC members have led hikes into the mountains and taught Coloradans the skills they need to responsibly enjoy the backcountry. In this edition of Trail & Timberline, we highlight historical first ascents made by CMC members in the rugged Gore Range back in the 1930s.

With the warmer months upon us, I’m struck by the diversity of ways our members today are adventuring into mountains, as well as the myriad ways the CMC supports them. The CMC has long offered ski mountaineering classes, which continue to grow in popularity as members explore new ways to experience the highest peaks in our state. Two of our members, Ted and Christy Mahon, are featured in this issue for their multi-year effort to become the first to ski the highest 100 peaks in Colorado. Ted and Christy, along with their friend and professional skier Chris Davenport, were the first to accomplish this just last year.

This edition of Trail & Timberline also features an article on mountain biking the Colorado Trail, which is an increasingly popular way to enjoy Colorado’s premier long-distance route. Although historically the CMC has only offered a handful of mountain biking trips, our goal as an organization is to ensure we’re offering the types of trips and classes that interest our members and keep pace with the ever-changing trends in the outdoor recreation community. As mountain biking grows in popularity, we’ll be offering more mountain bike excursions and Adventure Travel trips to places like Moab and Crested Butte.

This issue also highlights other diverse ways our members connect with the mountains, such as fly fishing, photography, and classic mountaineering 14er climbs, all further highlighting the many ways our members connect with the mountains.

It’s my belief that our Club’s expanding number of benefits and offerings to members of all ages and abilities are one of the key reasons the Colorado Mountain Club is growing. Since the Club implemented our new simplified dues structure in October 2015, the CMC has had its strongest six months of growth on record. We’re seeing new membership growth in all categories, including Young Adult Members, Family Memberships, and Individual Memberships.

Our Young Adult Membership growth, in fact, is up 50 percent over the 2015 fiscal year to date and has led to the creation of a “Trailblazers Section” of the CMC at the statewide level to offer outings for young professionals. This type of age-specific section has existed for years for older age groups, and we’re excited that demand has created the need for it for the next generation of CMC members.

Retaining new members has long been a challenge. We are increasing our work with the Groups around the state to offer a greater array of trainings, exciting special events, and trips catered to ability and age. We know from feedback that when a CMC member gets involved, they remain a CMC member! We hope you’ll get involved this summer.

See you in the mountains!

Scott Robson Executive Director

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16 Skiing Colorado’s Centennial Peaks

30 Senior Moments on El Diente

20 Life Outdoors #ColoRADo

32 First Ascents in the Gore Range

An interview with Ted and Christy Mahon

By Sarah Gorecki

Photo essay by Valerie Hawks and Marisa Jarae

24 Mountain Biking the Colorado Trail Twelve days of RV-supported bicycling bliss

By Benjamin Kraushaar

26 Scotland and the West Highland Way

Finishing the 14ers before age sixty

By Betsy Caplan The 1935 CMC summer outing

By Stan Moore

38 An Electric Flag Raising

A close call on Uncompahgre Peak, 1881

By Woody Smith

Castles, lochs, and a trip to the Isle of Skye

By Robert Watkins

Summer 2016 Trail & Timberline • Issue 1030 • www.cmc.org

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Trail & Timberline

Departments 01 Letter from the Executive Director 06 On the Outside 08 Mission Accomplishments

Learn the latest from the membership, conservation, and youth education departments, as well as news from CMC Press.

14 Around Colorado

Find a local CMC chapter and get involved!

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28 Pathfinder

How to think like a trout.

By “Rocky” Bob Knowles

40 CMC Adventure Travel On the Cover

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

44 End of the Trail

Remembering those who have passed.

The approach from Mohawk Lakes to Pacific Peak was filled with a lot of “How are we going to get up there?”

Turns out, the answer was, “Go up.” And we did. Marisa Jarae on Pacific Peak, 2015. Photo by Valerie Hawks

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Editor’s Note

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fter six and a half years working on the staff of the Colorado Mountain Club—the last two years as editor of Trail & Timberline magazine—I’m off to a new chapter in my career, a new adventure. It has truly been an honor to serve in the long line of T&T editors, going back to the very first edition published in 1918. I’ve enjoyed bringing you issues of the magazine themed around the varied interests of Club members—from fly fishing to mountaineering, canyons to high summits, wilderness to mountain arts. We’re all incredibly lucky to call Colorado our home, and to have the Club as a guide to our state’s fabulous places. Although I’m leaving the staff of CMC, I plan to stay involved as a member and volunteer. See you on the trail!

TRAIL & TIMBERLINE

The official publication of the Colorado Mountain Club since 1918.

Editor Sarah Gorecki editor@cmc.org

Designer David Boersma Advertising Sales

advertising@cmc.org

Volunteer Editors Jodi Jennings Sherry Richardson The Colorado Mountain Club 710 10th Street, Suite 200 Golden, Colorado 80401

Sarah Gorecki editor@cmc.org

303-279-3080 The CMC is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization.

www.cmc.org The Colorado Mountain Club is organized to ▶ unite the energy, interest, and knowledge of the students, explorers, and lovers of the mountains of Colorado; ▶ collect and disseminate information regarding the Rocky Mountains on behalf of science, literature, art, and recreation; ▶ stimulate public interest in our mountain areas; ▶ encourage the preservation of forests, flowers, fauna, and natural scenery; and ▶ render readily accessible the alpine attractions of this region. © 2016 Colorado Mountain Club

FOR TICKETS AND INFO

CMC.ORG/RADREELS

SEPT 29 • 30 • OCT 1 $15 GENERAL | $12 CMC MEMBER

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PM

American Mountaineering Center | 710 10th Street, Golden, CO ALL PROCEEDS BENEFIT THE COLORADO MOUNTAIN CLUB

All Rights Reserved

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

Subscriptions are $10 per year; single copies are $5. 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.

guide to membership CMC Membership

We summit 14ers, enjoy fly-fishing excursions, climb rock faces, backpack through wilderness areas, explore the culture of Europe, and so much more. Being connected to thousands of other adventure-loving mountaineers makes your membership matter.

CMC has regional groups all over Colorado... find the group nearest you and get outside! The Club comprises regional Groups across Colorado to serve the local needs of its members and partners. Plus, activities of any CMC Group are open to members regardless of home group affiliation. Your membership dues are tax deductible and allow you to meet new people interested in similar activities! Build your trail family by meeting people through the skill clinics and great trips that we offer.

Trips and Hikes

Find a hike. Sign up! Members get FREE access to over 3,000 mountain adventures annually, ranging from easy day hikes and snowshoe trips, to peak climbs, cross-country, and downhill ski trips, to long day walks. Search through the calendar and off you go! cmc.org/calendar

Schools and Courses

Club members enjoy specialty member pricing on schools and courses for adults and access to backcountry classes and seminars offered by CMC groups around the state. The Club teaches you the skills you need to safely maximize living in such an awesome outdoor playground and connects you to other adventure-loving mountaineers. cmc.org/schools

International and Domestic Travel

Enjoy active vacations & small group itineraries to inspiring mountain destinations in the United States and around the world through CMC's Adventure Travel trips. Enjoy hiking Scotland's West Highland Way, trekking through the Italian Dolomites, or exploring Yellowstone National Park. CMC-sponsored worldwide trips are priced far below those offered by commercial, for-profit outfitters. cmc.org/adventuretravel

MySummits and the14er Files

Crushing through your peak list? MySummits is a virtual summit register available to anyone who climbs the mountains of Colorado. Signing a summit registry is an important part of mountaineering history. Start your list today: cmc.org/mysummits. Or if you've finished the CO 14ers, 13ers, or any of the CO Hundred Milestones (Highest 100, 200, etc.), you can submit your name to the Club at editor@cmc.org for the record books.

Member Deals

Members receive outstanding discounts from retailers nationwide. Check out how to get all the latest deals at cmc.org/memberdeals • ProMotive memberships for all CMC members: Recognizing CMC members’ expertise, ProMotive.com is granting exclusive access to top brands eager to reward you with up to 70% off of retail.

• Special member pricing for CMC's youth adventure courses with YEP • Member pricing on active vacations & small group itineraries to mountain destinations around the world with CMC Adventure Travel • Save 20% on guidebook purchases from CMC Press at cmc.org/store and Mountaineers Books at mountaineersbooks.org • Access to CMC-maintained backcountry huts - Brainard Cabin and Arestua Cabin • Discounts at outdoor retailers and Colorado gear shops including: Mountainsmith, Neptune Mountaineering, Wilderness Exchange, Mountain Chalet, The Trailhead, Bent Gate Mountaineering, Golden Bike Shop, and Ajax Bike and Sport • Exclusive member pricing to special events such as Banff Mountain Film Festival, Radical Reels, Backcountry Filmfest, Backcountry Bash, the American Mountaineering Museum, and more.

Volunteer

Interested in volunteering and giving back at the CMC? The Club is great because of our amazing volunteers! There are so many opportunities, from trip leaders and trail maintenance crews to adult and youth education mentors. Visit cmc.org/volunteer for a complete listing.

Give

CMC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit; all membership dues and donations are tax deductible. Your support helps our programs reach new heights! Make a one-time gift or have your support last all year by becoming a Peaks Partner with a recurring donation of $5 or more per month.

Give securely online at cmc.org/support.

Questions about donations, workplace giving, gifts of stock or planned gifts? Contact us at give@cmc.org or 303.996.2752.

Contact Us

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

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On the Outside Kayaks moored at Lake Irwin near Crested Butte, July, 2015. Photo by Selma Kristel

Mission Accomplishments Become a Lifetime Member of the CMC—New Tiered Pricing Structure AS A LIFETIME MEMBER OF THE Colorado Mountain Club, you are part of a dynamic community of individuals that actively support the Club and its mission. This group of like-minded adventurers with a passion for enjoying and preserving the Colorado mountains has made a commitment to improving Colorado for future generations. Your membership provides crucial support for conservation and recreation in Colorado, as well as

education programming for generations of adults, children, and families.

Your fully tax-deductible membership brings with it many exciting and exclusive opportunities to take part in wide-ranging Club-sponsored programs and special events.

You’ll also be widely recognized in honor of your dedicated support of the CMC. For the first time, Lifetime Memberships feature a tiered pricing structure to reflect

the level of investment that you’ve already made in the Club.

It’s easy to join! Join hundreds of other CMC Lifetime Members today!

To learn more about how to join and to see the benefits of becoming a CMC Lifetime Member, contact the CMC office or visit www.cmc.org/lifetimemember. ▲

Welcome Lauren Shockey, New Membership Manager LAUREN SHOCKEY JOINED THE Colorado Mountain Club in October 2015 as the Membership Manager. Lauren comes to the CMC with a decade of experience working with members, alumni, and donors in nonprofit organizations.

Her dedication to using data to drive the customer experience is well documented—most recently at the Colorado Trail

Foundation and previously, working in membership for five years at the American Alpine Club. Lauren has made the most of her brief time in Colorado since moving from the great state of Texas. She is big into skiing, backpacking, mountain biking, hiking 14ers, and anything outdoors that she can do with her trusty canine sidekick, Gus. ▲

Lauren with her canine sidekick, Gus. Photo courtesy of Lauren Shockey

Vote for SCFD Reauthorization!

By Sarah Gorecki, Director of Publishing

The Banff Mountain Film Fest sold out three nights this year at the Paramount Theatre.

Photo by CMC Staff 8

Trail & Timberline

IN 2016, VOTERS WILL BE ASKED TO renew the SCFD for another 12-year period. What is the SCFD, and why should you vote in favor of renewing it?

You’ve probably seen the famous polar bear logo at your favorite cultural institutions around Denver, including at the Colorado Mountain Club.

Since its inception in 1989, the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) has distributed funds to nearly 300 institutions that provide unique cultural and scientific experiences for millions of people each year. This funding is raised through a penny sales tax on every $10 purchase within the seven-county metro region (Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson Counties).

The funding also covers the popular “free days” at organizations such as the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver

Zoo, and many more (for more information visit www.scfd.org.)

The SCFD provides vital financial support for CMC’s programs. CMC received its first grant funding through SCFD in 1996, became a Tier II organization in 1999, and has received annual funding every year since.

CMC qualifies for SCFD funding because many of our programs, especially the Youth Education Program and the American Mountaineering Museum, are open to the general public. Funds from SCFD support YEP, the CMC Press, the Museum, and the CMC as a whole. For the last 18 years, CMC has received between $108,000 and $223,000 each year—for a total of over $3.1 million in funding.

It’s no exaggeration to say that this funding is vital to CMC’s future. So, please, vote yes for SCFD reauthorization when you see it on the ballot in November! ▲

Carol Kurt Receives 2015 Blaurock Award

By Sherry Richardson

THE BLAUROCK AWARD IS GIVEN to CMC members who have invested a substantial amount of effort in CMC activities resulting in significant improvement to the Club.

There is no doubt that Carol Kurt brings to the CMC all the qualities of a Blaurock awardee. Carol joined the Denver Group of the CMC in 1971. When she moved to Aspen in 1980, she continued her CMC membership with the Aspen Group and became good friends with the Aspen chair, Jack de Pagter (2008 Ellingwood recipient).

He mentored her throughout the years of his chairmanship. Carol began leading numerous trips per year for the Aspen Group.

When Jack retired as Aspen Group chair in 1999, he chose Carol to take his place.

And Carol, being the CMC supporter she is, gladly accepted the position. She said it was her way to “pay it forward” after being given so much by Jack and the CMC in the way of mountaineering skills and lifelong friendships. In addition to being the Aspen Group chair, Carol served two terms on the CMC Board of Directors and presently is a member of the CMC Foundation Board.

She has led Aspen Group trips to France, Germany, and Argentina. She is also a popular leader of Adventure Travel trips, her specialty being llama treks in the southwest des-

Carol Kurt. Photo by David Hite

ert and the Wind River Range of Wyoming.

Carol is a valued member of the Colorado Mountain Club, always ready and willing to serve in any role needed. She is the epitome of a great CMC supporter, and her passion for the Club is evident in all she does. ▲

2015 Ellingwood Award Goes to Jim Rickard

By Kent Groninger

THE ELLINGWOOD GOLDEN ICE Axe award is the highest award for mountaineering excellence given by the Colorado Mountain Club. The 2015 awardee is Jim Rickard.

Jim has climbing in his DNA. His grandfather, aunt, uncle, father, and mother were all climbers. His mother, Jo Anne, is still active in the Club, having joined 68 years ago!

In 1989, Jim received his degree in aerospace engineering at CU. He then went to Cal-Berkeley for a master’s degree, where he learned serious rock climbing with the “rock jocks” in Yosemite and Pinnacles National Monument.

In 2002, Jim married Katherine; in 2007, along came daughter Isabell; and six years ago, the family bumped up again with Carson.

Since joining the Club, Jim has been a very active participant and volunteer. He attended rock, ice climbing, and first aid classes; took the HAMS school; served as the expedition coordinator for HAMS for 15 years; was a member of the Adventure Travel Committee for ten years,

(during which he was responsible for the substantial and well-organized Leader Handbook); and co-led a HAMS graduation climb of Mt. Rainier. Jim has also given HAMS lectures and written articles for the Mile High Mountaineer and for T&T. Additionally, Jim introduced his mother as one of the decadal honorees at the 2012 CMC centennial celebration.

Incredibly, Jim has climbed over 450 peaks in the United States. Jim finished the 14ers in 1996 and has completed the centennials.

He has done more than 200 other 13ers and 12ers—many without established routes. It should be noted that Jim summited many of these 300+ Colorado peaks in the winter and some solo.

Jim has also climbed extensively in Wyoming and in Alaska, where 15 years ago he climbed the difficult Mt. Elias (18,009’). Jim views this climb as perhaps his scariest. When coming down, the five-member team decided to unrope from each other while traversing a snow-cov-

Jim celebrating with a Guinness on Eolus, his final 14er. Photo courtesy of Jim Rickard

ered, very steep ice face. They did this because if one had fallen, it would have taken down the whole team. Two years later, Jim successfully led a group up Denali via the more difficult and treacherous West Rib. Regarding foreign climbs, Jim has been on 16 expeditions to 14 countries, from Bolivia to Russia and from Switzerland to Kenya. He has summited three continental highpoints, including a 1994 CMC trip up Mt. Elbrus, the highest point of Europe.

Surely we all agree that Jim Rickard has a most impressive climbing and service resume and is very worthy of this prestigious award. ▲

New CMC Awards; Nominations Due September 15

By Jeff Golden, Communications & Digital Marketing Specialist

SUBMIT YOUR NOMINATIONS FOR THIS YEAR’S COLorado Mountain Club Awards by Sept. 15, 2016! Winners will be unveiled and celebrated at the annual Backcountry Bash on Friday, October 28. The CMC has added two new awards this year, in addition to the existing Blaurock Award and Ellingwood Mountaineering Achievement Award. The Club will also recognize 14er finishers with a certificate of achievement at the Bash.

• Blaurock Award • Ellingwood Mountaineering Achievement Award • Colorado Young Climber of the Year • Colorado Aspiring Mountaineer of the Year Award For more information about these awards, the nomination process, prizes, and qualifications, please visit www.cmc.org/awards. ▲ Trail & Timberline

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Leaving a Legacy for Future Generations with a Planned Gift

By Leslie Woollenweber, Development Director

CHARITABLE BEQUESTS ARE A valuable tool in estate planning and are incredibly important to the future of the Colorado Mountain Club. A planned gift can provide a way to make a significant donation to CMC if such a gift is beyond a person’s means during his or her lifetime. An estate gift of any amount helps ensure the sustainability of the Club and its programs for generations to come and does not need to be large to make a difference!

A planned gift can be made by naming the Colorado Mountain Club as a beneficiary in your will, in your retirement plan, or in a life insurance policy. By speaking to your attorney, accountant, or financial advisor for guidance, your planned gift can be designated for general operating support, for any current CMC program, or to help build CMC’s Endowment Fund.

CMC’s 21st Century Circle recognizes those who have designated a legacy gift to the Colorado Mountain Club or Colorado Mountain Club Foundation in their will, trust, or estate plan. Visit our website for a copy of CMC’s Guide for Planned Gifts at cmc.org/Donate/IndividualGiving/21stCenturyCircle.

Donors can also establish an endowment fund to benefit CMC with a charitable bequest. Funds like these are held on CMC’s behalf by the Colorado Mountain Club Foundation, a separate 501(c)(3) organization. A perpetual endowment fund allows only income to be distributed, with the principal remaining intact; a perpetual endowment fund benefitting CMC may be established with a charitable contribution of $25,000 or more. A quasi endowment fund allows both income and principal to

be distributed; a quasi endowment fund benefitting CMC may be established with a charitable contribution of $1,000 or more.

Either type of endowment fund can be earmarked for a specific CMC program or for general unrestricted support of the Club.

While you have the choice to remain anonymous, we encourage you to notify us of your planned gift so we can recognize your generosity and assist with any specific designations. CMC’s Gift Acceptance Policy has detailed information about all the different types of gifts the Club accepts and is available at cmc.org/About/GoverningDocuments. You can also contact us at give@ cmc.org or (303) 996-2752 with questions about giving and how to leave a legacy for future generations through the Colorado Mountain Club. ▲

From Mountains to Mesas: YEP Students Investigate the Geologic Mystery and History of the Front Range

By Carmen Stagg, YEP Group Program Manager & Lead Instructor

This is where the CMC’s Youth Educa“PLATE TECTONICS!” A STUDENT to the American Mountaineering Center, students take on the roles of cartographer, tion Program strives to make its connections calls out this phrase in response to the quespaleontologist, and geologist as they explore with students. While learning objectives and tion, “How are mountains formed?” Youth rocks and fossils across continents, reliving academic standards are important, if they Education Program instructors Emily Beethe discovery of the supercontinent of Pangea. are not connected to wonder and intrigue, hler and Carmen Stagg hear this phrase at they may not ignite a love of learning least twenty more times from stuin all students.

That is why YEP’s apdents visiting from Mapleton’s Adproach to Front Range geology is one venture Elementary. These fifth grade students are studying plate tectonics, of mystery and exploration. Students examine rock samples and then try to and they are clearly excited about identify them as they “walk through their new knowledge. On their field time” on a geology hike. From the trip to the American Mountaineering top of North Table Mountain, stuCenter in Golden, they will get the dents point out the differences bechance to apply their knowledge of tween the peaks to the west and the landforms to the mountains and meflat-topped eroded columns of the sas they can see around them. mesa on which they are standing, It is true: many mountains are learning they are standing on the formed by the constructive forces remnants of an ancient lava flow. The of plate collisions. Students giggle science and history may be amazing, as they demonstrate these forces by Students from Aurora strike a “mountain pose” as they make but what students inevitably leave pushing each other sideways and their way up North Table Mountain on a geology field trip with up and into “mountains.” But what the CMC Youth Education Program. Photo by Emily Beehler with is a greater appreciation for the fun and beauty of the mountains about mountains that are not located at plate boundaries? What about our own Students stand in awe as they discover geologic around them. The accomplishment students Rocky Mountains and all of the unique proof that there was volcanic activity right by feel when they reach the top of a steep hike landforms we can see in our backyard? the park where they eat lunch, or hold fossil- and take in the vista ignites more than just YEP puts students in the front seat of ized dinosaur footprints and sharks’ teeth that a love of learning. It ignites a love of our mountains as well. ▲ solving geologic mysteries. On field trips were found right here in Colorado.

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Trail & Timberline

CMC’s Stewardship Team: Bridging Generations in Conservation

By Julie Mach, Conservation Director

WHEN YOU HEAR THE TERM millennial, do the words industrious, autonomous, generous, hard working, and service oriented come to mind? If not, then you have never met CMC Conservation’s Stewardship Team. This crew of highly motivated young adults is not just backpacking around Colorado for the fun of it: we’ve hired them to work full-time on conservation stewardship projects across the state.

Most days, this means they’re up before dawn, breaking camp, donning Carhartts and hard hats, loading packs with shovels and picks, and hiking into the backcountry to haul rocks, move dirt, roll logs, dig holes, string fence, and steward the public lands we love. If it sounds glamorous, you should join them for a full week of 10-hour days, repetitive

motions, blisters, thunderstorms, rattlesnakes, and more. But their sweat (hopefully without the blood and tears) is helping the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management build capacity and tackle high-priority conservation projects. From the high passes of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail to the riparian habitats of the Rio Grande, this intrepid team of 20-somethings will contribute more than 2,500 hours of stewardship work on public lands in Colorado this summer and fall.

Who knew millennials were so ambitious?!

But beyond the grunt labor and direct benefits to Colorado’s natural resources, the Stewardship Team is the face of CMC in the field.

Every day, they are building relationships with land managers, educating passing hikers about Leave No Trace principles, working alongside

youth corps groups and nonprofit partners, and leading hundreds of volunteers on stewardship projects. The Stewardship Team is helping to re-invigorate the conservation ethic among current CMC members of all ages— some of whom have been doing trail work longer than the team members have been alive!

But a trail doesn’t care about the date on your birth certificate, only the tread of your boot on its surface, the strength of the rock step you build, the precision of the tread you construct, and the levelness of the sign you install. These actions are ageless and unite generations in the continued, sustainable use of our public lands.

As recreationists, we have an obligation to take care of the places we love to play—are you doing your part? Visit www.cmc.org/stewardship to get involved. ▲

[LEFT] Stewardship Team member Morgan Anderson has returned to CMC for her second year in the program. Photo by CMC staff [Middle] Volunteers help install a fence to close an unauthorized road and protect wildlife habitat at Badger Flats. 2016 will mark CMC’s third year on this project near Lake George. Photo by CMC staff [Right] The Stewardship Team leads volunteers in a tool talk prior to a trail project. Photo courtesy Scott Anderson

Summer Stewardship Calendar: cmc.org/stewardship Date

Location

June 11

Norwood: Uncompahgre Bureau of Land ManageBurn Canyon trail maintenance and restoration ment

July 9

Paonia: Gunnison National Forest

Wilderness trails maintenance and cross-cut saw clearing

Aug. 6

Crestone: Rio Grande National Forest

Simmons Peak trail maintenance and cross-cut saw clearing

Aug. 27-28 Kremmling: Kremmling Bureau of Land Management Monte Vista: San Luis Valley Bureau of Land Management Eagle: Colorado River Valley Bureau of Land Sept. 24-25 Management

Sept. 17

Project Description

Wolford Mountain trail maintenance and restoration Bishop Rock Climbing Area trail maintenance Riparian area fence removal Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, inventory, monitoring and maintenance

TBD

Salida/Buena Vista: San Isabel National Forest

TBD

Alamosa: San Luis Valley Bureau of Land ManageRio Grande Natural Area restoration ment

TBD

Lake George: Pike National Forest

Badger Flats habitat restoration Trail & Timberline

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Public Land Policy and Planning Project Updates

By Julie Mach, Conservation Director

CMC CONSERVATION IS CONSTANTly monitoring state and national legislation that affects public land in Colorado. Help us advocate for sustainable human-powered recreation at www.cmc.org/conservation.

Continental Divide Wilderness & Recreation Act: In March, CMC signed on to support this proposal to protect roughly 58,500 acres of lands in Summit and eastern Eagle Counties. This designation is critical to preserve and enhance the mountains of Central Colorado by protecting their natural resources, wildlife habitat, scenic viewsheds, and primitive recreation opportunities.

More info at www.continentaldivide.org.

Public Lands Heist: Imagine if the places you like to hike, climb, paddle, ski, bike, fish, hunt, or camp were suddenly sold off for profit, or to cover the cost of a wildfire or drought. A few powerful special interests

are pushing legislation to transfer millions of acres of mountains, forests, rivers, plains, and open spaces to state governments.

CMC is working with Outdoor Alliance to keep our public lands public and we need

Advocates provide feedback on maps for public land planning. Photo by Julie Mach

your help to elevate the voice of outdoor enthusiasts. Learn more and sign the petition at www.protectourpublicland.org. Locally,

Colorado Senator Kerry Donovan successfully introduced Senate Bill 16-021 to designate a state Public Lands Day to celebrate and pay tribute to our public lands in Colorado and the environmental, economic, and social benefits to our state, its citizens, and visitors.

National Parks Maintenance Backlog: Across the United States, a backlog of $11.9 billion of infrastructure repairs has piled up at national park sites. In Colorado, there are more than $203 million of needed repairs, including roads, trails, bridges, and tunnels.

From Rocky Mountain National Park to Mesa Verde, access and safety are compromised and historic sites go without crucial restoration. CMC is working to support additional appropriations to close this funding gap. Learn more and show your support at http://blog.cmc.org/how-you-can-helpfix-our-national-parks/. ▲

Public Land Planners Need Your Input—It’s the Law!

By Julie Mach, Conservation Director

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED HOW a new trail network is developed? Or why you can’t camp next to a creek in your favorite Wilderness area? Or who determines where motorized use can occur in a forest?

These decisions are made by public land managers—federal, state, and local government staff tasked with caring for our forests, rivers, and open spaces. But these decisions are not made in a vacuum, and your voice as a CMC member and outdoor enthusiast is important to help craft good management plans. In fact, many agencies are required by law to solicit public input before building new trails, designating Wilderness areas, allowing oil and gas development, or harvesting timber.

Here are some tips on how to get involved.

Notification: The Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and National Park Service are required to publish new projects in the Federal Register and in the local newspaper of public record. You can also contact the agency’s communications officer who will mail notification letters and email you about upcoming meetings. CMC Conservation also posts project information, meeting dates, and comment deadlines in our monthly e-newsletter.

Public Meetings: Public meetings are a great place to gather more information on 12

Trail & Timberline

Transferring federal public lands to state control could result in limited public access, development, or sale to cover management costs. Courtesy Outdoor Alliance

public land projects, meet the agency staff, and connect with other groups and individuals who are working on the project. Bring lots of questions and comments!

Public comments: These may be submitted formally during a public comment period via mail, email, or through an online form. Be sure to include your name and contact info, submit before the comment deadline, and provide specific and substantive feedback. Individual experiences are much more powerful than generic form letters. Special interest groups may also assemble petitions and group letters where you can sign on to show collective support.

Finally, remember to be patient throughout these planning processes. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the federal agencies to assess impacts of a project on wildlife, vegetation, soils, water quality, cultural resources, and more, so it takes a lot of time and money to just asses a given proposal. Larger forest plans and land use designations can take as long as 5–10 years but they can help protect our mountain landscapes for decades and generations to come.

For more information on current planning processes and opportunities to get involved, check out www.cmc.org/conservation. ▲

Four New Books Published by CMC Press

By Sarah Gorecki, Director of Publishing

CMC PRESS WILL RELEASE FOUR new titles this spring and summer: Skiing and Sleeping on the Summits: Cascade Volcanoes of the Pacific Northwest was published in March; The Best Hikes on the Continental Divide Trail: Colorado was published in May; The Best Front Range Wildflower Hikes will be available in June; and The Colorado Trail, 9th edition, will also available in June.

Skiing and Sleeping on the Summits: Cascade Volcanoes of the Pacific Northwest chronicles a project never done before. During the month of May, 2014, mountain geographer Dr. Jon Kedrowski skied off the summits of the twenty highest Cascade Volcanoes in

336 pages, 6 x 9, 257 color photos, 47 color maps, paperbound, rounded corners, $26.95, ISBN 9781-937052-33-1 GUIDEBOOK/COLORADO AVAILABLE IN JUNE

156 pages, 4 x 7, 100 color photos, 23 color maps, paperbound, rounded corners, $13.95, ISBN 978-1-937052-31-7 GUIDEBOOK/ COLORADO

144 pages, 12 x 9, 213 color photos, 25 maps, paperbound, $29.95, ISBN 978-1-937052-35-5

AVAILABLE IN JUNE

ADVENTURE/NATURAL HISTORY

148 pages, 4 x 7, 75 color photos, 21 color maps, paperbound, rounded corners, $13.95, ISBN 978-1-937052-29-4 GUIDEBOOK/ COLORADO

thirty days, sleeping on the summits of half of these iconic peaks.

Also the author of Sleeping on the Summits: Colorado Fourteener High Bivys, Jon has climbed five of the seven continental summits (Denali, Elbrus, Kilimanjaro, and Aconcagua) and summited Mount Everest in 2012.

The Best Hikes on the Continental Divide Trail: Colorado is the first pack guide for the Continental Divide Trail published by CMC Press. The 20 day hikes and overnight trips in this guide will help you explore the highlights of one of the most significant and beautiful trail systems in the world, the Continental Divide Trail—a 3,100-mile trail that traverses the Rocky Mountains from Mexico to Canada.

From the plains to the high mountains, Colorado is known for its magnificent displays of wildflowers. The Best Front Range Wildflower Hikes showcases 22 trails filled with native wildflower species across five life zones. Trail descriptions include habitats and interesting tidbits on the plants, along with a listing of native flora with both common and scientific names. The Best Front Range Wildflower Hikes will lead beginning wildflower enthusiasts, as well as veteran observers, to stunning wildflowers along Colorado’s mountain trails.

The ninth edition of The Colorado Trail has all the information a day hiker, thru-hiker, mountain biker, or equestrian needs to plan and complete a trip on The Colorado Trail. New to this edition are five chapters on the 80-mile Collegiate West trail addition. Maps and written descriptions for all 28 segments of The Colorado Trail have also been updated throughout the guide. The Colorado Trail is considered by many to be the most beautiful “long trail” in the world. Spanning 486 miles from the Denver suburbs to Durango, Colorado—plus 80 miles of the new Collegiate West addition—the trail passes through six national forests and six wilderness areas, traverses five major river systems, and crosses eight mountain ranges. ▲

PEAK HAPPY HOUR COLORADO MOUNTAIN CLUB

JULY 13 | AUG 10 | SEPT 14 Wild Woods Brewery | Boulder, CO Join us on the 2nd Wednesday of every month for our Peak Happy Hour! Celebrate all things outdoors with an evening of fun, tasty beer, socializing and networking.

Join us 5pm-8pm. PLUS: $1/beer sold donated back to CMC!

WWW.CMC.ORG/PEAKHAPPYHOURS

GIVE AWAYS | FRIENDS | ADVENTURE | GUIDEBOOKS Trail & Timberline

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Around Colorado Our groups across the State WE ARE THE CMC The Colorado Mountain Club is the state’s leading organization dedicated to adventure, recreation, conservation, and education.

Founded in 1912, the CMC has helped Coloradans enjoy the mountains for more than a century. The Club acts as a gateway to the outdoors for novices and experts alike, offering an array of year-round activities and events.

The CMC’s local chapters host a variety of outdoor activities including hiking, backpacking, mountaineering, rock climbing, skiing, and many other outdoor activities. See cmc.org/Calendar for a current listing. Our chapters also include a group for people living outside the state (Friends of Colorado).

Aspen

Chair: Carol Kurt kurtskarma@aol.com Website: cmc.org/Aspen Aspen Group members mainly live in the Roaring Fork Valley; however, some members live across the country and have special connections to Aspen. In addition to mountain recreation activities, Aspen hosts picnics, an annual banquet, and slide shows on winter evenings.

Boulder

Chair: Rick Casey caseyrick@gmail.com Website: cmc.org/Boulder Our 1,600 members enjoy a huge variety of hiking, backpacking, climbing, and skiing activities throughout the entire year in addition to local social outings and an enjoyable Group Annual Dinner, which is held every November to celebrate our members. The Boulder Group also operates the Brainard Cabin and Arestua Hut in the Arapaho–Roosevelt National Forest.

Colorado Wilderness Families

Chair: Jennifer Teece jteece@yahoo.com Website: cmc.org/CoWildernessFamilies This group is for families who gather together to enjoy the outdoors safely. Activities are generally designed for the participation of the whole family—including babies to early teens—and include overnight camping or “cabining” hikes, wall climbs, and map and compass practices.

Denver

Chair: David Hutchison dwhutchison3@gmail.com Website: cmc.org/Denver Newsletter: The Mile High Mountaineer The Denver Group is the largest CMC Group and

holds most of its programs and school lectures at the American Mountaineering Center in Golden.

Activities are scheduled almost every day of the week, including weekends and holidays. New member meetings—for new and prospective members—feature informative and interesting videos and briefings on hiking skills and trip policies, and are strongly recommended for all new members. For schedules and more information, visit cmc.org/Calendar.

Denver also has groups of people who meet and recreate together around specific interests.

Additional fees may apply for these special interest “sections.”

• Rocky Mountain Over the Hill Gang: for 50+ year-olds • Photo Section: for photography lovers • Fly Fishing: everything fly fishing

El Pueblo

Lost Creek wilderness backpack. Photo by Dean Waits

Friends of Routt Backcountry

Chair: Jill Mattoon jill.mattoon@judicial.state.co.us Website: cmc.org/ElPueblo

Chair: Leslie Lovejoy leslie@lovejoygraphics.com Website: cmc.org/FriendsRB

The El Pueblo Group provides outdoor experiences for people in the “un-crowded” southern and southeastern parts of Colorado. El Pueblo holds several social and educational functions each year, including a potluck dinner and monthly meetings with entertaining guest speakers.

The monthly meetings are held the first Friday of most months at 7:00 PM in the parish hall at Ascension Episcopal Church, located at 18th St. and Grand Ave. in Pueblo.

Located in Steamboat Springs, this group was created by the CMC during our adoption of the Backcountry Snowsports Alliance. The Backcountry Snowsports Initiative supports non-motorized winter recreation through advocacy and on-the-ground efforts.

Friends of Colorado

Contact: Scott Otteman scotteman@aol.com Website: cmc.org/FriendsofColorado The Friends of Colorado Group was created in 1987 to support the many CMC members who live out of state but still want to take part in CMC activities when visiting Colorado. Friends of Colorado members receive all the benefits of being a CMC member; visit cmc.org/Join/MemberBenefits for a complete list of member benefits.

Fort Collins

Chair: Ward Whicker Ward.Whicker@ColoState.EDU Website: cmc.org/FtCollins Newsletter: fortcmc.org/newsletters.html The Fort Collins Group has members of all ages from Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley, and the surrounding communities. The Fort Collins Group has outings for everyone, from leisurely slowpaced flower hikes to challenging high mountain summit climbs. The Group hosts monthly programs, a winter potluck, a summer BBQ, and an Annual Dinner. For more information on upcoming activities visit cmc.org/Calendar/Trips and search on the Fort Collins group.

2016 In-State Outing July 31–August 5, 2016 Trip Leaders: David Hite and Sherry Richardson The tradition lives on! The 2016 In-State Outing will be at Sweetwater River Ranch on the Arkansas River near Texas Creek, with the Sangre de Cristos nearby. Tent camp or upgrade to a cabin. Check the Adventure Travel website for details.

CMC hike to Loud’s Cabin near Colorado Springs. Photo by Dean Waits

Gore Range

Chair: Colleen Widlak cwidlak@aol.com Website: cmc.org/GoreRange Many Gore Range Group members live in the shadow of the magnificent Gore Range in Summit and Eagle Counties. Members from as far south as Salida and north to Kremmling and from out of state are also part of the group. A Gore Range Group newsletter is sent out twice a year, as well as periodic emails.

Longs Peak

Chair: Mike Pippis mike.coloradoguy@gmail.com Website: cmc.org/LongsPeak The Longs Peak Group has members in Longmont, Lyons, Erie, Louisville, Mead, Niwot, and the surrounding area. Formed in 1963, and named for the majestic peak which dominates the western horizon, Longs Peak offers a range of outdoor activities throughout the state.

Pikes Peak

Chair: Collin Powers powerscollin@yahoo.com Website: cmc.org/PikesPeak The Pikes Peak Group, located in Colorado Springs, offers a variety of outdoor activities, educational opportunities, and social events. Trips are designed to accommodate all ages and skill levels.

Activities include hiking, backpacking, mountaineering, rock climbing, cross-country and downhill skiing, cycling, and many other outdoor activities.

Monthly meetings feature presentations on regional activities, local history, and trips to exotic places. In May the group gets together for a potluck dinner, and in November they celebrate their members with an annual dinner.

Shining Mountains

Chair: Maureen Denig mpdenig@hotmail.com Website: cmc.org/ShiningMountains

The Shining Mountains Group serves CMC members in Estes Park, Loveland, Lyons, and the surrounding area. Rocky Mountain National Park benefits from the many volunteer stewardship projects sponsored by the group. “The Friendly Bunch,” organized to help singles of all ages get acquainted with each other, hosts a variety of activities; while most participants are single, all CMC members are welcome.

Western Slope

Chair: Open Website: cmc.org/WesternSlope The Western Slope Group has members throughout the Grand Junction area. We bring people together who love the outdoors and the natural environment. The group inspires their members to get outside and enjoy the Colorado Mountains through hiking, backpacking, camping, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and cycling. The Club also encourages its members to partake in educational courses to promote increased knowledge and skills on being safe in enjoying the outdoors. If you are interested in helping out with the Western Slope Group or being a Trip Leader please contact the CMC office at office@cmc.org.

CMC Trailblazers

Chair: Erin Thompson nerdysheep@me.com Website: cmc.org/About/CMCGroups/ Trailblazers Trailblazers is a statewide group for young adults ages 21 to 40. From after-work hikes in Golden to Saturday 14er climbs to weeklong excursions to Moab, this group gets 20- and 30-something adventurers together nearly every week. There are also regular happy hours and social events.

For more information, find the CMC Trailblazers group on Facebook at facebook.com/groups/ CMCTrailblazers.

Get Involved in Your CMC

• There are many volunteer opportunities throughout the Club. All group activities are led by dedicated and skilled volunteers. Visit cmc.org/Volunteer for more information or contact your local group.

• To ensure the continued enjoyment of Colorado’s pristine places, the CMC leads efforts to protect wild and public lands with its conservation and stewardship programs. cmc.org/Conservation • The CMC’s Youth Education Program inspires confidence and academic achievement in youth through school programs, summer camps, after-school programs, and young adult programs. cmc.org/Youth • The Club has published its biannual magazine, Trail & Timberline, since 1918, and operates the CMC Press with more than 50 titles in print. cmc.org/Store • The American Mountaineering Museum celebrates the rich history of the mountains and mountaineering. mountaineeringmuseum.org

Mountain Education

The CMC offers many educational opportunities through our regional groups. CMC courses appeal to people new to the outdoors as well as people looking for new ways to enjoy the mountains and expand their personal horizons.

These affordable schools encourage individuals to improve their outdoor skill sets.

CMC instructors are volunteers and members of the Club. They are experienced users of the outdoors who have polished their skills on Club trips and demonstrated their leadership abilities. Safety and personal responsibility, respect for the natural environment, and leadership skills are stressed in all courses. Students of all ages gain the skills and knowledge to comfortably participate in mountain trips.

The larger CMC groups offer more than 61 schools and seminars. Smaller groups sometimes host instructors from other group schools for weekend seminars. Volunteer committees in the groups develop the curricula, so there are some variations between the group educational offerings. See cmc.org/schools for a calendar of upcoming schools.

SKIING the CENTENNIALS: AN INTERVIEW WITH TED AND CHRISTY MAHON

BY SARAH GORECKI, DIRECTOR OF PUBLISHING

On May 27, 2015, Ted and Christy Mahon, along with Chris Davenport, completed their project to ski the hundred highest peaks in Colorado. Their final peak was remote Jagged Mountain, tucked deep in the Weminuche Wilderness. At 13,824 feet, the final ski descent required class 5 climbing near the top, with a rappel down to the first skiable spot off the mountain: the narrow, north-facing Jagged Couloir. ***

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Chris Davenport and Christy Mahon begin the climb up the couloir towards the summit of Jagged Mountain, the final peak of the Centennial Ski Project. Photo by Ted Mahon

How did it feel to complete the project of skiing all of the Centennials?

Ted: The larger goals in life can take some time to process. In this case it didn’t hit me right away. Peak list projects are really dozens of smaller individual objectives that get bundled up into one giant singular goal. When we initially finished I was most excited about getting Jagged done; it had so many unknowns we weren’t sure if we would even be able to pull it off.

In the months that followed, completing the larger goal sunk in a more and more. We found ourselves talking to a lot of people about it, and with every conversation a sense of satisfaction set in that continues to grow to this day. We’re all really proud of the effort we put forth. It made me feel proud to live in a place where an opportunity like this is possible.

How did you come up with the goal to ski the top 100 peaks in Colorado, and how did it come about that you teamed up with Chris Davenport for this adventure?

Ted: We came up with the goal the same way many climbers start climbing the Centennials in summer—as a natural progression after completing the 14ers. In our case, the three of us had skied all of the 14ers, so it was a somewhat obvious next goal. Christy and I had already climbed all the Centennials in summer so we were familiar with the peaks and routes.

Chris Davenport had finished skiing the 14ers in 2007, Ted, you finished in 2008, and Christy, you finished in 2010. Tell us a little about that accomplishment. Did skiing the 14ers prepare you well for the Centennial Ski Project?

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prepare us for the Centennial Ski Project. Long ski mountaineering trips and ultra-running races also helped build the grit, perseverance, and resilience that we needed to finish the project.

Were any Centennial Peaks more challenging than the hardest 14ers?

[Top] Christy Mahon skis down the Refrigerator Couloir on Ice Mountain, 13,951 ft., while Chris Davenport and Art Burrows watch from above, May 23, 2013. Photo by Ted Mahon [Bottom] Christy watches an approaching spring storm from high camp in North Pigeon Creek on May 6, 2015. Several waves of weather blew through that evening and night, with enough moisture to wash out the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge railroad tracks down in the valley below and create avalanche risks on the peaks above. Photo by Ted Mahon

Ted: Unlike the Centennial 13ers, we didn’t attempt to ski the 14ers as a group. We took them on individually. We partnered together for many of them, especially Christy and I, but we each arrived at the decision to try to ski them all at separate times. Afterwards, when we set out to extend the list to the Centennials, we determined to do it as a group whenever possible, and finish it together, even though at times it seemed like our schedules didn’t want to line up. I think we all agreed it was more rewarding to share the common goal among the group.

The 14ers and the Centennial 13ers have a lot in common when it comes to skiing. Both groups of peaks contain easier summits and challenging ones. The fact that the three of us had already succeeded on peaks like Pyramid and Capitol certainly made the prospect of summits like Dallas and Jagged less intimidating.

Many 14ers and Centennial 13ers are near each other and often share the same trailheads, so there was a little familiarity that came from having finished the 14ers. But unlike the 14ers, we continually found the Centennial 13ers to be a bit more lacking in terms of available route beta and ski history and the kind of information we’re all used to having before we head in to climb a mountain.

Christy: All of our experiences on the 14ers, in addition to all the climbing and backpacking trips we have done over the years, helped 18

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Christy: I would say that the Centennial Peaks were equally as challenging as the hardest 14ers. For example, skiing Jagged Mountain had a lot of similarities to skiing Capitol for me. It took more than one try and a lot of mental preparation. I would say the route finding on most of the peaks that round out the 100 highest peaks was much more challenging than following the more well-known routes on the 14ers.

Ted: The remoteness and difficulty of approach of the Centennial 13ers in the Weminuche Wilderness (with the exception of Jupiter Mountain), combined with their technical challenge in some cases, made them some of the toughest of the 100. The reason we ended on Jagged is primarily because it’s just so hard to reach.

There is a good amount of shared information on the 14ers: it’s pretty easy to look up prior trip reports and see who has been skiing the 14ers and by which route. We found the internet to be light, if not completely absent of any ski information for many of the Centennial 13ers. We had to do more recon, sometimes by airplane, just to see where ski routes may exist. We reached out to friends in other towns to inquire about ski descents and history on some peaks only to find there wasn’t much information, if any. That’s not to say these peaks haven’t seen skiers before us, but it’s just a little different than the 14ers, where nowadays there’s a large amount of info on the peaks above 14,000 feet.

How long did the adventure take, overall?

Ted: It started pretty casually for me. I skied my first 14er, Quandary, back in 1997. In 2004 or so I decided to try to ski them all

[Left] Christy Mahon on the ridge just below the summit of Capitol Peak, 14,130 ft., en route to her final ski descent, making her the first woman to climb and ski all 54 Colorado 14ers, May 16, 2010. Photo by Ted Mahon [Right] Ted Mahon on the climb of Dallas Peak, 13,809 ft., the 100th tallest mountain in the state, May 1, 2014. Photo by Christy Mahon

and wrapped up that list in 2008, and in 2012 we went for the Centennial 13ers, which took three more years. Start to finish it actually took me 18 years. There were some busy, productive years, and others when I didn’t ski any peaks at all. I look back on the whole thing as a more casual Colorado adventure, without a time goal, rather than something that was rushed.

Christy: It really depends on how you look at it. It was almost a few different projects, built on one another, that led us to skiing all the 100 highest peaks. First it was climbing all of Colorado’s 14ers, then it was skiing of all Colorado’s 14ers, then it was hiking the next 47 peaks, followed by skiing the next 47 peaks. So if you look at it that way, it took about 15 years. The next hundred could take another 15 years too!

What was the best part of the whole experience?

Christy: I loved the feeling of being a very small part of the universe—but at the same time still part of its grandeur. We were constantly humbled, as well as inspired. We were constantly dwarfed by our surroundings—the mountains, the sky—and yet you realize that we are still part of it. We are still connected to the changing seasons, the return of the birds in the spring, the phases of the moon. Only in these wild places do you have the opportunity to learn that nature can be a friend, a teacher, a healer, and a great inspiration.

Ted: Seeing the state up close—visiting the small towns, the remote trailheads, and of course all of the awesome and inspiring ranges and mountains around Colorado. Sharing it with my wife and other friends made each day more than just a climbing and skiing outing. There’s so much in Colorado; even after all of these ski descents I feel like we’ve just barely scratched the surface of what this state has to offer.

Christy, you work full-time as the Development Director for Aspen Center for Environmental Studies. How did you both find the flexibility in your work schedules to do this project?

Christy: I work at least 40 hours a week, if not 50, so for me it’s all about the weekends. I am a good example of how much you can accomplish as a weekend warrior. For the Centennial Project, I saved most of my vacation time for the spring and would take a full week off where we would travel around the state skiing a different peak every day for seven days straight. I also work at an organization whose mission is to connect people to nature and

create a society of ecologically literate citizens, so we support one another’s outdoor adventures and have a culture of appreciating the environment that sustains us all.

Ted: I’ve been a ski instructor for 18 years and work full time through the winter on Aspen Mountain. I fill any gaps in the winter season, as well as the rest of the year, as a freelance website designer. I occasionally find my photography hobby becoming more of a real job through the years as well.

Since you’ve become members of the CMC Aspen Group, have you taken advantage of any social activities or trips offered by the Club?

Christy: Not yet, but we are super impressed with the amount of trips the Aspen Group is offering and the variety of their outings.

Some of them are really adventurous and take advantage of the really unique resources we have here in the valley, including people’s private homes and cabins, and little known hikes and routes.

We are hoping to take advantage of the programming more this summer and would love to contribute by leading a trip as well.

However, they seem like they have it well covered!

What’s next for you?

Ted: We love big projects but we also love the down time after they’re completed. Since finishing the Centennials we’ve decided not to rush into any new project too soon. We’re heading to Norway for a couple of weeks to ski there which we’re really excited about. After a few springs spent entirely in Colorado it will be great to travel to a new part of the world—on skis of course.

Christy: We will definitely take this year to travel more internationally, something we haven’t been able to do much of the last three years. Skiing in Norway this spring, possibly skiing in South America or Japan in the next year, and biking around Cuba are all on this list. But in between a couple trips, we’ll be doing more of what we love the most and that’s exploring the wildernesses and peaks of Colorado. We have made it a goal to ski at least five new Colorado bicentennial peaks a year and we’ll see where that leads us! ▲ Ted and Christy Mahon were nominated for National Geographic’s Adventurer of the Year in 2015 for the Centennial Ski Project and are members of the CMC’s Aspen Group.

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Life Outdoors #ColoRADo PHOTO ESSAY BY VALERIE HAWKS AND MARISA JARAE

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[Opposing Page] When the footsteps are laid out before you, follow them. Especially when they lead across a frozen alpine lake. Rocky Mountain National Park, 2016.

[This Page, Top] In 2013 I experienced my first asthma attack, on a climb of Quandary Peak. At the time, I believed that was the end of my big mountain dreams. In 2014, after a year of focusing on my health and feeling strong, I returned victorious and summited the mountain. Asthma is always a struggle, but my mountain dreams are far from over. Quandary Peak, 2014. [This Page, Middle] Turn off your thoughts and trust your feet. Take a deep breath and enjoy the view! Golden, 2015. [This Page, Bottom Left] Frozen eyelashes and nose hairs. Ice forming on every surface that your breath comes into contact with. Winter mountaineering is equal parts miserable cold and breathtaking beauty. Grizzly Peak, 2015. [This Page, Bottom Left] How to ice climb? Stick. Stick. Foot. Foot. Breathe. Repeat. Moffat Tunnel, 2015.

VALERIE HAWKS

Valerie Hawks has been a professional photographer for over a decade, focusing on fashion and portraiture before turning her lens towards her passion for the mountains. As a member of the Colorado Mountain Club since 2013, she is active in the Technical Climbing School and High Altitude Mountaineering School. She also enjoys teaching and playing the role of mentor for other rock climbing enthusiasts. When she’s not taking photos, you can find her climbing things, or taking photos of the things she’s climbing. Learn more at valhawks.com.

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[Opposing Page] Rain and mountain goats were in abundance at Chicago Basin last July. But Colorado, in her ever changing moods, never disappoints when it comes to high alpine sunrises. [This Page, Top Left] The Diamond: a girl’s best friend. Photographing high alpine skating has been my winter project—and I have to say, one of my favorite projects to date. The skill required to safely (emphasis on safely) skate in the high alpine is no joke. And the juxtaposition of such graceful movement in a beautiful, but unforgiving amphitheater is visual poetry. My project will publish by the end of May on my blog and social media channels. [This Page, Top Right] Self portrait: Very often we start down the trail expecting to be surrounded by wild and beautiful places, maybe hoping to see a field of wildflowers, a lake, or sunrise along the way. But more often we end up discovering another part of ourselves. And I have to say—that is far more exhilarating. [This Page, Bottom Left] So often we get up before dawn to climb rock or snow or ice. But on occasion, we get up to watch the sun rise in the high alpine from the water.

October on Kebler Pass mixes early morning light with fall foliage and water cold enough to make your hair stand on end. But we wouldn’t have it any other way. [This Page, Bottom Right] Early mornings at Loch Vale in Rocky Mountain National Park never get old. Ever.

MARISA JARAE

Raised in Florida, Marisa Jarae moved to Denver in 2013. After a few hard-learned lessons in the hills and with big-mountain dreams, she became involved with the Colorado Mountain Club. Two years after enrolling, she completed Backpacking School, Basic Mountaineering School, and is in the process of finishing High Altitude Mountaineering School. She has assisted with instructing Backpacking School. Her favorite foods are marshmallows, coffee, and Thai food (but not together), she shoots with a mirrorless Fuji Film XT1, and her favorite time of day is sunrise.

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MOUNTAIN BIKING THE COLORADO TRAIL: LUXURY EDITION Story & P hotos By B enjamin K raushaar

“W

hat are you, blind?” I asked Sam as he surveyed the damage to his mountain bike wheel. He had just blown off the trail on a white-knuckle decent and slammed into a massive, obvious boulder resulting in a blown-out tire and broken rim.

“Just havin’ a little too much fun I guess. I couldn’t make the turn,” he chuckled.

“I hope you can ride out. We still have ten more miles to the top of Tennessee Pass and I don’t plan on walking with you!” said Dylan, the third companion on our ride.

Sam pulled a tube from his pack and began to repair his flat.

Sarcastic encouragement from Dylan and I expedited the fix and it was soon apparent that the damaged rim could handle the inflated tire. We had become accustomed to the trail antics that had developed over the previous days and we continued our roast of Sam as we mounted our trusty rides. We carefully picked off the remaining miles of trail to the top of Tennessee Pass where we were meeting Sam’s dad, Barry, and his trusty 1989 Lazy Daze RV named Nellie.

Dylan, Sam, and I were in the midst of an epic adventure.

We were 130 miles into a twelve-day, RV-supported, luxury traverse of the Colorado Trail (with RV detours around wilderness areas) and we were lovin’ it! The Colorado Trail picks its way nearly 500 miles through seemingly endless mountain ranges from Denver to Durango and for three singletrack-addicted friends, this trip couldn’t get any better. As lifelong comrades and mountain bikers we know that very few things compare to a day of shredding Colorado high country with good company, so when the opportunity arose for us to ride the trail with RV support, we knew we were in for a treat.

Six days prior to Sam’s wheel incident, Ol’ Nelly dropped us off at Waterton Canyon near Denver and we began our journey 24

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west. I’m notorious for doing things off the couch, and suffered hard the first day. Luckily, Nelly met us at the end of the day with a cooler full of cold beers and a fridge full of snacks. Every potato chip and sip of IPA soothed my aching muscles and I became increasingly excited for the days to come.

As the days passed, the Front Range crowds disappeared and we became lost in trail heaven. The feeling of waking up and knowing that all we had to do all day was ride sweet trails is an extraordinary feeling that we all loved. If only this blissful existence could last forever: endless singletrack and bottomless brews with good friends. Unfortunately time doesn’t stand still and passes way too fast, especially when your days are filled with glory. Before we knew it we were over halfway done with our journey to Durango and were counting down the days left on the trail. Although we were sad that our trip was eventually going to end, we still had the best section of trail ahead of us.

The last 70 miles of the Colorado Trail traverse some of the most beautiful country in the state. Endless wildflower seas of larkspur, monkshood, asters, Indian paintbrush, and columbine blanket the landscape in a myriad of colors, while the majestic peaks of the San Juan Range, with dramatic horns surrounded by circs, tarns, and U-shaped valleys, show the power of ancient glaciers. The riding was just as incredible as the beauty and tacky dirt and seemingly infinite descents make this section of trail world class. As the trail inched closer to Durango, views of Hesperus Mountain mesmerized everyone lucky enough to see them. Massive igneous sills penetrated the layers of Cretaceous marine shale, giving the mountain a unique layer cake image. To think that this topographic high was once a marine environment is mindboggling and amazing.

We eventually crossed the exposed Indian Trail Ridge and

descended to the top of Kennebec Pass only 21 miles from the southern terminus of the Colorado Trail. From here we could see Durango for the first time and physically registering our endpoint was exciting. We were all very familiar with this section of trail—I grew up in Durango and we all had attended Fort Lewis College.

When we rolled off of Kennebec Pass we were welcomed home by familiar dirt under our knobby tires.

Ol’ Nelly met us at Junction Creek Trailhead and promptly shuttled us to Ska Brewing, Durango’s premier microbrewery, for celebratory beers and pizza. Here we met friends and reminisced about all the good times on the trip: the heckling, laughing, snowstorms, thunder, and flat tires will remain fond memories of mine for the rest of my life.

Purists will probably say that we cheated as we didn’t complete the trail by bikepacking, but we were able to experience the trail in a way not possible when loaded down with camping gear and survival supplies. We wanted to be able to enjoy the trail to its fullest potential and not be hindered by a heavy load. By having an RV assist we were able to carry only the essentials for one day in the saddle and could simply enjoy riding some of the best singletrack in the world for twelve days straight. Sure, we may have missed out on a certain sense of adventure by having an RV, but for me that was ok. The previous summer I completed a solo thru-hike of the Colorado Trail and experienced what it was like to truly suffer through the Rockies.

It was an enlightening experience, but combining the glory of the Colorado Trail with RV accommodation and good friends was hard to beat. Experiencing any part of the Colorado Trail, whether it’s on foot, bike, or horse is life changing and the many hours I have spent on the trail have helped define who I am. I encourage everyone reading this to make it a goal to set foot or tire on the trail. You will not be disappointed and you will most likely have way too much fun. ▲

[Opposing Page] Sam behind the wheel of Ol’ Nelly on our way up to Denver. [This Page, Top] Indian Trail Ridge offers some of the most technical riding on the entire trail. Can you say chunky? [This Page, Middle] More rain and fog on Georgia Pass. [This Page, Bottom Right] Dylan and Sam pedal through dense fog on the climb up to Georgia Pass. [This Page, Bottom Left] Sam and Dylan gain the summit of Searle Pass after a grueling climb out of Copper Mountain.

Trail & Timberline

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Scotland and the West Highland Way story and photos By Robert Watkins

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n May 13, I arrived in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, for a CMC Adventure Travel trip. I immediately fell in love with the medieval city with its ornate old buildings and natural layering created by the hilly terrain, with towers everywhere, extending above everything. My roommate, Mark, and I blitzed through the city, walking up and down the Royal Mile, the old spine street that ran from the Edinburgh Castle down to the Holyroodhouse Royal Palace. From the castle, we walked steeply down to Greyfriars Kirk, with its monument to Greyfriars Bobby, a small dog who watched over his master’s grave for 14 years until the dog died in 1872. At Holyroode Palace, where the Queen stays, we heard a group of the Royal Guards practicing on bagpipes and drums. I told Mark that we were likely hearing the best bagpipe music in Britain.

The next day, our trip leaders, Linda and Dave Ditchkus, took us on a tour of the castle. From the battlements, we had grand views of the city. Parts of the castle were built as early as the 12th century, and the castle had been used as a royal residence. We visited the great hall built for King James IV in 1503 and the royal apartments where Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to James VI. Next, we got on the bus to Milngavie (pronounced “Mulguy”), where we started our walk on the West Highland Way. On the way, we stopped at Stirling Castle, which was built in the 15th and 16th centuries and was home to Scottish kings. The tour guide told us that because the water was contaminated, in the old days everyone drank beer brewed at the castle, including a weaker version for children. Near the castle, we visited the monument to William Wallace, which is a stone tower on a hilltop.

On May 16, we started walking the West Highland Way from the southern end. For eight days we walked through forested parklands and rural, open pastureland. Gentler but beautiful hills, like the Dumgoyne Knob, dominated the scenery during the early portions of the walk. However, after a few days, we started to see snowcapped peaks, which reminded me of Colorado. Throughout our trek the weather alternated between sunshine and rain. There was never a day without some showers, and some days, the weather seemed to change about every hour. Early in the trek, we stopped at Glengoyne Distillery to sample a wee bit of the scotch with our lunches. We stayed in very small villages, like quaint Drymen, sleeping at inns and at bed and breakfasts.

Loch Lomond dominated the first half of our walk. Our hike included the vigorous climb up Conic Hill. We climbed toward a shoulder, and a few of us hiked ahead to the top of the hill where there were sweeping, 360-degree views, including our

first full views of the Loch. Loch Lomond is the largest body of fresh water in Great Britain. It encompasses 27 square miles, is 23 miles long, and at its deepest, reaches 623 feet down. It took us all of the afternoon and most of the next day to walk around its eastern side. We hiked through deciduous forests with moss covered boulders and twisted oaks that were carpeted with bluebells, white stitchworts, and the occasional yellow primrose. The views across the Loch from the stony beaches to the far hills were spectacular. The trail around the lake was the most rugged portion of the West Highland Way. We climbed away from Loch Lomond into higher moorlands, surrounded by impressive mountains. Near Tyndrum, we passed historic markers for the Dalrigh Battlefield, where, in 1306, Robert the Bruce was defeated. We walked from the Bridge of Orchy up onto the Rannoch Moor, a large plateau with some of the most remote and wild country in Great Britain. The Rannoch Moor is a vast, wet area with no trees, and high mountains above it. We spent much of the second half of our walk in highland moors.

On May 22, we left Kinghouse and walked up Glen Coe under low clouds and misty drizzle. We turned north and away from the river at Altnafeadh, and climbed toward a remote ridge using the Devil’s Staircase, which consisted of a series of switchbacks. The top of the ridge was the highpoint of the West Highland Way at 1,800 feet. There were spectacular views from the top, including a great view of the monumental mountain, Buachaille Etive Mor, across Glen Coe. I celebrated my birthday on that high moor, playing “When I’m 64” for the group on my iPhone.

The following day we climbed steeply up from Kinlochleven through forests with views back to the fiord-like Loch Leven.

We hiked through barren moors and climbed over several ridges before beginning our descent into Glen Nevis. As we turned into the Glen, we could see Ben Nevis, the tallest peak in Britain, like a dark beast above us with its head in the clouds. At the bottom of the Glen, we had a long walk into the town of Fort William, where we reached signs telling us we were at the end of our trek. We walked 16 miles on our last day, for a total of 96 miles on the West Highland Way. The day after we finished the West Highland Way, Laurie, Rhonda, David, and I climbed 4,409-foot Ben Nevis. The climb was an ascent of over 4,000 feet in 4.5 miles. From the old tavern at the bottom, we climbed up the rocky trail. At the top we were in the clouds. Snow was on the ground and a strong, cold wind was blowing. Thanks to David’s navigation with his GPS, we reached the top, where there was a small stone

structure and a small monument. Back at the bottom, we stopped at the tavern to celebrate, and I drank a very nice Scottish ale.

On May 25, our group took a bus from Fort William to Eileen Donan Castle. After the tour of the castle, I left the CMC group, rented a car, and drove from nearby Kyle of Lochalsh to Portree, the largest town on the Isle of Skye.

The next day, I drove north from Portree to a high pass on the Trotternish Ridge to hike the Quiraing. The Quiraing is a large landslip where the hard volcanic layer of rock on top has slipped off the softer sedimentary rock underneath. The gnarled landscape was covered in deep green grass with long-distance views out to the Sound of Raasay and the various islands. On the trail, I admired the pointed and sharpened rock formations. Looking for a formation called the Table, I climbed steeply up a rough side trail into the dark rock formations above the main trail.

The muddy trail led into a flat area partially enclosed by the dark walls of stone. There were gaps in the wall with views to the sea. I continued on to climb to a high point where I could see the coastlines on both sides of the island. Because of the unusual landscape, rock formations, and sweeping views to the sea, the Quiraing is certainly one of the great day hikes in the world.

The Cuillens on Skye are some of the most difficult mountains to climb in Scotland. On May 27, I attempted to climb into the Coire Lagan basin from the beach on Loch Glenbrittle. Although the views down to the bay were wonderful, I was climbing into the clouds and gave up due to minimal visibility. I took a different route down past the tall Eas Mor waterfall. Then it started to rain heavily and I gave up hiking.

After the attempt, I drove down to the village of Carbost where I spent the night at the Old Inn Skye. My room was not ready when I got there, so I had the unfortunate fate of having to go across the road in the rain to sample scotch at the Talisker scotch distillery. The Old Inn at Skye was one of my best experiences in Scotland. The rooms were modern, but the old inn was an authentic stone building with rustic furniture and the usual well-stocked Scottish bar.

The seafood throughout Scotland had been good, but the scallops I had for dinner at the Old Inn were the best I have ever eaten. The bartender told me to return at 9:00 p.m. and when I did, villagers were gathering to listen to local musicians play traditional music.

Three fiddle players, a guitarist, and a musician with a mandolin played very animated local tunes.

In the morning, I had the best Scottish breakfast so far with a fried egg, bacon, sausage, a potato scone, and delicious blood pudding.

Through the kitchen door, I saw that the cook was in his pajamas.

[Opposing Page] Rannoch Moor. [This Page, Top Left] Edinburgh Castle. [This Page, Top Right] On the West Highland Way. [This Page, Middle] Eileen Donan Castle. [This Page, Bottom] The Quiraing on the Isle of Skye.

The train ride from Kyle to Edinburgh was beautiful, with rays of morning light beaming onto the water of the coastal bays and the hills rising vertically from the water. The ride from Inverness to Perth ran through the Cairngorms National Park where I viewed foaming rivers, high moors, and peaks with snow.

Our group was grateful to Linda and Dave for organizing such a fascinating trip. I found Scotland to be a fully modern nation with scattered medieval architecture and castles. The residents are fun-loving and friendly people whose heroes are poets and warriors.

It is a country of beautifully dark and brooding landscapes. â–˛ Trail & Timberline

27

Pathfinder

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HOW TO READ A COLORADO MOUNTAIN STREAM: Think Like a Trout to Catch a Trout By “Rocky” Bob Knowles

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love to fly fish in Colorado’s mountain streams, and the most exciting thing about fly fishing is feeling the “strike.” Getting the rod jerked in my hand because a fish just took the hook makes me smile.

I hope to help provide this excitement to others by sharing my approach to “reading” a stream before you start fishing. The purpose of “reading a stream” is to figure out where the fish are hiding in the stream environment so you can catch more fish.

Far too many fly anglers just head to the water, wade in, and start fishing. At the end of the day, they haven’t caught many fish. That’s because they didn’t take By reading the water and activity of insects, and then determining where you will fish (on the bank or in the time to study the water and try to the water), you’ll be thinking like a trout to catch trout. think like a trout. Below I’ve outlined a five-step process on what to do before you start fishing. Following Why are these impediments important? Because they create safe this process will result in catching more fish, getting more strikes zones where trout hide and then ambush insects. This is what is from fish, and having a more enjoyable time on the water. known as the food funnel, and it should be plied with your fly.

STEP 1: STUDY THE WATER FLOW

Water is the world to a fish. It brings oxygen, cool temperatures, and food. Start “reading the water flow” by looking for fast-moving water, slow-moving water, pools, and seams of different waters coming together. These are target-rich areas to find fish. For example, fish typically hide on the edge of the slow water, near the fast water, because they are looking for food. Also, when water is split by a rock, the bigger fish will be in the upstream part because they can handle the stronger water flow. Smaller fish will be in the downstream area because the water’s moving slower and they don’t have to work as hard against the current.

So, study the water flow to find the fish; the best casting or imitation of an insect will not catch fish if there are none around!

STEP 2: STUDY THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF THE STREAM

Many physical structures impact the flow of the water in streams and rivers. Some of the most common are: • Dams • Dead trees in water • Rocks • Roots • Bridges • Bends in the stream or rivers • Undercut banks • Branches or bushes growing over the river 28

Trail & Timberline

STEP 3: STUDY THE ACTIVITY OF THE INSECTS AND THE FISH

You will want to observe where insects are flying and buzzing, and floating. Watch and see where rising fish come to the surface to eat and where fish feed below the surface. You’ll find the fish where the insects are located, so target these areas for fishing.

But you have to be able to clearly see the activity on the stream, and a pair of high-quality sunglasses will make a world of difference in what you are able to observe. And it’s critically important to have high-quality sunglasses. We all tend to think that simply buying polarized sunglasses will do the trick. However, there’s a huge difference in clarity of vision between a $20 pair of polarized sunglasses and a $100 pair of sunglasses made specifically for fly fishing. High-end fly fishing sunglasses show an amazing amount of detail on the surface of the water, in the moving water, and down to the streambed.

STEP 4: BASIC TIPS ON CHOOSING THE RIGHT FLY

I use four rules for selecting the right fly.

• Rocky Bob’s Fly Selection Rule Number One: Match the size of the bugs you observe to the size of the fly. For example, if you see lots of small bugs, use small flies. If you see lots of big bugs, use big flies.

• Rocky Bob’s Fly Selection Rule Number Two: Match the color of the bugs. For example, if you’re seeing a lot of green and black bugs, use a fly that’s green and black.

Observing the size and color of insects on the water and in the water, and then matching your fly to what you’re seeing, brings better results in how many fish you will catch.

• Rocky Bob’s Fly Selection Rule Number Three: Decide on dry versus wet flies. For example, if you don’t see bugs flying above or floating on the surface of the stream, then they are in the water. In this case, you would use wet flies (or nymphs).

• Rocky Bob’s Fly Selection Rule Number Four: If there’s a lot of fishing activity on the river, consider altering the flies.

If fish see the same flies presented by the other anglers on the water, consider appealing to their taste buds with some variety. Use a bigger bug that the fish may not have seen from other anglers on the water that day. In these instances, I use grasshopper flies.

STEP 5: CHOOSING YOUR FISHING POSITION

Completing this pre-fishing “due diligence” will give you the information needed to help you select the best starting spot. Choose where you want to place the fly based on where you think the fish are. Then pick an appropriate spot about 8 or 9 feet away (not so close that you scare the fish away), cast or position the rod, and just drop the fly onto the targeted area. You could either enter the water or stand on the bank; either way, take your position, move slowly, and be quiet as you start to fish. You don’t want to spook the fish before you start.

Anglers who hit the water and start fishing don’t usually catch as many fish as those anglers who take the time to “read” the water flows, the activity of the insects, and where the fish will most likely be positioned. Taking the time to observe the Colorado mountain stream where you’re going to fish will make all the difference in the world, in catching more fish, and simply having a more enjoyable day out on the water. ▲ “Rocky” Bob Knowles is the founder and lead fly rod designer and builder of Rocky Bob’s Fly Fishing Rods: custom fly rods hand-made in Colorado. He has a lifetime of experience as an expert outdoorsman and fly fisherman, and is a Colorado-certified Master Angler. He can be reached at: bob@rockybobsflyfishingrods.com, or (720) 810-9763.

The best way to catch more fish is to take the time to “read” the water to assess where fish will be hiding before you start your day of fly fishing.

Rocky Bob’s

Trout Almondine Recipe 10 -18 oz. whole trout, dressed 3 Tbsp. dry vermouth 2-3 Tbsp. slivered, blanched almonds 2 Tbsp. butter 1 Tbsp. olive oil ½ tsp. garlic powder 1 Tbsp. of juice from a jar of Spanish Olives 1 tsp. of fresh lemon juice

Fully sauté the trout in the olive oil and butter for 4-6 minutes on medium-high heat While the trout is cooking, prepare the Almondine sauce.

Pre-heat a dry fry pan on high heat for 1 minute Then, add 2-3 Tbsp. of slivered almonds to the pre-heating fry pan and heat for 2 minutes, after a minute shake the pan Then, add 1 Tbsp. of butter to the almonds, and turn off the heat, stir every 30 seconds for 1 minute Then, add dry vermouth, lemon juice, garlic powder, and olive juice to the almond mixture.

Stir it together, and pour over trout still in the frying pan. Salt & pepper to taste.

Serve fish & sauce together, and enjoy.

Hand-made Fly Rods That Dance In Your Hand, Cast Like A Rocket & Catch Fish!

Made in Colorado.

720.810.9763

www.RockyBobsFlyFishingRods.com

Trail & Timberline

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SENIOR MOMENTS ON EL DIENTE

BY BETSY CAPLAN

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hen I told a bearded Boulder climber I wanted to finish the four- Guide to Southwestern Colorado, a classic reissued by CMC Press. In teeners before I turned sixty, but hadn’t done some of the tough 1930, Lavender, Forrest Greenfield, and Chester Price thought they ones like El Diente, Little Bear, and Pyramid, he gave me a skeptical grin. were the first to climb El Diente until they reached the ridge and found I’m a tallish, ordinary woman without much visible that someone had built a stone cairn near the summusculature, and I was fifty-six years old. “Go for mit. When he read an account in The Alpine Jourit,” he said finally. “If you fail, you fail.” Faint ennal by Percy Thomas describing Thomas’s climb of couragement, but better than what the kids said: “Mt. Wilson” in 1890, Lavender was convinced “You’re doing what?” that Thomas had, in fact, summited El Diente. Our My husband, Jerry, steady, careful, and strong, route from Navajo Basin via the north arête was first is my climbing partner, and together we’d climbed in 1947 by the Los Alamos Mountaineers. climbed most of the “easy” Colorado mountains At 6:00 a.m. on an August morning, Jerry over 14,000 feet. Long-time members of the and I met Dick Walker at the entry to the Silver Colorado Mountain Club, we’d taken the CMC Pick Road west of Telluride. Only Laurie, Dick’s mountaineering school, could tie a bowline or friend, and Steve Muller, a psychiatrist from a figure eight, and rappel if we had to. The ten Colorado Springs, were there. We waited until essentials—extra food and water, extra clothes, 7:20, but the others who had signed up never apsunscreen, a map and compass, a first aid kit, peared. I wondered: Did they know something flashlight, matches and fire starter—were stuffed I didn’t? in our packs. Nevertheless I wondered: Should I We drove up the road to the Silver Pick Batry the hard ones? I finally decided I’d quit when sin, parked, then hiked to the Silver Pick Mine I was sixty or my knees gave out, whichever at 11,000 feet. Passing a large stone house built came first. So we signed up for El Diente, one for miners and dangling cables of an abanof the toughest on our bucket list. I planned to doned aerial tramway, we reached the Rock carry a camera and keep a journal of the climb. Jerry and Betsy after climbing all the of Ages Mine at 13,000 feet and peered down Fourteeners. Photo courtesy of Betsy Caplan I called Durango CMC leader Dick Walkinto Navajo Basin. The peaks of Mt. Wilson er, who was leading a climb of El Diente. He and El Diente rose boldly on the skyline; the asked me about experience, and I said, We’ve climbed forty-one long ridge between them stretched like an accordion, the sharp stone fourteeners, including North Maroon and Crestone Peak. “Okay,” pinnacles called the Organ Pipes spiking the ridge near El Diente. he said. “Most people doing El Diente use the Kilpacker access on “Where’s our route?” I asked, and Dick answered, “Over there, that the south side, but we’ll climb from Navajo Basin and take a direct arête. It looks bad, but it’s not as bad as it looks. The rock is solid.” He route up the north arête. It’s the one climbers choose. It’s steep, but don’t paused. “Mostly.” The arête rose, sharp and narrow, like a caterpillar worry, we’ll go slowly.” ascending a leaf, bulging where the body twisted on the face of the At 14,159 feet, El Diente is a sharp summit in the San Miguel mountain. If we had time, energy, and good weather, Dick explained, Mountains of southwest Colorado, rising from the west end of a ridge we’d cross the ridge and do both peaks. connected to Mt Wilson. CMC member Dwight Lavender named I started to laugh. Nervously. it El Diente, The Tooth. Lavender, who died tragically of polio at 23 We angled down across Navajo Basin, reached the base of El Diwhile a student at Stanford, had pioneered many of the southern San ente at about 10:30, and started up on boulders and scree. In less Juan climbs in the 1920s and 1930s with his group, The San Juan than an hour, we had crossed over to the arête. The arête was narMountaineers, and wrote most of the San Juan Climbers Mountaineer’s row, humped, dangerous, and very exposed on the right. I started

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Trail & Timberline

up, clinging to handholds and grinning like a maniac. It was so bulky giant, and far to the southeast, Wetterhorn and Uncompahsteep I could step on Jerry’s helmet below me. After three hundred gre. I could see Potosi and Teakettle and, far away, the outline of feet, we stopped on a shelf—a breather—and I looked up from my four-point stance. Low gray clouds were drifting in from the west. I thought, Ah—maybe we won’t have to do this.

Testing stacked rocks to make sure they wouldn’t collapse, we clawed our way up. After hours of climbing, I asked Dick hopefully, “How far?” and he replied, “Another hour at least.” By now black underbellies of storm clouds were soaring over the top of the ridge. I could hear the wind howl.

Suddenly, Dick called down, “Stop. We’ll have to belay this part.” He pointed to the left. “There’s a safer route on the other side of that couloir.” The couloir of smooth, scoured rocks looked like a long, smooth slide to the bottom. “Do you all know how to tie a bowline?” We nodded. I watched Steve tie in, check his knots, and cross the couloir. I caught the rope from Steve, tied a bowline, safetied it twice, and stepped out. The view down was glacier-smooth.

Jerry on the north arête. Photo courtesy of “Wah Hoo!” I yelled and scuttled across. I grabbed a Dick Walker and Laurie among the Organ Pipes on the Betsy Caplan handhold and threw the rope back to Jerry. When he ridge to Mt. Wilson. Photo courtesy of Betsy Caplan came over, he muttered, “I’m not so sure we have to climb all the fourteeners.” solitary Lone Cone and the La Sal Mountains in Utah. The end of It was past two o’clock, and we were moving slowly. Around 2:30 our long ridge was dominated by Mt. Wilson. p.m., the sun burst out on top of the ridge, and the wind died, a miraBut it was too late to climb Mt. Wilson, and no one wanted to cle in the San Juans. We were near the summit in a narrow chute filled go down the steep arête again. So at 3:30 p.m. we started across with dirt, pebbles, and rocks. Balancing my right foot on a solid rock the top of the ridge, looking for a safe spot to descend into Navajo near the top, I gingerly put my left on a stone stuck in dirt. The stone Basin. Soon we reached the Organ Pipes, pinnacles that rose over pulled out. Pebbles and rocks rocketed down. “Rock! Rock!” Dick our heads, some dipping right, some left. We moved past them caushouted. Jerry ducked, catching pebbles and stones on his helmet, but tiously, and around 4:00 p.m., Dick found a way off the ridge. We he was pushed to the side by the avalanche. He grabbed the edge of the descended under the wall of spires on unbalanced, tilted rocks and chute and hung on, Steve below him. Desperately, I clutched the rim rolling boulders and finally got off the slope at 6:00 p.m. El Diente with one hand, my right foot slipping, left foot in air. Dick reached had sunk its tooth in us and never let go. down, grabbed my free hand, and hauled me up. I crawled over the We reached the cars as a red sun set over the La Sals at 8:45 p.m. edge, breathing hard. When the torrent of dirt, stones, and rubble We thanked Dick for his calm manner and positive direction, later ceased, Jerry and Steve came up. The five of us stopped to calm our learning that he had once climbed all the fourteeners in seventeen nerves then moved cautiously to the summit rocks. days. Not at our pace!

The top of El Diente is only a few boulders wide, but while we It was a great adventure, and after being bitten by The Tooth, searched for places to sit, Dick, balanced and poised, pulled half we went on to climb the rest of the fourteeners. I just made it, a watermelon out of his pack. Amazed, we grinned, accepted slic- finishing Little Bear, Crestone Needle, Pyramid, and our last, Mt. es, and gobbled them down. I signed the register at 3:00 p.m. and Lindsey (in honor of our daughter, Lindsay), two years before I stared at the San Juans. To the east spread Dallas Divide, Sneffels, a turned sixty. ▲ Trail & Timberline

31

FIRST ASCENTS IN THE GORE RANGE: THE 1935 SUMMER OUTING

By Stan Moore

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he twenty-four CMCers who participated in the 1935 summer outing made historic and unique contributions to mountaineering. That outing was one of the last homegrown, self-funded mountain exploration expeditions of the era. It was also virtually the last such effort to attain significant mountaineering feats in the Lower 48.

By the early 1930s, the Gore Range was probably the last area near an American city which offered a number of unclimbed peaks. Not just virgin routes, but unclimbed peaks.

The heights of the chain run about thirty miles from present day Interstate 70 north to the Colorado River. The range is five to fifteen miles wide and is craggy and harsh. It has narrow, steep-sided valleys. Even for Colorado, it is rugged and rocky.

Access is difficult, and the range was never logged for fuel, railroad ties, or mining timbers.

For years the Gore sat, little explored. Prospectors made a few desultory attempts to pierce the range in the 1860s and ‘70s. Minerals worth mining weren’t found. The rocky jumble of valleys and sharp peaks enjoyed a lofty peace for many years even as mining, tourism, ranching, and railroad development occurred all around it.

There was an exception to this regal solitude. Not surprisingly, it involved Major John Wesley Powell. He did some climbing in 1868 before he started to boat down the Colorado River. On August 23rd he led the first party of Europeans to the top of Longs Peak. Despite this, Powell is not remembered as a mountaineer.

His name is connected with first descents, not first ascents.

A month later, Powell climbed a prominent peak in the northern “Eagle River Range.” On September 26 he and his party stood atop what is now called Mount Powell. At 13,534 feet above sea level, it is the high point of the range. It was

unnamed at the time. The party left papers with names and the date stashed in a cocoa tin under a cairn.

The peak was next climbed in 1873. A party from the Hayden Survey got to the top on August 28. They found the tin with Powell’s register and added their own paper register with date and names. The peak was listed as Mount Powell in the Hayden Survey Atlas of 1877.

The CMC has traditionally put on a summer outing, a weekor two-week-long trip to a specific area to climb, hike, and enjoy. In the early years, with limited access and few people, these outings were exploratory and expeditionary in nature.

The March 1935 Trail & Timberline announced the Gore Outing for August 11–24. “Designated as a primitive area by the United States Forest Service, this region is noted for the ruggedness of its peaks, the beauty of its lakes and valleys, and the excellence of its fishing possibilities. It has been this inaccessibility of the Gore Range that has kept it from being chosen as the site of the Summer Outing in previous years. This year, however, the committee is planning to establish camp in the heart of the wildest part of the region.”

In the Gore, most peaks are known not by name but by letters of the alphabet. In 1932, the CMC’s Ed Cooper and Carl Erickson combined the alphabet with the Gore. From north to south, Eagles Nest was designated Peak A, Powell was B, and so on all the way south. This structure remains today. Starting with Peak C just to the south of Powell, the range is populated with letters, not names.

This runs to Peak R at least. The USGS doesn’t put these letters on their maps, but nor have they approved other names.

The Outing Committee had peaks in the Black Creek valley in its crosshairs. The peaks they wanted were named for the middle letters of the alphabet, from D through P.

A view of the camp by noted landscape photographer H.L. Standley. Photo courtesy of CMC Archives

The October 1935 Trail & Timberline reported on the Outing. type hats, the women slightly more stylish tams or other women’s hats. The Referring to upper Black Creek and access: “This spot was made women wore pants, not skirts, and sported boots as well. available through the cooperation of the Forest Service in building Moore spoke to the sport and craft of mountaineering in 1935: five miles of trail.”

“Basically it was not greatly different than today except in the equipThat description is, shall we say, sanitized. Charles Moore was in ment. Footgear was hobnailed boots, usually knee high. And if you the advance party. He later recollected how it went. “Some of the were really into it they had Swiss edging nails for rock climbing. descriptions of the trail building in the T&T article are classic under- Sleeping bags were pretty poor compared to today’s down and fiber statements. The Forest Service didn’t cooperate on building five miles fill articles. Pack boards and rucksacks were primitive equipment of trail. They just gave us permission to alongside the current pack styles.” build on our own. The present Forest After Monday’s warm-up, the fun Service trail up to the meadow site of started. On Tuesday, Moore took the the CMC camp branches off the Lost main party, about eighteen or twenty, up Lake Trail and wasn’t built until somePeak L, 13,193’. Most reached the sumthing on the order of 10 to 12 years mit ridge, and almost a dozen climbed to later.” the summit. This was not a first ascent.

He concluded, “As further evidence The same day, a party of four, leavthat this was just a ‘way’ and not a ‘trail,’ ing early, went to the head of the valley we made no attempt to pack in tent to the right of upper Black Lakes. They poles. They just wouldn’t go so we cut all were Stanley Midgely, Clifton Snively, poles on site from aspen and small firs.”

Maxwell Mery, and Pete Alexander.

Moore and the rest of the advance The group climbed what they thought party left Denver August 6. They imwas Peak G. They found themselves on proved the trail for several days. By a false summit and for a short while Friday the 9th, tents were being set up. looked up at their mountain. TraversThe camp was set up in a meadow ing a ridge with “a precipitous drop” to at the north end of the valley of upthe true summit, they got the Outing’s per Black Creek. The trees open up as first “first” at 13,274’. They weren’t one comes up the steeps, and there is done. The trip report describes the rest a nice meadow in the lower valley. It of their day: “Continuing their traverse, has room for tents and horses to graze. the four worked their way to the top of The twenty-four participants listed in Peak F at 13,200’ for another first ascent. the T&T were all in camp by Sunday The descent was made to the north and evening, the 11th. Also there was Hod east, part of the way over an unnamed Nicholson, a horse packer from Aspen glacier of considerable extent.” who had worked with other Summer The camp was set about three and a Outings. He brought in supplies and half miles from the head of the valley. tents with his horses with the help of Upper lake where “Order of Snail” people rested. Photo by Stan Moore To reach the peaks from there, hikers several hired hands. When all were set had to gain 2,000 to 2,500 feet of verup, there were about fifteen tents for sleeping and cooking. The cook tical. The country had no trails and was strewn with fallen timber, tent was sited about twenty-five yards from the creek. Much of the area bogs, and in places, avalanche debris. Despite all this, the job got between tents and creek was marshy. Trees were cut, limbed, and laid as done. Almost every peak summited during these two weeks was a walkway so the kitchen crew could easily walk to get water. bagged in a day. From camp to summit to camp meant that some of The cook was Homer Taylor. He cooked and fed the group, very those days and hikes were long and demanding. well from all reports. He faced some unique challenges. Not only Wednesday the 14th saw a first of the Elephant, 12,732’, by a did he need a steady supply of wood and water, but other citizens of party of four: Stanley Midgely, Clifton Snively, Don McBride, and the valley took an interest in his duties. One day there was a com- Carleton Long. They worked up the valley, gained the ridge, and motion in the cook tent. Out of the tent burst a bear with a ham followed it northwest to the summit. in its mouth, followed by a yelling Taylor, waving a frying pan. The What is a “first ascent,” and how did they determine if they had bear made good its escape. No word on whether it tried again. one? The climbers looked for signs of people. For example, Peak Hiking and exploring started right away. On Monday most of the H was climbed later in the trip. As they neared the summit, it was group hiked to lakes at the head of the valley. Legs were stretched, thought the group was going to be able to brag of another first. But and equipment was fine-tuned. People were eager to get out at al- “upon reaching the summit a weathered match stick bore mute evtitude and use the gear they would be hiking with for two weeks. idence of human predecessors.” It was conjectured in the T&T that Equipment was state of the art, the latest in design and utility. Pictures the climber came in from the Piney Lake drainage to the west. Even of the expedition show people in denim jeans, lace-up leather boots, fab- today that approach offers much easier access to peaks in the Range. ric jackets, and head-coverings of some sort. Most of the men wore fedora None of the peaks claimed as a first by the Outing Committee Trail & Timberline

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Members of the 2015 CMC Gore Range Black Creek trip were Helen Carlsen, Joe Kramarsic, Katie Larsen, Dan Martel, Stan Moore, Herb Taylor, Jim Wheeler, and Candace Winkle. The 2014 scouting crew was Dan Martel, Herb Taylor, and Stan Moore.

bore any evidence of human contact Wednesday the 21st saw the final or presence. It is conceivable, but unfirst ascents of the trip. Fred Nagel, likely, that someone came to the top Bob Thallon, Gene Schaetzel, and Bob of one or more of those peaks, looked Blair climbed both D, 13,047’, and E, around, and left no mark. In that era, approx. 12,960’. This is the one trip it was common, even expected, to that took more than a day. The group leave a cairn or some other evidence of ran out of daylight and had one laghaving gained a summit. The Leave no ging member; they bivouacked out but Trace ethic practiced today was far in returned to camp in time for breakfast. the future. Nature was still something Another group went to Mt. Powell, to be bested, not coexisted with. the sixth recorded climb, on Thursday On Thursday the 15th, Everett the 22nd. Led by Charles Moore, the Long and Carl Blaurock led a large group had good weather, and all atgroup past the lakes at the head of the tained the summit. The group found valley. The goal for the day was Peak the original summit register left by K, 12,858’. Some of the group became Major Powell’s 1868 party. The regis“converts to the Order of the Snail.” ter left by the 1873 Hayden party was That is, they dropped off at the upin the same can. Both registers and the per lake, sat, and enjoyed the scenery. can were recovered, brought back to The fifteen remaining hikers reached camp, and ultimately turned over to the col between K and J at 12.450’. the State Historical Society. A standard They followed the ridge north to K. summit register and tube were left in A cairn was constructed, and a Club Powell’s summit cairn. register in a tube was deposited. The The CMC participants not mengroup returned to the col for a rest and tioned by name were also busy. They lunch. They then followed the ridge climbed numerous peaks including M, southwest, reaching Peak J, 12,924’, in N, Little Powell, and the Elephant twice. less than an hour. Approaching weathThose fortunate enough to have parer dictated a quick retreat, which was Peak K from the J–L Col. Photo by Stan Moore ticipated in the Gore Range Outing made down the northwest ridge to a went into tough, unknown country. col at 12,600’. From there “an exhilThey explored the valley and climbed arating slide 1,000 feet down a large numerous peaks, many for the first snow and ice bank brought them to the time. It is an unparalleled but little highest of the four upper Black Lakes.” known accomplishment in American Camp was reached in a drizzling rain. mountaineering.

On Saturday the 17th, Carl BlauThe Trail & Timberline summed rock led a party through rain, sleet, things up well: “Participants in the hail, and wind. The objective was Mt. Gore Range Outing had an opportuPowell. This was the fifth recorded asnity for exploring and pioneering in a cent of the peak. All who started from new region—an opportunity that cancamp made the summit. The party’s not be had every year.” ▲ route isn’t clear but was challenging.

Stan Moore is a third generation ColoAs the T&T reported, “The Mt. Powell radan; a husband, father, and grandfatrip was the longest made from camp.” A group photo; Bill Nagel is second from the right. Note the ther; a retired small business owner; a outfits. Photo courtesy of CMC Archives That same day, Saturday, a group Vietnam vet; a lifelong hiker, backpacker of four (Bob Lewis, Fred and John and mountaineer; and a longtime CMC member. His father co-led the Nagel, and Gene Shaetzel) regained the J–K saddle. From there 1935 outing and frequently shared stories about this and other mounthey crossed the valley to bag a first of Peak P, 12,965’. On the tain adventures. return they came along the ridge over J for a second ascent.

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Trail & Timberline

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Trail & Timberline

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An Electric Flag Raising

By Woody Smith

I

n combing through Colorado’s newspapers of the late 1800s, stories of early mountaintop rituals have come to light. Among them was the urge to wave the US flag from summits across Colorado.

The 1880s were a time of feverish national pride as the United States inexorably claimed the lower half of North America. Patriotic mountaineers considered it a grand achievement to raise the flag from a conquered summit.

The following is a vivid example of the flag-waving ritual.

UNCOMPAHGRE PEAK, 1881:

“On the 4th of July, 1881, I was a participant, with twenty-two other citizens of this wild and rugged country, in an adventure upon the summit of the Peak, which will not fade from memory because of the appalling incidents of the visit which sent the entire party fleeing from the wrath of the Storm King, some stricken by lightning and helpless but borne by strong arms down the rugged slopes and precipices so laboriously ascended but three hours before.

“At the head of one of the gulches north-westerly of the peak the employees of a gold-mining company had wrought well and faithfully thus far into the short summer season incident to an altitude of 12,000 feet and Col. Irvine, the manager, concluded to give them a longer holiday than usual. He proposed to raise the largest flag he could pro-

A view of Uncompahgre Peak, from the 1929 Lake City Outing. Photo by Elwyn Arps (CMC Archives)

cure on the very summit of the peak, agreeing to buy the flag if his men would provide and erect a staff. ‘John,’ the foreman, a stalwart and patriotic Irishman…heartily seconded the manager’s proposition and all agreed to help. It was not difficult to provide the flag, that could be had by express from Denver, 450 miles away, but when the men looked upward at that great pinnacle…they almost concluded the difficulties of the enterprise to be beyond their skill. After much consultation, however, an early start was made by the eight miners, a comely tree was chosen, felled and dragged nearly a mile over soft, half melted snow to the base of the peak, thence up a long slope of rough, angular slide rock, and by night was in position to be transported toward its aerial destination. On the morning of the 2nd ropes and tackle were secured to rocks at the top of the last precipice, a wall sixty feet high forming the only really dangerous obstacle to the ascent, and several attempts made to hoist the staff up its nearly vertical face. Contrive as they might they could not, 38

Trail & Timberline

as intended, raise it to the brink and tilt it over. ‘John’ was indomitable and full of resources. …He found a fissure about two feet wide having a sloping bottom of exfoliated rock. Into this the staff was rolled and at 4 o’clock the herculean task was accomplished and the thoroughly tired men went down to their temporary camp at the edge of the snow field.

“During the night a storm swept over the entire San Juan country and covered hundreds of square miles of it from three inches to a foot or more deep with hailstones. Anxious as the miners were to complete their task they were compelled to await the melting of the icy meteors and it was past noon before they could ascend. As the sun was setting behind the peaks of San Miguel their labor was crowned with success. The staff was erected at a point on the northerly side of the peak within six feet of the edge of the precipice…

“Firmly planted in the circular mound of rocks the staff awaited its glorious decoration. As soon as Col. Irvine ascertained that his enterprise promised success through the enthusiasm of his men he sent invitations to citizens of mining camps in the vicinity to be present at the flag-raising at high noon on the 4th. Of the twenty-three who responded, two were little girls, neither of whom had attained her tenth birth-day. These adventurous little girls and their mothers were members of my party, also a photographer and others—six in all.

“Early Monday morning we were joined by parties from other camps and all started for the peak. On our way over the crusted snow field the gold miners joined us and from them we learned that Col. Irvine had been unexpectedly called on business to Gunnison City, but hoped to return in time to be with us.

“While we were contemplating the course of the ascent pointed out by our guides one of the party espied a moving speck threading the abysmal gorge… Soon four other mites were observed and we knew that the belated manager and friends were to be with us. We awaited their coming in joyful anticipation and hailed them cordial, but noticed a solemnity in their demeanor, so out of keeping with the occasion, that we were mystified. At length Col. Irvine said: ‘I bring you sad news. President Garfield died yesterday. Gunnison city is in mourning.

The telegram arrived a few minutes before I left and I have brought a piece of mourning cloth to drape the flag.

“We turned silently toward the peak, still 3000 feet above us, and began the difficult ascent. Our two little girls and their mothers climbed as rapidly as any of the party… And at ten o’clock party and all were safely on the summit…a thoroughly fatigued group at our goal.

“After resting and lunching the photographer arranged his apparatus while miners rove the great flag to the lanyard, and at high noon it was thrown to the breezes of that supernal height and saluted with hurrahs and salvos of revolver shots.

“While we had been viewing the majestic panorama the great flag had been idly flopping in a gentle breeze. Most of our party knew the capriciousness of weather at this altitude and as the breeze began to increase it was concluded to read the Declaration of Independence, sing the National Ode and return to our homes. While Mr. Ripley was reading it was noticed that every angle and point of the surrounding rocks were becoming luminous and giving forth a humming, musical tone.

“I had encountered electrical disturbances several times while prospecting on low heights and knew these slight indications were precursors of a

storm. We were all crouched in the shelter of the rock wall, some listening to the reading, others rolling rocks over the precipice and timing their descent. I found several tin cans in crevices containing notes left by former visitors and busied myself copying them. The little girls gleefully ran about collecting crystals, dwarfed grasses and even flowers of the aster family.

“The photographer took one negative and being on the wall [of the summit enclosure] was first to observe the approach of the storm. Hoping it would be diverted from us by some air current we paid no attention to his warning until a few hailstones and rain drops fell around us. I asked some one to hold the end of the flag over me in order to protect the notebook and continued to copy. Mr. Ripley gave up the reading and assisted holding the flag. The increasing gale caused it to assume the shape of a half an inflated balloon… The hailstorm soon increased and the ladies and their little daughters were covered with rubber coats and ponchos. While we hopefully awaited the passing of the storm it increased in violence and wrenched the flag from the grasp of two strong men. The hail descended with such force that not one of us could withstand it. Pitiful cries came from the little girls under their frail shelter. ‘We must try and get the flag down, for we have made a history for it this day,’ said Col. Irvine.

“It was then floating its entire length over the precipice, straining the lanyard with it. Mr. Singleton, facing the bullets of hail, caught one rope… Accumulated electricity now invested the peak. Suddenly we heard a loud report, no louder than a revolver shot. It was a lightning stroke, the first protest of the Storm King against our temerity.

The instant dispersion of electrical accumulation left us in almost total darkness. Appalled by our situation, blinded by the fierce beating of hail, drenched and almost freezing we who remained knew not that the greater number of our party had fled to the shelter of the cliff below. We cheered the women and children the best we could while Mr. Singleton again tried to get the flag down. He succeeded in shaking the lanyard loose, but at [that] instant…a second bolt shot from the staff down the wet rope and he was dashed on the rocks, his clothing torn to shreds, his body singed and permeated with excruciating pain. We bore him to a comparatively smooth place on the slope and begun to rub him. …His cries ceased but he seemed alive.

“While his companions continued their efforts I tried to get the flag down by cutting the lanyard. When the knife-blade was half through the tough rope a third bolt descended and I received a portion of its force in the right arm. The knife-blade was burned, the current seared my thumb and passing along the arm tore holes through the coat sleeve. I was whirled around, but not prostrated. I could have received but a minor part of the stroke, for the top of the staff was splintered and one side of the pedestal was hurled over the precipice.

“Meantime the vigorous rubbing Mr. Singleton had borne revived him, but when this last bolt exploded his body attracted some part of it and again he was surcharged with pain. One of the little girls was knocked down and her mother, wringing her almost freezing hands begged us to depart. Some now seized the flag, which fell when the shaft was shattered and dragged it from the rocks. We fled through deep beds of hail to the cliff. Here Mr. Singleton was lowered down the fissure, thence carried to the snowfield and so to his cabin at the mine. Many of us know not to this day how we accomplished the descent of the cliff. Weak, bedraggled and alBY THE most perishing with cold our little band plodded CLIMBING COONEYS over the soft, yielding, snow-field to our camp.

CMC members on the summit of Uncompahgre, from the 1929 Lake City Outing. Photo by Elwyn Arps (CMC Archives).

“…So ended our adventure. Happily no lives were lost nor permanent injuries sustained. My companions are now widely separated, but wherever they may be they will not forget how we raised the flag.

“In October 1881, a great concourse of patriotic citizens of our country, with many distinguished foreign guests, assembled at Yorktown, Virginia, to celebrate the centennial of the surrender of Cornwallis. Among the many flags which floated over that locality was one which had a history peculiarly its own. It was our flag… “…Long may it wave!”

—Salida Mail, December 2, 1887 ▲

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ADVENTURE TRAVEL CMC Adventure Travel specializes in active vacations and small group itineraries to inspiring mountain destinations around the world. See cmc.org/AdventureTravel for more details.

Michelson Bicycle Trail, South Dakota

Crested Butte Hikes and Wildflowers

3-Day Canoe & Canyon Hike Trip with Centennial Canoe

June 3–6, 2016 Trip Leader: Janet Martel CMC Members: $450 Non-member Guests: $465

July 17–24, 2016 Trip Leaders: Sandi Bianchi & Linda Koshio Rogers CMC Members: $1,800 Non-member Guests: $1,855

August 26–28, 2016 Trip Liaison: Jill Yarger CMC Members: $379 Non-member Guests: $399

Ride the 109-mile Michelson Trail in the heart of the Black Hills of South Dakota: three days of riding through forest, mountains, meadows, and gold mining districts.

Stay in historic Black Hills towns. This is a self-guided and supported ride; we will not have a sag wagon.

Crested Butte, a charming mountain town mostly known for its magnificent ski area, is awash with wildflowers in the summer months. Imagine yourself hiking in the blanket of flowers that envelope the hills and valleys surrounding Crested Butte in July.

Canoe past majestic walls of red sandstone sculpted by wind and water through millions of years in the Colorado Plateau.

Hike into the Dominguez-Escalante Nat’l Conservation Area with waterfalls and petroglyphs that will leave you awed by the immensity of geologic time.

Easy Hikes in the Dolomites

Machu Picchu Peru Trek

Alta Via I in the Italian Dolomites

June 17–26, 2016 Trip Leader: M. Beatriz Silveira CMC Members: $3,450 Non-member Guests: $3,554

July 17–29, 2016 Trip Leader: Bill Blazek CMC Members: $2,490 Non-member Guests: $2,565

August 27–September 11, 2016 Trip Leader: Denise Snow CMC Members: $2,240 Non-member Guests: $2,307

The Dolomites Mountains are a dream destination! One can hike at different intensity levels in this magnificent area while enjoying breathtaking views. Our trip is designed for hikers who enjoy easier day hikes, around 6 miles daily with about 1,000 feet elevation gain.

Join us for this extended trek to the historic ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu. Tour the Sacred Valley outside of Cusco, then take a 7-day guided trek on the Salkanty Trail over the scenic Inca Chiriasqu Pass, the traditional Inca Trail at Huayllabamba, and arrive in Machu Picchu itself.

Trek the Alta Via I route between mountain huts with wonderful panoramic views and an extraordinary variety of hikes through every type of terrain. Explore WWI ruins, stay in beautiful rifugios situated in remote and scenic places along the trails, and conclude your trip sightseeing in Venice.

Climbing in the Alps

2016 In-State Outing

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast, British Columbia, Canada

July 9–18, 2016 Trip Leader: Greg Long CMC Members: $1,300 Non-member Guests: $1,350

July 31–August 5, 2016 Trip Leaders: David Hite and Sherry Richardson CMC Members: $550 Non-member Guests: $575

September 6–11, 2016 Trip Leader: Janet Martel CMC Members: $4,266 Non-member Guests: $4,395

A glacier-climbing trip to the Verbier Region of Switzerland. Stay in the Panossiere Hut and climb four nearby peaks: Grand Combin, Petit Combin, Tournalon Blanc, and Combin de Corbassiere. This trip has additional training requirements.

The tradition lives on! The 2016 In-State Outing will be at Sweetwater River Ranch on the Arkansas River near Texas Creek, with the Sangre de Cristos nearby. Tent camp or upgrade to a cabin. Check the Adventure Travel website for details.

A remote wilderness adventure experience through British Colombia’s Cariboo Chilcotin Coast. Trip includes floatplane-accessed alpine hiking, lodging in a backcountry cabin, alpine lake canoeing, a grizzly bear drift tour, coastal hot springs, and a fiord tour.

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Christmas in Ukraine and Russia December 17–29, 2016 Trip Leader: Svetlana and John Ehrhart

Celebrate Christmas 2016 amid the festive bustle of the Ukrainian and Russian holiday season. We will visit Christmas markets and stroll wide, wintry boulevards while basking in the glow of twinkling holiday lights. We’ll start our tour in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. We will visit the Legendary Red Square and Kremlin in Moscow, hike in parks in the city suburbs, and

visit the gorgeous palace of Catherine the Great.

Optional experiences include the opera, ballet, circus, ice skating, and visiting a local banya.

We’ll finish our trip in beautiful St. Petersburg, where a tour highlight will be a visit to The Hermitage, one of the world’s premier art museums. And, of course, you will try famous borscht soup and Russian vodka!

This will be a combination of sightseeing, walking tours, and visiting museums, palaces, and churches in three cities.

Onion dome cathedral in St. Petersburg. Photo by Svetlana Ehrhart

British Columbia Great Bear Rainforest & the Spirit Bear

Camino de Santiago–Camino Sanabrés Route- Second Trip Added!

September 9–13, 2016 Trip Leader: Bea Slingsby CMC Members: $4,520 Non-member Guests: $4,656

October 10–24, 2016 Trip Leader: Kris Ashton CMC Members: $3,499 Non-member Guests: $3,604

Visit the Great Bear Rainforest, the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world and the only place to see the rare Spirit Bear. Take a water taxi through the coastal islands with chances to see orcas, whales, and porpoises. Then, enjoy exclusive access to special bear viewing areas.

Due to overwhelming response and desire to walk a pilgrimage in 2016, the Jubilee Year of Mercy, a second trip to Camino de Santiago has been added. Come and discover the Camino de Santiago the way it used to be.

Camino de Santiago–Camino Sanabrés Route

Ireland: Best Hikes and Culture

September 17–October 1, 2016 Trip Leader: Kris Ashton CMC Members: $3,499 Non-member Guests: $3,604

September 22–October 6, 2016 Trip Leader: Cynthia Saer CMC Members: $4,200 Non-member Guests: $4,325

Experience the Camino de Santiago the traditional way, but with a twist. On this special 200-km pilgrimage, we travel how pilgrims always have—on foot—but we stay in places that kings and queens could never have imagined: beautiful homes, estates, and even an active monastery!

Visit the country of emerald green landscapes, windswept peaks, and craggy seascapes! Trek for 8 days along the Wicklow Way and on the Dingle Peninsula, including an attempt of Ireland’s highpoint, Carranutuohill. Tour Dublin, Killarney, and Dingle, including historic highlights.

Khumbu, Nepal. Photos by Pemba Sherpa

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Everest Base Camp and Nepal Trek

Colombia’s El Cocuy National Park

Grand Canyon Raft & Hike 2017

October 1–22, 2016 Trip Leader: Peter Hunkar CMC Members: $3,650 Non-member Guests: $3,760

November 30–December 11, 2016 Trip Leader: Jason Gross CMC Members: $1,995 Non-member Guests: $2,055

April 22–May 4, 2017 Trip Leaders: Blake Clark and Rosemary Burbank CMC Members: $4,730 Non-member Guests: $4,872

This is an excellent trek which will allow participants to experience the culture and scenery in Nepal while also getting close to Mt. Everest and other 8,000 meter peaks.

This trip is fully supported, with nights spent in teahouses.

Known as the hidden gem of South America, El Cocuy National Park is in beautiful Colombia and boasts glaciated peaks over 17,000 feet! Our trip will take us through a cirque with the opportunity to climb several peaks including the highest one in the park, Ritacuba Blanco.

The trip of a lifetime! Take a motorized raft trip and add five extra days for hiking along the way. This 12-day raft trip ends with a helicopter ride out of the canyon and a plane flight back to the put-in. For B & C hiking levels.

Ancients Ruin Bike/Hike Adventure

Christmas in Ukraine and Russia

Scotland’s Highland Way and Ben Nevis Climb 2017

October 3–8, 2016 Trip Leaders: Rick & Deana Pratt CMC Members: $695 Non-member Guests: $716

December 17–29, 2016 Trip Leaders: Svetlana and John Ehrhart CMC Members: $2,795 Non-member Guests: $2,875

May 8–21, 2017 Trip Leaders: Polly Hays and Joan Rossiter CMC Members: $3,200 Non-member Guests: $3,500

The Ancients Ruin Bike & Hike Adventure is a 6-day mountain biking, hiking, and camping adventure through the heart of Anasazi country in the Cedar Mesa region of Southeast Utah. This vehicle-supported adventure takes you across Cedar Mesa and the “Trail of the Ancients.”

Celebrate Christmas 2016 amid the festive bustle of the Ukrainian and Russian holiday season. We’ll start our tour in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine; visit Moscow with its legendary Red Square and Kremlin; and end in St. Petersburg.

Hike Scotland’s West Highland Way beside lochs, waterfalls, and craggy mountains in the Scottish Highlands. Then, climb to the summit of “the Ben” (4,409 feet). Tour medieval Edinburgh, Stirling, the Eliean Donan Castle in the Scottish Highlands, and a Scotch distillery.

Southeast Colorado Adventure

Two Great Walks of New Zealand

Mt. Kilimanjaro & Mt. Meru Climbs, Tanzania

October 7–10, 2016 Trip Leader: Sue Henley CMC Members: $910 Double/$1,000 Single Non-member Guests: $936 Double/$1,031 Single

March 24–April 9, 2017 Trip Leader: Denise Snow CMC Members: $3,820 Non-member Guests: $3,935

July 8–23, 2017 Trip Leader: Bill Blazek CMC Members: $4,300 Non-member Guests: $4,430

This trip includes 4 days and 3 nights of exploring Southeastern Colorado, where the dinosaurs roamed before cattle came and where Native Americans lived before the migration from the east by explorers, miners, and ranchers.

Trek two of New Zealand’s unique Great Walks: the Milford Track and the Abel Tasman Coast Track. Enjoy an overnight cruise on the Milford Sound, a trip to Queenstown, a historic steamship cruise of Lake Wakatipu, and an overnight stay on Kapiti Island.

We will acclimatize with a four-day climb of Mt. Meru, near Arusha, Tanzania, where we will see amazing views of Kilimanjaro.

Then for the main event, we will climb Kilimanjaro (19,340’), on the Rongai Route on the north side of the mountain.

Scorpion Gulch, Escalante River, Utah Llama Trek

Kyoto Culture & Kumando Kodo Trek

A Hiking Sampler of Slovenia

October 23–28, 2016 Trip Leader: Carol Kurt CMC Members: $1,783 Non-member Guests: $1,836

April 4–19, 2017 Trip Leader: Kris Ashton CMC Members: $4,400 Non-member Guests: $4,550

August 26–September 11, 2017 Trip Leader: Denise Snow CMC Members: $4,425 Non-member Guests: $4,560

Hike into a small tributary canyon of the Escalante River in the Glen Canyon NRA. Scorpion Gulch meets the Escalante River at approximately the half-way point of the river’s 100-mile course from the town of Escalante to Lake Powell.

Experience Japan at the peak of cherry blossom time! Spend your days exploring Osaka, Tanabe, the Kii Peninsula, and ancient Kyoto. Enjoy a traditional geisha tea ceremony and dance performance and trek along the UNESCO World Heritage pilgrimage route of the Kumano Kodo.

This trip gives the participant a varied and diverse experience with a good introduction to Slovenia. This tiny country, only about half the size of Switzerland, has a bit of everything: coast, caves, plains, and rivers, as well as some magnificent mountain scenery.

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Everest Base Camp and Nepal Trek October 1–22, 2016 Trip Leader: Peter Hunkar

This classic trek to Everest Base Camp will include a day of sightseeing in Kathmandu and a flight to Lukla to hike up the beautiful Dudh Kosi Valley to Namche Bazaar. Then it’s on to Tengboche, with its famous monastery, Pheriche, the High Himalyan Rescue Station, and Pheruche. From Dingboche, we will trek to Lobuche and follow the Lobuche Valley up towards Pumori, climb to Gorak Shep, and summit 18,000 ft. Kala Patar with its stunning, close-up view of Mt. Everest.

From there we will trek to Chukung for optional climbs of both Island Peak and Chukung-ri before descending back to Lukla. From Lukla we fly back to Kathmandu for one more

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Khumbu, Nepal. Photo by Pemba Sherpa

day before returning home. This is an excellent trek which will allow participants to experience the culture and scenery in Nepal while also getting close to Mt. Everest. We will also have the chance to stop for a day in the village where Pemba grew up and have dinner with Pemba’s mother!

Awesome Adventures Await Trips are added throughout the year. Find the trip of your dreams at cmc.org/AdventureTravel or send inquiries to adventuretravel@cmc.org.

The Colorado Trail Databook, 6th edition

The Colorado Trail, 9th Edition

by The Colorado Trail Foundation

by The Colorado Trail Foundation

The Colorado Trail Foundation

$14.95

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Members save 20% on CMC Press books Many titles are now available in ebook!

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End of the Trail

Harlan Newton Barton, Jr. ▶ 1928–2015

By Richard A. Jones

Harlan Barton, a member of the Boulder Group since 1970, died December 6, 2015, age 86. Harlan was born in a Union Pacific boxcar converted to employee housing in Wallace, Kansas, in 1928. He graduated from high school in Sterling, Colorado, and earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at CU-Boulder. He served in Korea in the field artillery branch and his work as a forward observer gave him a lifelong fascination with maps. He served 20 years in the Army Reserve, teaching artillery, and retired as a lieutenant colonel. After active duty, Harlan worked for 19 years for Dow Chemical at the Rocky Flats Plant and then 17 years for the USGS. When Harlan started working at Rocky Flats, he joined the CMC and took the Boulder Group’s Basic Mountaineering School. He loved hiking and climbing, and this led to joining the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group. This was also the time that cross-country skiing started growing and like many Boulder Group members he ordered a pair of skis through Ingvar Sodal. He took to cross-country skiing, and his love of maps led to the creation of the Brainard Lake/Middle St. Vrain ski trail map published by the Boulder Group in 1984. He expanded it to all Front Range trails and routes from East Portal to Wild Basin and published Peak to Peak: Colorado Front Range Ski Trails in 1988. It was an exhaustive list of everything skiable with detailed descriptions and included an enlarged map. It went through three printings. He also led many cross-country ski trips for

the Boulder group.

Harlan’s Brainard-Middle St. Vrain ski map lives on as a PDF file (updated by Steve Priem) on the Boulder Group website.

Harlan climbed Rainier and Whitney, the Mexican volcanoes, and all 54 of Colorado’s 14ers. He hiked the Colorado Trail from Denver to Durango. He also ran Harlan Barton. Photo courtesy of Judy Barton marathons. He was an avid photographer, and in 2006, took Best of Show in the CMC photo contest that used to be organized for the Denver and Boulder Group annual dinners. He hiked and climbed in Ecuador, Patagonia, Alaska, the Himalayas, and the Karakoram.

His doctor commented, “Every day he spent on earth he was doing the most he could, all the time.” The CMC was fortunate that so much of what Harlan did contributed to the Club. ▲

Kathy Jaronek Cox ▶ 1942–2015

By Roger Cox

Kathy cycling in Patagonia. Photo courtesy of Roger Cox 44

Trail & Timberline

Kathy, the daughter of Charles and Catherine Jaronek, spent her childhood and college years in Oklahoma, earning a BA in Education from Oklahoma State University. She taught elementary school in Oklahoma, Illinois, and Colorado, meeting her husband, Roger Cox, in Colorado Springs. The couple was married in 1980 and lived for 32 years in Pit-

kin, Colorado, where Kathy enjoyed travel, hiking, cycling, and backcountry skiing.

On foot, she backpacked the Colorado Trail, hiked the canyons of Utah, and trekked in the mountain kingdoms of Bhutan, Nepal, and Sikkim. Always the adventurer, Kathy enjoyed self-contained bike tour camping trips with Roger that included the entire Great Divide Mountain Bike Trail. In 2012, she made an extensive cycling trip in the Patagonian region of Chile and Argentina, where this photo was taken.

That same year, Kathy was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and the couple moved to the Salida area to facilitate her treatments in Denver and in Salida at HR Home Health & Hospice. As she continued to battle cancer, Kathy found the energy and enthusiasm to explore the trails of Chaffee County, her new home, making new friends in Salida.

Kathy Jaronek was a member of the Pikes Peak Group for many years, and served as Secretary to the Group in 1979. ▲

Ralph Melville ▶ 1925–2016

By Tom Kurt, MD

Ralph Melville, a key character in Aspen’s rise to fame and a member of the Aspen Group since 1961, passed away on February 15 at age 90. Ralph was the hotelier of the Mountain Chalet, the moderately priced family hotel, which he opened in 1954 with just 3 rooms, building it up to 9 rooms that same season.

Ralph had served in the US Navy in WWII and then attended Dartmouth, graduating with a physics major. He first came to Aspen in 1950, then returned in 1953 to purchase the first lot for his hotel for $2,000. He worked in all daylight hours from then on, including pitching in to shovel snow in recent years.

Ralph met his wife, Marian, married in 1956, and had six children, including two adopted. The Mountain Chalet, now under ownership and management of his children, went through 11 iterations, eventually expanding up to its current 55 rooms, 4 apartments, swimming pool, and conference space.

A founding member of what became Mountain Rescue, Ralph survived a fall on North Maroon and was rescued by his fellow mountain rescuers during the time of his courtship with Marian.

Ralph was also a president of Aspen’s Rotary Club and was involved in many civic activities. He and Marian were jointly named to As-

pen’s Hall of Fame in 1997.

The Aspen Group recognizes Ralph and Marian for their generosity of furnishing the Mountain Chalet’s conference room for the Aspen chapter’s annual banquet for many years.

Ralph discovered that he had chronic lymphocytic leukemia at age 79, which he was told had a Ralph with his wife, Marian. Photo long course and that he’d courtesy of Craig Melville die from something else first. Eventually he started requiring blood transfusions, with associated interim symptoms, when he finally said enough.

There was standing room only at Ralph’s service, including the reception which followed at the Mountain Chalet. ▲

Charles (Chuck) Mensing ▶ 1935–2015

By Marcia Mensing

Chuck, a longtime former member of CMC, passed away October 12, 2015, in St. Petersburg, Florida. He had been diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia and spent almost two years in the Health Center of Westminster Palms, where he and his wife, Marcia, lived after moving to Florida in 2013 to be near family. He kept up a modified exercise program throughout most of this journey and bore his illness with grace and dignity.

He had joined the Colorado Mountain Club in the 1970s and quickly became very active, serving on the staff of Trail & Timberline and the Outings Committee. His fondest memories were of the various hikes and outings he enjoyed with CMC. After leaving Colorado in 2004, he and Marcia lived in Charlottesville, Virginia, where Chuck hiked with a group from the local senior center. He enjoyed many hours on the nearby Appalachian Trail and other sights on the Blue Ridge Mountains. Even though the terrain was not as challenging as that of Colorado, he still found it invigorating and interesting.

He truly lived to hike and Charles Mensing. Photo courtesy of has now found new paths to Marcia Mensing explore. Happy trails! ▲ Trail & Timberline

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MAKE IT HEARD.

CMC’s Conservation Program has been a leading voice for sustainable mountain recreation and the protection of Colorado’s wild lands for over 100 years. With strong partnerships, we implement collaborative solutions and get boots on the ground to protect your favorite places for hiking, climbing and snowsports.

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