Annual Dinner Time of the Year

With the holidays coming up, the Four F's come to mind: Family, Friends, Festivities and perhaps my favorite-Food!

This month, the Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins, Pikes Peak, and Shining Mountains Groups have exciting guest speakers, diverse topics, and delicious food at this year's annual dinners. And the public is welcome to join all CMC members, so bring a friend to join the CMC family for food and festivities! Here's a sampling of what each dinner will offer. Visit www.cmc.org for more information.

Boulder

Our speaker this year is an important figure in Colorado mountaineering history, and a former CMC member and trip leader.  Howard Snyder led the 1967 Colorado McKinley Expedition and reached the summit along with fellow Coloradans Paul Schlichter and Jerry Lewis. They were forced by the U.S. National Park Service to combine with a group from Seattle for the climb, with fatal consequences. The disastrous expedition, one of the most controversial in North American mountaineering history, was chronicled in the 2007 book Forever on the Mountain by James Tabor, and in Howard’s own 1973 book, The Hall of the Mountain King.

When-Saturday, November 6th-
5:00 PM Reception
6:00 PM Dinner
8:00 PM Presentation
Where-Avalon Ballroom, 6185 Arapaho Road, Boulder
Ticket Cost-$11 in advance and $15 at the door.
Dinner- Everyone is asked to bring a dish serving at least five.

Denver

Meet and talk with "Private Freegate Stout" during the Cocktail Hour.  Private Stout was a member of the Zebulon Pike Colorado Expedition of 1807; Private Stout's adventures will be enacted by John Steinle a member of several Living History organizations.Our speaker--Wes Brown, "How the 1859 Gold Rush Put Colorado on the Map--is a mountaineer who has submitted about 400 named Colorado peaks, is a field member of the Alpine Rescue Team and is the founder of the Rocky Mountain Map Society. He is an advisor to the Map and Geography Division of the Library of Congress and long been a collector, student and author of old maps.  He is associated with the Denver Public Library and is active in the Library's acquisitions for its Western Collections.


When-Friday, November 19, 5:30-9:00pm
Where-Three Tomatoes Restaurant & Steak House at Fossil Trace Golf Course, Golden
Ticket Cost-CMC members - $28, Guest - $30 (Please call the CMC Office to pay with Credit Card)
Dinner-  Italian Buffet will feature both vegetarian and meat selections; no need to pre-order
  

Fort Collins

We have had a last minute cancellation of our planned program, but were fortunate in  finding an excellent speaker in Ken Jessen. Ken is a well known author of over 18 historical books and numerous articles on Colorado history.  With the upcoming 100th anniversary of the park this is a timely program. He will talk about the early history of the park including early industry and tourism which helped lead to the designation as a national park.   Contact: Don Carpenter (dec5018@comcast.net or 267-6793)

When- Saturday, November 13

6:00 PM Social period/Cash Bar
6:30 PM Dinner
7:45 PM Annual Meeting, Election of Officers, and Recognition of Members

8:00 PM Program –Ken Jessen -A Pictorial History of Rocky Mountain National Park

Where- Fort Collins Senior Center 1200 Raintree Ave.
Fort Collins, CO
Ticket Cost- $28

Dinner- Buffet Meal Menu: Appetizers (brie en croute w apricots,currants; grilled asparagus w
ham), spinach salad w roasted peppers and shaved parmesan, cashew stuffed chicken
breast, London broil carving station, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, vegetable du jour,
fresh-baked artisan bread w pesto/olive tapenade, coffee/beverage station w shaved
chocolate/whipped cream, chocolate fondue with fruit and cheese.
Remember: price includes the tax and gratuity.

Pikes Peak

Join the Pikes Peak Group for our annual dinner and presentation! Bill Slaughter will be presenting "Tour du Mont Blanc." It's a great way to meet old friends that you have shared time on the trail with, but only see the back their heads or hurried ahead of them because you are the strongest in the pack. Now, for one evening, you can relax and watch a program that will bring delightful memories of a past exhibition or a future dream. 

When -  Saturday, November 6, 2010-
5:30PM Social Hour
6:00PM Begin Program
6:30PM Dinner
7:25PM Presentation by Bill Slaughter - "Tour du Mont Blanc"
Where- Division of Wildlife, 4255 Sinton Road, COS 80907 (near the intersection of Garden of Gods and I25)
Ticket Cost-$22

Shining Mountains

Aquatic and terrestrial ecologists discuss the current and ongoing changes in how water is obtained and used by plants and animals, including humans, in Colorado.  The talk will be given by a tag-team couple:  Cathy M. Tate, ecologist, National Water Quality Assessment Program, U.S. Geological Survey and Tim Seastedt, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder.  

When -  Saturday, November 13, 2010-
5:00PM Social Hour
6:30PM Dinner
8:00PM Presentation
Where- The Crags(Golden Eagle Resort) The View Restaurant, 300 Riverside Drive, Estes Park, Colorado.
Ticket Cost-$15
Dinner - Early Reservations Recommended, Buffet Style

Backcountry Ski Touring School – Denver Group

Come join us this January and learn to cross-country ski and prepare for the backcountry. This beginning and intermediate class is open to all CMC members.  There will be one evening lecture in December and three field days in January.  Cost is $95 for new students and $80 for students returning to BSTS from the last three years.  See bsts.cmcschools.org to sign-up and for more information.  

Here's what some students had to say about the course:

"The course flow was well designed and suited to gradual skill development."

"The instructors and the course were great. I had so much fun and learned so much."

"I loved Craig! He was patient and helpful, and had a lot of good tips. I really enjoyed the various exercises he gave us to fine tune our skills."

"I thought the instructors were amazing - enthusiastic, fun, very diligent about handling the logistics of the trips and the communication to students. They did a good job mixing techniques of teaching - demonstrating, talking through it, physically placing us in the right positions and giving us individual feedback and encouragement. They also instructed with a good sense of humor and empathy and patience. The time they gave is very much appreciated!"

Fatality on Taylor Glacier in Rocky Mountain National Park

The CMC is deeply saddened to learn the death of our friend and member Jim Patrick on Saturday morning while climbing on Taylor Glacier in Rocky Mountain National Park.  Please read below for more details. 

 

http://www.eptrail.com/ci_16359167

Wilderness Trekking School: Student Perspective

Last Sunday marked the second field lecture for Wilderness Trekking School's Fall schedule:  Map and Compass Day at Genesee Park.  Students met for a group lecture for lessons on measuring distance, map reading and compass use.  Following the lecture, students split up into smaller groups to find marked points using their Evergreen Quadrangle topographic map off-trail.  For more information on WTS, visit their site: http://cmcschools.org/ 

Here's Marco's account of his day in the woods....

CMC – Denver –Wilderness Trekking School (Group 20)

Field Day 2 – 10/3/2010

I had slept through my alarm and my wife woke me up and asked “Marco, do you still plan on going to your compass day?” I fly out of bed and have about 10 minutes to get ready to make it to the Park N’ Ride on time. I skipped breakfast and did a last minute check for all the things I will need for compass day. I ended being quite un-prepared, but I will explain later.

I had climbed Pawnee Peak and Mt. Toll on Saturday. I had a great chance to also get Shoshoni Peak but decided against it so I could be somewhat fresh for the compass day. We ended up hiking much more than I originally thought.

Arrive at the Park N’Ride to smiles from the team members and instructors I am coming to become familiar with more and more. I am not generally a morning person at all, but with so many people smiling at you saying “Good morning”, how can you stay in a grumpy mood!

Our instructor Wayne gets the car pooling figured out and I ride with another instructor Tim, and a team member Mark. I was secretly hoping to be on Mark’s group for this exercise because he is our “ringer”, regarding orienteering and really knows his stuff.

We arrive at Ralston elementary and I realize that everybody on the team has their plastic bag, their index card, a pencil, their compass, their area write-ups, ALL THEIR POINTS PLOTTED. I start feeling a bit anxious. I had my compass, my map, a plastic bag and that was it. I think my rush to get out of my house and be on time is what caused me to forget all these important tools for compass day. Either way, I should have had all my points plotted and I did not, I had planned to attend the Study Hall last Tuesday and get expert help but my day job was not going to let that happen.

Sunday's large group practicing compass use in the field.

Word to the wise, plot your points before hand. We walk from the parking lot to the lecture area (about a half a mile away). From the parking lot we were told to count our “paces” so we can come up with an approximate distance between the parking lot and the lecture site. We are told to take a step with the right foot, then left foot and then that counts as 1 pace. However, I liked Tim’s idea about counting every step and then dividing by two. One thing that was hard for me was to keep what 100 I was on. By the end I had counted 870 paces or so, but thought it could have been 970 because I missed a count on a 100. I think a very large loquacious dog was placed at the end of this walk to muck up my 100 count, hard to count spaces with pretty much any noise.

After the short lecture, I felt better about using the compass and understanding the concepts associated with it. I thought the poor man’s altimeter was so cool (especially when I was shown how to use it correctly). The two lecturers, Joe Griffith and Jack Reed, were very knowledgeable and fun to listen to.

At the end of the lecture we go back to our respective groups. The whole group walks off trail heading towards our first control point close to Bald Mountain. We learn about the “Leapfrogging” technique as we find this control point. We site somebody ahead of us and make sure they stay on the bearing. It is much like “Dead Reckoning” in thick woods or jungle. Except you are using people. Later on we would use objects in the wilderness to site our bearings (dead trees, tree stumps, etc). We make it to the control point. We learn firsthand the importance of making the leapfrog distance shorter between people, we move more efficiently and accurately with a shorter distance between us. Rich takes time to explain the “Box” method to me. If you run into an obstacle and your bearing goes right through it (say a Lake, cliff, ravine), how do you navigate this obstacle? That is where pacing comes in. Go 90 degrees from your current bearing (if heading east +90 to your current bearing), count your paces, clear the obstacle, change back to original bearing, pace back with the obstacle behind you.

Taking a bearing in the field while practicing the "leapfrogging" technique.

Our group (20) was then split into two groups to go out and find points. Unfortunately, I did not get put on Mark’s team! However, this was probably a good thing because Alli, Karen, Rachel, and I really worked well together to find our way to and from different points. It is great to have such knowledgeable instructors, but I was amazed to see how much I learned from my team. At first I was a bit shy to ask for help with points and I am just a bit dense with True and Mag. By the end of the day, I felt completely comfortable asking any question I wanted. Even if I had already asked it, this type of skill requires repetition, and I was not going to let my feelings of inadequacy impair what I want to learn.

Marco with the first point in Section 1

Our group was able to successfully find three points, without ever having stepped foot on a trail! We had problems finding the last point but Wayne seemed convinced something had happened to the flag.

Having fun with points by the end of the day.

We meet up with our other group around 5pm (long day) and walk back to Ralston Elementary. From there we all meet at Jose O’Shea’s for a cold one and some food. It was fun to recap events that happened throughout the day with the team in a social setting. I had a great time. Can't wait till the next field day-Survival Day at White Ranch!

Upper Blue Lake Unhike

Member Marilyn Raff joined by several other CMC friends recalls a brilliant hike filled with native plants, high-mountain wildlife and impressive mountain peaks. Raff is the author of 4 books, her most recent is a poetry collection called: In the Palm of the Land, all available through Amazon.

On August 11, a sizzling hot day in Denver, I, along with five club members, Lori Giesecke, Joan Schwarz, Gesa Robeson, Sally Boyson, and Dawn Mitchell, headed up to cooler terrain, several miles past Breckenridge. We met early at the Stegosaurus parking lot, off I-70, to carpool to the mountains and catch gentians and other wildflowers in bloom. Dawn created these unhikes several years back for hikers wishing less vigorous treks, with minimal walking. But still, we all wished to see lush flowers and impressive scenery.

As one of two drivers, in a rather old 1999 Toyota, I followed Dawn up to 11,100 feet, as she weaved up several rocky dirt roads. My heart melted as I viewed fireweed, in blazing reddish purple, along the roadside; it brought back fond memories of when I gardened day and night on my small plot of land.

Several miles out of town, Dawn found wide-open flat space for parking, as well as good rocks for leaning on with the puffy cushions she brought along. She hauled lawn chairs up here, too, for those of us who wanted near-total comfort. As our bodies begged for food and a chilled drink, some people started eating their sack lunches, while others roamed hungrily for wildflowers—a peachy time for all! I wandered along and soon chatted with a man from New Mexico, a former Coloradan, who called the area we stood on, “Upper Blue Lake.”

Mountain peaks, lakes, trickling waterfalls and hordes of verdant trees and plants surrounded us, in spite of the destruction caused by the Mountain Pine Beetle.

On our wanderings, we saw dozens of high mountain plants, as we called to each other to name these eye-catching gems. We viewed monkshood, darling blue chiming bells, as well as wild roses. Various gentians welcomed us, such as Gentiana algida, G. cruciata, G.parryi, and Gentianella amarella var. acuta. Silvery pussytoes clung to rocks, while I smiled when bunches of campanulas stood at my feet. In my home garden I always loved to grow various forms of silenes, and among the rocks, at 11,000 feet, I encountered what I think was Silene alba. Naturally many sedums and king’s crown caught my eye; anemones, too, looked breathtaking under the warm sun.

However, aside from the beautiful hillsides and native plants in their natural habitats, all of us joyfully cheered when we saw wildlife! In particular, a family of seven mountain goats and a yellow-bellied marmot, also known as a ground squirrel, came across our paths. The mountain goats, three nannies and four kids, slowly walked the pebbled land, ignorant of us and other hikers who carefully observed them at a safe distance. Although, once, one hiker slowly approached the goats and a nanny, momentarily, stomped and scratched her hoof on the ground, as a warning, she’s out to protect her kids, so stay back! After a short stop at Georgetown for ice cream, we soon arrived at the parking lot, said our fond good-byes, and looked forward to more plant (and animal) excursions, along with a good dose of friendly visiting, next year!