Cancellations of CMC Events/Classes/Trips due to COVID-19

CMC classes, trips, and events are being temporarily postponed in an effort to slow the spread of the COVID-19.   In the short term, this will cause the cancellation or rescheduling of all Boulder CMC classes, trips, and events scheduled for March and April.       We are working on converting some of the classroom portions of the training courses to an online format.  Since this is a new venture for the Boulder CMC–please be patient with this process.  Updates will be made at cmc.org, cmcboulder.org,  CMC and Boulder-CMC Facebook pages, CMC-Boulder meetup pages, and various CMC newsletters and emails.

The official CMC statements are available at this link:     https://www.cmc.org/COVID-19andCMCProgramming.aspx

If you choose to recreate in the outdoors during this time of recommended social distancing, we encourage you to follow the recommendations by the Center for Disease Control, recreate in a way that preserves the conditions of the outdoors and the trails, park only where permitted, be courteous to others, and be conservative in your risk-taking.  Note that Search & Rescue teams are stretched thin and have less ability to respond to your incidents.  Avalanche danger still exists in the backcountry, in the side-country, and now– in closed lift-served ski areas that are no longer being managed for avalanche danger.

 

CMC Boulder Group turns 100

Happy Centennial Colorado Mountain Club Boulder Group!!! It’s been an amazing century for this Group filled with countless adventures, friendships, and stewardship to the mountains we love.On July 14, 1900, Eben Givens Fine took a hike to Arapahoe Glacier. That later inspired formation of a group called the High Hikers, which then became the Front Range Club in 1918. On Friday, May 7, 1920, the Front Range Club became the CMC Boulder Group. The Front Rangers booklet by Jan Robertson notes that the CMC welcomed into its fold “forty good fellows who can cook in the rain, sleep on the rocks, tramp without ceasing–and smile through it all; whose ideals are high and whose traditions shine beside those of any mountain club in the land”. Let’s keep those traditions alive!

2020 Conservation Grants

Lake Isabelle

The Boulder Group of the CMC is happy to announce that we awarded just shy of $10000 to four recipients who are working to make our outdoor experiences better.

Boulder Climbing Community was awarded $2000 for trail stewardship. Their Front Range Climbing Stewards (FRCS) trail crews restoree and reroutee two of the most popular trails in the Arapahoe and Roosevelt National Forest, the Isabelle Glacier Trail, in the Brainard Lake Recreation Trail System, and the Oceanic Wall Approach trail in the Upper Dream Canyon Trail System. 

$2000 was also awarded to Wildlands Restoration Volunteers. WRV Volunteers and Rocky Mountain Youth Corps realigned and reconstructed over 4000 ft of the Blue Lake Trail at the Brainard Lake Recreation Area access to the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area. 

The Colorado Mountain Club Conservation Department was awarded $3575 to support the salary of the CMC Program Coordinator position. In addition to supporting CMC schools in obtaining permits to operate on public lands and managing state-run adult education programs, the Program Coordinator will be expanding access to conservation opportunities for CMC Boulder Group members, including initiatives to engage members in the Recreation Impact Monitoring System (RIMS) and Pocket Stewardship programs. They also represent the CMC and advocate for member interests in planning sessions with land managers and partner organizations.

$2000 will go to Access Fund for trail stewardship. They are working with the Town of Estes Park, the Estes Valley Land Trust, and RockyMountain Conservancy to acquire, conserve, and steward the highly popular Thumb Rock climbing area near Estes Park. Pending acquisition of the property, the grant will be awarded and used to stabilize three critical sections of the Thumb Rock Trail.

We’re grateful for these partnerships which improve our access to the mountains and crags that we love! All of these projects are leveraging our grants with matching funds and volunteer resources as well.

More information about the Conservation Grant Process is available on our website at http://cmcboulder.org/conservationProcess.html

Call For Conservation Grant Proposals

Once again the Boulder Group of the CMC has budgeted $6000 for grants to award to outside organizations for conservation efforts including trail stewardship! Grant proposals are due on 5/3/19, and applicants will be notified by 5/24. More details about our Conservation Grant Process and Applications are on our website. Questions can be directed to conservechr@cmcboulder.org.

Ypsilon Trailblazers Trip Report

CMC Trailblazer crew on top of Ypsilon (13,075’)

On Saturday September 8, a group of 8 Trailblazers led by Kahle Toothill and Trey Laurence headed up to RMNP to hike in one of the most secluded areas of the park. At 5:00am, two cars embarked from Boulder on the “safari” to the park. The drive alone was exciting, seeing a bear cub, elk bugling and a moose before even getting to the trailhead.

Chapin Creek trailhead was a chilly 35 degrees. A wake up call that winter was coming. The destination was Ypsilon (13,075’), an iconic peak. In addition to Ypsilon, our goal was to also tag Mount Chiquita (13,075’) and Chapin (12,454’) along the way, completing the CCY Trifecta.

Our group was strong and we easily summited Mount Chiquita, stopped for a quick snack and posed with our best “banana” impersonation poses. Onward to Ypsilon! We summited around 10:30am, took some photos, soaked in the stellar views of the Never Summer Range, Long’s Peak and even the Medicine Bow range in Wyoming. We were lucky that the wildfire smoke had blown away and that the skies were clear. The substantial winds that are usually present on this hike were nonexistent this day.

On the way down we circumnavigated Chiquita (instead of summiting it again) and the group decided to charge up Chapin to complete our version of the trifecta, the CYC! The total stats for the day were 8.8mi and 3,300’ vertical.

Ypsilon is one of the true hidden gems in Rocky Mountain National Park. Pro tip: As the majority of the hike is above tree line, September is the best month to go. The chance of lightning storms is decreased and Old Fall River Road is still open. The road is already closed for the winter. Once it reopens (anticipated July 2019), add this hike to your list!