October 2012
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York, explaining the benefits of the Colorado Mountain Club at the Sustainable Living Fair (Photo by Don Carpenter). Inside Chairs Corner: Leadership Static Peak - Pyramid Peak CMC at the Column: Mt. Richthofen Centennial Sustainable Mountaineering Traverse Celebration Living Fair Rest Step Climb Page 2 Page 2 Page 3 Page 8 CMC Fort Collins Group Newsletter 1 October 2012 CMC at the Sustainable Living Fair Certainly there could be no other set up for the Fair, we see this as place more beautiful in Septem- Chair's Corner a great way to promote CMC in ber than our Colorado mountains. the future. Over 70 people Those sentiments must have stopped by our booth to chat and been in mind when CMC desig- pick up literature. Our efforts paid nated September 8th as Cen- off as we recruited four new fam- ntenial 14ers Celebration Day. ily memberships from avid hikers Perhaps you were among the and lovers of the outdoors. Thank CMC members who trekked up you Planet Bluegrass!! We hope the trails to all the 14ers that to return to the Sustainable Living weekend. Fair with reinforcements next year! After that weekend we were glad for the opportunity to take it a Please remember to send in your little easy at the Sustainable Liv- reservations for our Annual Din- ing Fair here in Fort Collins, Sep- ner Meeting (Annual Dinner Res- tember 15 and 16. Not quite a word about CMC. Planet Blue- ervation Form) , which will be mountain top experience, the Fair grass provides sustainable festi- held on November 10th. It prom- provided another type of excite- vals including the Telluride Blue ises to be an interesting and en- ment. Planet Bluegrass gra- Grass Festival and the Rocky joyable evening. See you there! ciously offered us booth space at Mountain Folk Festival in Lyons. the Fair and helped us in our first Although we (Don and York) - Don Carpenter, Chair, Fort efforts in this venue to spread the made a last minute scramble to Collins Group The Fort Collins Group Welcomes New Members: August Ross McConnell Colin Millar; Charlie & Katherine Potter, Keith, Helen, Alisha & Laura Wolfe; Marie September Woodring; Ruth, Bruce; Rachel & Rusty Lieurance October Adam Redgrave; Brian Bell; Dan Robinson See you on the trail! Fort Collins Leadership Column: Mountaineering Rest Step: An Essential Pacing Tool In the last column, I described sweep, of course) keep the per- have different stride lengths, the buddy-back system, whereby son behind them in sight. But some might say that is unnatural. you keep a group together by because this requires the same I agree that it is natural to swing having everyone (except the pace be used by all, and people your leg, especially with boots, CMC Fort Collins Group Newsletter 2 October 2012 and thus the length of your natu- And sprinting up the slope with 4) Swing your bent leg ral stride is a function of your leg repeated rests is simply not a forward, plant that foot, length. good idea. Just think of competi- straighten the knee, and tive long distance runners and rest on this locked knee. So here is a puzzle - one essen- cyclists – do they sprint and rest, 5) Repeat! tial team element of Expedition sprint and rest? No, they main- Behavior requires everyone to tain an even pace until the end is A new CMC member, who was moderate their pace to match within reach. And their events are used to dashing and panting her that of the slowest member. typically much shorter than our way up the mountain, listened to Rushing that person really isn’t mountain outings. this description and immediately an option as driving a person to interjected, “it is just like the exhaustion is a certain way to So how does an entire hiking bride’s slow walk down the aisle!” create an emergency later. group maintain a steady, reason- And so it is, except you seldom able pace for hours on end? The get a nice ring at the end of your Moreover, when hiking up steep key is the mountaineering rest journey. terrain, especially when carrying step. a heavy pack, it is important to If you want to watch a master at pace yourself so that you stay The mountaineering rest step is the mountaineering rest step, just aerobic. Studies (gleaned from fairly simple, but does take some go on a hike with Steve Martin. my son’s nursing physiology text practice: He maintains a slow yet steady book) have shown that staying 1) step forward, pace, rarely pausing, that really aerobic is 10X more efficient en- planting your leading eats up the miles. With the moun- ergy-wise than going anaerobic. foot. taineering rest step, you can walk You can judge your aerobic- 2) move forward and for hours without resting, ascend anaerobic threshold by noting straighten the leading steep passes with a very heavy your ability to talk – if you are leg, locking your knee so pack, and deal effectively with working so hard that you can’t it takes all of your weight. the thin air of high altitude. And talk, you have probably gone an- 3) Pause briefly or sub- perhaps best of all, the mountain- aerobic. Going anaerobic is a stantially, depending on eering rest step allows you to bad thing in the mountains as its your need, with your match your pace to the group’s extreme energy consumption weight supported by your pace without changing your natu- commonly results in exhaustion locked leg. The other leg ral stride length, resulting in a (“hitting the wall” or “bonking”). rests, hanging with a smooth and unified transit This is dangerous as it can take bent knee from the hip, through our mountains. days to recover from a bonk – often with the toe of its trust me, been there, done that. boot resting lightly - Eric Erslev, Ft. Collins CMC against the ground. Leadership & Safety Coordinator Radical Reels 2012: October 11th and 12th Radical Reels is just week away! Faster, steeper, higher, deeper! The most outrageous films from the Banff Mountain Film Festival will thrill and inspire you with big-screen adventures when Radical Reels comes to the American Mountaineering Center on October 11 and 12. To buy tickets, watch the trailer, or view the list of films, visit www.cmc.org/rad. Here’s our Facebook invite to join: https://www.facebook.com/events/262744260512363/ Thurs, Oct 11 and Fri, Oct 12 Cost $12 CMC Fort Collins Group Newsletter 3 October 2012 Static Peak-Mount Richthofen Traverse Having had a mountain cabin for day on this challenging, special Mark led the group anyway to a many years in the Gould area route with Club members. successful summit of Static Peak near Cameron Pass, I have come via the east ridge. However, to know the Never Summer and Actually, the genesis of this idea thunderstorms began to unfold Rawah Ranges pretty well. I still started in the summer of 2011, and the group decided against find them to rival some of the when I agreed to co-lead this the Richthofen traverse because most impressive landscapes in very trip with Mark Lorie, who it would be vulnerable to lightning Rocky Mountain National Park, chose this venue as one in a se- for several more hours. After but without the throngs of people ries of Young Adventurer’s trips. exploring a few alternative de- and traffic to get there. Although I am hardly qualified as scent possibilities, the group de- a “young adventurer”, Mark and cided to hunker down to wait out One of the perks I get from lead- Kevin McCartney invited me to most of the storm, before retrac- ing Fort Collins Group CMC trips join in because of my familiarity ing the ascent route back down is being able to choose venues of of the route. As it turned out, I the east ridge. So, there were special interest or personal had to abandon my plan to be some on this trip who did not meaning. Having been on these with the group, for family rea- have the opportunity to complete marvelous peaks before, I could sons. the Richthofen traverse. Now, on not resist the idea of sharing a August 18, 2012, they had an- The view from the trail to the Michigan (American) Lakes. The right-most peak is Static Peak, showing the knife-edge east ridge arising from the Snow Lake moraine. The next peak to the left of Static is Mount Richthofen, then further left is the “Electrode”. Photo by Scott Farquhar. CMC Fort Collins Group Newsletter 4 October 2012 Climbers along the knife-edge ridge leading to Static Peak. Photo by Scott Farquhar. other chance, and under fine at this elevation (roughly At this point, I always think “Am I weather as it turned out. 10,800’). From here, a good trail really going to climb that ridge?” winds its way back toward the It is steep, exposed, and intimi- After dropping a car at the Lake northwest, gaining the east ridge dating. However, once the steep Agnes trailhead, we drove to the of the Nokhu Crags at about climb to the south actually be- American Lakes trailhead and 11,000’ and treeline. The trail gins, roughly 150 vertical feet started hiking with just enough next proceeds mostly southwest, above Snow Lake, I find it less light to dispense with headlamps. passing just north of the Michigan intimidating and not all that diffi- The trail follows an old logging Lakes, also called the American cult. Depending on the actual road up and across the Michigan Lakes.