SportS&outdoorS Saturday, September 5, 2020 Report scores to Shelby Reardon, sports editor, at 970-871-4253 or [email protected] 15 SPOKE TALK PREPARING FOR FLIGHT

Donate to trails his past Saturday afternoon, I had just put my cruiser bike away after T riding in the 24-hour ‘Boat Cruise. As I gazed out the window, reflecting on the past 24 hours, something strange started to happen. It began to rain. Sud- denly it was hailing, and I watched my lawn furniture fly upside-down as I fran- tically closed every window in my house. Once the rain and the wind stopped, I quickly called my riding buddy because I knew Sunday morning was going to be a powder day. A brown pow day. We have waited months for this day to arrive. I coordinated schedules with my partner, her partner, our babies and the SHELBY REARDON/STAFF dog to arrange for an 8:30 a.m. depar- Thomas Miller carries his skis while using the magic carpet to get to the top of the ski jump at Howelsen Hill on Friday. Sprinklers wet ture to ride a two-hour lap on Emerald the jumps before Nordic combined athletes take flight, allowing them to keep their skills sharp even on a hot summer day. Mountain. As we started up the Bluffs, we smiled in delight as the tackiness of the trail allowed our tires to roll through tight switchbacks. When we arrived at Morning Gloria for a 35-minute climb of switchbacks and conversation, we en- Big break for big peaks countered downed tree after downed tree. We cleared what we could by proudly lifting small branches over our heads and 14er use fell last summer tossing them aside victoriously. However, due to historic avalanche there were many trees we couldn’t clear. At one point, we couldn’t even find the aftermath of winter 2019 trail. I came home and gave my husband Scott Condon a 3.5-minute trail report as he handed The Aspen Times me our son and ran out the door for his brown pow day. Little did I know he The lingering snowpack and avalanche tucked his saw into his backpack. debris from winter 2019 reduced the num- He wasn’t the only one out there that ber of people hiking Colorado’s tallest peaks day who cleared trees on local trails by about 18% last summer, according to a across town. There were reports of trail new report. angels working in anonymity on Flash Colorado Fourteeners Initiative estimat- of Gold, Soda Ditch, Emerald Mountain, ed that hiker days fell to 288,000 from Spring Creek and more. But trail angels 353,000 in 2018. can only do so much. The effects of late winter were even more Public land managers followed the pronounced in the Elk Mountains outside locals on Monday with chainsaws to clear of Aspen where there was an estimated the larger trees. Our community cares 44% plunge in use between summer 2018 about trails and this is evident as, two and 2019, the report said. That was the days after the storm, our local trails are largest decline among mountain ranges in now mostly clear. the state. Besides carrying small saws in our Colorado was pummeled with heavy snow COLORADO FOURTEENERS INITIATIVE/COURTESY PHOTO packs, our locals have also reached into in March 2019, which triggered a prolific An ample snowfield exists on the lower slopes of Conundrum Peak in July 2019. Many their own wallets to support trail mainte- cycle of avalanches. Snowfall also lasted hikers on Castle Peak traverse to the summit of Conundrum. nance work for the long term. To date, the well into spring. As a result, trails on the Yampa Valley Community Foundation’s fourteeners were covered later than usual “It was mid-July before we were even able you consider that 2018 was a drought year Trail Maintenance Endowment Fund has while snow, tree trunks and debris from av- to get in there,” said Brian Sargeant, devel- in which some trails were snow-free in May, received over $560,000 in gifts from lo- alanches blocked many backcountry roads opment and communications manager. allowing fourteener hikers to get out earlier cals and visitors alike. that provide access to trailheads. Hiking on many of the state’s 54 peaks than normal,” Athearn said in a statement. This fund was created in 2016 to support CFI staff members install a counter on above 14,000 feet didn’t start until about This summer, it’s back to drought. trail maintenance on nonmotorized trails, Castle Peak southwest of Aspen each sum- one month later than average, CFI exec- Sargeant said it’s a safe bet that hiker days for the benefit of all human-powered trail mer to gauge use. A massive avalanche in utive director Lloyd Athearn noted in the have soared again due to dry conditions users. To date, the fund has supported upper Castle Creek Valley took out a bridge report. early in the season as well as the surge in and littered the roadway with massive tree “The drop in hiking use between 2018 SPOKE TALK, 16 trunks. and 2019 was even more dramatic when 14ER, 16 16 | Saturday, September 5, 2020 | Steamboat Pilot & Today SPORTS SPOKE TALK fund is to raise $1 to $1.5 14ER From page 15 million by 2026. From page 15 To learn more about trail work on Fish Creek the Trail Maintenance outdoor activity during Falls, Uranium Mine, 1101 Endowment Fund or to the coronavirus pandemic. (CDT Trail), Spring Creek make a donation, head Trails of all types are seeing Pond Loop, Yampa River to yvcf.org/trails. Now is increased use as people try Core Trail improvements, the time to make a dona- to stay active. Emerald Mountain and tion, as a $15 thousand “We’re expecting it to be hired a full-time summer dollar-for-dollar match- higher than 2018,” Sargeant employee to clear count- ing challenge is under- said. It’s likely to be record less trails on nearby U.S. way in honor of Marc use, he said. Forest Service land. Sehler — whose legacy CFI monitors hiker days The list of projects continues to inspire us to rather than hikers because and trails that will be maintain and enjoy our some people make trips improved will continue local trails. up several peaks or re- to grow as this fund was peated trips up the same established to provide Helen Beall is the com- fourteener. funding towards trail munity impact manag- CFI has produced an maintenance for gener- er for the Yampa Valley annual report in recent COLORADO FOURTEENERS INITIATIVE/COURTESY IMAGE ations. The goal of the Community Foundation. years about the use of the tall peaks. The conserva- and distance from the Front La Plata Peak and Mount Aug. 1 and Oct. 7. tion group was founded in Range. Elbert, part of the Sawatch Following are various 1994 to preserve and protect The Elk Mountain four- Range, are located on the findings in CFI’s report: the natural integrity of the teeners tend to be among east side of Independence ■ Quandary Peak near 14,000-foot peaks through the least hiked and climbed Pass. Breckenridge edged out trail improvements and in the state because of the CFI started an education Mount Bierstadt near education. As part of its difficulty, Sargeant said. effort a couple of seasons Georgetown as the most mission, it tracks how many Castle Peak is the excep- ago to alert hikers about the climbed Colorado four- people are using the peaks tion. While access can be challenges and danger of the teener for the second year and the effects on the trails. challenging, the hike itself Elk Mountain fourteeners. in a row. Both mountains CFI’s collected data last typically is not. The number Sargeant said that could had season use totals near year from counters at 19 lo- of hikers fell to an estimated be affecting the number of 35,000 hiker days. cations adjacent to summit 1,320 last year from 1,508 hikers attempting to summit ■ 57% of statewide hiking hiking trails on 20 peaks. in summer 2018, according those peaks. occurred on the 11 peaks Hiking use for other four- to CFI. CFI’s data indicates hikers closest to the Front Range. teeners was based on crowd- The other fourteeners emerged with gusto once ■ If you want anything sourced checklists on the near Aspen are Maroon the snow melted last year. resembling solitude, don’t popular website 14ers.com, Peak, Pyramid Peak, Capitol Statewide hiking levels were climb on weekends. Sat- used by 17,000 individual Peak and Snowmass Moun- down an estimated 55% urday use was highest at hikers, as well as modeling tain. Annual hiker days are in June and 20% in July. 25.7%, Sunday was at about that uses factors such as estimated at lower than Hiking was up an estimat- 20% and Friday at nearly trail difficulty and length, 1,000 per peak. ed 16% from 2018 between 14%.