The following is a summary of the book Roof of the Rockies by William M. Bueler. I wrote this for a history class my Junior year of high school. It represents my own thoughts about the book and some paraphrasing of the book. I offer it here for anyone interested in the mountaineering history of Colorado. Enjoy. Roof of the Rockies, William M. Bueler, Summary by: Daniel Mottinger The history of mountaineering in Colorado is a rich one that provides the focus for the book, Roof of the Rockies. The book, like Colorado's climbing is divided into two parts, the first one is a history of early exploration and surveys of Colorado's great ranges. The second part is the history of climbing in Colorado after the turn of the century, when climbing became a pursuit of sport and challenge. The book begins with the earliest climbers of the region, the Native Americans of the Rockies region. While it is likely that Native Americans made many first ascents, we have only two ascents with admirable evidence to make a case for a first ascent. The first of these likely ascents is of the great sentinel of the northern Front Range, Longs Peak. It was legend that a Native American, "Old Man Gun" had an Eagle trap on the summit of Longs Peak. To stave off his own curiosity of the legend "Old Man Gun's" own son, Gun Griswold reportedly climbed Longs Peak around 1859 and found remnants of the eagle trap on the summit. Fifty-five years after his ascent Gun Griswold provided an account of his climb that was recorded. The other likely first ascent of a prominent peak was Mount Blanca of the Sangre De Cristo range. The Wheeler Survey found the evidence of this ascent, a circular depression on the summit, in 1874. However, the contribution Native Americans made were not as climbers but as trailblazers, providing a path for future generations to follow. The next major group to have an influence on the Rockie's history was explorers sent West for various reasons. After the Louisiana Purchase was made in 1803 President Thomas Jefferson sent the Lewis and Clark expedition into the new territory to explore it. This expedition went well north of Colorado but paved the way for Zebulon Pike's expedition. Zebulon Pike was sent on a similar mission and headed out in 1806 and first saw the mountains in November. After seeing the peak that now bears his name he started heading towards it, taking six days to reach current day Pueblo. From this vantage point Pike thought he could ascend the peak the next day but only managed to make it halfway to the mountain. This modest attempt to climb a peak is generally credited as the beginning history of mountaineering in the western United States. The next expedition that came to Colorado was the Stephen Long expedition of 1820. Following the South Platte River from the plains he reached the foothills of the Front Range and spotted Longs Peak, mistaking it for the high mountain Pike described. His men hiked south and saw Pikes Peak, corrected their mistake, and hiked to up its flanks and camped below treeline. The next day his men woke up, climbed the peak, and descended. Along with the Native Americans, the Miners who came to Colorado left little accounts of climbing activities but undoubtedly made many early ascents. These early ascents could have included Grays and Torreys peaks, as well as Mount Evans and Bierstadt. Another possible first ascent of Mount Evans could have been the painter Albert Bierstadt in 1863. Longs Peak was a coveted first ascent during the time, culminating in the first verified ascent in 1860 by members of the Powell and Byers party. Also during this time Rev. Elkanah J. Lamb was the first to tread on Longs east face, descending its features in 1871. As Lamb descended he lost his footing in a large couloir and plummeted down, narrowly missing disaster. The couloir now bears his name, being called Lambs Slide. In 1878 Lamb established a home at the base of Longs and began guiding tourists to the top. Enos Mills later bought Lamb's property in 1902 and also guided. A large part of the Rockie's exploration was surveys carried out to map the land and explore it. Leading the way was Josiah D. Whitney of Harvard University. In 1869 Whitney came to measure the central mountains of Colorado, ultimately reaching the Sawatch Range where he named Mount Yale and Harvard after their universities. Whitney surveyed new mountains but had little influence compared to the Wheeler and Hayden surveys between 1873 and 1876. These two surveys started in the Elk range, mapping out new ranges and peaks. Wheeler tried covering more area than Hayden did thus; Hayden's maps, illustrations, and descriptions were more skillfully made. Of the fourteen thousand foot peaks, or fourteeners, in the Elks Hayden's men climbed Castle Peak and Snowmass peak. The former ascent was on the peak south side which is technically harder than alternative routes and thus was one of the earliest "technical" climbs in Colorado (technical meaning they used rock climbing technique as described in the trip account). Surveys: San Juan Range One of the most successful forays into uncharted mountains was surely the Hayden survey party of 1874. Composed namely of A.V. Wilson, Franklin Rhoda, and Frederic Endlich the party mapped out much of the San Juan and also made many first ascents along the way. These ascents included the first ascents of Uncompahgre Peak, Mount Wilson, and Mount Sunshine, with a vivid account of an electrical storm on the latter. They moved on and climbed Handies Peak and the Rio Grande Pyramid but didn't have first ascents on those peaks. Their grandest climb was possibly Mount Sneffels, a technically hard peak for their day. "In no other summer did a party of climbers make so much mountaineering history in Colorado." (Bueler 68). The San Juan was also partially surveyed by the Wheeler party, including first ascents of the Rio Grande Pyramid, and Redcloud Peak that same year. The other surveys of the time included Wheeler and Hayden trips to the Sangre De Cristos culminating in first ascents. The first recorded ascent of Mount Blanca was by Gilbert Thompson and Frank Carpenter of the Wheeler survey, followed by a second ascent by Rhoda of the Hayden party. One mountain, Mount of the Holy Cross took a longer time to survey and photograph. This delay was due to the peak being hidden by nearby Notch Mountain. The great interest of the peak is its east face, which contains two snow couloirs forming a giant cross on the mountain. Fueled by interest in this spectacle a Hayden party went on a trip in August 1873 to explore the mountain. Once near the mountain the party split into two groups one to climb the peak and one to photograph the peak. Both groups were successful after a delay and photographer William Jackson's picture became famous. Part II After the initial ascents by the survey expeditions few major mountains were left unclimbed. Thus began the second phase of mountaineering in Colorado history where climbing was done for sport and challenge. The summit of Pikes Peak was reached by trail (1870's), carriage road (1889), Cog railway (1890) and lastly auto road (1916) after its first ascent. Mountaineers in the Front Range seeking challenge started looking towards Longs Peak to provide challenges. In 1922 some determined climbers: Carl Blaurock, John L. J. Hart, and Dudley Smith planned and attack on the East face after scrutinizing the face. They were quite surprised when they discovered that James W. Alexander made the first ascent of the east face via Alexander's chimney on September 8. Alexander repeated the feat the next day, this time with Park Ranger Jack Moomaw. The original party settled for a third ascent of the same route. The next new climb on the east face was the North Chimney in 1925 by William F. Ervin and Colonel Burns. The winter of 1925 was an important part of Long's history as female climber Agnes Vaille and Walter Kiener climbed the Kieners route on the east face. On the descent Vaille collapsed below the North Face, due to exhaustion. Kiener descended, getting help but Vaille was dead when they reached her. During the rescue a rescuer got lost and died of exposure, while Kiener lost his toes and much of his fingers due to frostbite. One of the most landmark climbs during the time, was the Stettners ledges route in 1927 climbed by Joe and Paul Stettner. Joe and Paul had learned climbing in their native German and Austrian Alps before immigrating to Chicago. After motorcycling to Colorado they were hoping to acquire a rope but were unable to borrow one at the Longs Peak Inn since the owner wouldn't consent. Being resourceful, the brothers went to the general store and bought 12o feet of hemp rope to serve them. In 1959 Ray Northcutt and Layton Kor ascended the wall between the Stettner's route and the chimneys leading to Broadway, a large ledge on the east face. After the last ascent the only unclimbed prominent feature on longs was the shear wall of the Diamond. The diamond, on Long's east face is a 1,000-foot wall rising from 13,110', overhanging five feet. The National Park Service denied permission for attempting to climb the diamond until 1960, calling an attempt reckless "stunt" climbing. The first to ascend the diamond were two Californians, Robert Kamps and David Rearick; pushing a route up in 1960. The group of Front Range peaks south of Rocky Mountain National Park is generally referred to as the Indian peaks due to a Native American naming theme. Most first ascents are unknown with the exception of Mount Audubon (13,223'), climbed by C.C. Parry and J.W. Velie in 1862. A Swiss-born mountaineer, Arnold F. Emch, made ascents of most of the Indian Peaks with a possible first ascent of Mount Toll (12,979) in 1915. The most spectacular looking pinnacle in the Indian Peaks, if not in all of Colorado is Lone Eagle Peak. This spire named after the aviator Charles Lindbergh was first ascended on September 2, 1929. The Stettner Brothers pioneered the north face route in August 1933. The Gore Range is relatively close in proximity to Denver yet have gone unknown for several reasons. The first is a lack of mining in the peaks, and thus the second reason, a lack of roads and trails. The third reason is that the highest peak, Mount Powell is "only" 13,534 feet. The first ascent of this highest peak was by Major J. W. Powell and Ned Farrell in 1868. Another range that received little attention during this time was the Sawatch Range due to a lack of technically challenging climbs. The main new routes in the Sawatch included: the Mount of the Holy Cross Couloir, the Three Apostles (including Ice Mountain), Truro Peak's large east face, and the Ellingwood Ridge on LaPlata Peak. " The climb is reputedly not very difficult, for anyone seeking a classic direttissima line it is about as diretto as possible. (Bueler 117). Albert Ellingwood climbed the Ellingwood Ridge on LaPlata Peak, involving substantial length, and scrambling in 1922. The Sangre De Cristos, "Blood of Christ" in Spanish, had many major first ascents during this period given their repulsively to early climbers. The first ascent of Little Bear Peak was due to the Fay-Edmands party mistaking it for Blanca. The first ascent of Blanca and Ellingwood peaks north face was most likely by Harold Wilm and Robert Ormes in 1927. The last of the fourteeners to be climbed fell in 1916 to a strong party lead by Ellingwood. The first fourteener the party climbed in the area was Kit Carson Peak via its NorthWest ridge. After moving camp, a group set out on July 24 and climbed Crestone Peak by its north ridge. From Crestone Peak they traversed the ridge to Crestone Needle and descended down a gully between the two. On the descent Ellingwood spotted future routes on the sheer faces of the peaks. Ellingwood returned in 1924 with the goal of climbing Crestone Needle's great face. He climbed up the initial 1,500 feet and waited out a storm at the bottom of the headwall. After overcoming several difficulties including technical rock Ellingwood reached the summit and set a new standard in Colorado. Left: Crestone Needle's Face Albert R. Ellingwood was one of the most prominent mountaineers of the time in America. He studied in England as a Rhodes scholar where he learned rock-climbing skills in England. He was one of the first mountaineers in the Rockies to use a rope and gear competently. Ellingwood left his mark on many ranges and peaks including but not limited to: first ascent of Lizard Head; new routes in Elk, San Juan, Sangre De Cristo, Front, and other Ranges; and early and first ascents in Wyoming's Tetons and Wind River Ranges. The Elk Range provided the new breed of climber with many challenges during the second phase. The modern mountaineering wave began in 1907 for the Elks. Percy Hagerman and Harold Clark who climbed in the Elks for four consecutive summers started this wave. These years included the first recorded ascents of Capitol, Pyramid, and North Maroon Peaks. Of his climbs, Hagerman found the knife-edge on Capitol Peak the most interesting climb in the Elks. The San Juan Range, like the Elks, provided ample challenge for those seeking it. The driving force behind the San Juan mountaineering scene of the time was the San Juan Mountaineers who did technical and winter ascents in the San Juan. The San Juan Mountaineers climbed Mount Sneffel's north face on three different occasions, each time by a more direct route. One of the lasts summits to be climbed in the San Juan was the monolith Lizards Head. It is generally considered the hardest mountainous summit to reach in Colorado due to its sheer cliffs guarding all its flanks as well as its unrelenting rotten rock. Ellingwood and Barton Hoag made the first ascent in August 1920. The final peaks in Colorado to be climbed belong to the Needle and Grenadier ranges due to their remoteness and technical nature. The three fourteeners in the Needles could have been climbed by miners since not require exceptionally hard climbing to summit. William S. Cooper and John Hubbard first ascended Pigeon Peak (13,472) July 11, 1908. The 1,200' vertical east face of Monitor Peak, the grandest wall in the Needles was first ascended August 1947 by Joe Stettner, John Speck, and Jack Fralick. The Grenadier range contains some spectacular and difficult to climb mountains. The highest, Vestal Peak (13,864') was first climbed by Cooper and Hubbard as well as Arrow Peak in 1908. Wham ridge, a huge rock face/ridge was first climbed by a Colorado Mountain Club summer outing in 1941 as well as W. Trinity, Middle Trinity, and Storm King Peak. The book ends with a short, thought-provoking epilogue which includes Bueler's thoughts on Mountaineering history: " Mountains can be divided into those with a climbing history and those without, and it is clear that through most of mountaineering history ambitious climbers have been attracted to those without. The greatest attraction has understandably been for unclimbed or rarely-climbed summits, for only there could the climber have his first or second ascent; only there could he make history." (Bueler 185). This book seemed to strive for accuracy throughout, even when there were no written accounts of the early histories. It seems well researched in the fact that every description is scrutinized using the knowledge of today. This is accurate since he has collected the claims of climbers ascents and has had a knowledgeable pool of people help him. The only omission that I can think of is the history of the rest of the twentieth century. There was also a large portion missing about what the routes were called on the Diamond of Longs Peak. This book relates to our class's Western Expansion unit we have already had. During the unit we discussed the Lewis and Clark expedition, Native Americans, and brushed on Zebulon Pike's expedition out west. While mountaineering history is of little consequence to our class it still has influence in our lives. Mountaineering history is also generally not interesting to the general public. No one may know historical figures like Albert Ellingwood or Layton Kor with the exception of climbers. I however, can relate to the climbers, and feel their presence when I follow in their footsteps. The Aspen area and many of Colorado's finest mountain towns would not have come into existence if it weren't for the efforts of people like the Hayden and Wheeler surveys. As Colorado's people we take a lot of pride in our mountains; the least we can do is learn a little about them. Works Cited Bueler, William M. Roof of the Rockies, A History of Mountaineering in Colorado. Boulder: Pruett, 1974. Back to Dan's Basecamp What do you think? If you have more info, see mistakes etc. please let me know. As always, anyone wishing to contact me please feel free to do so here. |