Challenger Point, 14080', Memorial Plaque - Trip
Report
From: Alan Silverstein
Date: 22 Jul 87 (appended 890919, corrected 940131)
Subject: Trip report: Challenger Point, 14080', memorial plaque
Newsgroups: hpnc.general
Friday - Monday, July 17 - 20:
This weekend we placed a bronze memorial plaque on top of
Challenger Point, Colorado, 14080+'. What began in my mind as a
wild idea last January culminated with five people and seven
hours on a remote mountaintop on Sunday. We came together from
Fort Collins, Boulder, and Colorado Springs, never having met
before. We shared a common interest in mountaineering and the
space program.
This is a longer report than usual because there is a lot to
tell, including a bit of background. We did something
challenging and unusual, even for people who spend their summers
climbing high mountains. I write these reports for my own
memoirs, post them to hpnc.general because others have shown
interest in reading them, and in this case, I'll also share the
report with various entities outside Hewlett-Packard, so I'll
spell out some things (like "HP").
ABOUT THE PEAK
Challenger Point was named for the Space Shuttle which exploded
soon after liftoff on January 28, 1986, killing its crew of
seven. Dennis Williams, a Colorado Springs engineer, proposed
the name to the US Geological Survey (USGS) Board on Geographic
Names (BGN) in 1986. He climbed the then-unnamed mountain
himself on September 21. The BGN approved the name on April 9,
1987.
Challenger is the high point of a long, narrow ridge on the
northwest shoulder of Kit Carson Mountain, 14165', 37 58'47"N
105 36'07"W, in the steep Sangre de Cristo Range. Challenger
and the main peak of Kit Carson are about 2000' apart. They are
about 126 miles SSW of Denver, near the famous Crestones. They
rise 6000' above the broad, flat San Luis Valley to the west,
with no intervening foothills. From the town of Crestone,
Challenger is the high point of a towering mountain which
appears almost monolithic, and hides Kit Carson behind it.
Challenger and Kit Carson are barely inside the Baca Land Grant.
Just to the north is the Rio Grande National Forest, and to the
east, San Isabel National Forest.
The summit is smallish, about ten feet wide, falling off steeply
to the SW and NE. The ridge drops more slowly along its length,
SE and NW. The top is covered with tundra and grass between
flat, weathered boulders of conglomerate rock.
PREPARATIONS FOR THE EXPEDITION
I heard about the naming proposal soon after it was made. I got
in touch with the proposer and with the USGS, and wrote a letter
to the BGN in support. When the name was officially accepted, I
started to think seriously about commemorating it somehow. As
far as I know, none of the Colorado Fourteeners, even those with
commemorative names, has on the summit anything like a bronze
memorial plaque.
I contacted the Colorado Mountain Club (CMC). They endorsed the
proposal, but declined to arrange or join in any sort of
ceremony. Dennis Williams was satisfied that the name was
accepted, and also declined to climb the peak again. I
contacted the Baca landowners by phone; they had little interest
in or concerns about placing a plaque on the summit.
I posted a note to the USENET electronic bulletin board
describing my desire to climb the mountain and install a plaque.
This resulted in a number of people volunteering to join me in
the effort or to make donations towards the costs. (The plaque
cost about $180, and other items, excluding gas and mileage,
phone calls, and photographs, added up to about $60 more.) We
kept in touch by phone, paper mail, or electronic mail.
Jim Baer and I spent an hour on the phone one evening settling
on the size and wording of the plaque. It is six inches high,
twelve inches wide, weighs six and a half pounds, and reads as
follows.
+---------------------------------------------+
| CHALLENGER POINT, 14080+' |
| |
| In Memory of the Crew of Shuttle Challenger |
| Seven who died accepting the risk, |
| expanding Mankind's horizons |
| |
| January 28, 1986 Ad Astra Per Aspera |
+---------------------------------------------+
The Latin phrase means: "To the stars through aspiration". It
happens to be the state motto of Kansas. I ordered the plaque
on May 23 from Craft Trophy of Fort Collins. Henry Fry was
extremely helpful in getting it prepared quickly, correctly, and
professionally.
Around this time, Shepardson Elementary in Fort Collins, where I
am a Visiting Scientist, held a balloon launch and fund-raiser
for the project. They will contribute $100. In the Fall I will
make a presentation to them on the expedition, and help
construct a suitable display of clippings, photographs, and a
rock from the summit.
The weekend of July 18th was a good target date for the climb
because it falls in the middle of National Space Week. July 20
marked the 18th anniversary of the first lunar landing. It is
late enough in the summer climbing season that the weather is
(relatively) warm up there, and most winter snow is melted.
In May I mailed a press release to many people describing our
plans. I also sent various entities, including Kennedy Space
Center, pictures of the mountain taken from the air and from
Crestone Peak.
In the weeks before the trip I busily overprepared. I made a
long list of tools and supplies we might need on the summit,
bought and tested a variety of concrete compounds, drew up a
plan for how we might attach the plaque, gathered everything
together and weighed the parts, and so forth. I'm still amazed
at how much work (informal engineering, really) was involved in
getting it right. Being uncertain of what to expect on the
summit, I was prepared for a variety of alternatives.
The weather did not look promising on Thursday night. But by
Friday morning a "100% improvement" had occurred, according to
Dave Randel, a CSU climatologist (and spouse of fellow
Hewlett-Packard engineer Anny Randel). Instead of monsoon
rains, we expected -- and received -- brisk, cold, dry winds
from the desert southwest.
MAKING BASE CAMP
Friday afternoon we took off from our respective workplaces.
Jim Baer of Ball Aerospace came from Boulder with Barbara Roach,
an accomplished mountaineer who climbed all the Colorado
Fourteeners ten years ago and has participated in many long
expeditions to reach high summits. Ted Manahan of HP, Colorado
Springs brought his wife Chuchang and eight-month-old son
Clifton. We met late Friday night on the dirt road east out of
the small, isolated town of Crestone, in the northern San Luis
Valley.
On the way down to Crestone I stopped in Denver to show the
plaque to the people at Channel 4 News. They ran a 45-second
segment about our expedition on the Saturday evening news.
Saturday morning we packed at the campsite. I distributed about
35 pounds of tools and supplies not normally carried to 14000',
including the plaque itself. We drove about a mile further up
to the trailhead, a total of 2.4 miles east of the center of
town, on a rough and rocky road barely passable by passenger
cars. We started on the trail at 0930.
Jim and Barbara took off ahead. I enjoyed a more leisurely pace
with the Manahans and helped carry Clifton some of the way. We
took 4:35 to travel the 2800' vertical, 4+ miles, on the sandy
trail to Willow Lake, 11564'. The obvious trail climbs steeply
to a gorgeous, oval, grassy meadow (Willow Creek Park), which
was alive with wind-waves. Then it goes a long ways up a
narrowing valley, with many lazy switchbacks, to a hanging wall
left by glaciers. Switching up this face past running creeks
takes one to the upper valley. The lake is about a half mile
further along. The trail is up-and-down a bit at times, and
somewhat swampy under the trees in spots.
Willow Lake is incredible. The downstream half is surrounded by
big trees. At the upper end is a barren 200' cliff with a
narrow vertical waterfall. We made camp right on the NW
lakeshore. Howling winds rushed up the valley all afternoon and
most of the night, but the sky remained clear. Jim and Barbara
ran up nearby Adams Peak, about another 2500' of vertical gain,
while Ted and I circled the lake for a mellow hour and a half
before dinner.
Beyond the lake you can see up the rest of the valley. Kit
Carson looms above the far end and the broad, steep side of the
Challenger ridge forms the right wall. There are willows and
small pines scattered about. You can't see the summit of
Challenger except from the top of the waterfall.
After dark, Joe Hunter, also of HP, Colorado Springs, arrived at
camp wearing a headlamp. He pitched a tent and called it a
night. We now had the traditional number -- seven, including
the baby -- for a magic adventure expedition.
CLIMBING THE PEAK
Joe and I awoke at 0445 and left camp ahead of the others at
0530 as an advance party, carrying the essentials needed to
begin placing the plaque. It was just light enough to make our
way around the south side of the lake, a half hour before
sunrise. The south side is rockier, but more direct than
fighting through the willows on the other side. In 20 minutes
we were above the waterfall. We turned right to scramble up the
steepening mountainside.
We climbed a grassy and rocky slope up to the left side of a
major snow-filled gully. Here we met the first sunlight, which
was much appreciated, and proceeded up steep, knobby
conglomerate. We reached the ridge -- and the first sight of
the splendorous view beyond -- at 0755. A short ridge-walk to
the left brought us to the summit at 0805. 2500' in 2:35 wasn't
bad, with each of us carrying about ten extra pounds above and
beyond the usual.
For a short time we soaked up the panorama. Kit Carson
dominates the skyline to the SE, with Crestone Needle and Peak
beyond it. To the right, the Sangre de Cristo Range curves
around Great Sand Dunes National Monument to the Fourteeners
near Blanca Peak. The open expanse of the San Luis Valley is
bordered in the distance by the San Juans to the west. Mount
Adams is a rugged pinnacle to the north.
We found and signed the summit register, which was placed in
1985. Dennis Williams was the last person to sign in during
1986, and only about ten people had done so in 1987. The peak
was seldom visited in the past, but will become more famous now
that it's named.
People entered various positive comments in the log, like "Go at
Throttle Up!". One person wrote a long diatribe about the
foolishness of naming the mountain for Challenger; others added
criticisms of that commentary. I mentioned that we were a
plaque-mounting expedition, and a couple of choice quotes: "The
Dream is Alive!" and "Earth is the cradle of mankind, but we
cannot live in the cradle forever."
PLACING THE PLAQUE
At 0815 we began site selection. There wasn't an obvious place
to attach the plaque where it would be north-facing (out of
direct, hot sunlight) and also more than a few inches above the
ground. We rolled a few boulders out of the way looking for a
good spot. We finally settled on the summit boulder itself, a
hunk of very hard stone about four by six feet across, angled up
from the ground to the southwest. Since the weather was good
and we'd have time to drill holes in the rock, we were not so
worried about thermal expansion.
In the course of moving some rocks piled on this boulder, I
uncovered some "cremains", small chips of white bone, and a
small, corroded brass token. On the front it said: Ferncliff
Crematory, Hartsdale, N.Y., and on the back, a stamped number,
22510. This amazed me. Unfortunately I'd already disturbed the
ashes, which were rather spread about anyway. We gathered most
of the bone chips out of the way and continued working on the
rock.
(After getting home, I called the crematory and discovered the
ashes were of Russell Johnson Parker of New York, died September
9, 1949, at age 52. He was cremated on September 16 and the
ashes were mailed to Walter H. Williams, no address recorded,
on the 17th. We don't know when they were left on the summit,
but apparently it was many years ago, judging by the condition
of the crematory token. There is probably another long and
fascinating story behind that.)
We decided to place the plaque on the flat, sloping upper part
of the summit boulder. It is more horizontal than vertical, and
faces northeast. First we chiselled a while to flatten the
area, then started drilling anchor holes using star bits. This
was *very* slow going, taking about 40 minutes per hole. (As an
example of the kind of advance planning required, we had along
and used a felt-tip marker to indicate where the plaque was to
be set.)
The other three of the party left Chuchang and Clifton at camp
at 0730 and joined us on top at about 1000. By then Joe and I
had almost finished the first hole. We got two holes going at
once, all of us taking turns pounding on the star bits (and
occasionally, fingers). The temperature in the shade rose
slowly from 30 to 40 degrees. The wind varied from dead calm to
strong gusts. At one point, some military jets came screaming
across the San Luis Valley and around the peaks. A party of two
climbers traversed about a hundred feet below, over to Kit
Carson, without coming up to say hello. No one else visited.
At about 1215, four hours after Joe and I started site
selection, we set the lead anchors in the holes. We discovered
that, despite my overkill planning, we didn't have a proper
anchor setting tool. Fortunately, Joe has some construction
experience. Not only did he do more than his share of the
drilling (hammering), he also found a way to set the anchors
using a screwdriver, and insured they were precisely positioned
so the screws would match.
We prepared the rock by wire-brushing and otherwise cleaning it.
Then, after a bit of coordination, we briskly mounted the
plaque. Two people mixed Quikrete, a fast-hardening concrete,
while we squeezed silicone cement into the anchor holes, put
modelling clay plugs on top, then coated the rock with acrylic
bonding compound. We put several of the bone chips on the
prepared rock. Then we spread the concrete, positioned the
plaque, and tightened it down, forcing cement out around the
edges. We used three stainless steel and one (longer) steel
Allen-head cap screws. They look good, and are very strong and
hard to remove.
The rock was cold. The Quikrete set more slowly than when I
experimented with it at home. However, within half an hour we
could gently smooth the edges to the rock. Meanwhile someone
plastered a nearby rock with extra cement and set the crematory
token into it.
We forgot to cover the plaque with duct tape and plastic, so we
had to clean it up a little with a toothbrush and rags. We took
zillions of pictures, and the rest of the party headed down at
1345.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
I didn't want to leave. It was so incredible, finally being
there and done with the project. I slowly gathered myself after
the frantic pace, picked up odds and ends and stuffed them in my
pack, coated the concrete with silicone cement to help protect
it, and took more pictures.
Now this was a magic time... it was quiet, peaceful, and there
was the culmination of our hard work, gleaming in the sunlight.
I was tired, and a little overwhelmed with many feelings. I
wanted to capture the moment. It's always hard to do.
The view to the southwest is phenomenal. The summit boulder,
the plaque, a rock cairn, a wooden pole, and behind, the Great
Sand Dunes, and the distant peaks. From here, the horizons are
indeed very far away.
I hope the plaque lasts for a long time. Long after people who
come to the summit, who remember the Challenger and her crew,
have forgotten how it came to be there.
"The greatest use of life is to spend it
on something that outlasts it." --James
Finally, I covered the plaque with a sheet of black plastic
weighted down with rocks, to help the concrete dry slowly. I
shouldered my pack (too heavy!), and started down at 1455, after
6:50 on the summit. In 15 minutes I reached the 13800' saddle
NW on the ridge above the gully. I carefully descended along
the gully, and then glissaded down it and a number of lower
snowfields, reaching the flats above the lake at 1555. By 1615
I was back at camp.
Joe had already departed. The others were half packed. They
left at 1640. I finally followed them at 1730, and never did
catch up to them during the slog out. At 1930 I reached the
trailhead and my car, the last one remaining from the weekend.
I took it slow going home. Down in Crestone I watched the last
sun strike Challenger Point almost an hour later. I camped for
the night very late, on the Weston Pass road SW of Fairplay, and
reached Fort Collins at noon on Monday. Soon after, I was being
interviewed on the phone by the Rocky Mountain News, which ran a
followup story on July 21 (page 25) to their earlier story on
July 17 (page 26).
The next day I was still unusually sore and tired from the hard
workout. That will fade, but the memories will not.
Postscript:
Some months later I mailed a copy of this report and some
pictures to Dr. June Scobee, wife of the shuttle pilot, care of
the Challenger Center she created. Eventually I received a very
nice reply, including a thank you note written on a copy of the
map quadrangle showing the peak. So she, and perhaps the other
astronauts's families, are aware of Challenger Point and the
memorial plaque.
This article used with permission of the author.
INFORMATION
