State awards

By Bill Houghton, CMC president

In the past several weeks it has been my honor to present several awards to members of the Colorado Mountain Club who have “made a difference.” With such an active list of very dedicated volunteers in the club it is hard to imagine being able to single out just a few individuals for their effort. But even among the hundreds of volunteers, there always seems to be a few who rise to the top of the list. To those hundreds of volunteers who are not recognized here, we can only express our admiration and thanks for your work. It may be unheralded here, but it is critical to the success of this club. To those recognized here, you have reached the pinnacle of this club’s awareness; you have toiled for many years in your specialty; you have given heart and soul to the club; and this honor is only a small recognition for your efforts. Please accept our humble thanks.

President’s Awards

Each year the president of the Colorado Mountain Club is empowered to give three awards to those individuals who have distinguished themselves in their service to the club. These awards are normally given to individuals who have worked at the state level or who have brought honor to the Colorado Mountain Club.

Steve Bonowski  Steve is receiving his second President’s Award in recognition of his extensive work on behalf of Conservation, his personal sacrifice in traveling to numerous locations throughout the state on conservation issues, his frequent and well attended travels on behalf of club outings, and his extensive high altitude outings around the globe. Steve is also a member of the Executive Committee and a member of the Board of Directors. As an individual, he is a member of an advisory committee to State Parks and Trails. Steve brings great credit to himself and the Colorado Mountain Club.

Keith Jensen  Keith is rarely out in front at state gatherings, but he is always there. He is the individual who is behind the scenes making sure that everything is set up and working properly. Those in the Denver Group know him for his efforts on behalf of education including the directing and videotaping of several schools. His counsel and direction have been key to getting the AMC auditorium set up to host a variety of activities and community events. In the past year he has given extensively of his time to make sure the acquisition of a new phone system is compatible and efficient in providing service to our members. He is the key person to go to in computer technology and web design. Keith works tirelessly to make sure we have the ability to communicate with our members.

Paul Smith  Does anyone know Paul Smith? Paul is a member of the Pikes Peak Group, but his activities are largely outside the view of many of our members. Paul is one of those individuals who chooses to put sweat equity into our mountains, and in doing so he has distinguished himself and the club by his efforts. Paul started out like many of us in enjoying the mountains. But he quickly realized the significance of the impact we were having on our natural areas. He has responded by volunteering most of his free time to the construction and rehabilitation of our trails and natural areas. In every trail building activity in which I participated this last year, Paul was there. It mattered little if it was for Volunteer for Outdoor Colorado or Rocky Mountain Field Institute; Paul was there as a crew leader or just as a participant. Paul’s efforts in the mountains are an inspiration and reflect well on the Colorado Mountain Club.

Ellingwood Award

This is the first time the Ellingwood Award has been given. A new award, it serves to recognize individuals who by their efforts have distinguished themselves in mountain craft, education, and mountaineering accomplishments. The Ellingwood Mountaineering Achievement Award is given annually to a member who best reflects the CMC’s climbing ethics, demonstrates and teaches strong climbing skills, and who pushes the boundaries of climbing accomplishments in Colorado and around the world. In this International Year of the Mountains, the Colorado Mountain Club Ellingwood Award goes to Jim Gehres of the Denver Group.

Jim Gehres has distinguished himself and the Colorado Mountain Club in his untiring love of the mountains and the singularly outstanding accomplishments in climbing in Colorado. He has climbed each fourteen thousand-foot mountain a minimum of twelve times and accumulated over 700 summit climbs. He does this as a CMC trip leader, an Emily Griffith Peak Challenge trip leader, and for his own personal pleasure. He is a past member of the CMC state board, a member and treasurer of the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, and a member and president of the Colorado Mountain Club Foundation.

Blaurock Award

This is the Colorado Mountain Club’s highest award. It is given annually to a club member who has invested a substantial amount of effort in CMC activities, resulting cumulatively in a significant improvement to the club. In this International Year of the Mountain the Colorado Mountain Club Blaurock Award goes to Janet Robertson of the Boulder Group.

To say that Jan is a long-time leader in the Colorado Mountain Club would be an understatement. She has been a member of the Boulder Group since 1952, making her a 50-year member. In addition to presiding as the chair of the Boulder Group, she has worked on numerous issues including safety, leadership, cross country skiing, Brainard Cabin host training, the CMC clubhouse, and the acquisition and restoration of the American Mountaineering Center. She has climbed all of the 14,000-foot mountains in Colorado and hiked the Colorado Trail. She has written several books including Day Hikes on the Colorado Trail, Magnificent Mountain Women, and A Biography of Betsey Cowles Partridge. She founded the Indian Peaks Wilderness Alliance, is a member and former Chair of the Colorado Mountain Club Foundation, and President of the Rocky Mountain National Parks Associates for the last eight years. She is the past Chair of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Explorer’s Club and has given over sixty talks to a variety of organizations about mountaineering topics. Jan exemplifies the finest attributes and ideals of the Colorado Mountain Club.

Best of BANFF Mountain Film Festival Tour

Brought to you by REI—Fri 3/7/02  and Sat 3/8/02

For 27 years, the Banff Mountain Film Festival has been celebrating the spirit of adventure and the mountain environment. Each November, over 250 films are submitted from 27 countries. The best films from each year’s festival go on tour. Get a taste of these wild mountain adventures and more.

Additional information will appear in the March-April issue of Trail & Timberline. Tickets will be available at REI metro Denver locations. Proceeds benefit the Colorado Mountain Club and the American Alpine Club. We expect the shows to sell out. 

January HAMS Program announced

Join HAMS member Bill Houghton on January 27, 2003 at 7 p.m. in the Foss Auditorium on a journey to Mt Fuji, Japan.  Although Mt. Fuji is not a technically challenging peak, it is full of interesting parallels to climbing our increasingly popular peaks in Colorado.