Yesteryear

by Judy Gunkler

I joined the Boulder group in 1971 and became a lifetime member in 1991, so I have been around awhile, but I never looked into the history of the CMC. Having just taken over Kay Hubbard’s job as Yesteryear editor, I have become fascinated with the beginnings of our club.

85 years ago

The CMC was founded in 1912, but the first Trail and Timberline was published in April, 1918. That issue included a list of the names of all 437 members. The most distant members were from Virginia, Connecticut, Missouri, Maryland, and Massachusetts. Dues at that time were $3.00.

The winter outing article written by Lucia Robinson and Sarah Vaille, (sister of Agnes of Longs Peak fame) caught my attention as we look forward to the upcoming winter adventures.
 “Six-thirty on the morning of February 22nd showed the range of snow peaks as pink and rosy as the hopes of thirty-nine club members bound for the annual winter outing at Fern Lake. We gaily motored to Estes Park village, where transfer was made to the cars of the Transportation Company which took us to the Brinwood (Lodge.)

Bidding farewell to civilization, we sallied forth on snow-shoes and skis, our worldly belongings on our backs, into a snow-filled wonderlandÉ.Shooting the chutes on the toboggan was very popular and many were the thrills, bumps, and mix-ups of anatomy this sport offered. As one man remarked on seeing a toboggan capsize, ‘The Mountain Club certainly are good mixers.’”

It is interesting to note that 85 years ago they had a very early form of our cross-country skis.

32 years ago

When I came to Colorado in 1971, I ordered my skis from CMC member, Ingvor Sodol, who ordered them from Norway. I had to drive to Denver from Boulder to purchase bindings and re--place-ments, which always broke.

An article by Lee Schroeder in Trail and Timberline sums it up pretty well. “Now, people who have heard of Nordic skiing will doubt my word right away, because this type of cross-country, scenery skiing is reputed to be one of the safest types. You just sort of rhythmically walk-lunge along, using poles to help push you or keep your balance, and presumably you fly through the trees with the greatest of ease. Or so the manuals sayÉ. Yet there we were tromping valiantly around behind a beginners’ Nordic skiing instructor, trying to keep the tail of one ski from planting itself atop the tail of the other skiÉ. It was a warm, mutual sharing of clumsiness.” Then there was the frustration of waxing that some of you may remember well.

12 years ago

It seemed a good time to join the CMC
for life in 1991, as I certainly was enjoying the many activities it had to offer. Cross-country skiing had become very popular. Lots of members were hanging up their downhills for good and opting for the cross-country group activities. Best of all, you could find all types of XC skis and bindings in the many sport shops that had sprung up, not only in Boulder, but all over the state. The original mem-bers would have been envious.
But then, we don’t have toboggan outings much anymore. P