Colorado Mountain Club. One hundred and eleven hiking and climbing trips were participated in by over 2000 persons from the Denver Group during the spring, summer, and fall months. One of these trips in August was a joint one with the Forest Service. Some 40 persons gathered at the foot of the newly named Mount Kreutzer (13,120 ft.), on the Continental Divide in the Sawatch Range, to honor the memory of the first forest ranger in the United States, William Kreutzer, appointed 60 years ago, August 1898.

His biography, Saga of a Forest Ranger by Len Shoemaker (University of Colorado Press, Boulder, 1958), was read at the campfire, and the peak was officially christened next day by 20 climbers.

The Club carried out its annual tree-planting activities with the Forest Service: 125 members spent a Sunday in June planting 2200 conifers in a burned area of the Arapahoe National Forest, and another group of 40 planted 1200 willow-cuttings in the Pike National Forest. In addition to ski trips in the winter months, many members are penetrating the snow-clad mountains on snowshoes. An activity that is gaining in Club interest is river boating. The Green, the Yampa, the Colorado, and the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho were run, and accounts of these with films and slides provided interesting programs. The fine illustrated lecture by Hans Gmoser from Canada, arranged by Harold Walton, chairman of the Boulder Group lecture committee, was well attended, and the Club’s share of the net proceeds was given to the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group to further its fine work. The climax of the year’s programs was the showing of Dr. Alfred M. Bailey’s new film, "Sub-Antarctic Isle," at the annual dinner. Dr. Bailey, long time member of the Club, is Director of the Denver Museum of Natural History, and this film was made on Campbell Island, 400 miles south of New Zealand, scene of the Museum’s 1958 expedition to collect Elephant Seals, Royal Albatross, and several varieties of Penguins for exhibits to be mounted at the Museum.

Technical Climbing Schools continue to be one of the more popular activities in three of the Club groups. In Denver the number has increased over the years, with 118 people registered this year—33 for intermediate, and 85 for the beginner classes—and a large group of enthusiastic instructors, so that on each of the five field-trips a ratio of one instructor to about six students was maintained. The Technical Committee, with William E. Davis as chairman, has made every effort to improve the School toward making it a true mountaineering experience. Through special arrangements with the Commandant of Cadets’ Office, U. S. Air Force Academy, 19 cadets and 2 officers attended the school. These eager climbers have joined the Club and are the nucleus of the Mountaineering Club of the Academy. The Pikes Peak Group held a technical climbing school on three consecutive Saturday afternoons in April under the direction of Robert M. Ormes. Thirty climbers attended, including some Colorado College students, junior high school students; C.M.C. members helped with the instruction. Advance publicity was handled by Bruce Sommers. Two of the sessions were held in the former military rock-climbing area in North Cheyenne Canyon and one in the Garden of the Gods. The usual rope techniques were covered, and some of the students ended their lessons with a flurry of tension climbing.

Two annual outings were held. The one-week outing, Allen Auten and Richard Bostwick chairmen, was held 11 miles from Aspen near the ghost town of Ashcroft. Hikes were made to Cathedral and American lakes, Pearl Pass, and Conundrum Creek. Taylor, Star, Castle, and South Maroon peaks were climbed. The two-weeks outing, led by William E. Davis and Elwyn Arps, was the Club’s second trip to Glacier National Park. A base camp was assigned by the Park Service at St. Mary’s Lake. Those interested in climbs in the park are referred to the article, "Climbing in Glacier National Park," by William E. Davis, in Trail and Timberline, November 1958.

Anne B. Kennon, Executive Secretary