EVELYN RUNNETTE

1904-1984

The first time I met Evelyn Runnette she was hanging upside down in a tree—caught by her skis—on Berthoud Pass, Colorado. Her deep love of mountains led her into many activities; she skied, she climbed, she trekked, she boated down the rivers. She was the 21st person to have climbed all of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks. She also made many climbs in the Tetons and Wind Rivers of Wyoming.

Evvie contributed much to others’ enjoyment of mountains through her knowledge and enthusiasm and also because she often did much of the labor that others avoided.

Evelyn was taken into the American Alpine Club in 1937. She was a 40-year member of the Colorado Mountain Club and served as secretary of that organization for many years. Ev was a charter member of the Southern Rocky Mountain Ski Association and served as its secretary and treasurer. She served on many committees for the National Ski Association and was involved in the planning of the 1960 Winter Olympic Games in Squaw Valley. She was a member of the editorial committee and wrote for the Eastern Ski Annual and the American Ski Annual.

She was inducted into the Colorado Ski Hall of Fame in 1978.

Evvie died July 22, 1984 after suffering arthritis for many years. She maintained many of her activities, however, until the last few weeks. Her trips to the high country in the last years when walking became so difficult and painful, were an inspiration to all who knew her.

Evelyn will be sadly missed, for she was an enthusiastic and fun-loving companion and always a good and caring friend. She was widely travelled in America, Europe and the Orient. She knew and loved music, literature, the theater, and people. She knew every wild flower that ever grew.

But above all was her love of the high country—and she will be fondly remembered.

John V. Ambler M.D.