www.RogerWendell.com
Roger J. Wendell
Defending 3.8 Billion Years of Organic Evolution^SM

CMC Colorado Mountain Club

Although the Colorado Mountain Club (CMC) has its own web page I'm proud to feature them here as well! Although I was involved with the CMC in the early 80s I didn't become really active in the club until '96 when I was almost 41 (the kids were almost grown and my career was calming down by then!). Nevertheless, it's been a great experience with lots of learning in addition to contact with interesting and knowledgeable people. Below is a list of some of my CMC experiences along with trip photos as they become available:

A few of the CMC Outings I've been on:

Me climbing ice in Vail, Colorado

Orizaba (led by me!) - March 2017 Agrihan Island (Attempt at a first ascent) - June 2015 Mexican volcanoes (led by me!) - March 2014 Bolivia - June 2013 Dallas Peak - August 2012 Russia - September 2011 Italy (Via ferrata) September 2007 Ecuador - January 2006 Pikes Peak - New Year's Day 2005 Aconcagua - January 2004 Kilimanjaro and Mt Kenya - January 2003 Mt. Rainier - July 2000 Mt. Silverheels - May 2000 (13,822') Left to Right: Me, Michael Clapper, leader Keith Jensen, and JoAnne (Photo by Dick Yost) Ice Climbing - February 2000

Click Here for my main climbing page...

Click Here for a look at the CMC's Beginner Rock Climbing Seminar...

Click Here to listen to the CMC's phone greeting (Me!) that was used from 2013 to 2020!

(Click on any of this page's "thumbnail" images for a larger view)

AIARE	Basic Avalanche	HAMS	BRCS Instructor	MOFA	WFA
IRCS	Trip Leader School	BMS	Wilderness Trekking	XC Ski school	Tech Section Examiner

Mt. Rainier (Tahoma)
14,411 feet / 4,392 metres
 
HAMS Graduation Climb

Click Here for my YouTube video of Rainer from my plane window eight years later...

HAMS is the High Altitude Mountaineering Section of the Colorado Mountain Club and is an excellent course of training for anyone interested in serious mountaineering. Back when I was in class, Tom Urban was my immediate instructor and Ken Yarcho was the school's director. Below: Over the 2000 Independence Day holiday nine members of our HAMS group made the summit of Washington State's Mt. Rainier for our graduation climb. We were in three rope teams so it's somewhat difficult to display complete group photos here. At the time, summit conditions were clear, 15°F (Minus 9.4 Celsius), and extremely windy with continuous cloud cover at around the 10,000 foot (3,048 metres) level over the entire state...

From parking lot to summit!

Mt. Rainier Summit: July 02, 2000

Part of our summit party; left to right: Ray Meng, Denise Bingham, John Streeter, Kurt Wibbenmeyer and leader John Mill

Our team at White River Ranger Station

left to right: Me, John Streeter, Dave Ditchkus, Denise Bingham, John Shunk, Linda Johnson, assistant leader Steve Cleary, Ray Meng, leader John Mill, and Kurt Wibbenmeyer

Pix from our Rainier climb:

Me on top the windy summit Me going up in shorts... Passing a crevasse Crevasse swarm One ugly crevasse View from Glacier Camp View from above the clouds Looking down from the top Glacier Camp toilets

Mt. Rainier (14,410 feet), Washington State: On Sunday morning, July 2nd, CMC leader John Mill, and his assistant Steve Cleary, led 9 of our 11 member HAMS graduation team to the summit of Rainier. From camp Schurman (2,875 metres / 9,430+ feet) we departed around 03:00 am after waking to clear, starry skies at 01:30 am. Our route of travel was both the Inter and Emmons Glaciers, having started around 4,300 feet at the White River Ranger Station. (My GPS indicates that there are 1.79 line-of-sight miles between Schurman and the summit - we were delayed about an hour, mid route, due to a change in rope teams). Summit conditions were clear, extremely windy and cold with Kurt measuring the temperature at about 15 degrees F (Minus 9.4 Celsius). Visibility was good in all directions except for the continuous cloud layer covering the state at around the 10,000 foot (3,048 metres) level. The down climb was relatively quick until we reached the clouds and had to look around for wands until reaching Schurman. The next day, Monday, required more careful down climbing as a steady snow fell, at times reducing visibility to a rope length. Earlier that morning, between about midnight and 02:00 am, we listened to many teams abandon their plans for a summit attempt because of the weather. We reached the White River Ranger Station in the early afternoon - walking through snow or continuous drizzle the entire way. In SUMMARY I found the trip to be extremely enjoyable, educational, and inspirational. In some areas the glaciers were so bluish or green that it seemed "otherworldly." Also, our team, for a beginner like me, seemed efficient and cohesive under the expert guidance of both John Mill and Steve Cleary. And finally, no matter how difficult the hike it sure beats a day at the office...

John Mill - Leader, Steve Cleary - Assistant, Denise Bingham, Dave Ditchkus, Linda Johnson, Chris Long, Ray Meng, John Shunk, John Streeter, Bob Thompson, Me, Kurt Wibbenmeyer

Tom Urban's HAMS ice climbing class
above Vail, Colorado in February 2000
(photos by me):

In this one (above) Scott Nykerk is coming over the top...

My CMC Training and Awards:

• January 24, 2020 - AIARE Level 1, Session 1, Denver Group
• December 07, 2019 - Wilderness First Aid Refresher (Instructor Jeff Flax)
• January 03, 2018 - Avalanche Terrain Avoidance (Instructors Linda Lawson and Brad Cotten)
• December 5, 2017 - Backcountry Ski Touring School (Blake Clark and Gary Luttman)
• December 3, 2017 - Denver Group Service Award
• August 27, 2016 - Wilderness First Aid Refresher (Instructor Jeff Flax)
• November 16, 2014 - Wilderness First Aid Refresher
• April 13, 2014 - Wilderness CPR
• March 4 & 11, 2012 - Wilderness First Aid
• March 3, 2012 - Advanced Leader Training Seminar
• January 22, 2012 - Completed AIARE Level 1 avalanche course [David Dellamora, AIARE Instructor]
• November 15, 2011 - Completed Trip Leader School [conducted by Martha Mustard, Marty Billings, and Thom Curtis]
• January 21, 2001 - Completed Cross Country Ski School [Instructors: Joan Rossiter, Rod VanderWall and Waide Biggs]
• July 2000 - Completed HAMS Mt Rainier graduation climb (photos above) [John Mill, Leader - Steve Cleary, Assistant]
• March 2000 - Completed High Altitude Mountaineering Section (HAMS) [Tom Urbran, Instructor]
• Summer 1999 - Completed Intermediate Rock Climbing School (IRCS) [Larry DeSaules, Instructor - Rich Pearce, Assistant]
• October 1998 - Earned D hiker Classification
• October 1998 - Completed Mountain Oriented First Aid (MOFA) [Dr. Doug Hill, Instructor]
• September 1998 - Completed Basic Mountaineering School (BMS) [Instructors: Rhonda Lew and Ginni Greer]
• April 1998 - Completed American Red Cross First Aid & CPR training
• March 1998 - Earned Moderate Ski Classification
• February 1998 - Completed Telemark Ski School [Instructors: Marilyn Choske, Rolph Asplund and Mike Gilespi]
• September 1997 - Earned C hiker Classification
• July 1997 - Earned B hiker Classification
• June 1997 - Completed Wilderness Survival School [John Lindner, Instructor]
• May 1997 - Completed Wilderness Trekking School (WTS) [Carol Neslund, Instructor]
• January 1997 - Earned Easy Ski Classification
• January 1997 - Completed Basic Avalanche Course [Instructors: Knox Williams and Craig Patterson]
• November 1996 - Completed Joint Leadership Seminar (Boulder/Denver)
• 05 November 1996 - Attended new member orientation

Giving Back:

• Denver Group Wilderness Trekking School nav field day assistant - Fall 2019
• Denver Group Annual Dinner Committee (with Carol Munch) - 2019
• Denver Group Annual Dinner Committee (with Carol Munch) - 2018
• Elected to a third, three year term on the Denver Group Council - November, 2018
• Denver Group Elections Committee (with Colleen Landy) - 2017
• Denver Group Wilderness Trekking School Associate Instructor - Fall 2017
• Denver Group Annual Dinner Committee - 2016
• Denver Group Wilderness Trekking School Assistant Instructor - Fall 2016
• Denver Group Annual Dinner Committee - 2015
• Elected to a second, three year term on the Denver Group Council - November, 2015
• Temporary appointment to the State Council for the nomination of board candidates - September/October, 2014
• Denver Group Annual Dinner Committee - 2014
• Assisted with Champ Camp - July, 2014
• Classification Committee chair - July 09, 2014 through January, 2020
• Assumed webmaster duties for the RERA subpages - January 15, 2013
• Accepted to the Denver Group Council's finance committee and also as the conservation committee liaison - December 12, 2012
• Elected to a three year term on the Denver Group Council - November, 2012
• Conservation Committee member - October 16, 2012 through January, 2020
• Assisted with Champ Camp - July, 2012
• Accepted as an Adventure Travel leader - March, 2012
• Accepted as a Denver Group "D" trip leader - March, 2012
• Assisted with Champ Camp - July, 2011
• Assisted with IRCS classroom instruction - March, 2003
• Assisted with BRCS at Maxwell Falls - June 8 and 9, 2002
• Wrote 'em this Sweet Syringe climbing piece for their January 2002 "Tech Section News"

Is it fourteener season yet in Colorado? Almost.
Experts warn traversing snowfields without proper gear is risky; Colorado Mountain Club recommends waiting until July.
 
By John Meyer, The Denver Post Jun 19, 2021, 6:00 am
 
"'Somewhere along the line, the fourteeners went from being mountaineering objectives to being hiking destinations,' Athearn said [Lloyd Athearn, executive director of Colorado Fourteeners Initiative]. 'I think there is a big difference between those two terms. From year to year, the mountains can still be very much mountaineering objectives in June if they've got snow. It only takes one small patch of icy snow in the wrong place - you're trying to cross it, you slip and fall and end up in a talus field. Or worse.'"
 
"That's why the Colorado Mountain Club typically recommends casual hikers wait until July, and they're holding to that advice this year despite Colorado’s recent heat wave and rapid snowmelt."
 
"'Traveling through snow, especially on a steep slope, can be hazardous,' said CMC membership specialist Roger Wendell. 'Post-holing - punching your foot and your leg into the snow, sometimes up to your hip - can be exhausting. But if things froze over or were hard-packed, and you're not prepared - if you don't have crampons, or you don't know how to use an ice axe - you can slide. You could get seriously hurt, if not killed.'"

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