1968 Trail & Timberline
—Half a Century Old Helen J. Stiles, Trail & Timberline Contributor, 1968
“BROWSING THROUGH SIX HUNDRED issues of T&T is rediscovering good times I wish I’d been a part of. It’s somewhat the same experience as rereading one’s own favorite historical episodes, reflecting on the delights of living in those splendid bygone days. I suppose I don’t wish myself any additional birthdays, but I envied the people who climbed and skied and studied the out-of-doors in the first two or three decades of the Mountain Club. They were still making first ascents all over Colorado in those years. Technical climbing was coming into its own. Skiing was cross-country, or climb your own hill, and what a hardy bunch those pioneers were. Outings went to new places, until they became old favorites—the San
Juans, Gores, Tetons, Snowmass, Wind Rivers. It was, from the sound of it, a great time to be mountaineering. The guidelines for T&T, as well as the CMC, were established in the teens and twenties. It may be the distance that lends the charm; after all, the early T&T’s said many of the things that we have repeated ever since: Pay your dues; bring back the library books; sign up for outings in advance; let the leader lead; it’s your club, we need volunteer help; a poncho and canteen were recovered from last week’s trip, will owner please claim at clubrooms—it sounds familiar.” All scans courtesy CMC Archives. Special thanks to Katie Sauter, American Alpine Club Library Director, for assistance with this article.
The cover of the first edition of Trail & Timberline, welcoming a new era for the Club. 22
Trail & Timberline
Trail & Timberline celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Club with a special cover.