A TRUE MOUNTAINEER

Ken Nolan and His Climbing Exploits

By Kent Groninger

Uncompahgre Peak, as seen from Wetterhorn Peak. Photo by Ken Nolan ]

On November 3, Ken Nolan was awarded the CMC’s 2012 Ellingwood Golden Ice Axe Award at the Boulder annual dinner. is is the highest and only award that the CMC gives for mountaineering excellence. It is given to the recipient for: 1) Re ecting the CMC’s climbing ethics; 2) Demonstrating and teaching strong climbing skills; and 3) Pushing the boundaries of climbing accomplishments in Colorado and around the world. Please pay heed to the phrase “pushing the boundaries”, because Ken Nolan’s accomplishments epitomize this criterion.

Of all places for a mountaineer to be from, Ken was born in New York City, on October 17, 1947. While living in New York in the early 1970s he became an “Adirondack 46er” by climbing all the Adirondack peaks above 4,000 feet. ose who have climbed in the Northeast can attest that although these peaks may sound puny, their ascents have elevation gains comparable to our 14ers. In any case, from an early age Ken was “bitten by the bagger bug.”

In 1977, Ken hiked the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine; though he actually missed the last few miles due to a raging re.

In 1978, Ken moved to Colorado, and climbed Longs Peak, his rst 14er. Soon after he joined the Colorado Mountain Club as a lifetime member and took the Boulder Mountaineer School (BMS). For a few years following graduation he assisted in teaching BMS. It was during this period that I rst got to know Ken when he asked me to help teach the annual “snow structures” training. On a winter weekend, we would go to a well-known, huge snowdrift that would invariably accumulate at the base of Mount Audubon in the Indian Peaks Wilderness and show members how to dig their own snow caves or how to build igloos. ey would then spend the night in

their creations.

In the decades of the 1980s and 1990s, in addition to his domestic ascents, Ken participated in a number of international expeditions. ese trips took him to 18 countries—from Tibet to Chile and from Mexico to Kyrgyzstan.

For the record, Ken had incredibly close calls on two of his foreign trips. e rst was in 1982 in the Canadian Yukon. His seven-member group, primarily from Boulder, was attempting a new, di cult route on the north side of Mount Logan, at nearly 20,000’, the highest peak in Canada. His team was hunkered down in camp, about two-thirds the way up the mountain, on a stormy, nasty day. It had been snowing heavily for over 30 hours. Ken had crawled out of his tent to relieve himself dressed only in his long underwear and down booties, when entirely without warning there came a gigantic avalanche that swept him and his tent mate, Jim, several hundred feet down the mountain. Tumbling, yet frantically swimming to avoid being buried, he and Jim nally came to rest just a few feet above a precipitous cli and certain death. He and Jim labored (again, in down booties) back up the slope to witness the damage. eir camp was totally obliterated. By some miracle, while searching the completely changed landscape, they stepped on the head of one of their buried teammates, still in his collapsed VE-24 tent, and dug out another teammate as well. e three other members of the expedition perished, including Franz Mohling, a physics professor at the University of Colorado and a former director of our Boulder Mountaineering School.

For average climbing blokes, the Logan catastrophe might just put one o one’s game. But Ken kept climbing. Eight years later he experienced another incredibly close call. Ken and his good friend and climbing partner, Jean Aschenbrenner, were climbing on Peak Lenin in the Soviet Pamirs. For those who are not familiar, the Pamirs are near where China, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan all come together. e former Soviet Union’s four peaks over 7,000 meters are in this area.

While they were away, my wife, Cathleen, heard on National Public Radio a snippet that a major mountain climbing accident had occurred in the USSR. Very few details were given and we were quite concerned. A few hours later we learned that many climbers had died. I said to Cathleen, “ e only place in the Soviet Union where a large number could be a ected would be in the Pamirs, where the Soviets run the annual International Mountaineering Camp (IMC).” I was familiar with the area because, four years earlier, as part of the same IMC, I had climbed nearby Pik Kommunizma—at 24,590’, then the USSR’s highest point. Over the next couple of days, as information ever so slowly and ever so painfully came out, it continued to home right in on Jean and Ken. Cathleen and I became convinced that we had lost our friends. When all the details were nally known, it became apparent that a major avalanche had wiped out Camp I on Peak Lenin. is event was, by far, the deadliest mountaineering accident in history. Forty-three climbers were killed, only two climbers at the camp survived, and only two of the 43 bodies were ever found. Ken and Jean were supposed to be at Camp I that day, but miraculously, they were a day behind schedule because the helicopter that was scheduled to transport them to Advanced Base Camp was grounded by bad weather.

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Let’s return now to Ken’s Colorado climbing, and safer tales. It would be easy to regale you with the highlights of Ken’s astounding climbing resume in our Colorado mountains. Superlatives, however, are not needed. Like Ripley’s Believe It or Not, the facts simply speak for themselves.

■ In 1984, Ken completed the 14ers. (In this same year he climbed Aconcagua—the highest point in the Western and Southern Hemispheres.) ■ ree years later, he completed the Centennials. ■ By 1988, he had summited the highest 200 peaks. ■ Two years later, he had nished the 300 highest peaks in Colorado. ■ In 1992, Ken had reached the top of the 400, the 500, and the 600 highest peaks, and everything above 13,000 feet. ■ e beat goes on. In 2003, he completed the 12ers. ■ Two years ago, Ken nished the 11ers (i.e., the 1,781 peaks above 1,000 feet). ■ At the time of this publication he has climbed every peak in Colorado above 10,957 feet! He’s 37 percent of the way towards knocking o the 10ers (while claiming no interest in those forested bumps!) ■ We must add to these highlights that he has also climbed all 126 named peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Obviously Ken is a proli c climber, but he is also a proli c writer. With encyclopedic knowledge, he keeps meticulous records of routes and approaches. He is respected as an elder statesman on Internet Web sites, where his detailed, and witty, trip reports are sources of information and inspiration for many mountaineers. He is also an accomplished photographer. e increased di culty of climbing peaks in the winter compensates with a special beauty that is evident in Ken’s many photographs.

is could be the end of an incredible story of achievement . . . but not so fast. Several years ago Ken moved to Buena Vista to be nearer the centroid of Colorado’s high peaks. Because of the distance we hadn’t seen Ken in a few years. (I guess he was busy!) By chance, in the Spring of 2012, Ken showed up at a talk at Neptune Mountaineering in Boulder that I was also attending. Our eyes met from across the room, and we gathered at the center aisle for a big hug. I expected Ken to ask, “What’ve you been up to?” or

▲ In addition to being an accomplished climber, Ken Nolan is also a talented photographer. Here, he captures Challenger Point, Kit Carson Peak, and Columbia Point during winter. Photo by Ken Nolan

Ken Nolan’s progress toward climbing all 54 Fourteeners in each of the 12 months.

“How’s your health?” or “How’s Cathleen?” But no. I swear. Talk about compulsive! e rst thing out of his mouth was, “Have I got a project for you—the Grid.” With my vapid, blank stare, it was clear to Ken that I had no idea what he was talking about. Ken then proceeded to enlighten me.

For the uninformed, the image to the right shows the fundamentals of the grid. As shown here, across the top, in descending height from left to right, are the 54 fourteen-thousand-foot peaks that the CMC recognizes as 14ers. e rows are the 12 months of the year. e object of this obscure game is to climb each of the 14ers in every calendar month, in other words “ ll in” the cells, all 648 of them! e inset shows how Ken is doing on the grid. He has completed the red cells. He has climbed 37 of the 14ers, at least once, in each and every month of the year. All told, he has lled in over 80 percent of the cells. Rheumatoid and osteoarthritis and surgery to fuse some vertebrae are taking a toll on a well-worn body, and Ken is realistic that he’ll be unable to nish the grid. But his life is being in the mountains, in all seasons. His record is unprecedented, no matter the nal tally.

In summary, it is very safe to say that there is no organism on the face of the earth—and in this we could include mountain goats, ravens, as well as humans (living or dead)—that has been on more high peaks in the State of Colorado than the 2012 Ellingwood Golden Ice Axe awardee. is honor is undeniably overdue, but it is entirely tting that it was awarded in the year of the 100th anniversary of the Colorado Mountain Club. At the Boulder Group’s November dinner Ken received his Ellingwood certi cate, signed by Alice White, the President of the Colorado Mountain Club, and his attractive gold pin, with “Ellingwood” engraved on the ice axe shaft. We know he wears his pin with much-deserved pride. ank you, Ken, for being an inspiration to us all. △ Kent Groninger is a longtime member of the Boulder Group. He was the 2011 recipient of the Ellingwood Award.

Ken Nolan at the top of the 23,218-foot Mount Kun, in India. Photo courtesy Ken Nolan. ]

Al Ossinger presents the Carl Blaurock Silver Piton Award to Gudy Gaskill, a CMC member for more than 60 years and Mother of The Colorado Trail. Photo by Jim Petersen.

Gudy Gaskill Honored with 2012 Blaurock Award

On November 11, at the Denver Group’s annual dinner, Gudy Gaskill was awarded the 2012 Carl Blaurock Silver Piton Award. The award is presented to CMC members who have exhibited tremendous leadership and service over the years, dedicating a considerable amount of effort to CMC activities, which have resulted in meaningful improvements to the club. Gaskill, who was featured in the Fall 2011 Issue of Trail & Timberline, has been a CMC member since 1952. Her many accomplishments with the CMC include being the first woman president of the club; sponsoring the Denver Juniors for nearly 20 years; serving as chairperson of several committees; and leading In-state Outings and many trips, both abroad and in the U.S. She is also the “Mother of the Colorado Trail”, having dedicated four decades of her life to the most beautiful “long trail” in the world. In 2002, she was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame.