Old winter haunts of the CMC:
Berthoud Pass By Woody Smith
First Creek Ski Cabin, February 22, 1935. Colorado Mountain Club Archives
B
eginning in 1916 the Colorado Mountain Club made a tradition of holding an annual winter outing, usually at the Fern Lake Lodge in Rocky Mountain National Park. Activities included the “new” sports of cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, ski jumping, and in limited form, downhill or alpine skiing. Some members longed for more, and made pilgrimages to the Alps and other European locales. They returned with stories of unending ski runs, thousands of feet long, running from summit to valley. In 1926 John L.J. “Jerry” Hart wrote of his European trip the previous Christmas with the Oxford Ski Club:
[One] Climb of a thousand feet leads to the Parsenn-Furka Pass [Switzerland], from which the famous run drops five thousand feet in seven miles to Kublis on the railway. On this run, at times one’s skis seem to be resting on air, the sensation being one of flying . . . [In Norway], Finse is unequaled for ease and speed. . . . One of the best runs is on the Hardanger Jokull, a hill covered with a circular glacier six miles in diameter and crevassed in only a few places. Coming down this glacier, there is nothing but the resistance of air to restrict one’s speed. We were certain that we hit fifty miles an hour. (T&T, 8/1926)
36
Trail & Timberline
Arriving home, Club members began looking for open, yet snowy mountainsides to create their own “endless” ski runs. As luck would have it, a major construction project—years in the making—would help the CMC, and the City of Denver, find Colorado’s next winter playground. **** In the 1860s, when railroad routes over the Continental Divide were being scouted, Central City mayor Andrews N. Rogers, a mining engineer by trade, suggested a tunnel under the divide at James Peak. (Colorado’s Other Mountains, Walter R. Borneman, 15–16). During the 1880s railroad magnate David Moffat, who was searching for a more direct link to the Western Slope, liked the idea enough to fund surveys. But Moffat could never raise enough capital for construction. He passed in 1911, still trying to make the tunnel a reality. But the dream lived on, and in 1922 finally found support in the Colorado Legislature. The final plan called for two 6-mile-long tunnels, one for water, the other for trains. The east bore started below Rollins Pass, at the headwaters of South Boulder Creek, near 9,200 feet. The west bore began at 9,240 feet, near the headwaters of the Fraser River—a gentle slope to the east of 6 1/2 feet per mile. Construction began in 1923 and con-
Berthoud rope tow, February 27, 1937. Colorado Mountain Club Archives
cluded in 1928. The cost was $18 million, three times the original estimate. Twentyeight workers were killed during the project. The first freight train passed through on February 14, 1928. But Club members were lucky enough to get a preview just 10 days before the tunnel opened:
One of the most interesting ski trips of the season was enjoyed by members the week-end of February 4 when as guests of the Moffat Tunnel Commission they visited the tunnel country. Driving to the East Portal it seemed the trip would prove a failure from the viewpoint of skiers but after making the ride through the Pioneer Bore to the West Portal they were greeted with enough snow to bury them. It was such a welcome sight with the moon-glow on the snow that several hours were spent enjoying the slopes in the camp. Put up in bunk houses, they were served a regular Tunnel breakfast after which even our best found difficulty in navigating. Ascent to Timberline was made up the old logging trail. After lunch a speedy drop into camp and return through the Pioneer Bore to cars at the East Portal was made in record time (Nancy Crisp “Denver Doings,” T&T, March 1928).
With regular rail service, the West Portal area gained quick popularity. By 1930 the CMC was making regular visits. Wrote Malcolm Collier:
