Hike to Commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the First Ascent of Mt. Harvard (Collegiate Peaks, Sawatch Range, Colorado)

 

Note: Because of the size of our group, the U. S. Forest Service requires that we close registrations on August 9.
 
In 1869, Harvard sponsored a group to explore and survey peak elevations in the Sawatch Range. Long-standing rumors had it that some summits were in excess of 18,000 feet. Most members of this party traveled West on the newly opened First / Great Transcontinental (‘Pacific’) Railroad to Cheyenne, Wyoming, then went overland by stagecoach to Denver (which did not yet have rail service). The Harvard Geographic Expedition of 1869 to the Colorado Territory did find peaks in excess of 14,000 feet, and named the two highest summits they encountered and ascended Mount Harvard (for their sponsor) and Mount Yale (for the alma mater of the two leaders of this expedition: Josiah Dwight Whitney (Yale, 1839) and William Henry Brewer (Yale, 1852).
 
Both of these men and others of the party were heavily involved in similar, contemporary surveying of California. The group called these two the ‘College Peaks’. After subsequent naming of neighboring peaks Mounts Princeton (1873), Columbia (1916), and Oxford (1931), they became and remain known collectively as the Collegiate Peaks. All but Mount Princeton lie within the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness Area.
 
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Description: A full-day hike (it is NOT a technical climb) to the summit of Mount Harvard from the North Cottonwood Creek Trailhead (~14 miles round-trip, with 4540 feet of vertical climb) on the 150th anniversary of the initial recorded ascent by William M. Davis (Harvard, 1869) and Stephen P. Sharples (Harvard, 1866) – young members of the expedition noted above. Summit to be reached by about midday, with ample photo opportunities there and along the way.
 
Lodging at elevation a day or more before and after HIGHLY recommended, and to be arranged by participants - though some possible options will be suggested. For those interested, we will attempt to organize collective meals before and after the hike.
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Intended Hiking Participants: Adults in good physical condition (those under 18 after consultation and approval). Others welcome to join without hiking.
Cost: $10 for RMHUC members and guests, $20 for non-members
Signup Deadline: August 5
Note: all hiking participants must sign a consent / liability waiver form, which will be provided. 
Email pskoch@post.harvard.edu with any questions!

When: Monday, August 19, 5:30 AM - 5:00 PM

(Rain date: August 20)

Where: North Cottonwood Creek Trailhead

(about nine miles west of Buena Vista)

Detailed notes and link to registration are here.

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When:

5:30AM - 5:00PM Mon 19 Aug 2019, Mountain timezone

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Where:

West end of Forest Road 365, 8.6 miles west of Buena Vista
North Cottonwood Creek Trailhead
Buena Vista, CO 81211 USA

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Look Who's Coming:

Allyson Mendenhall
Eliot Hoyt
Asher Hoyt
Bill Horton
  ’77
Russell Horton
  ’14
Charlotte Horton
  ’13
Rachelle Horton
Diane Mullen
Katherine Duffy
John Wang
  Harvard College '88
Anna Jones
Carolyn Bruguera
James Reddinger
Philip Daly
Greg Hawley
  Harvard Club of Birmingham
Maria Chansky
Russell Swank
Emil Yappert
Lisa Carp
Alex Bangs
Lisa Brown
Thomas LaMattina
Philip Straffin
Christopher Miller
Jennifer Malin
Brooks Ensign
Deborah Patz
Dave Fitzjarrell
Luke Anderson
Luciano Lemos Filho
Simon Fox
David Drake
Daniel Peirce
JK Costello
Tania Stewart
  Koenig, Oelsner, Taylor, Schoenfeld, Gaddis, PC
Michael Stewart
  Mayo Clinic
AARON PAYNE
Lisa Noll '74
Edie Greene
Eric Leonard
Alan Siegel
De Lane Bredvik
John Gibert
Sophie Gibert
Molly Fitzpatrick
Mark Ammons
Philip Koch
Audrey Dilgarde
Stephen Bossart
... a total of 49 guests.
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