November Program
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Guidebook author’s program takes viewers scrambling beyond the beaten path
By Lori Spaulding
As Dave Cooper put the finishing touches on the second edition of his popular Colorado
Scrambles guidebook, he sent a friend in CMC’s Denver group details of one of five
new routes depicted in the updated version.
The friend used it for a CMC club trip, telling those accompanying him that “they
were lucky to be on a route with no cairns and no evidence of prior passage,” Dave
said.
But, with the publication of the updated Colorado Scrambles in August, that anonymity
is sure to change.
The new routes will be among those featured in Dave’s presentation, “Beyond the
Beaten Path – Exploring Colorado’s High Country”, at the Annual Dinner of CMC’s
Pikes Peak Group on Saturday, Nov. 7. The evening begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Colorado
Springs Senior Center, 1514 N. Hancock. Reservation information is available elsewhere
in this newsletter.
The slideshow will draw from both of Dave’s guidebooks – Colorado Scrambles: Climbing
Off the Beaten Path and Colorado Snow Climbs: A Guide for All Seasons. The guidebooks
are known for their detailed route descriptions and photography.
“We used a lot of photographs to help with critical routefinding areas,” Dave said.
“I heard from a couple of people that, on the Crestone traverse, they were able
to look at the photos and figure out where they needed to go and it saved them from
difficulty.”
Other climbers have told Dave that the Scrambles book “became their goal – to do
all of its routes”. He believes the book has added to the popularity of scrambling.
“It has always been around and a part of mountaineering,” he said, “but it has become
more mainstream since the book came out.”
The five new routes join the many other high quality routes that were featured in
the original Scrambles and replace five routes “that were adequately covered in
14er guidebooks,” Dave said. “Also, in one case, access issues required that the
route be taken out.”
Dave has spent thirty-some years exploring Colorado’s mountains, as well as climbs
farther afield in South America, the Himalayas, Alaska and the Canadian Rockies.
He didn’t always reach his goal on the first attempt. “Climbers have a lot of skeletons
in our closets,” Dave said. Twice he attempted the Polar Circus, a big ice climb
in Canada, and twice it avalanched. With intentions to try it again, he says, “the
third time’s the charm, right?”
Some peaks in South America also took three attempts to complete. “One thing mountaineering
teaches us is perseverance,” he says.
Dave hopes his slideshow and guidebooks will get others “excited about exploring
new areas and new routes, and maybe talk about what is possible.” “It’s for experienced
mountaineers,” he said. “Maybe you’ve done all the 14ers and are looking for new
climbing.
“I’ve always stressed a progression in mountaineering,” he said. “In both books,
I try to include a range of climbs -- from easier, less committing climbs to more
serious ones – and (in his presentations) talk about the skills mountaineers need
to develop. I’ve always been a teacher – that’s a big part of my motivation – so
that others can experience the amazing locations,” he added. “You can discover a
lot about yourself through climbing.”
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