Upcoming Event

Where and When:

Thursday, October 23 at 7:00PM

Foss Auditorium

American Mountaineering Center

710 Tenth Street

Golden, CO 80401

Please join us to celebrate the release of the new edition of The San Juan Mountaineers' Climbers Guide to Southwestern Colorado. Originally published in 1933 by Dwight Lavender, Carleton Long, and Art Griffiths, this book is considered to be one of the first modern climbing guidebooks. The Colorado Mountain Club Press spent two years scrupulously recreating the detailed maps and notes from the first edition - of which only two known copies still exist.

Bob Rosebrough, author of Climbing Colorado's San Juan Mountains, will be our featured speaker that evening. Rosebrough will pay tribute to the early San Juan Mountaineers and how they influenced the making of his own guidebook. CMC Press Manager Alan Stark and CMC Press Advisory Board member John Lacher will discuss their inspiration for the new edition. Hear how the CMC Press, American Alpine Club Library, University of Colorado, and a book conservator all worked together to make this project come to life. This is an event that will appeal to history buffs, bibliophiles, climbers, and lovers of the San Juan mountains alike. Copies of the new edition will be available for purchase.

About the book:

Originally published in 1933 by CMC members Dwight Lavender, Carleton Long, and Mel Griffiths, The San Juan Mountaineers' Climber's Guide was the first Colorado climber's guidebook. The book is also considered to be one of the first "modern" climbing guidebooks-one that provides specific route information and accompanying photographs. Most previous climbing guidebooks were what we would today consider to be general travel narratives. The Climber's Guide was unique in its approach in how it informed climbers about what to expect when they ventured into the wilderness.

Most of the book's content came from Lavender's, Long's, and Griffiths's own documentation of the climbs they performed during the 1920s and 30s. In addition to imparting specific route information, The Climber's Guide was also cautionary. As Art Griffiths explains in the new edition's preface, "The well-documented routes to the summits of these mountains helped others avoid the mishaps and difficult route finding that too often occurs in the San Juans." It was the sense of community and affinity for their fellow climbers that compelled Lavender, Long, and Griffiths to write the book.

Details:

Admission is free to Friends of the Library and CMC 21st Century Circle Members. Others are encouraged to make a $10.00 donation to benefit the library. All donations from the event will be contributed toward the National Endowment for the Humanities Challenge Grant the Library is applying for. You can also make an additional donation to the library online (please indicate that your gift be applied toward the grant).

Light refreshments will be served.

Please RSVP to Gary Landeck at 303-951-4564 or glandeck@americanalpineclub.org.