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Historic Climb of Thunder Pyramid

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 1:29 pm
by sgladbach
I ran across this article today.

If you add up the years, it seems Stewart was only 17 y/o while Carson and Spence were 30.

Spence passed on in 2010 while guiding a group at 70 y/o. The pike's Peak CMC had established an annual award in his honor to acknowledge an outstanding trip leader. Carson Black was the first recipient. Carson is still hard at it.

I like this stuff.

Steve

Re: Historic Climb of Thunder Pyramid

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 1:32 pm
by I Man
Very cool, Steve. Great article. Thanks for posting.

Thunder is an interesting mountain. I am not sure if I love it or hate it, but I will remember it forever for many, many reasons.

Re: Historic Climb of Thunder Pyramid

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 1:39 pm
by Mindy
Cool - I like this stuff too. Thanks for sharing!

Re: Historic Climb of Thunder Pyramid

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 1:51 pm
by Rainier_Wolfcastle
“We f…ed up, we wanted to climb Pyramid instead!”
With my luck trying to climb this one, climbing it by accident may be my only shot!

Thanks for sharing Steve! I had no idea the last Centennial was first climbed so recently.

Re: Historic Climb of Thunder Pyramid

Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2013 9:56 am
by susanjoypaul
Here's a copy of the first page of the register, with the names of that first ascent party of six: Spencer Swanger, Stewart Green, Carson Black, Gordon Blanz, Jack L. Harry, and Bill Graves.

The register was placed by Spence on August 2, 1970 and carried down by Steve Mueller on August 11, 2002.
Pretty cool that it survived all those years.

Re: Historic Climb of Thunder Pyramid

Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2013 1:15 pm
by doggler
Super cool stuff.

Spence woulda been my neighbor.

Re: Historic Climb of Thunder Pyramid

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 11:06 am
by ClimbStewart
Thanks for posting the link to my article Steve, and thanks Susan, for posting a scan of that register. It is amazing that it survived all those years. And Steve, you're right, I was a 17-year-old kid just out of high school when we climbed the mountain. I haven't been back to reclimb it, although I had made plans with Spence to climb it in August 2010 after he returned from his Dolomite trip, which ended in tragedy. We talked about doing a 40th anniversary ascent. Carson Black, however, wanted no part of it! I feel fortunate to have been a small part of Colorado mountaineering history with that ascent...

Re: Historic Climb of Thunder Pyramid

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 10:23 pm
by globreal
Great article! Neat history.
Thanks Steve for posting. Thanks Stewart for writing this up. Thanks Susan for the cool summit register scan.

I hope to make it up there this year....Lord willing.

Re: Historic Climb of Thunder Pyramid

Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 5:46 am
by d_baker
ClimbStewart wrote:Thanks for posting the link to my article Steve, We talked about doing a 40th anniversary ascent. Carson Black, however, wanted no part of it! I feel fortunate to have been a small part of Colorado mountaineering history with that ascent...
I think Carson didn't want to go back because he's been back to Thunder several times over the years since that first ascent; and to paraphrase his comments he made to me about that first ascent: "there's better climbs around than this one!"
Although the views from Thunder are sweet!

Susan, thanks for posting the scanned register. I haven't seen that before.
You're living on, Spence! Thanks for the memories and for what you gave to the CO mountain folks!

Re: Historic Climb of Thunder Pyramid

Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 10:22 am
by Svenski Norski
It's great that the history, and some of the guys involved, lives on. Details of these F.A.'s are so often lost. I'm still hoping to run across an old Leadville Herald Democrat from "79 to read about Steve Lewis' first solo winter climb of Ellingwood Ridge on LaPlata. I was at CMC Leadville in those days, there was still a lot of new territory out there.. I love hearing about it all.

Re: Historic Climb of Thunder Pyramid

Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 12:54 pm
by Randy
cool stuff, love the guys who climbed it by mistake. Reminded me of when I first got to CO. I was climbing Sherman and took a left turn on the ridge, head down climbed the peak. Turned around took out my map to get to know some peaks and went Fn crap thats Sherman over thier!!!!

Re: Historic Climb of Thunder Pyramid

Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 2:07 pm
by rijaca
Svenski Norski wrote:It's great that the history, and some of the guys involved, lives on. Details of these F.A.'s are so often lost. I'm still hoping to run across an old Leadville Herald Democrat from "79 to read about Steve Lewis' first solo winter climb of Ellingwood Ridge on LaPlata. I was at CMC Leadville in those days, there was still a lot of new territory out there.. I love hearing about it all.
Some unpublished winter FA details (via personal communication with a member of FA parties):

Crestone Peak: FA via the NW couloir; FA party spent FIVE consecutive weekends at S Colony Lakes working on the route before reaching the summit.
Mt Wilson/El Diente: FA via north faces.
Windom/Sunlight: FA via 'standard routes' from Chi Basin. FA party went in during preceeding summer and placed food caches. Turned back at the catwalk on Eolus due snow conditions. I didn't ask if they climbed N Eolus while there.
Little Bear: FA via southwest ridge over SLB.