Culebra contact information? How do you stay at the lodge? How big of a group?

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Re: Culebra contact information? How do you stay at the lodge? How big of a group?

Post by BillMiddlebrook »

I’m pretty sure the OP was trolling
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Re: Culebra contact information? How do you stay at the lodge? How big of a group?

Post by timisimaginary »

personally, i think the OP is not thinking big enough. why limit yourself to 14ers in CO? i hear there's a really big mountain over in Nepal that routinely handles hundreds of climbers in a single day, and there's no problem getting access if you pay off the right people in the Nepali govt. just think of the bragging rights when your whole office tops out on the biggest mountain in the world! i mean, it's only an extra 15,000', and statistically you'll probably end up with 2 or 3 deaths and maybe a dozen or so cases of frostbite or cerebral edema, but c'mon, that's just more for the team to bond together over drinks back in Kathmandu when it's all over.
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Re: Culebra contact information? How do you stay at the lodge? How big of a group?

Post by DaveLanders »

I have no idea whether or not the OP is a troll, but I'll offer the following suggestions anyway.

If Cielo Vista isn't interested, there are ranches on the east side of the Culebra range that operate as high end guest ranches. I don't know if any of them could accommodate 150 people, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

If Culebra doesn't work, you could also investigate Blanca or Lindsey. The south sides of both those peaks are privately owned so those owners can make their own rules.

If none of these owners are interested in this as a commercial venture then another angle would be to offer to make it a fund raiser for the owner's favorite charity.
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Re: Culebra contact information? How do you stay at the lodge? How big of a group?

Post by peter303 »

Ski resorts have experience and facilities for lodging and moving people around shorter mountains. They do things like weddings and corporate functions.

Its probably not much is available for summer 2022 with event backlogs due to covid. There is a bit of a lull the last two weeks of August between when elementary school starts and autumn tree-color viewing.

One location that comes to mind is Mt. Crested Butte ski resort plus 12K mountain. The mountain has the classic hiking elements of forest, then tundra, then granite scrambling. One drawback is its almost five hours drive from Denver.

Perhaps other people can suggest alternative resort ideas.
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Re: Culebra contact information? How do you stay at the lodge? How big of a group?

Post by two lunches »

peter303 wrote: Tue Jul 05, 2022 3:39 pm Ski resorts have experience and facilities for lodging and moving people around shorter mountains. They do things like weddings and corporate functions.

Its probably not much is available for summer 2022 with event backlogs due to covid. There is a bit of a lull the last two weeks of August between when elementary school starts and autumn tree-color viewing.

One location that comes to mind is Mt. Crested Butte ski resort plus 12K mountain. The mountain has the classic hiking elements of forest, then tundra, then granite scrambling. One drawback is its almost five hours drive from Denver.

Perhaps other people can suggest alternative resort ideas.
OP, if you really aren't a troll, you might consider contacting Gravity Haus in Breck. set up group lodging, ask for help coordinating shuttles to McCullough Gulch, and have them find some local "guides" to responsibly chauffeur groups of 20 up and down Quandary Peak, which regularly hosts 150 people per day, as opposed to Culebra/Cielo Vista which caps hiker access at around 20 per day, for only 3 days a week, a few months out of the year.
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Re: Culebra contact information? How do you stay at the lodge? How big of a group?

Post by susanjoypaul »

stephakett wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 8:04 am OP, if you really aren't a troll, you might consider contacting Gravity Haus in Breck. set up group lodging, ask for help coordinating shuttles to McCullough Gulch, and have them find some local "guides" to responsibly chauffeur groups of 20 up and down Quandary Peak, which regularly hosts 150 people per day, as opposed to Culebra/Cielo Vista which caps hiker access at around 20 per day, for only 3 days a week, a few months out of the year.
I was trying to stay out of this conversation (I really was!) but have to add here that most "local guides" typically aren't legal. Guiding companies, outfitters, etc. have to apply for permits to guide legally, and there are only so many available. The last I remembered, only one permit was alloted each year to guide hikes up Pikes Peak, for example, and it always goes to the same organization. Not only that, but those companies are only allowed to guide so many "bodies" up per day. There are other restrictions on when and where they can guide, and they have to have insurance and satisfy other requirements as well.

This is why many hiking clubs don't charge for organized hikes or advertise them as "guided" hikes. I'm sure there are plenty of certified guides on this forum with more info that can weigh in.

I do agree with hiring a legal guiding service for this kind of trip with this many people. The OP is not going to find anyone who will take 150 people up a 14er legally, but there are plenty of other Colorado adventures that would support a group that size.

My personal opinion on this is that taking that many people on a hike anywhere really f***s up the experience for anyone else on the trail. I shudder trying to get around groups of ten or twelve people who are so caught up in conversations that they're oblivious to the environment and the fact that other people are trying to enjoy it. Imagine trying to get around a group of 150? With say, 20 or 30 of them suffering from altitude sickness, or dehydration, or hypothermia, or...? You get the picture. Yeah, I know there are often 150 people ahead of you on a trail, but group behavior is different than individual behavior, and the bigger the group, the worse the behavior.
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Re: Culebra contact information? How do you stay at the lodge? How big of a group?

Post by two lunches »

susanjoypaul wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 9:07 am
stephakett wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 8:04 am OP, if you really aren't a troll, you might consider contacting Gravity Haus in Breck. set up group lodging, ask for help coordinating shuttles to McCullough Gulch, and have them find some local "guides" to responsibly chauffeur groups of 20 up and down Quandary Peak, which regularly hosts 150 people per day, as opposed to Culebra/Cielo Vista which caps hiker access at around 20 per day, for only 3 days a week, a few months out of the year.
I was trying to stay out of this conversation (I really was!) but have to add here that most "local guides" typically aren't legal. Guiding companies, outfitters, etc. have to apply for permits to guide legally, and there are only so many available. The last I remembered, only one permit was alloted each year to guide hikes up Pikes Peak, for example, and it always goes to the same organization. Not only that, but those companies are only allowed to guide so many "bodies" up per day. There are other restrictions on when and where they can guide, and they have to have insurance and satisfy other requirements as well.

This is why many hiking clubs don't charge for organized hikes or advertise them as "guided" hikes. I'm sure there are plenty of certified guides on this forum with more info that can weigh in.

I do agree with hiring a legal guiding service for this kind of trip with this many people. The OP is not going to find anyone who will take 150 people up a 14er legally, but there are plenty of other Colorado adventures that would support a group that size.

My personal opinion on this is that taking that many people on a hike anywhere really f***s up the experience for anyone else on the trail. I shudder trying to get around groups of ten or twelve people who are so caught up in conversations that they're oblivious to the environment and the fact that other people are trying to enjoy it. Imagine trying to get around a group of 150? With say, 20 or 30 of them suffering from altitude sickness, or dehydration, or hypothermia, or...? You get the picture. Yeah, I know there are often 150 people ahead of you on a trail, but group behavior is different than individual behavior, and the bigger the group, the worse the behavior.
apologies for misleading verbiage, SJP- i used the word "guides" loosely, as there's no way on god's green earth that an ACTUAL mountaineering guide is necessary to usher someone up and down the standard route of quandary with a hundred other people in the middle of the summer. "chauffeur" was probably a better fit for my suggestion. that said, the reason i suggested Gravity Haus is twofold. 1. Fail Resorts will do anything to make a buck, 2. they don't like to be sued and are therefore less likely to set OP and their group up for failure.

finally- in my personal opinion, if you're on quandary during peak season there's not much of an "experience" to be had. that's what the other several thousand peaks in this state are for.
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Re: Culebra contact information? How do you stay at the lodge? How big of a group?

Post by susanjoypaul »

stephakett wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 9:15 am apologies for misleading verbiage, SJP- i used the word "guides" loosely, as there's no way on god's green earth that an ACTUAL mountaineering guide is necessary to usher someone up and down the standard route of quandary with a hundred other people in the middle of the summer. "chauffeur" was probably a better fit for my suggestion. that said, the reason i suggested Gravity Haus is twofold. 1. Fail Resorts will do anything to make a buck, 2. they don't like to be sued and are therefore less likely to set OP and their group up for failure.

finally- in my personal opinion, if you're on quandary during peak season there's not much of an "experience" to be had. that's what the other several thousand peaks in this state are for.
Yup, understood :-)
I wanted to let the OP know about the legality because, while some hikers don't care about that stuff, a corporate group is going to care. I used to set up events for a high-tech company over a decade ago and if I had sent 150 employees on an illegal trip, I probably would have lost my job. Hmm... now that I think about it, maybe I should have. That was the place that laid me off!
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Re: Culebra contact information? How do you stay at the lodge? How big of a group?

Post by dan0rama »

Since y’all were so eager to indulge the troll, maybe you can help me here too. Im looking to buy a national forest, flatten it out, and build subdivisions. Anyone has the contact info of whomever is in charge of selling national forests? Please help me procure bulldozers as well.
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Re: Culebra contact information? How do you stay at the lodge? How big of a group?

Post by Urban Snowshoer »

dan0rama wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 4:50 pm Since y’all were so eager to indulge the troll, maybe you can help me here too. Im looking to buy a national forest, flatten it out, and build subdivisions. Anyone has the contact info of whomever is in charge of selling national forests? Please help me procure bulldozers as well.
Hit up the Rainbow Gathering, they may have some ideas.
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Re: Culebra contact information? How do you stay at the lodge? How big of a group?

Post by two lunches »

dan0rama wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 4:50 pm Since y’all were so eager to indulge the troll, maybe you can help me here too. Im looking to buy a national forest, flatten it out, and build subdivisions. Anyone has the contact info of whomever is in charge of selling national forests? Please help me procure bulldozers as well.
hm. event planner by trade so not as much help here... but a quick Zillow search shows me 130+ acre mining claim adjacent to San Isabel National Forest.. https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3334 ... ?mmlb=g,18

looks like the access could be tricky, though. just make sure whatever you decide to develop is not designated Wilderness- no motorized equipment allowed and that construction is going to be a NIGHTMARE if you're limited to hand tools and mules. GL dan
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Re: Culebra contact information? How do you stay at the lodge? How big of a group?

Post by greenonion »

susanjoypaul wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 9:07 am
stephakett wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 8:04 am OP, if you really aren't a troll, you might consider contacting Gravity Haus in Breck. set up group lodging, ask for help coordinating shuttles to McCullough Gulch, and have them find some local "guides" to responsibly chauffeur groups of 20 up and down Quandary Peak, which regularly hosts 150 people per day, as opposed to Culebra/Cielo Vista which caps hiker access at around 20 per day, for only 3 days a week, a few months out of the year.
I was trying to stay out of this conversation (I really was!) but have to add here that most "local guides" typically aren't legal. Guiding companies, outfitters, etc. have to apply for permits to guide legally, and there are only so many available. The last I remembered, only one permit was alloted each year to guide hikes up Pikes Peak, for example, and it always goes to the same organization. Not only that, but those companies are only allowed to guide so many "bodies" up per day. There are other restrictions on when and where they can guide, and they have to have insurance and satisfy other requirements as well.

This is why many hiking clubs don't charge for organized hikes or advertise them as "guided" hikes. I'm sure there are plenty of certified guides on this forum with more info that can weigh in.

I do agree with hiring a legal guiding service for this kind of trip with this many people. The OP is not going to find anyone who will take 150 people up a 14er legally, but there are plenty of other Colorado adventures that would support a group that size.

My personal opinion on this is that taking that many people on a hike anywhere really f***s up the experience for anyone else on the trail. I shudder trying to get around groups of ten or twelve people who are so caught up in conversations that they're oblivious to the environment and the fact that other people are trying to enjoy it. Imagine trying to get around a group of 150? With say, 20 or 30 of them suffering from altitude sickness, or dehydration, or hypothermia, or...? You get the picture. Yeah, I know there are often 150 people ahead of you on a trail, but group behavior is different than individual behavior, and the bigger the group, the worse the behavior.
+1. And a bunch more
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