Brief by Central Staff
Mountains – May 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine
One trail up Mount Massive will get some restoration work this summer, providing that there are enough volunteers.
The project, sponsored by the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, continues work that began last year on the North Halfmoon Lakes route to the 14,421-foot summit.
According to the CFI, “route construction will focus on utilizing native materials and construction techniques to help the route blend in with the natural environment. Large amounts of restoration will be needed to close and restore the existing steep, eroding ascent and descent routes.”
Work times have been scheduled: May 28-30 (maximum 10 volunteers), June 4-6 (8), Aug. 6-8 (8), Aug. 13-15 (8), Aug. 20-22 (8), and Sept. 10-12 (10). Volunteers provide their own camping equipment and transportation to the trailhead; CFI provides food, water, tools, and instruction.
Other CFI projects scheduled for this summer include maintenance on Mt. Bierstadt near Georgetown and establishing a single trail on Wetterhorn Peak near Lake City. CFI volunteers will also collect alpine seeds to use for revegetation from Massive, Wetterhorn, and Pyramid Peak.
Massive, for many years thought to be the highest peak in Colorado, is the second-highest, right behind its 14,433-foot neighbor Mt. Elbert. It’s only a foot higher than Chaffee County’s highest peak, 14,420-foot Mt. Harvard.
All three peaks are in the Sawatch Range, where CFI has previously built and restored trails on Elbert, Belford, Oxford, La Plata, Huron, Harvard, Missouri, and Tabeguache.
For more information, or to volunteer, you can reach CFI at www.14ers.org, or 710 10th St. Suite 220, Golden CO 80401, 303-278-7525,
And if you do volunteer, we’d enjoy publishing an article about your adventures, so get in touch with us after you’ve been there and done that.
