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Monthly Program:

Europe’s Toughest Trek

published by bill on Sat, 2024-12-14 17:29
Date: 
Tue, 2025-02-25

At the February 25 Mountaineers meeting, Martin Staley will talk about his trek along the French Grande Randonnée No. 20, or GR20, in Corsica, France, which is billed as the toughest long-distance trek in Europe.

Martin traveled to Corsica in July 2024 to trek the entire GR20 with a guided group, covering over 120 miles and nearly 45,000 feet of total elevation gain and loss over the course of 13 days. The GR20 is a spectacular trail that winds its way along the long and extremely rugged spine of Corsica's central mountain chain, from the town of Calenzana in the north, to Conca in the south. Every day presented challenging terrain, with rock scrambling, exposure, and steep, long ascents and descents. Everyone on the team of eight trekkers was exhausted, but absolutely pleased with the experience by the time they reached their conclusion.

Martin Staley has enjoyed outdoors activities for his entire life, from his days of hiking and backpacking with his parents when he was a small child, to his 30+ years in Los Alamos, going on local hikes, climbs, canyon country trips and more with the Los Alamos Mountaineers. He has traveled all over the western USA, and to parts of the world from New Zealand to Greenland to Nepal.

We welcome all to this Mountaineers’ meeting, held on the usual fourth Tuesday of the month. The social hour, with cookies, begins at 6:45 PM and the program at 7:00 PM. The presentation will be in-person at Los Alamos Nature Center; the slides will be live-streamed on Zoom. Registration is required to Zoom and recommended for in-person – we would love to see your smiling face. Registration details can be found at https://peecla.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/peecla/event.jsp?event=56679&.

A rugged ascent along the GR20

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Climbing School Update

Registration is Open for Los Alamos Mountaineers Climbing School

The Los Alamos Mountaineers are thrilled to announce that they will be offering a climbing school following last year’s successful revival of the school, in conjunction with Mountain Skills Rock Climbing Adventures of Taos. Details can be found on their climbing school page, here .
Mountain Skills, supported by Mountaineers volunteers, will teach rock climbing with a safety first attitude, including movement on rock, belaying, rappelling, cleaning protective gear, and removing anchors, with extensive on-rock practice. The course objective is such that successful students should develop the skills needed to participate in top roping, follow a leader in a multi-pitch trad climb, and be able to climb or descend moderate technical obstacles in unplanned backcountry situations using improvised gear (e.g. rope and carabiners). No previous rock climbing experience is required.

 

Ongoing Events


 

Monthly Public Meeting and Presentation:


Normally held in the planetarium of the Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC)
on the fourth Tuesday of each month. Now offering hybrid meetings with in-person and zoom options! Sign up for each talk at the Monthly Program page.

Social at 6:45.  Reports of recent and upcoming trips at 7:05pm.   Program to follow.

Visitors are always welcome!  Free refreshments!

Past presentations, and occasionally future, can be viewed here

 

Future Club Speakers:  In addition to frequent presentations by nationally known adventurers, we love to hear from our own members....not that some of you aren't in that group.  A presentation gets you a free club membership and dinner at the restaurant of your choice in Los Alamos.

LAM Member Presentations Wanted! The LAM Board would like to encourage our members to provide more of our monthly presentations.  We understand well that club members are an active lot, with a wealth of activities in their repertoire that can and have been inspiring to new and old members alike.  We have often focused our monthly presentations on the elite of the outdoor adventure world, and perhaps created the undesired effect of squelching the voices of our own members who participate in frequent beautiful and exciting adventures of their own.  Although our own activities are not always "world class", they are representative of what we "weekend" athletes can and do accomplish.  We want many of our programs to inspire the "I can do that" attitude in our members, not merely entertain.  Shock and awe may have their rightful place, but inspiration to participate and shine is our true goal.

 

Trip Leaders:  Post your trip by logging in and then going here.  If you do not have an account, contact  the webmaster. For overnight trips, please ensure that membership waivers for participants are current and recorded by the club Membership Chairperson prior to your trip. Non-members may participate in day trips. All club sponsored trips require the trip waiver. After the trip, please scan and email a PDF of the waiver to the Trip Coordinator.

Trip Leader Awards: The club will recognize trip leaders as described here.

Borrow Equipment: We have a limited amount of mountaineering equipment for loan (e.g., avalanche transceivers). Contact our Equipment Manager listed on this page.

 

 

Trip Leaders: Anyone can lead a trip! Post your trip by logging in and then going here. If you do not have an account, contact the webmaster. For overnight trips, please ensure that membership waivers for participants are current and recorded by the club Membership Chairperson prior to your trip. Non-members may participate in day trips. All club sponsored trips require the trip waiver. After the trip, please scan and email a PDF of the waiver to the Trip Coordinator.

  • Rappel Pajarito Gorge in White Rock

    published by dancrev on Sun, 2025-02-09 07:56
    Leader: 
    Daniel Creveling
    Telephone: 
    858-705-0897
    Date: 
    Sat, 2025-03-01
    Leader Email: 
    dancrev@gmail.com
    Difficulty: 
    Moderate
    Technicality: 
    Intermediate
    Are dogs allowed?: 
    Not allowed

    It's time to dust off the cobwebs and rappel down a canyon. Let's do Pajarito Gorge in White Rock. This is not a class or workshop… just a canyon descent. Prior rappelling experience is required, but not canyoneering experience. This canyon has four rappels, longest is about 120 feet. It is usually possible to do this canyon without getting your feet wet. The hike out has a bit of 3rd class scrambling in the sun. We may need to cancel at the last minute due to weather, but that's how it goes sometimes with canyoneering.

    Location:

  • Two rock climbing knots classes March 11 and 18, 2025

    published by dewart on Thu, 2025-02-20 10:00
    Leader: 
    Kei Davis
    Telephone: 
    505-695-1223
    Date: 
    Tue, 2025-03-11
    Leader Email: 
    keidavis00@gmail.com
    Difficulty: 
    Easy
    Technicality: 
    Beginner
    Are dogs allowed?: 
    Not allowed

    The Los Alamos Mountaineers and PEEC are jointly sponsoring 2 classes on knots for rock climbing:

    Rock Climbing Knots 101

    March 11, 2025

    6:30pm-8:30pm

    Have you always wanted to learn how to tie safe, efficient, and correct knots? During this 2-hour, hands-on course, you will join Kei Davis and other instructors from the Los Alamos Mountaineers and learn the basics of climbing knots. This is the first of two classroom sessions on rock climbing knots, each of which are limited to 20 participants.  Advance registration is required.

    About the class:

  • Cabezon Peak

    published by Evan_Rose on Mon, 2024-12-16 13:39
    Leader: 
    Evan Rose
    Telephone: 
    505-695-8945
    Date: 
    Sat, 2025-04-12
    Leader Email: 
    evanrose999@gmail.com
    Difficulty: 
    Moderate
    Technicality: 
    Advanced
    Are dogs allowed?: 
    Not allowed

       This is the fifth annual spring climb to iconic Cabezon Peak.

       Cabezon Peak towers 2000 feet above the Rio Puerco Valley. This volcanic plug is the remnant of the core of a volcano - like Shiprock. Appearing impregnable, Cabezon can nonetheless be ascended by the intrepid mountaineer who follows the hidden route that wends its way through a crack in the peak's defenses. Said mountaineer must be able to execute a couple of low fourth class maneuvers in pursuit of the summit and its spectacular views.

  • CANCELLED see below - Llama trek above the Escalante River

    published by Anonymous on Mon, 2024-09-23 12:25
    Leader: 
    Bill Priedhorsky
    Telephone: 
    5054120376
    Date: 
    Sat, 2025-04-19
    Leader Email: 
    bill@priedhorsky.net
    Difficulty: 
    Moderate
    Technicality: 
    Intermediate
    Are dogs allowed?: 
    Not allowed

    1/26/2025 udpate: CANCELLED but this trip is available directly through Llama packer BJ Orozco.

  • Llama drop camp, Escalante country, May 1-9, 2025

    published by bill on Fri, 2025-01-24 08:43
    Leader: 
    Bill Priedhorsky
    Telephone: 
    5054120376
    Date: 
    Thu, 2025-05-01
    Leader Email: 
    bill@priedhorsky.net
    Difficulty: 
    Moderate
    Technicality: 
    Intermediate
    Are dogs allowed?: 
    Not allowed

    Dear Mountaineers,

    Llama trip plans for spring 2025 have been in flux, but a plan is starting to gel. Llama packer BJ and I have agreed to dates for a drop camp, although we are still thinking about destination. The previously announced April llama trek may still go, but directly with BJ, not as a Mountaineers trip. I will take part in this trip, not the llama trek.

  • Backpack Wolf Creek Pass to Cumbres Pass

    published by tpietrass on Wed, 2025-02-19 20:59
    Leader: 
    Tanja Pietrass
    Telephone: 
    575-418-7969
    Date: 
    Wed, 2025-07-02
    Leader Email: 
    tpietrass@gmail.com
    Difficulty: 
    Strenuous
    Technicality: 
    Intermediate
    Are dogs allowed?: 
    Not allowed

    This is a 70 mile backpack (ca. 12,000 ft elevation gain) on the CDT over the 4th of July weekend. We will either depart very early on Wed. morning, or leave Tuesday afternoon. It will take us about 5 hours to drive there and set up the car shuttle. Last year we went to Blue Lake and turned off there, but the access trail was in horrendous condition. This time, I want to take the easier route and hike all the way from 160. Expect ~15 mile days, to allow for a slightly shorter hiking day on Sunday, and early morning departures (not crazy early, around 7:30 am).

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