Los Alamos Mountaineers
Monthly Program:
Packrafting ANWR: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Aufeis
The January 27 Mountaineers meeting will feature a talk by Jonathon Creel and Nell Larson on packrafting in far northern Alaska. One of the most remote and least-disturbed wilderness areas in North America, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a wild place unlike any other in the U.S. The Canning River runs from the Brooks Range through the wetlands and hummocks of the coastal plain to the Arctic Ocean. After their plans for a different trip were scrambled during the COVID pandemic, Jonathan and Nell found themselves on a bush plane destined for a remote landing strip in the Alaska wilderness. This was the start of a 15-day packrafting trip down the Canning River that was filled with hiking, wildlife viewing, birding, mosquito-swatting….and endless aufeis - a sheet-like mass of layered ice that forms from successive flows of ground or river water. Jonathan and Nell will share some stories from their adventure, along with the nuts and bolts of logistics and trip planning for such a remote location.
Jonathan is a bird nerd who loves spending his free time hiking and exploring new places. No stranger to this venue, Jonathan previously worked at PEEC and helped create the partnership with the L.A. Mountaineers that led to monthly programs at the nature center. He now leads the Manhattan Project National Historical Park at LANL.
Nell grew up in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York, where she developed her love of cold winters, abundant snow, and nordic skiing. After earning her masters in ecology and environmental management, Nell moved west to Park City, Utah “for one summer” and stayed for many years until moving to Los Alamos in 2023. Nell loves almost any outdoor activity that involves snow or water, so naturally she wound up in New Mexico.
We welcome all to this Mountaineers’ meeting on the regular 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=64470&.
Along the Canning River, with the Brooks Range in the background.
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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.
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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.
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