Los Alamos Mountaineers
Monthly Program:
Climbing from New Mexico to the Dolomites
The July 22 Mountaineers meeting will feature a talk by Helga Schimkat. You’ve probably heard of rock climbing and seen some movies or video clips but perhaps you are curious about how it works and what people get out of it. Her presentation will discuss what it is that rock climbers actually do and where they do it. Helga Schimkat has been climbing for six years, from gym bouldering to traditional and sport climbing on real rock. She will talk about the types of rock climbing, the gear climbers use and where they go, in New Mexico and elsewhere, including Nevada, Utah and the iconic Dolomites of northern Italy.
Helga Schimkat lives in Santa Fe with her husband and four cats. She spend a lot of time rock climbing in the out of doors. She still does some birding, hiking and backpacking but climbing commands most of her attention. Helga says “When I finish a climb and look up at the wall I just climbed, whether it be the sandstone of Red Rock National Conservation Area, the basalt of White Rock, or the conglomerate of El Rito, I am awed every time that my climbing partners and I went up that wall by our own power and skills.” She also enjoys the camaraderie and support of her climbing friends as well as the dedication of the larger climbing community to the sport.
Helga is a lawyer who worked in a variety of capacities including lobbying and otherwise assisting environmental and animal nonprofits. She’s lived in Santa Fe thirty-two years and enjoys traveling to other countries and continents, often with seeing wildlife as the primary inspiration for a trip.
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 are available at https://peecla.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/peecla/event.jsp?event=57344&.
Helga pursuing her passion.
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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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