mount princeton

Private Soak at the Infinity Pool

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by Cailey McDermott There are roughly 28 public hot springs in Colorado. Mount Princeton in Nathrop touts five different soaking styles — the newest is the infinity pool.  In addition to the public soaking, the infinity pool is open to private soaking experiences. You can reserve the entire pool for a romantic date, for a …

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About the Cover Photographer: Aaron Atencio

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Aaron Atencio spent his entire childhood in Buena Vista and graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder. At the age of seventeen he took his first plane trip to Europe with the Buena Vista High School foreign language department. Travel quickly became his passion which led to his goal of heavily combining travel into …

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About the Cover Photographer: Coleen Swanson

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coleen_swanson_tenacious_photo_webMy love for being outdoors began with growing up in rural Michigan, where playing in the woods was the main source of entertainment. That love was further nurtured being a Girl Scout for 10 years. As a Parks and Recreation major at Central Michigan University, I took the opportunity to come out to Colorado for a backpacking class. I instantly fell in love with the Rocky Mountains and decided I was coming back. On graduation day in 1985, I had my pickup truck piled high like the Beverly Hillbillies and left that very day!

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The Curious Crystal Ball Inside Mount Princeton

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By Jane Koerner

The logistical and technical challenges seemed daunting at times. A drilling site had to be found that met all the specifications of the geologists, who had to take into account the tectonic forces that continually shape Mount Princeton and the rest of the Sawatch Range. Permits had to be obtained from the U.S. Forest Service to fix the washed-out sections of the access road so the heavy equipment could be hauled up by truck. Even after the improvements the road proved too rough and narrow for one truck, which had to be retrieved from the edge of a cliff.

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My Mount Princeton

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By Richard R. Cuyler

Up close, Mount Princeton is an ugly pile of granite; from a distance, it is beautiful in all its changeability of weather and seasons.

At 71, should I have known better? Six of us, Princeton University alumni and friends, gathered for the annual climb up “our” eponymous mountain. Since it was mid-August, I dressed in my usual eastern gear: shorts, T-shirt and hiking boots, with a fleece pullover and a poncho for good measure. We met in a drizzle, so out came the poncho. I was chilly, but why break out the fleece when the climb would soon warm me up? Our late start didn’t concern me. I knew about the furious afternoon storms but thought they couldn’t happen on an overcast day, since heat wouldn’t build up, a condition I understood as necessary.

First the road, then the trailhead, then the short stretch of tundra before the boulders, interrupted occasionally by sections of rough trail. I could tell the air had become thinner, but the light rain had stopped. I was warm and content. Although I had to stop frequently to catch my breath, I was exhilarated. Sometimes I could hear water purling through the jumble far below my feet. Everything, including my knees, was right with the world.

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