Weather & Trip Update

Good morning from COOL-orado!

As we mentioned in the Sunday update, we know the fires in the West and in Colorado have been making headlines across the country, and we have made some modifications to some of our boys’ long trips and one of High Trails’ overnight trips to adjust for the Willow Fire, which is near Leadville.

In lieu of climbing Elbert and Massive, the staff and campers on that trip are now doing a 4-day backpack from our property at the base of Mount Antero and climbing Shavano and Tabeguache–two other 14,000ft+ peaks. The boys’ Colorado Trail trip will approach and climb Mount Columbia from the southern sections of the CT instead of from the north. High Trails campers who were signed up to climb La Plata (near the Mount Massive Wilderness) will now climb Mount Ouray (to the southwest of Salida). The greatest thing about mountains? They will always be there…and, because of our long history and work with the U.S. Forest Service, there will be more summers to climb them.

Sanborn maintains “outfitter guide” permits with the Forest Service, which means we have submitted defined routes, campsites and itineraries for every one of our trips. We work closely with our local, state and federal permitting offices, ranger districts and state park officials so they know when we are there, where we are and where we are going. The staff on our trips all have multiple means of communication and navigation: cellphones, Garmin In-Reach devices and our On-X mapping system.

The reports from the boys’ in the field are all positive and optimistic. We have groups who are attempting to summit Buffalo Peaks and Mount Silverheels this morning, and our horse five-day is already packing up for their long, all day ride to Puma Hills. The rest of the Big Spring campers ate early this morning and are loading up to head out on their long trips. High Trails campers are also gearing up for overnights on and off property–and there may be some lingering pink glitter on faces and in hair from last night’s wildly successful Barbie themed JC Dinner!

The 11 Fire, which started on Sunday in Fremont county (about 30 miles to the southeast of Florissant), no longer has any evacuation or travel restrictions in place–but some of that fire’s smoke has caused some haze between camp and Pikes Peak. In the last few days, we have had some haze at camp, including this morning when the cooler air has caused smoke from the fires to the west to settle in our high valleys, but the variable winds will soon move that smoke up and away from Florissant. Our air quality index is currently “moderate”–which means “unusually sensitive people consider reducing outdoor activity; go inside to cleaner air if you have symptoms.” We will continue to monitor this in the days ahead.

We are in daily communication with the Florissant and Lake George fire chiefs, and we have a fire district radio in our main office that we are monitoring throughout the day and night. We utilize the Watch Duty app, which provides updates on fires throughout the state and the west, plus we have purchased the Accuweather SkyGuard platform which provides weather alert notifications (wind, lightning, storms, etc.) and a meteorologist who can provide information regarding prevailing winds, and quality forecast information.

Most of all, we are aware and responsive. We have had an incident command system-based evacuation process in place since 2002, and it has been updated and improved annually. We have been evacuated twice: in 2012 and 2018–and, both times, campers felt like it was a highlight of the summer. Having an attitude of anticipation and readiness means we have packed “ready bags” in our living units, clipboards with counselor scripts and driving directions, dedicated roles and responsibilities in case of r an evacuation, and we have practiced all of it.

We cannot eliminate all risks or anticipate every possible situation but we can continue to be vigilant, have growth mindsets, and be ready to respond to whatever we will encounter each and every summer. Thank you for partnering with us and please let us know if you have any additional questions.