TR Jumping through Hoops and Paying the Price. Culebra Peak 3/9/08

[goldenboy]

Culebra Peak 14,047' 3/9/08

mtnbikerskierchick, jcwhite, goldenboy, non-mags Ted and Christy

Apologies-- this TR is heavy on words and scenics, and light on skiing action.


Culebra is Colorado's southernmost fourteener, sitting less than 10 miles from the New Mexico border. The mountain and the area are steeped in history, though not all of it is good. Most climbs of San Luis start in the town of San Luis, CO's oldest town, founded in 1851.









Culebra sits in the middle of huge land grants dating back to the spanish times, and public land in this area is the exception, rather than the rule. The 77,000+ acre ranch that contains Culebra and the neighboring mountains has a fascinating history.

Until 1958, the ranch allowed access not only to climbers, but more importantly to locals who used the area to hunt, fish, gather firewood, and graze their cattle, as they had for generations under a spanish-style communal style of land ownership. After 1958, when Delfino Salazar died and ownership switched to Jack Taylor, all hell broke loose. Mr Taylor tried to prohibit locals from using his land, and began charging climbers to access his land, though the dollar amount was small. By 1975, the situation had grown so critical that shots were fired (by upset locals, not climbers) at Taylor's house, with one of the bullets hitting Jack Taylor in the ankle while he slept. Former Governor Roy Romer tried to purchase the land for the state throughout his tenure, but was unfortunately unsuccessful.

Between 1999 and 2004, Enron executive Lou Pai was the owner of the ranch, and prohibits access to the mountain except for one weekend per year, only available to CO Mtn Club members who were close to finshing the 14ers. The new owners are more lenient with their attitudes with climbers. Tensions with the local population remain high, however- the ranch manager, Carlos, said he is the subject of much animosity and in fact the house he was building was burned down before he could even complete it, because he works for "the enemy". (He is now building again)

Our adventure began back in November, when I sent my first of what would become many emails to the ranch, asking for permission to ski it this winter. At some point in January, I received the bad news that the ranch owners felt uncomfortable with their potential liability. I made a last ditch effort, explaining that we weren't going to sue them no matter what, and I discussed the experience level of our group, and the precautions we would take to minimize our danger. And that's how the crux of this climb was overcome- by an email. Ranch owner Bobby Hill called, in a thick Texas accent, and I was able to stifle my laughter regarding his name and a certain TV show and gain permission to set up a climb.


After seemingly 100 emails between the ranch, and everyone else who wanted to ski it, we finally settled on giving it a go on the 9th. We met up in San Luis the night before, which was the first time Ted and I had seen each other since 2000, when we had randomly run into each other at trailheads in the Sierras and on Shasta. Gotta love the small world that skiing is...

We met up with Carlos at the gate and fired up the snowmobiles to gain miles from the valley floor up to about 11,000'. Carlos was nice enough to tow jcwhite on his sled, and later went back up with a friend to leave an extra snowmobile for us to use on the ride back.







Despite a pessimistic weather forecast, the weather in the morning was excellent, and we were hopeful that we were going to luck out with a bluebird day. It felt good to be skinning up high again:









Eventually, we made the switch to bootpacking, although unfortunately the weather was busy making changes as well:


Summit shot:


The incoming storm dashed our plans for a descent of the north face. It is doubtful that the face has ever been skied, given the access issues. It is steep and fun looking, and someone needs to get on it. So, we were on the ridge instead, showing the ping-pong ball who was boss:


See mbsc in the upper right, too?


mbsc's still all smiles:


Christy, dropping the knee and getting over halfway to tele-ing the 14ers:


Ted:


gb:




jcwhite:





Group shot afterwards:



Alright, let's get down to business, because someone's going to ask. The answer is $250, per person. For that price, Carlos went out ahead of time and made a track up the road for us, cutting out some fallen timber along the way. He also plowed out a big parking area for us and gave us a locater beacon in case we got lost.

I really didn't mind, though, and here are some reasons why. For one, that land is way more pristine than any wilderness area I've ever visited. More importantly, it was good to get out of town and ski something big with friends. Sure, I could ski something locally with friends, but I do that all the time, year after year. It's like that thread that the suit started about getting a little bored at this time of year- a quick mission out of town solved any problems I may have had with skiing motivation. Sure, I could have skied something more fun out of town, but it was a fourteener that "forced" me to get off my butt and leave town. Seriously, as much fan as the skiing was, it was also fun just to hang out someplace else and see the sun set somewhere else (San Luis valley, near Monte Vista):



Blanca group:


That's it, let the "you paid how much to ski a stupid fourteener?" discussion begin Or you could be cool and keep it to yourself...

[Fish Rider]

Probable first descent of pay to ski 14er in near whiteout $$$$.

[LeeLau]

any day in the mountains is better then a day beaking off on the comp about how much you don't pay to ski in the mountains. Thanks for putting up a CO trip which isn't all just bluebird

[Tri-Ungulate]

Nice work as always, CB Crew. Your TRs never disappoint. Soon as I saw the title, I realized how rare it was to see a TR coming outta there as I recalled how Culebra has always been a conundrum d/t access issues.

I don't think it's stupid of you to pay $250/pp to ski Culebra, 'cause you all got a great experience out of it, one that I am really happy you shared w/us. I do think it's lame that they feel the need to charge you that much for the privilege. I suppose Pai's gotta make up for his Enron losses somehow

Just curious, and I am by no means trying to rain on your parade in any way, but exactly how was it more pristine than a wilderness area when they're running snowmobiles up the mountain and using the terrain as a ranch? This question isn't meant to be a troll, and I apologise in advance if it comes across as one - if you prefer to discuss it by PM instead of skanking up a truly nice TR, I'll stop now.

[goldenboy]

Originally Posted by Tri-Ungulate

Nice work as always, CB Crew. Your TRs never disappoint. Soon as I saw the title, I realized how rare it was to see a TR coming outta there as I recalled how Culebra has always been a conundrum d/t access issues.

I don't think it's stupid of you to pay $250/pp to ski Culebra, 'cause you all got a great experience out of it, one that I am really happy you shared w/us. I do think it's lame that they feel the need to charge you that much for the privilege. I suppose Pai's gotta make up for his Enron losses somehow

Just curious, and I am by no means trying to rain on your parade in any way, but exactly how was it more pristine than a wilderness area when they're running snowmobiles up the mountain and using the terrain as a ranch? This question isn't meant to be a troll, and I apologise in advance if it comes across as one - if you prefer to discuss it by PM instead of skanking up a truly nice TR, I'll stop now.

Bobby Hill is the current owner, not Pai. FYI

The area is currently only a hunting ranch, not cattle. I say it's more pristine because I climbed it back in the 90's in the summer and the extent to which the land was taken care of was noticeable. The area receives so few visitors that there is no trail to the summit. That is not the case in, say, the Weminuche, CO's largest wilderness, which has trails to most major summits.

Taken another way, it's the old story of the "tragedy of the commons", if you took an economics course or two. It pains me to say that as a liberal, Culebra vs. other wilderness areas (say, compared to private vs. public medicine) leads me to places I don't want to go, and are best left in the padded room.

No worries, not considered trolling at all.

[mtnbikerskierchick]

Originally Posted by Tri-Ungulate

Just curious, and I am by no means trying to rain on your parade in any way, but exactly how was it more pristine than a wilderness area when they're running snowmobiles up the mountain and using the terrain as a ranch? This question isn't meant to be a troll, and I apologise in advance if it comes across as one - if you prefer to discuss it by PM instead of skanking up a truly nice TR, I'll stop now.

You bring up an interesting question and I will try to explain it here! The land is owned and managed as a ranch. But, it is a HUGE span of land. It runs something like 10 miles long, all the way to the state border with New Mexico. They own a fourteener AND a few thirteeners to boot! The roads that go through the land are limited and few. In the lower elevations, there are more roads, and access is easier. This part of the land feels and looks like a ranch. But, once you get into the higher elevations- where we left the snowmobiles behind, access is much more limited. Even Carlos said he never bothered to climb the peak before. Perhaps the pristineness of the land is not just seen, perhaps it is also felt. Knowing that we were the only people to have stood on the summit since the summer is a special feeling. Knowing that not many people have hiked Culebra in the winter, and even fewer have skied it in the winter also adds to that feeling. All this adds to the beauty of what surrounds you. You look around up there, and you see nothing but pure magnificence. Perhaps the limited access makes you appreciate it more. Or, perhaps we are merely trying to justify our $250

[Blurred]

Very sweet TR.

You paid to do something most aren't able to.

Nothing wrong with that.

[KillingCokes]

Sweet. Glad to see you're recovering Frank. Way to get it done

[grskier]

Sweet stuff!!!

Pay or not, way to get it done.

[Ermine]

Cows don't graze above treeline. I've found that the snowmobile tours I've been on (for access), provide much more of a "Wilderness" feeling than driving to a trailhead and skinning up along side 50 of "my closest friends". Either that or I need a hell of a lot more vacation time for the approaches. Cool TR.

[MOHSHSIHd]

Killed. Strong work as usual. Move along with the stoke hose.

[Lone Star]

looks like a fun time!

what am I missing here? how difficult would it really be to "trespass" into this location? is there no public land anywhere nearby? what kind of security could this private ranch have that would be efficient at stopping "trespassers" without being a significant cost for the owner?

it's an interesting dilemma. I could protect a lot of land by closing it off. and I think that it might be a just and moral thing. I love wilderness, and not necessarily in the capital 'W' meaning.

on the other hand, closing God's Green Earth, especially when it's mountain, even alpine, terrain is wrong, to me. who the hell is someone to say that I don;t have the right to experience that?

no black and white. we're all hypocrites. interesting thoughts regarding the TR and its responses. I dig it.

[Pow4Brains]

What a kick ass peak to have under your belts! Thanks for the stoke and history lessons. Congrats guys!

[squatch]

For $250 I would have expected some better grooming.

In a serious note, skiing is like sex. Everybody pays somehow.

[Artie Fufkin]

Nice! It looked worth the $$$$$.

[Bean]

Originally Posted by Lone Star

looks like a fun time!

what am I missing here? how difficult would it really be to "trespass" into this location? is there no public land anywhere nearby? what kind of security could this private ranch have that would be efficient at stopping "trespassers" without being a significant cost for the owner?

it's an interesting dilemma. I could protect a lot of land by closing it off. and I think that it might be a just and moral thing. I love wilderness, and not necessarily in the capital 'W' meaning.

on the other hand, closing God's Green Earth, especially when it's mountain, even alpine, terrain is wrong, to me. who the hell is someone to say that I don;t have the right to experience that?

no black and white. we're all hypocrites. interesting thoughts regarding the TR and its responses. I dig it.

The land on the east side is owned by someone who flat out refuses any and all access. There's no way to get there without crossing someone's land who will either demand an outrageous amount of money (it was $100 last year, $250 is fucking bullshit) or will just call the cops.

It's a shitshow but there's nothing to really be done about it.

[Alpine Dreams]

Bueno, thanks for sharing!!

[Rontele]

Nice work again from the TGR power couple though I'm don't get why you had to justify the $250. Seems a small price to pay for a great day in the mountains.

[montanaskier]

Very nice.

[adimmen]

It's always interesting to hear the history behind these areas and the skiing didn't look too bad either.

[lemon boy]

hoops jumped
price paid

Radness.

[jon turner]

Nice work, GB, MSBC, JC, and crew. We should make some turns together again this season.

[FrankZappa]

Culebra = Check!!!

[doumall]

Cool! Glad that all came to a close nicely for you. So sad I wasnt there, but I guess thats my fault Snow looks good.

[Tye 1on]

Well played, great TR. You got your $$'s worth, to you, that's all that matters.