The Colorado Mountain Companion (eBook)

Introduction—1, The “Icebox of the Nation” Designation Not So Simple—7, Why Are Gunnison and Alamosa So Cold?—13, Windchill and the Weather Miserability Index—13, How Are Sunny Days Measured? —17, Non-Possessive Place Names—18, A Sense of Scale—19, Just Exactly How Big Is Colorado? —20, Colorado Mountain Lexicon—24, How Colorado’s Mountain Towns Got Their Names—32, Highest Towns a Matter of Perspective—42, Establishing Colorado’s Lowest Point—47, States Whose Highest Points Are Lower Than Colorado’s Lowest Point—47, How Does Colorado Compare? —49, Mountain License Plates—51, Mountain Area Codes—53, Avalanches in Colorado—56, Impotenece Drugs Reach New Peaks—60, Colorado Lakes and Reservoirs—61, Lakes and Ice—66, Safe Ice Thickness and Cold-Water Hypothermia—67, Lightning: The Fearsome Flash from Above—70, Monsoon Season—73, Cloud Seeding—75, Just How Much Water Is That?—80, Global Relations—83, “America the Beautiful”: Colorado’s Most Famous Musical Summit—84, Bates Not the Only Famous Person to Summit Pikes Peak—87, Rocky Mountain High—88, “Where the Columbines Grow”—The State Song That No One Knows—90, Colorado Songs—91, Colorado as a Movie Set—97, The Great Demonymic Debate: Coloradans or Coloradoans?—105, Colorado Olympic Athletes—109, Colorado: King of the Ski Industry—123, Colorado’s Early Ski History: Highlights—126, Mountainspeak: Skiing Lexicon—137, The Naming of Colorado’s Ski Runs—145, Colorado’s “Lost” Ski Areas—148, The Colorado Ski Safety Act—153, Words for Snow—Eskimo and Colorado—155, “Texas” Ski Areas—159, Mountainspeak: Cross-Country Skiing Lexicon—160, Mountainspeak: Snowboarding Lexicon—163, Most Common Mountain Recreational Injuries—165, High Country Emergency Room Admission Statistics—166, Colorado Mountain Pathogens—167, Native Americans in Colorado—169, Colorado Geology: The Laramide Orogeny—175, Colorado Geology: The Rio Grande Rift Valley—176, Colorado Geology: The Aspen Anomaly—178, Colorado Geology: Colorado’s Highest-Ever Mountains—179, The Naming of Geographic Features—180, Gorges Versus Canyons—186, The Fourteeners—189, Colorado Fourteener Records—192, Peak Prominence and Isolation—195, The Most Dangerous Fourteeners—198, Mountainspeak: Climbing Lexicon—203, The 3,000-Foot “Rule”—207, Colorado’s Steepest Points—209, The Peaks of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” Speech—210, Headwaters Hill and Colorado’s Closed Basins—211, The Naming of Challenger Point—214, Some Noteworthy Colorado Uphills—216, Colorado’s Long Hiking Trails and the National Scenic Trails—216, Mountainspeak: Hiking and Backpacking Lexicon—219, Mountainspeak: Mountain Biking Lexicon—227, Public and/or Protected Land in Colorado—228, Colorado’s Wilderness—230, Colorado: Birthplace of Major Rivers—238, Mountainspeak: Fishing Lexicon—242, Colorado’s Endangered Rivers—244, Wild and Scenic Rivers—247, Colorado’s Highest Roads—252, Mountainspeak: Road Biking Lexicon—253, Colorado Wildfires—257, Other Large Wildfires in Western North America—261, All Firewood Is Not Created Equal—263, Endangered and Threatened Species in the Colorado Mountains—265, Colorado Mountain Birds—273, Fatal Bear and Mountain Lion Attacks in Colorado—277, High Country Snakes—278, The Colorado State Flower: What Exactly Is It?—280, The Colorado State Quarter—281, Superfund Sites—284, Strange Colorado Festivals—290, Aspen: The Brand-Name King—301, Smoking Bans: It All Started in Colorado’s Mountain Country—302, Colorado’s Mountain Historic Districts—303, Legalized Gambling in Colorado—310, Mountain Counties Most Often Vote Blue—312, Changing Your Name—318, Home Away from Home (Extradition)—322, Listing Colorado—325, Index—331, About the Author—341