My dad and I likely held onto this section of cable when we climbed Long’s Peak in 1963 as mentioned in yesterday’s post. The cable, now on display at the Estes Park Museum, was an inch thick and had been installed in 1925 to assist climbers up the final steep pitch of the north side of the peak. It was removed in 1973 due to safety concerns.
While intended to make the climb safer, it may have encouraged people without the proper skills or conditioning to attempt the climb. Also, in icy conditions the slippery cable was deceptively dangerous and contributed to serious injuries.
During my ascent, however, there was no ice, and I had the assistance from my Dad who had climbed the mountain before; the cable made it possible for me to reach the summit in the ideal conditions of that day. Seeing this section of cable in a museum and realizing that I had used it when it was still on the mountain made me feel like a part of living history. While it resurrected wonderful childhood memories, It also gave me the strange feeling that I, too, was on display, a relic from the distant past.
#cableroute #cable #longspeak #historical #childhood
Eskildoodle Photos and Feelings 