By the Numbers: Some statistics on your Museum

If you've received your copy of this season's Trail & Timberline, you've probably seen some of the statistics on the museum. And, you're probably waiting anxiously to hear just how many contour steps there are on the Mt. Everest model.

Well, there are so many, and it's making so many people cross-eyed trying to count them that the numbers aren't in yet. In the mean time, try to guess how many there are on our poll, found on the upper right hand side of the blog.


Are you as stumped as this guy? Try to guess the number of contour steps on Mt. Everest in our poll, on the upper right.

Here are some other interesting facts about the museum--by the numbers:

~7500
Number of tons of structures, interactives kiosks, and graphic panels in the museum (not including the rock formations)

~1700
Number of man-hours (over 5 weeks) to complete installation

246
Number of light bulbs, most of which are metal halide lamps, lowering electricity consumption by approximately 65%

2
Number of tractor trailer trucks it took to haul all of the materials and displays from Quatrefoil Associates headquarters in Laurel, Maryland

1.4
Number of dollars, in millions, budgeted for the design and build of the museum

Upcoming Events

Meet the Sherpas: The True Heroes of Everest:

A former trek leader to the Everest Base Camp and a founder of the first hut system in Nepal, Linda LeBlanc is the first to fictionalize the lives of the Sherpas. The story and characters are based on Sherpas she has known, actual events, and extensive research.

Linda will be presenting on her life’s passion, the Sherpa people and the Everest region. Artifacts from the culture will be on display. Linda will also be available after her presentation for a book signing.

Check out the museum website for more details and ticket information.




Keep Climbing - A fundraising event for the CancerClimber Association

Come to the new Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum to help support the CancerClimber Association. Hear speakers Sean Swarner, the first cancer survivor to summit Mt. Everest, an, member of the expedition that discovered the body of legendary Everest-pioneer George Mallory.

The CancerClimber Association is a not-for-profit dedicated to motivating those living with cancer. Funds from this event will be used to produce a “portable camp” that will make visits to children’s hospitals in twenty-four cities across the country. Each stop will offer a three-day camp for children impacted by cancer.

Hors d’oeuvres • Drinks • Silent Auction with some fantastic climbing and sports equipment!

Check out the museum website for more details and ticket information.

Promises Kept

I was in my first week at the museum, more than a year ago, when I first asked Nina to climb the climbing wall at the AMC.

"HA! Are ya kiddin' me?" she would say. If you haven't met Nina, it is hard to describe the look of disbelief with which she delivered this response. If you have, you know just what I'm talking about. Part incredulity, part absurdity, all humor.

Then again, she is a woman of her word. And her words were, one day -- perhaps in a fit of pre-opening confusion -- that if she made it through the Grand Opening weekend, alive and intact, then she would try climbing the wall.

I needn't say more. Below is the proof.

That nervous fellow belaying the museum director is the one and only Doug Skiba, Development Director for the CMC, and the only soul in whose hands Nina would trust her life.

Amazing!

As many of you know, we celebrated the Grand Opening of the museum this past weekend with two days of festivities, ceremonies, lecturers, traveling exhibits and art. The response from both the media and the public was almost overwhelming—a great problem to have for a new venue.

We have been covered from NPR to a newspaper in Honolulu. We expected the climbing community to be excited that the national museum for mountaineering and the mountains opened in Golden, but, it seems clear that we underestimated the appeal to children, teachers and others.

The following story and photos will appear in the upcoming issue of the Trail & Timberline, the magazine of the Colorado Mountain Club. We just couldn't wait to let everyone know how well things went this past weekend. Enjoy.

Before and after. Then and now. A result of vision.

When Glenn Porzak and Jerry Caplan walked into an abandoned high school on Dec. 22, 1992, their intention was to inspect the building as a possible home for their dream. They were greeted, however, with broken windows and a space in need of great repair.

“The walls were crumbling and they had graffiti on them. There was a smell of unoccupation and it was bitterly cold,” said Caplan, describing that first visit when flashlights illuminated the state of decline. “As the realtors would say, ‘It didn’t show well.’”

Friends for many years, Porzak and Caplan communicated on a different level.

“Somehow, when we stood outside the building, it was very easy. Not too many words had to be exchanged. We agreed that this….was it.”

Of course, the dream and the building have become what are known as the American Mountaineering Center, and the high school they had entered was the old Golden High School, built in 1924.

With the opening of the Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum, the dream has run its course. The dream is now reality.

The Center—seen as a focal point for mountain-related educational, cultural, and training events—is a vital resource to those involved in the study and pursuit of the outdoor lifestyle. With the museum, that mission is greatly enhanced, furthering the role that our nation’s leading mountain and climbing organizations play in the education of our youth, the inspiration of our members, and the preservation of our mountains.

“The museum is truly the gem of this building,” says Chuck Baroch, the former mayor of the city of Golden.

From members’ receptions and major donor dinners, to spiritual blessings and the Grand Opening, from the vision that has taken us from a broken building to a landmark center for experience and education, the museum represents success.

Please come and enjoy what you have helped build.


Lhakpa Sherpa ties the final prayer flag to the chorten--the stone rock structure--in preparation for the puja, a Buddhist blessing performed at the Grand Opening. Pujas are often performed before Himalayan expeditions.


Lhoppön Rechungpa, president of the Mipham Shedra, performs the puja.


Kristy Judd, former Executive Director of the CMC, cuts the Grand Opening ribbon with Jim Donini, President of the American Alpine Club.

The Finishing Touches

The last details are being taken care of at the museum in anticipation of the Grand Opening this Saturday and Sunday. Last week, Jon Waterman's exhibit "Journey Across the Arctic Refuge" was installed, and over the past few days the exhibition of Inuit art has been hung.



The finishing touches are also being put on the exhibits themselves. Dana, our friend from Quatrefoil, climbed inside the vitrine with Jim Whittaker to install Tom Hornbein's oxygen mask from the 1963 American Everest expedition. Good thing she's small.



By now, most of you have probably discovered that our website (www.bwamm.org) is up and running. We've been getting great feedback from around the world on it's layout, design, and content. Of course, we've always enjoyed the same reviews of the blog. That being said, the blog will continue. Keep checking back for stories on the lighter side of the BWAMM world. Be sure to visit the website for information on changing exhibits, lectures, and films.

GRAND OPENING!

It's over. The wait. The construction. The dust. The welding. The installation. The anxiety.

The Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum is finally ready to open its doors to the public. And so we would like to extend an invitation for everyone to join us for our weekend-long opening celebration.

What: Grand Opening Weekend
When: February 16, 10am-9pm / February 17, 10am-6pm
Where: At the BWAMM, of course, inside the American Mountaineering Center. 710 10th St., Golden, Colo.

Two temporary exhibits will accompany our grand opening. The first is a selection of Inuit Art entitled "Arctic Survival: Inuit People, Art and Culture," from the collection of Dr. Samuel Wagenfeld. The other exhibit first appeared at Explorer's Hall at National Geographic headquarters in Washington, DC. Now, Jon Waterman is bringing his "Journey Across the Artic Refuge" to the Museum. Both exhibits are free with the price of admission to the museum.

The 16th (10am-9pm)
10am - Ribbon cutting
11am-1pm - Indoor rock climbing for all ages
2pm - Ed Bernbaum--world renowned specialist on mountain culture and sacred mountains--will speak on his subject of expertise
4pm - Jake Norton--photographer, guide, and member of the Mallory and Irvine Research Expeditions--will speak about "Culture and Change in Mountaineering"
7pm - Lynn Hill will speak about "Free Climbing the Nose"
Base Camp, our adventure gift shop, will be open all day.

The 17th (10am-6pm)
11am - Tonya Riggs, member of the Peace Climb 2006, will speak about her expeditions
2pm - Kelly Cordes, strict adherent to light weight alpinism, will speak about "Trying, Falling, and Sometimes Succeeding"

For more information in the coming weeks, visit our new website at www.bwamm.org.

See you soon.

Alpinist 22 - Featuring Washburn's Camera

Our friends at Alpinist magazine have done a fine job of highlighting one of the exquisite artifacts of our collection. Appropriately, it is one of Bradford Washburn's early cameras. Click on the photo below to read the article, or find Alpinist #22 and flip to page 15. Enjoy.