Camping above a high lake in the Wind Rivers. Courtesy photo
BY WILLIAM PRIEDHORSKY
Los Alamos Mountaineers
The August 25 Mountaineers meeting will feature a talk by Tanja Pietraß entitled “The Wind Rivers – Off-Trail.” Set in western Wyoming, the Wind Rivers are a 110-mile-long, 2.25 million-acre mountain wonderland. The area features jagged granite peaks, over 2,000 alpine lakes, major glaciers, and the Continental Divide, including Gannett Peak at 13,804 feet—the highest point in the 48 States east of the Cascades and north of Colorado.
Last September, four Los Alamos Mountaineers, led by Tanja, set out on a largely off-trail backpacking loop in the Winds. Along the way, they were treated to spectacular scenery that inspired campsite names such as “Scottish Highlands” and “Paradise Lake.” Powerful thunderstorms rattled their tents most nights, leaving them wondering whether the tent stakes would hold. Route-finding, scrambling, vast boulder fields, dense brush, sketchy river crossings, and the constant awareness that they might encounter moose or bear all added to the adventure.
Combined with outstanding camaraderie, these challenges made the trip an unforgettable experience. Tanja will be returning to the Winds this September. Tanja grew up in Bavaria and moved to the United States in 1992 for her first postdoctoral position at UC Berkeley. After a brief stay in France, followed by 13 years in Socorro and 8 years in the Washington, DC area, she settled in Los Alamos a decade ago. Tanja’s love of the mountains began in childhood, when her parents took her hiking in the Alps.
Since then, she has pursued a wide range of outdoor adventures, including high-altitude mountaineering, rock and ice climbing, cave diving, bicycle touring, hunting, and fishing. Her current passion is backpacking, especially in remote and little-visited landscapes. Drawn to wild places, she is always searching for new adventures and has a particular fondness for the Arctic.
Traveling off-trail is one of her favorite ways to experience the unspoiled wilderness that still exists in the Lower 48.
We welcome all to this Mountaineers’ meeting on the regular fourth Tuesday of the month. The social hour, with cookies, begins at 6:45 PM and the program at 7:00 PM. The presentation will be in-person at Los Alamos Nature Center; the slides will be live-streamed on Zoom.
Registration is required to Zoom and recommended for in-person – we would love to see your smiling face. Registration details are available at
https://peecla.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/peecla/event.jsp?event=68355&.