Pikes Peak

Borderlands of Southern Colorado Speaker Series

Among the Eternal Snows: The first recorded ascent of Pikes Peak

Join us on Zoom as we move our great history talks online. In this new, participatory format we will hear from Phil Carson. Carson is an independent science writer, journalist and author. His books include Across the Northern Frontier: Spanish explorations in Colorado (1998), Roy Buchanan: American Axe (2001), and Working for the Man, Playing in the Band (2018).

Carson’s virtual talk on Edwin James and the first recorded ascent of Pikes Peak is based on his feature article for the Summer 2020 issue of Colorado Heritage, the publication of History Colorado.

Carson retraced naturalist Edwin James’s ascent of Pikes Peak in July 1820 – 200 years ago this summer – based on James’ unpublished diary and personal letters, which contain geographic descriptions and notes on geology and botany. Native Americans undoubtedly made prior ascents over the 12,000-plus years prior to James’ effort, but they left no known records. James made his climb as a member of Major Long’s expedition to the Rockies that summer, one of the first American expeditions into the West to bring trained scientists to document a region largely unknown to a young nation.

The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Please consider supporting the Borderlands Lecture Series by contributing at Colorado Gives.

Our Online Borderlands Lecture Series is generously supported by the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area