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A history of women hiking: Agnes Vaille (left) and Mary Cronin (right), photographed on a climb of Mount Meeker in 1923. Vaille was already an accomplished “peak bagger” who took the less-experienced Cronin on dozens of trips in the early 1920s. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE COLORADO MOUNTAIN CLUB[/caption]
Excuse my expression, but I’m a sucker for the outdoors. Whether camping or sitting by a river watching rafters go by, I love the feeling of crisp mountain air overwhelming my airways. It always seems to make everything better.
My favorite outdoor activity, however, is hiking. The rhythm of my feet making contact with the ground, my breath harmonizing with every step, the sunshine on my shoulders, and the various views offering a new perspective on life’s challenges.
Mary A. Cronin was a Denver native born on April 1, 1893. After completing school, she found work as an accounting clerk. Several years later, and after a bout of boredom, Cronin began looking for outdoor adventure, joining the Colorado Mountain Club (CMC) by 1921.
Cronin’s first hike was Beaver Brook Trail right off Lookout Mountain Road, west of Golden. Though that particular experience came with a spring blizzard, among other challenges, she was hooked on nature and became an active member of the CMC.
One of the many ambitious female leaders of the CMC was Agnes Vaille, who was determined to summit every fourteener in Colorado but tragically froze to death after getting caught by surprise by a snowstorm after summiting Longs Peak in January 1925.
Vaille’s three unsuccessful attempts to summit the peak were the motivation behind her last try. On Vaille’s fourth attempt, she and a friend finally made it. Her friend descended while Vaille never made it back down.
Cronin and Vaille became good friends and ventured on many dangerous hikes together. After her friend’s passing, Cronin, determined to finish what her friend had begun, made it her mission to become the first woman of the exclusive “14,000-Footers Club.”
By 1934, Cronin honored her friend’s memory by being the first woman to climb Colorado’s 58 fourteeners. She held various roles in the CMC. Even after work transfers to Nebraska and Texas, Cronin stayed local to the club until she died in 1982.
It isn’t difficult to understand Cronin’s determination and resilience, two of the numerous traits needed to accomplish what Cronin did. Cheers to her and all the ladies who made March Women’s History Month!
TolearnmoreaboutMaryA.Cronin, visit https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/mary-cronin and https://www.historycolorado.org/ story/ 2020/ 04/ 02/ mary- croninfirst woman-climb-all-coloradosfourteeners. For a list of Colorado’s 14ers, visit https://www.14ers.com/ php14ers/14ers.php. To learn about the Colorado Mountain Club, visit https://www.cmc.org/.
Don’t forget to check out this week’s Discover Colorado column to find out where you can learn more about Colorado’s mountaineering history.
