An Old Timey Podcast - 105: A Tragedy on Longs Peak

Episode Date: May 27, 2026

Mountain climbing was an unusual pastime in the 1920s. It was particularly unusual among women. But Agnes Vaille made a name for herself as a tough, formidable climber. Soon, she found herself setting records. In 1925, she and fellow climber Walter Kiener decided to make history as the first people to climb Longs Peak’s east face in the wintertime. Their friends warned them against the dangerous climb. But Walter and Agnes couldn’t be dissuaded.Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Norm pulled from: Alexander, Ruth M. “The Agnes Vaille Tragedy of 1925: A Turning Point in the History of Longs Peak.” In People and Nature on the Mountaintop: A Resource and Impact Study of Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. Colorado State University, 2010.American Alpine Institute. “Route Profile: Kiener’s Route.” November 4, 2019. https://www.alpineinstitute.com/route-profile-kiener-s-route/.Fort Collins Coloradoan. “Sortland’s Body Found Near Hotel.” February 26, 1925.Jessen, Kenneth. “Tragedy Haunted Longs Peak Climber Walter Kiener.” Loveland Reporter Herald, June 18, 2015. https://archive.is/Im3f1.Las Vegas Optic. “Many Visit Museum.” June 3, 1914.“Longs Peak | Colorado Encyclopedia.” https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/longs-peak.Robertson, Janet. The Magnificent Mountain Women: Adventures in the Colorado Rockies. With Arlene Blum. Bison Books, 2020.“Roger Wolcott Toll | Colorado Encyclopedia.” https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/roger-wolcott-toll.Sherman, John Dickinson. “Kiener’s Lookout.” Ashland Pioneer Press, September 18, 1925.The Houston Chronicle. “Shelter Cabin 13,200 Feet Up on High Peak Is Memorial to Girl.” September 19, 1926.The Keota News. “Colorado News Notes.” July 5, 1918.The Orange County Plain Dealer. “Two Girls First to Climb High Peak.” July 31, 1922.The Record. “Society Personal.” April 22, 1913.Vaille, Howard T. “Early Years of the Telephone in Colorado.” The Colorado Magazine, August 1928.Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts!Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.

Hear ye, hear ye. You are listening to an old-timey podcast. I'm Normie C. And I'm Kristen Caruso. And on this episode, I'll be talking about a tragedy on Long's Peak. Oh, my. Oh, is that funny, Kristen? No, it's not funny.

I was just like, I've been feeling really light and summery all day, okay? I've got my little dirty day Coke here. I'm just, you know, ready for a little poolside story. Would it have killed you to do a light one, is what I'm asking you? As you'll soon find out, this is like the opposite of a beach pool side story. Great, great. But it is a story I've been very fascinated by for a long time, so I was excited to cover it. But it is kind of sad.

Okay, okay. Well, speaking of kind of sad, we're going on vacation, Norman. That's right. No, it's exciting for us. We are taking the month of June off. we are going to become refreshed, bedazzled and vejazzled this June. I'm getting vejazzled too. It can happen to anybody, Norm, look out.

Okay. You see someone coming at you with some sequence. You better start running, my friend. Your crotch sure is sparkly. But if you are like, oh no, I just, I can't go on without new content from the Caruso's, well, guess what, sweetheart? Head on over to patreon.com slash old timey podcast because we'll be dropping a fresh new bonus episode over there. At the $5 level, you get access to all of our bonus episodes.

And you get them on video so you can look at us. You can look at us with our new vejazzled crotches. We're not showing our jazzled crotches. That would be $7. Easy. Just two bucks more? I can think of dozens of people who would gladly pay $7 to see it. We are not desperate for money, I promise.

So, yeah, I am very excited that we're going to take the month of June to just relax. We'll still do all our Patreon stuff. We're going to have trivia. We're going to drop our bonus episodes. So if you want to hang out with us, join us over there. And in the meantime, we'll be putting up some of our favorite episodes on the main feed, just rebroadcasting. Yeah, we'll do little intros for them. But, yeah, just going to put up some of our old favorites.

Okay, Norm, are you ready to bum us out? Oh, gosh, I guess. But a lot of good things came out of this story. Okay, so, you know, silver linings, right? Okay. Kristen, first question I have for you. You want to get high? I mean, yeah, sure.

Yeah? All right, let's do it. We're not smoking that jazz cabbage, Kristen. we are at Long's Peak, the tallest mountain in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Seasoned hikers and climbers call this bad boy a 14er, which means its peak is more than 14,000 feet above sea level. The climb up Long's Peak is beautiful. It's considered one of the wildest and most impressive spots in the mountains of Colorado,

seemingly untouched by mankind. Well, for the most part anyway, because at 13,400 feet above, you might notice a small circular structure. It's tiny, eight square feet with a single door, two windows, and a conical ceiling. What's a conical ceiling? Like a cone. Oh, okay, okay.

It's made entirely out of stone to blend in with the environment. And you might be wondering, what the heck is this thing doing all the way up here? Luckily, just to the left of that door is a black. And it states that this little building is known as the Agnes Vale Shelter. Who was Agnes Vale? She was what you might call a mountain woman. She was adventurous, independent, a thrill seeker who wasn't afraid to take on the toughest hiking and climbing challenges. And she did it all in the early 20th century.

A time when hiking and climbing up mountains wasn't considered very ladylike. So today I'd like to tell you her incredible harrowing story of climbing Long's Peak. and how she forever changed the way America's national parks operate. Are you ready, Christy? Yeah, I am. What are you thinking right now? I'm excited. Oh, really?

Well, you and I both love the mountains. We love hiking. Mm-hmm. And I kind of like hearing a badass story about a lady. That's right. And we've climbed up Long's Peak, but not all the way. I was going to say, we stopped. Give me a break.

I don't remember any conicals. We climbed up to Casm Lake, which is that beautiful crystal clear lake. Yes, yes. But then we were like, that's far enough, and we went back down. And then we ate our sandwiches and went back down. That's right.

So, Kristen, let's travel back in time. Do loo. Give us a live version. Do loo. There we go. It's April 16th, 1890, in Lexington, Massachusetts, where the first shots of the American Revolution rang out. And on that day, the Vail family welcomed their third daughter, Agnes Vail.

What do you think of the name, Agnes? I think it is terrible. I think it's a tragic name, and it just needs to stop. It's time to stop? I mean, I think it has stopped. I haven't met any Agnes's lately. No, I think there's been a resurgence of the older names, which I enjoy. It's really the only reason I married Norman, you know.

It was all about the name. But Agnes, boy. That's a rough one. It's tough to be sexy when you're Agnes. Well, Agnes was born into a very prominent family, Kristen. Her mother was Harriet Agnes Walcott, the daughter of the famous Reverend Samuel Walcott. Reverend Walcott was known for his many public speeches during the American Civil War and for writing more than 200 hymns. How big of a deal was he?

He has a Wikipedia page. Okay, yeah. That's all we need to know. Agnes's father was Frederick Vail, an incredibly successful businessman. Harvard educated. Frederick had made all of his money thanks to this newfangled invention called the telephone. Frederick was actually an associate of the telephone's inventor, Alexander Graham Bell, who also invented a metal detector to try to save James Garfield, right, Kristen?

Yeah, but he failed. Thanks for bringing it up. I mean, he didn't fail, but, you know. He did his best. We're all trying to do our best out here. That's right. So Alexander Graham Bell gave Frederick Vale a license to set up a telephone business out west in some bum-fuck town called Denver, Colorado. Who's ever heard of that? But you know, this was back in the 1870s, and during that time, Denver was kind of a bum-fuck town. It had plank sidewalks, ditches in every street, dirt roads that kicked up clouds of dust as horse-drawn carriages made their way through town.

Frederick Vale believed in Denver, though. He was awestruck by its natural beauty. And so in 1878, he started the Colorado Telephone Company with 161 subscribers. Well, believe it or not, Kristen, telephone was a pretty big hit. Sure. And soon the company expanded their territory, and they became the Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company. And the success made the Vale family multi-millionaires. And so it should go without saying that our subject, Agnes Vale, lived a very privileged life in Denny's.

Denver, Colorado. They lived in a beautiful custom-built home. Located at... Oh, my God. Okay, hang on. Hold your freaking horses. Okay. Get it because of the streets with the horses.

Right, right. Anyhow, give me that address. 1401 Franklin Street, Denver, Colorado. Ooh, it is on Zillow. Well, one... So I should mention... Oh, don't do that. Uh-oh.

Okay, hang on, hang on. Okay, now I'm just on the Google Street View because you got all your panties in a twist over me going to Zillow. No. A beautiful brick home. Okay. You know, it's not quite as big as I was thinking it might be,

but I guess that's just, oh, wait, wait. I'm moving Google around. She's bigger than she looks from the front. This is a... Which is what they say about me. Uh, it is much bigger than you think, Kristen. Um, today it looks like it's been split up into condos. Yes, it has.

Seven condos in that building. And they're all like two bed, two bath. Wow. So this was a big house. Uh, one of those condos recently sold for $675,000. Wow. Uh, Molly Brown's house was just down the street. Really?

Yeah. Ever heard of Titanic? Holy crap. Oh, man. The unsinkable. Molly Brown. Future topic. Where's your little ding? I don't have the ding.

We're just going to have to do this. Okay. The fart means yes. So yeah, lived in a pretty sweet house. Agnes and her sisters went to the best schools. They learned musical instruments. Agnes herself was a talented pianist. They traveled frequently in the summers, visiting family in Kansas and Massachusetts.

But another sign of their wealth was that Agnes and her sisters were really, into this new hobby called mountain climbing. At that time, mountain climbing was really a rich person's activity. It required a lot of free time, traveling, equipment, resources. Most middle and lower class people simply didn't have the means to take a couple days off work and go climb a mountain. But rich folks, no problem. And if they lacked experience, a rich person would simply hire a couple of guides to take

them safely to the top of a mountain. Agnes Vale really fell in love with hiking and climbing. And living in Denver, she had plenty of easy access to tons of incredible climbs. And climbing mountains at an early age grew her adventurous spirit. But in 1908, at the age of 18, Agnes Vale had to leave the beautiful mountains of Colorado and head back east. She got accepted into an elite, all-female school located in Northampton, Massachusetts. Smith College. Hmm.

Kristen, as a Simmons University graduate, I'm sure your blood is boiling right now at the very mention of Smith College. I've actually never heard of Smith. Is it a big deal or something? Oh, shut up. Seven sisters never heard of any of them. I've only ever heard of Simmons University. So, for real, were you aware of Smith College?

Of course. Yes, no, that's a very big deal. Okay. So yeah, Agnes Vale got into Smith. college. She really grew into herself physically and emotionally. That sounds creepy when you say it like that. What do you mean? She just hit puberty a little late. I guess so. What do you mean you get so? Are you just saying words? Kind of. Agnes was a tall gal, Kristen. We love it. How tall was she? You know, I don't quite know her precise height, but definitely at least 5'8. At least.

And adjusted for inflation, 5-8 in 1908 was probably like 6.3. Yeah, she was giant. She crushed people everywhere. Okay. She was a, quote, strong husky woman. One friend described Agnes as, quote, a restful person and gentle and quiet, even tempered, not critical of others. She had a nice sense of humor and a special kind of buoyancy. Her mouth turned up at the corners naturally and her personality when it was.

along with it. I know that buoyancy doesn't mean what I think it to mean in my head. It means Agnes floated easily in water. That's what I, anytime a person is described as buoyant, I think of them going, bum, bum, bum. Yeah, I had to look it up too. It means, it probably means like go with the flow, adaptable, happy. Cheerful, lighthearted, resilient.

Okay. Yeah. Also floats in a lake really well. Exactly. Agnes got involved in a variety of activities at Smith College. She was a member of the press board, which handled things like the school newspaper in the yearbook. She also regularly participated in theater productions. She was kind of a social butterfly. But the mountains were always calling her back. So after graduating from Smith College in 1912, Agnes Vale returned home to Denver. As a young college graduate with basically unlimited money, Agnes spent most of her time traveling the country, going on high. hikes and climbing mountains with family and friends. And lucky for us, Kristen, we know about a few of these outings because old-timey newspapers reported on literally everything. Breaking news.

Sloppy Jim farted on Saturday at the dry goods store. He's always doing that. Why does it always have to make the papers? Why do you think we dubbed him sloppy Jim? So, for example, in 1913, Agnes Vale took a friend named Minutes. This is W.T. Hewitt to Yosemite Valley for 10 days. In 1914, Agnes and several of her family members explored the Grand Canyon. But Agnes Vale was also active in her local community, too.

She was a member of the newly formed Colorado Mountain Club. The Colorado Mountain Club had formed in 1912 by a group of mountain climbing enthusiasts in the Denver area. The club regularly went on group outings, exploring the mountains and lakes and wild forests of Colorado. But they were also an advocacy group. The Colorado Mountain Club were one of several groups who pushed the government to turn the Rocky Mountains into a national park. And they got their wish in 1915 when it became the 10th official national park in the United States. But Agnes Vale wouldn't get much time to explore the new park because in 1917, the United States entered the Great War, aka World War I, a.k.a. the most boring war of all time, according to Kristen.

Well, according to us all. No. The ever-adventurous Agnes Vale answered the call for volunteers. She joined the Red Cross and spent the next several years over in war-torn Europe. And it's clear from Agnes's writings that that experience changed her. It toughened her spirit greatly. In one letter, she wrote that it was incredibly demanding work and that for the first time in her life, she truly felt she had enough to do.

After the war ended in November of 1918, Agnes Vale returned to Denver. By that point, her mother had passed away. Her two sisters had gotten married and were living with her new hubbies. So Agnes moved in with her dad, Frederick Vale, and readjusted back to the civilian life. She went back to school and eventually earned a position as the secretary of the Denver Chamber of Commerce,

which apparently made national news. According to an article, Agnesville was the only woman in the United States to be the secretary for a chamber of commerce in a major city. Okay. And apparently she did really well in that role. Male coworkers respected Agnes and said she had the, quote, brains of a man. Oh, God.

What a compliment. I can think of no greater compliment, Kristen. So yeah, Agnes was back home, living with dad, got herself a gerb, and the respect of working boys everywhere. But basically all of Agnes Vale's free time was spent hiking and climbing mountains. She was a true Colorado mountain woman. So what do I mean by Mountain Woman? Author Janet Robertson defined mountain women as, quote, those who deliberately pursued mountain encounters,

rather than merely being passive observers, forced to deal with the Colorado Mountains because of circumstances beyond their control. Many of the first white women to arrive in Colorado were there because that's where their family settled down for a better life. And the idea of hiking and climbing a mountain was crazy, a complete waste of time. But some took a liking to the mountains.

In 1858, a Kansas woman named Julia Archibald Holmes, Holmes became the first woman to climb Pike's Peak. A 14 are located about 100 miles south of Denver. By the way, fun fact about Julia Archibald Holmes, Kristen. Wow. Wow. She was introduced to her husband through John Brown. You're kidding me.

No. So her husband fought with John Brown in Kansas. Wow. And they, John Brown introduced her to him, and they got married, and then they moved to Denver. You know, if I do have a critique of... of your John Brown series, is that it's that you didn't really focus on what he was like as a matchmaker. I really think all the slavery stuff, all the massacre, you really focused on that a whole lot. But we did not hear about all the love connections he made.

He is a man in many talents. At the summit of Pike's Peak, Julia Archibald Holmes wrote to her mother, quote, nearly everyone tried to discourage me from attempting it, but I believe that I should succeed, and now here I am, and I feel that I would not have missed this glorious sight for anything at all. Early mountain women like Julia Archibald Holmes or Isabella Bird rarely hiked alone.

They often hiked in groups with men. They were usually privileged, well-educated, very close to their dads, came from big cities. Many of these mountain women were also either, They're single or married and childless. And I would also suspect that some of them were. I love that clip.

Okay, honestly, Norm, I'm so glad you said this because, first of all, the second you said, she went to a women's college, I was like, ah. Which, but that, but that means nothing in 1908. You made a mental note. Mental note. But when she went and spent, what was it, 10 days off with Mrs. Mrs. Hewitt? Yeah, Mrs. Rosemite Valley.

What's her face? I was like, mm, these ladies into each other, these roommates, really close friends, really close friends. We're best long-term friends.

So was she gay? Or can you not really say? Don't know. Okay. Was never married. Uh-huh. Was close to her dad, liked hiking and climbing mountains.

Honey, don't ask, don't tell. Sometimes you don't have to ask. Okay, so I didn't write this part down. Uh-huh. But I did read a story of Agnes Vale where she went hiking with one of her friends on Mount Yale. Okay.

And the weather got bad, so they decided to spend the night on Mount Yale. And it was cold that night. And they started a fire and they went to sleep. And when the friend woke up, Agnes was like spooning her. Right. And she was like, oh, she was trying to keep me warm. Yeah. But I was also like, hmm.

Two things can be true. Two things can be true. Honestly, Agnes was. This sounds cold as hell up there. I wouldn't necessarily go there for that, but I mean, yeah. I know. The 10-day trip with the female friends, spooning on the mountain.

Uh-huh. Listen, I've gone on some girls' trips. Three days max. Three days max. Go spooning on the mountain. Cut my breast and flick my clit. What? Cut my breast?

Cup. Oh, cup my breast. I was like, whoa. You're really trying to turn this into a tragedy, aren't you? But that's cool, though, that, like, potentially she found a way to be herself. I mean, she didn't have to get married to some guys. I guess that's privilege. Yeah, yeah.

She was rich. There are several landmarks in Colorado named after Mountain Women, places like Alberta Falls, which we have been to, Kristen. Yeah. And Lake Irene. Come on, Irene. I was named in 1985. Yeah, that's right. However, what's interesting is that these landmarks only contain the woman's first name.

Author Janet Robinson rightly points out that it makes tracing the origin of the names much harder. For example, Mount Alice in Colorado. We have no idea where that name comes from, and it's kind of hard to research the name Alice. Yeah. Compare that to spots named after dudes, where they always use the last name, Long's Peak, Beerstat Lake. I just found that interesting. Why do you think that is, Norm? Because the men are more important.

So do you really... I'm joking, by the way. No, no, no, I know. But, like, I mean, like, I mean, really, do you think it's that simple as, like, if we're going to name it after this man, we need to use his full name out of respect? Or what do you think that's about?

I think it's just like the hierarchy of, like, yeah, it's named after this great and important man. It's very important. so we're going to use the last name here. Whereas with stuff named after women, they're like, oh, this is just a cute, fun tribute to my wife. And so it's Mount Alice or Lake Irene, you know. Yeah, okay. What do you think?

I mean, yeah, I think it's dropping a last name is a great way to pay tribute to someone without making the person seem too important. Right. It's a way to give some power, but not all the power. And we'll come back to this later, by the way. All this to say, Agnes Vale, definitely fit the criteria of a mountain woman. Single? Check. Close to Dad?

Check. Wealthy. Check. Explored the mountains on her own terms. Chickety, check. And over the years, Agnes Vale honed her craft. She earned her reputation for being brave and having incredible endurance. She was one of the earliest female technical climbers in Colorado.

said one newspaper, No man in the Colorado Mountain Club could outdo her. And her accomplishments speak for themselves. In 1922, Agnes and her cousin, Lucretia Vale, became the first people, not women, people, to climb Crestone Peak from the west side. A newspaper described their scary ascent,

stating, quote, The young woman gained the top only after several hours of arduous effort. A misstep at many times would have resulted in a plunge to almost certain death. First white people to do it? I guess. Probably. I just clarify.

I don't know how people do this stuff. What? Mountain climbing? I mean, yeah. So you and I hike. We love it. But when there are spots where it's like, oh, I take one stupid step and stumble and then I'm toast? I don't get it.

Yeah, technical climbing, I couldn't do. So that's like, you know, getting the ropes out and like... Yeah, no thank you. Or like, what's it called when they're just free balling? Free balling? I know that's not what it's called. But when they're like, they don't do any ropes or anything. Oh, free solo.

Free solo. Free solo. Yeah. Free ballin is what we call it in this house. Interesting. That is awful. That's that document. Well, there's a documentary called Free Solo about this guy that...

Yeah. climbed some massive rock formation without ropes or anything. I'm just like, I'm glad this is an optional activity, because I will never do this. You know, if they'd called it freeball and it would have been a much bigger hit. Free ball. I think a lot of people would be disappointed. Well, still, but they would have given it a shot. In 1923, Agnes Vale made the very first ascent of James Peak in the wintertime, where the rocks were covered in snow and slippery with ice. By 1924, Agnes Vale had climbed most of the 14ers in the United States, including every single one in Colorado. As a result, the Colorado Mountain Club named her the outing chairman, responsible for setting

up hikes and climbs for other members. She had earned the respect and admiration of fellow club members, including one talented climber named Walter Keener. Let's talk about Walter Keener. He was from Switzerland, aka the Land of Chocolate. We are from the land of chocolate. Keener was a big buff boy, too. He was six feet tall, 225 pounds. Okay. I'm about to bust.

You know he was all muscle big. Oh, yeah. Walter Keener had really cut his teeth climbing the Swiss Alps. He worked as a guide for the Swiss Alpine Club, leading people through the mountains. But in 1922, he emigrated to the United States and made his way to Denver, Colorado, where he got a job as the foreman at a sausage. factory. Abe Froman, perhaps? Huh? Abe Froman? Sausage King of Chicago, Kristen?

Ferris Bueller's Day Off? Oh, sorry. I apologize. It's okay. I'm sure there are a lot of people listening to this who are just screaming along with you, Norm. Norm Trooper recruitment is through the roof. Yeah, this will piss a lot of people off that I looked at you blankly through that entire thing. What? Movie?

For real. I was like, I don't know, I'll eat a sausage. What are we talking about? So yeah, Walter Keener, emigrates the United States, becomes the foreman as sausage factory. But in his free time, Walter Keener would eat, sleep, and breathe the Colorado Mountains. So it was only natural that he joined the Colorado Mountain Club, and that's where he met Agnes Vale. Walter and Agnes got along very well. They had a mutual respect for each other.

They enjoyed taking on technical, challenging climbs. And one day in the fall of 1924, Walter, Agnes, and two other members of the Colorado Mountain Club hiked to the top of Mount Evans, a 14er just west of Denver. And as the group rested at the summit, they could see the majestic Long's Peak off in the distance. Long's Peak was considered one of the ultimate tests of a Colorado mountain climber. It's the tallest mountain and Rocky Mountain National Park. There were multiple ways to get to the summit. Some much more challenging than others.

And unpredictable weather at higher elevations only added to the challenge. Agnes Vale and Walter Keener had both climbed Long's Peak before. Agnes had led several Colorado Mountain Club outings to the top, but only using the relatively safe path on the western face of the mountain. It's known as the keyhole route. Walter was a bit more daring. Back in the summer of 1923, he had ascended the east face of Long's Peak,

a difficult, almost completely vertical, 1600 foot climb right above Kazam Lake. It required ropes, axes, special shoes. Leave your Ked's canvases at home, folks. But they're my best hiking shoes. Walter Kiener made a name for himself with that climb because it's known today as Keener's route. Okay.

Now in the fall of 1924, admiring Long's peak from afar, Walter Keener pitched an idea to his friend Agnes Vale. What if they made a winter ascent of the east face of Long's Peak? No one had ever done that before, and for good reason, it was incredibly dangerous. Climbing in the summer or fall had its own dangers like thunderstorms and rain. But winter climbing? That was a whole different beast.

Snow blanketed the ground, making navigation incredibly difficult. And ice covering the rocks made everything, extremely slippery. One wrong move would send you tumbling down the side of the mountain. Not only that, but climbers would have to use axes and crampens to dig into ice walls and climb up. Did I mention the sub-zero temperatures, Kristen? Oh, I wasn't even thinking about that, but of course. In fact, many people considered that climb impossible to do in the winter. But Agnes Vale was not one to turn down a challenge. She had seen war. She had worked and thrived. in a male-dominated profession.

She had climbed almost every 14er in the country. Nothing seemed impossible to her. And so Agnes Vale agreed. She and Walter Keener would attempt to climb the east face of Long's Peak in the winter. You might think this was a wild idea. Surely some Rocky Mountain National Park rangers would step in and stop them, maybe rope off access to the mountain? What do you think, Kristen?

I don't know. This is early days, right? maybe they didn't have that many people running things to even interfere? Well, uh, they didn't do anything. Hell no, to the no, no, no. Hell to the no. Because at that time, National Parks operated on the idea of having as little human intervention as possible. Superintendant of Rocky Mountain National Park, Roger Toll, who also happened to be Agnes Vale's cousin, by the

away. He stated, quote, certain wild sections of every park should be forever reserved from any development except by trails. National parks are destined to soon be the only sections of wilderness left in America, and wildlife thrives best in untouched wilderness. In other words, a mountain climber safety was completely their own responsibility. But Agnes Vale and Walter Keener believed they could do it. Walter had climbed the east face before. Hold on. Hold on. Isn't that still kind of the case? In regard to what? Well, I mean, just talked about that free-balling guy.

I mean, aren't people kind of allowed to climb at their own risk? They are. So I'll say today there is a lot more public information about what it takes to climb a mountain, you know, what equipment you'll need, the risks involved, a lot of signage. Back then it was kind of just Okay, do whatever you want Well, and yeah And I'm even thinking now about like

Anytime we've gone to a national park They take our ID You know, they know who's coming and going Right Okay But yeah, when the park first opened It was really just Here it is

Right You know they had park rangers Looking for fires And obviously if somebody needed rescue They would help them But like As far as like educational programs And all that

It was very very minimal So yeah, Agnes Vale and Walter Keener believed they could do this climb. Walter had climbed the east face of Long's Peak before. And again, he was a big, buff, sexy boy. Agnes had done plenty of technical climbs herself, and making this ascent would be a huge personal accomplishment. Agnes also felt she was in good hands. Walter Keener would be leading the climb.

And the cardinal rule of the Colorado Mountain Club was always, let the leader lead. And so if Walter thought they could do it, she was good with it too. Nothing was going to stop them from trying. In October of 1924, Agnes Vale and Walter Keener made their first attempt at climbing the east face of Long's Peak. Technically it wasn't wintertime, but perhaps this was just like a practice run to get some experience on the route. But even in October, Long's Peak was full of ice and snow. By the late afternoon, the sun was beginning to set, and during an ascent on a steep rock,

Rockwall, Walter Keener dropped his ice axe. Something he absolutely needed to create steps. As the leader, Walter made the call. They had to turn back. So he and Agnes made their way down safely and returned to camp. The next month, in November, they decided to try again. Before their climb, Agnes Vale phoned a friend and fellow Colorado Mountain Club member, Carl Blowrock. She wanted to borrow his ice axe. Curious, Carl said, sure, but why exactly do you need? this, Agnes responded that she and Walter were trying to climb the east face of Long's Peak. Carl Blowrock

was horrified. He said, climbing the east face of Long's Peak in the winter was Dangerous. Oh, I know it's going to be bad, but you've got all these fun songs. I'm trying to keep it light for you.

That is weird. It's impossible to keep this light. Gotta take care of my wife during this tragedy story. So, yeah, Carl Blowrock was like, you two are nuts. Like, you can't make that climb. Yeah. Way too dangerous.

But Agnes Vale could not be convinced to change your mind. So instead, Carl said, fine, I'm going with you. Oh. So in November of 1924, Walter, Agnes, and Carl made their way up Long's peak. But that second attempt didn't go as planned. The snow caused them to make a few errors in choosing their route to the top. They got further than last time, but eventually. Eventually, it got too dark and the temperature too low, so they had to turn around.

When they returned safely to Denver, Carl again urged them both to not try again. It was not worth the risk. Carl later recalled, quote, I tried to talk them into waiting, but no, they wouldn't. Why wouldn't they? I think they were just wanting to be the first people to make the winter ascent of the east face of Longst Peak. It was a major accomplishment. Yeah, well, and you have all these people saying it's impossible. You can't do it.

It can't be done. In December of 1924, Walter and Agnes tried again. But fierce winds and snow turned them back, resulting in their third failed attempt. Still, they wanted to try again. By this point, Agnes Fails, friends, and family were concerned. Agnes and Walter seemed to have some sort of obsession with making the climb, despite the huge risks. They became united in trying to convince them to not do it. But ironically, this only fueled both Walter and Agnes' motivation.

No one's going to tell me I can't do something. You know, maybe it's a little spitey, a little bit, diet spite? It is a little defiant, for sure. Yeah. So they agreed that after the holidays, in January, they would try again. That Christmas, Agnes Vale sent out cards to her family and friends with the following message. I hope that this Christmas Day will be full of joy for you, and that the coming year will be brimming over with opportunity, achievement, and happiness. These mountains are sending you this message to.

Those mountains, like Long's Peak, would prove to be not so full of joy. Saturday, January 10, 1925. In the morning, Agnes Vale worked a half-day at the Denver Chamber of Commerce. At around 1 p.m., she and Walter Keener loaded up her Dodge Roadster, and drove off towards Long's Peak. Joining them this time was Agnes' friend, Eleanor Epic. Eleanor was only there to keep them company. She would not be attempting the climb.

On the way up, Agnes' car skidded several times on the ice, a bad sign for the climb ahead. And then about a mile from their destination, the car gave out completely after hitting a few snowdrifts. Oh. The group abandoned the car and skied the rest of the way to Long's Peak Inn. They got there at around 8 p.m. Inside, they chatted with the young 26-year-old caretaker, Herbert Sortland. Sortland was from North Dakota, but the mountains of Colorado had called to him.

He jumped at the opportunity to work at the Longs Peak Inn and had been there since 1924. After a brief chat and rest, Agnes Vale, Walter Keener, and Eleanor Epic headed out onto the Longs Peak Trailhead. They hiked for more than two miles in the night through a dense forest of pine, spruce, and fir trees. Sunday, January 11th, 1925. At around 3 a.m., the party reached the timber line cabin. It's located just above the tree line on the Long's Peak Trail. It's around 11,000 feet above sea level. Inside, snow had seeped through cracks in the logs.

The group quickly lit a fire in the stove and warmed themselves up before falling asleep. They woke up at around 8 a.m. Eleanor recalled that the sun was out, but it was extremely cold, with strong winds she could only describe as cruel. The trio ate breakfast. When Walter stepped away for a moment, Eleanor asked Agnes if they still planned to make the climb in those strong winds. Agnes hesitated for a moment and then said, I don't think we'll go. Eleanor was relieved to hear that. She had been one of Agnes's many friends who had tried to convince her to not make that climb.

Eleanor then stepped away to use the bathroom. But when she got back, she saw Walter and Agnes suiting up, getting ready to leave. Apparently Walter had convinced Agnes to make the climb. And again, Agnes believed in the cardinal role of the Colorado Mountain Club. The leader leads. See, this is interesting to me because on the one hand, I'm like, okay, that makes total sense. But to me, it only makes sense once you're out there. They're still at the inn right now.

They're in the Holiday Inn. They're getting their continental breakfast, right? Nope, no. So they're at the Timberline cabin, which is technically on the trail. They're kind of out there. Now, they're not in the dangerous part of the climb at all. So they have technically started their ascent. Okay.

I think if you're still in a cabin situation, there's room to turn back. There was nothing Eleanor could do. She later recalled, quote, Nothing but complete physical exhaustion could have persuaded Agnes to object or renegg on the leader's course. Eleanor wished them luck and headed back down the mountain to Long's peak in. She would wait for them there. At around 9 a.m. Walter Keener and Agnes Vale began their ascent. It was a somewhat late start, but Walter believed they could make up time on the way up.

The journey was easy at first. Walter and Agnes quickly made their way through the subalpine zone, an open landscape with gorgeous views of the surrounding mountains. In the springtime, this area is full of wild mountain flowers, rocky terrain, and gnarly twisted trees. But for Walter and Agnes in January, it was just a blanket of snow. They hiked for one and a half miles before reaching a junction point. To the right was the Boulder Field and the keyhole route, the easiest way up the summit. To the left was Kazam Lake, a beautiful crystal-com.

Clear Lake that sat below the east face of Long's Peak. Walter and Agnes headed left and they soon reached Kazam Lake. From there, they retraced their earlier attempts. They climbed up the steep slope known as lambslide. And then they carefully shimmied across a 1,000-foot-long ledge known as Broadway. Good grief. Finally, they arrived at the notch Kewar. It's like a rock chimney.

Okay. And that's when they're troubled. began. The notch was covered in snow in thick sheets of ice. It was way worse than any of their previous climbs. For the next four hours, Walter and Agnes slowly cut steps into the ice and made their way up. By 4 p.m., they had made it through the notch. But the sun was now going down. Temperatures were falling below zero, and the difficult climb through the notch had worn on Agnes Vale. Walter noted, quote, I was greatly perturbed and grieved to note that my companion's strength was about spent. For the past two hours, she had been almost helpless. And often as we

paused, she complained and apologized for being such a burden on my hands. It was at this time, in my opinion, Walter Keener should have made the call to turn around. But instead, he told Agnes Vale they would push forward. Okay, hold on. Um, hello! Are you fucking stupid? Not to defend this guy too much, but like, at a certain point, once you've done all that, is it safe to turn back? Can you turn back? I mean, I guess you can always turn back, but depending on the time of day, depending on how exhausted you are. Uh, well, the thing with a winter ascent is you do not want to spend long, when the sun is down and the temperatures are below zero because you're at risk of hypothermia.

Right. And you'll just die. And so you really have to like look at the timing and the temperatures and yeah, how tired are we? And so like they really struggled up the notch. Agnes was clearly exhausted. Yeah. And so I think at this point they should have said it's too risky to keep going because I still have to go to the summit. They're not there yet.

Right. So it's like, yeah, just turn back around. Cut your losses. Yeah. Okay. Agnes Vale, though weak, remembered that cardinal rule, the leader leads. And so she kept going. They were close to the summit.

But the remaining climb would be very difficult. They would have to scramble up icy rocks along the edge of a massive face known as the diamond. Before making their way up another rock chimney and then they had to finish with another scramble. By the way, they also had lost both of their lanterns by that point, so they were completely in the dark now. Walter Keener later recalled the final moments of their ascent. He wrote, quote, The last 12 hours of the climb was made in complete darkness and the way was exceedingly tantalizing. The face of the mountain at this point is a series of projections, like great steps, covered by a blanket of snow and ice.

One step would be on the sheer rock face just underneath a thin covering of ice. The next we would sink to our wastes in snow. Every step we advanced became an effort of dogged labor. Meanwhile, Agnes Vale was completely spent, to the point that Walter Keener was now pulling her up the ropes completely by himself. Good grief. They were fading fast. But they still clung to hope.

They would not fail this ascent. The summit was so close, and there was no turning back now. Monday, January 12th, 1925. It was just past midnight, and back at the Long's Peak Inn, Eleanor, nervously waited for Walter Keener and Agnes Vale to come back. She stayed awake as long as she could, listening out for their voices in the night, but eventually she dozed off to sleep. Meanwhile, at the top of Long's Peak, at around 4 a.m.,

Walter and Agnes climbed the very last rock, and they reached the summit. They had done it, Kristen. I mean, that is incredible. They had become the first people to ascend the east face of Long's Peak in the winter. Huge deal. Yeah. And reaching the very top seemed to rejuvenate them. Kind of gave them a shot of adrenaline.

That makes sense. Yeah. They celebrated together in the eerie, silent darkness. Which, that must have been a really strange experience to be all alone at the top of that mountain. Yeah. In the dark. Like, you hear nothing. Well, and I wonder what they could really see.

Probably not much, but it is 4 a.m. The sun is probably going to rise soon. So they would get some pretty incredible views. Yeah. What did they pack to eat? I have no idea. Combos? Jerky.

Bugles. Just a ton of bugles. So many bugles. You know, they, they last a long time out in the cold. Sure, sure. They'll fill you up. Yep. Don't know why I like bugles.

but I do. No one does. I like bugles. No, no, no. I like to put them on my fingers. I said, I meant no one understands why we all love bugles. It's because you can put them on your fingers, like little hats or fingernails. It starts as a child and then the love takes you through life.

Yeah. So, yeah, they're celebrating on top of Longs Peak. And Agnes suggested, hey, let's rest for a little bit and then we'll sign the logbook. You know, there's a little log book at the top where you could write your name and some silly message like Smell You'll. later or whatever. Sure. But Walter Keener thought otherwise. He was like, hey, it's 14 degrees below zero.

There are clouds rolling in over the summit. We kind of can't see anything. The wind's starting to pick up. And so Walter suggested they just start their descent immediately. But they didn't want to go the same way they came up. Instead, Walter wanted to descend down along the north face of Long's Peak toward the Boulder Field. The North Face was a much quicker descent than the East Face, which they climbed up. And that was important given the conditions, but it was also much more dangerous in the winter.

In fact, back in 1917, Agnes Vale's cousin and Rocky Mountain National Park Superintendent, Roger Toll, he had climbed the North Face of Long's Peak, and he had noted that the route, quote, should never be attempted when there is ice on the rocks. Walter and Agnes both knew that information, but they decided to take the risk anyway because they wanted to get down from Long's Peak as quickly as possible. That is a tough call. Yeah. If you feel like we are too exhausted and too spent to go back down the east side.

Yeah. The east face was such a challenging ascent. It would be an incredibly challenging descent. Yeah. And so they felt like the North Face is. much quicker. We got to get out of this freezing temperature. We got to get back to the cabin. Yeah. Even though it is much riskier. And I feel like when you're that tired, you're so much more. I mean, it just takes the slightest mistake. Yeah, exactly. This is called foreshadowing. Before they descended, the sun of daybreak peaked through the clouds. And in that moment, Walter could clearly see Agnes Vale's face. He wrote, quote,

The light of the dawn revealed the features of my brave companion, for they were those of one who was doomed. The most appalling lines of suffering and anguish, pained, haggard, and deep-drawn, had developed in the countenance of that heroic woman. Her eyes were fearfully bloodshot, and she now talked in tones that seemed supernatural. In other words, Agnes Vale was showing signs of hypothermia,

when the body's temperature drops below 95 degrees. symptoms can include shivering, slurred speech, confusion, fumbling hands, extreme fatigue. Walter asked Agnes if she could go on. Agnes nodded. I mean, what choice did she have? Yeah. So they began their descent down the north face. By 9.30 a.m., the duo had descended 750 feet in five hours. They could see the boulder field in the distance. And once they reached that, it would be an easy, journey back to the Timberline cabin. All they had to do was get around a few rock formations. When they approached one large rock, Walter tried to navigate Agnes around it, but in her

confused hypothermic state, she instead tried to go over top the rock. Agnes's feet hit a patch of ice, and she slipped, and she fell down the north face of Long's peak, more than 150 feet below in the snow. She eventually came to a stop laying motionless. Walter panicked. He descended as fast as he could to reach her. When he finally did, he was amazed to discover that she had not been seriously injured from the fall.

But there was worse news. Agnes Vale's hands and feet were now partially frozen. The hypothermia was setting in. If they didn't move fast, it would be fatal. Walter picked Agnes up and they kept going. She could barely hold on to him as his knees shook from exhaustion. The two barely walked 100 feet before Agnes Vale collapsed again. Walter bent down and asked if she could go on.

Agnes said, no. She was tired, so, so tired. They had been awake for 24 hours by that point. In freezing temperatures, exhausted from climbing. Agnes told Walter that she wanted to take a nap. just a little one, maybe 30 minutes, and then she'd be okay. The reality was Agnes Vale was dying, and Walter knew it. He picked Agnes up again and set her by a crop of rocks to help shield her from the wind.

He set her knapsack under her head to act as a pillow. Agnes lay still, holding her ice axe close to her chest. Walter noted she seemed to, quote, cling to it as a treasured thing. and then at around 10.30 a.m., Walter Keener ran for help, as Agnes Vale lay dying near the bottom of the north face of Long's Peak. He ran as fast as he could down the mountain. He was riddled with guilt. Several times he considered turning back to die with Agnes. But he kept going, through the thick snow and biting winds. Meanwhile, Eleanor Epic had awakened to discover Walter and Agnes had still not made it back. She immediately followed. phoned Agnes' cousin, Roger Toll, superintendent of Rocky Mountain National Park. Roger Toll was in Denver and would need some time to reach Long's Peak. He instructed Eleanor to not go out and look for them.

It was too dangerous. She needed to wait for Park Rangers to arrive. Eleanor ignored him. She rounded up a couple of employees and asked them to accompany her to the Timberline cabin. Perhaps Walter and Agnes were stuck there. But the employees took one look at the weather and were like, Hell no, to the no, no, no, hell till the no. Eleanor even offered to pay them, but still they refused.

So she did the only thing she could think of. She said, quote, when all else failed, I cried. And that worked. So Eleanor Epic and four employees from the Long's Peak Inn took off for the Timberline cabin. Those employees were Jacob Christian, Hugh Brown, his son Oscar Brown, and Herbert Sortland, the caretaker from North Dakota. When they arrived at the Timberline cabin, they found it empty. Walter and Agnes were officially missing. The men immediately started gearing up to go out and look for them.

But then, at around 1 p.m., Walter Keener staggered into the Timberline cabin, exhausted and freezing. he was elated to see the rescue group. Shout out to Eleanor for making that happen. But he also relayed the bad news. Agnes had collapsed near the north face of Long's Peak and they needed to rescue her immediately. Eleanor and the young boy, Oscar Brown, agreed to stay behind at the Timberline cabin and keep a fire going. The others would head out to find Agnes Vale. Amazingly, Walter Keener went with them.

But it soon became apparent that the employees of Long's Peak Inn were ill-prepared to carry out a rescue mission. The wind had picked up considerably and the temperatures continued to plummet. The men simply didn't have the right gear to do this. After climbing around 500 feet of elevation, Hugh Brown had had enough. He turned around and went back. 300 feet further up, the young caretaker Herbert Sortland dropped out and turned back. The rescue party was now down to two men, Walter Keener and an ice cutter named Jacob Christian. Incredibly, they pressed forward, and by 4.30 p.m., they had reached Agnes Vale.

Sadly, they were too late. Agnes Vale was dead. Her body was now completely frozen. She was faced down in the snow, evidence that she had tried to get back up, but collapsed. Walter Keener and Jacob Christian were ill-equipped to haul a frozen body down the mountain. Walter later wrote, quote, The gale was raging in unabated fury, driving the cold against our bodies without cessation or mercy. There was nothing to do but return, for we could not carry the body.

We would do well if we got back alive ourselves. Survival was definitely at the forefront of Walter Keener's mind. he was at this point a full-on wreck. He had not slept for almost 48 hours. He could barely keep his balance. His feet were frozen. He said it was like walking on stilts. Yeah.

His hands were also frozen. His fingers, quote, rattled like icicles. But thanks to Jacob Christian, the two made it back to the Timberline cabin by 7.30 p.m. And as everyone warmed up by the fire and reassessed the situation, situation, someone noted that Herbert Sortland, the caretaker of the Longs Peak Inn, was missing. He had never returned after dropping out of the rescue party. A few folks searched around the timber line, shouting for him, but there was nothing but silence. By 10 p.m., Park Rangers had arrived.

Walter Keener was quickly taken back to Denver for emergency medical care for frostbite. Agnes Vale's body was still out there, frozen in the snow up on Long's Peak. But it was now pitch black outside. There was a full-on blizzard raging on the mountain. And all the park rangers could do was wait. Tuesday, January 13th, 1925. At around 4.30 a.m., Rocky Mountain National Park Superintendent, Roger Toll arrived with a rescue party of veteran mountain climbers from the Colorado Mountain Club, including Carl Blowrock, the man who had pleaded with Walter and Agnes to not make the ascent in the winter. Unfortunately, they still couldn't go out to retrieve Agnes Vale's body. A massive blizzard was still raging on Long's peak.

Temperatures were now 50 below zero. Oh my God. In addition to Agnes Vale, the rescue team also had to find Herbert Sortland. If he was still out there, he was dead. Their only hope was that Sortland had been picked up by some other climbers or had wandered into a cabin for shelter. But with a blizzard in full effect, all the rescuers could do was wait, and for the next two days, that's what they did. Thursday, January 15th, 1925. That day, the blizzard finally eased up.

Rescuers made their way to the north face of Long's Peak, and there they found Agnes Vale's body, still in the same spot. 13,300 feet up. Rescuers put Agnes' body on a makeshift stretcher made of skis and took her down the mountain. Unfortunately, they still couldn't locate Herbert Sortland. Back in Denver, authorities notified Agnes Vale's family that they had finally retrieved her. The Vale family had known Agnes was dead for a few days now, but they were probably anxious for updates about getting her body back. Yeah.

The press had also been talking about the death of Agnes Veil. for a few days. Most articles focused on what a horrific tragedy it all was. But some assholes just couldn't help themselves, Kristen. A writer for the New York world commented, quote, The formidable Colorado Peak, smoking in a blizzard, must have flung out a challenge to this woman that we can well understand. Sorrow for her, however, seems misplaced. They are a star-eyed race, these mountain climbers. She had her great moment. Who are we to be feeling sorry for her?

Oof. Yeah. That brutal? Thoughts? I don't think you'll like my thoughts. Uh-oh. Sizzling take. Here we go.

Well, first of all, yeah, that's way too harsh. Yeah. But, I mean, I do, oof, if a grown adult decides to do a very dangerous thing, and things go wrong. Obviously, I feel terrible for them. And we should all feel terrible for them. I hate that that ill-prepared rescue party was guilted into going after her.

Because they had no business doing that. They didn't know what they were doing and they were putting themselves and then others at an even greater risk. You know, it's- Certainly, yeah. Are you horrified by my opinion? No, I think it's a fair take. Yeah. What are your thoughts?

I do think, obviously, there are risks when you do something like this. I just think that this writer lacks sympathy or empathy. Sure. No, this writer's being a total asshole for sure. Yeah, I just think it's a little too harsh, that's all. But I do think, you know, I don't know. something to me about a person knowingly doing something really, really freaking dangerous. I don't like it when it then puts other people at risk, other people who did not want to make that

choice. Sure. Well, and like, to their credit, a few of those guys said, yeah, I'm not doing this. And they went back from the rescue party. Sadly, one of them went missing. But in the same vein, they probably also knew the risks of what they were doing, trying to go out and rescue her. But, I mean, it's a question of risk and reward to me because, you know, she and Walter went out there to kind of set a record and to do something cool. That rescue team was trying to save a person's life.

Yeah. That's different. That's just totally different. And then you've got their crying loved one there. What a terrible position to be put in. Yeah. It's just a tragedy all around. I get what you're saying, though.

Okay. I feel terrible for Agnes. Terrible for Walter. But there's a limit to it. Sure. When you do something like this, you also know that you run the risk of desperately needing people's help. and that when those people are called upon to help you,

they are putting themselves at risk. It feels selfish to me. Yeah, it was irresponsible. And that is why I said earlier, Walter should have turned them around after they climbed up the notch. And as the leader, he should have known to do that. But also she should have spoken up to.

That's fair. You know, they have this rule of like, when you're making a climb, one person's in charge and you listen to them. And so I'm sure she was just following the protocol. But you're right. There is, you know, free will. There is like, hey, you may want to keep going, but screw you guys, I'm going home. Yeah.

And it could be you may want to keep going, but I know my body. I know I don't have this in me. And I know that I will be a burden on you if we keep going. And so as much as you don't want to hear it, I have to turn around. Well, and here's the interesting thing. The only account we have of their climb is written by Walter Keener. That's what is, yeah. So we don't know Agnes's side of the story.

You know, in Walter's writings, he said, Agnes wanted to keep going. Agnes wanted to keep going. But did she? Well, I actually was thinking it was very interesting that we did hear. how badly she was doing and how she was suffering. Because I would think that if he was trying to save face, he might be like, yeah, you know, she was doing great. Everything was fine.

We were really killing it. And then, oh, my God, she hit this patch of ice. And that's the thing that did it. Yeah. This does feel more honest to me. That's true. That he's like, yeah, it kind of sucked. Yeah.

Well, and he was like, yeah, to pull her up. Right. By myself. But I do think it kind of feeds into a narrative I'm about to talk about here. Oh, okay. And that's probably why he may have said those things. Which is that women can't do this? It was basically that Agnes was stupid for trying to make the climb.

She was ill prepared. She had no experience. When that was not true, Agnes Vale was one of the best climbers in Colorado. Right. So we have this writer for the New York World. who wrote this, you know... Terrible thing. Terrible thing.

We shouldn't feel sorry for Agnes Vale. Other writers commented that basically Agnes Vale was a fool for trying to make that climb. She didn't have any experience. She was in way over her head. She was just a dainty little lady with delusions of grandeur. And those takes, they really upset Agnes Vale's friend, Eleanor Epic. Because Agnes was extremely qualified. she had put her trust into the leader of the climb, Walter Keener.

Eleanor believed if anyone should be blamed for the death of Agnes Vale, it was Walter Keener. He had made the call to continue the climb, despite the lack of daylight. Agnes' exhaustion, harsh weather conditions. Speaking of Walter Keener, he underwent several operations right away. Doctor's biggest concern was blood poisoning, aka sepsis. Yeah. Massive skin tissue death. releases toxins and bacteria into your bloodstream, which causes the infection. Walter Keener lost

most of his toes, part of one foot, and many of his fingers. Sunday, January 18, 1925. That day at around 3 p.m., the funeral of Agnes Vale took place at the Plymouth Congregational Church in Denver. It was a packed house filled with Agnes Vale's friends, family, and members of the Colorado Mountain Club. Even Walter Keener, from his wounds, paid his respects with a Swiss Alpine Club custom. He dedicated a wreath of evergreen twigs bound by a rope that was broken in one place. The broken rope symbolized that a life had been lost. Speaking of life, there was still one person missing from this horrible tragedy, Herbert Sortland, the caretaker of the Long's Peak Inn. Park Rangers continued to look for him. They camped out on Long's Peak searching every day for his body, but they found nothing.

Wednesday, February 25, 1925. Almost six weeks after going missing, Herbert Sortland's body was finally found. He was in a place no one had bothered to look, on a slope just across the street from the Long's Peak Inn. Away from the mountain. He was a mere 300 yards away from Long's Peak Inn. Authorities believed Herbert Sortland had gotten lost in the blizzard on the way back, and he overshot the Long's Peak in. He tried to turn back, but collapsed from exhaustion and died from hypothermia. But an autopsy later revealed that Herbert Sortland's death was actually caused by a broken hip.

He more than likely fell on his way down from the icy slopes of Long's Peak. The death of Agnes Vale and Herbert Sortland sent shockwaves for the climbing community of Colorado. Roger Toll, superintendent of Rocky Mountain National Park, knew that changes needed to be made. But Roger Toll had to find a balance. You know, a core belief of the national parks was that they were best experienced with as little human interference as possible. Park Rangers ultimately decided that there was no way they could completely eliminate accidents, bad luck, or poor judgment among mountain climbers. That was out of their control.

But what they could control was educational messaging and rescue efforts. So Roger Toll added campgrounds, ranger stations, entrance checkpoints, educational programs to Rocky Mountain National Park. They also installed two steel cables and an emergency telephone on the steep north face of Long's Peak,

where Agnes Vale does. died. It later became known as the cable route. In addition, Roger Toll wanted to provide safe places for any climbers trapped in bad weather. He tore down the old timberline cabin and installed new ones. At Casm Lake, they built an emergency shelter cabin. And then even further up at the Boulder Field, they built a primitive hotel called the Boulder Field Shelter Cabin. It provided food, beds, and bathrooms, and could accommodate up to 16, people. Sadly, that's no longer there, but if you hike up to the Boulder Field, you can see the foundation. Oh, that's cool. Yeah. Roger Toll also hired more park rangers to take care of Rocky Mountain

National Park, and one of them was Walter Keener. Keener could no longer work at the sausage factory due to losing most of his fingers. So Roger Toll made him a fire guard at Twin Sisters Mountains, just across from Long's Peak. Kristen, we hiked up Twin Sisters. Yeah, that was It's a beautiful hike. Ooh, that took it out of me, though. Yeah, no, me too. Yeah. Beautiful views.

But just to kind of give a, like, comparison, the top of twin sisters that has an elevation of 11,428 feet. Long's peak is like 14,259. So really close, and we're almost as good as these mountain climbers. It's basically a 14er. Yeah, basically. If you round up. And you should. You absolutely should.

A couple times round up. Yeah. But yeah, Walter Keener was made the fire guard at Twin Sisters Mountains. And so for the next five summers, Walter Keener served as the fire guard. It was a job with mixed emotions. You know, he loved working as a park ranger. He was incredibly knowledgeable. He offered guided hikes.

But in that job, he had a clear view of Long's Peak. and the north face of Long's Peak where Agnes Vale had died. It was like a frequent reminder of that horrible climb. Walter Keener earned $100 a month at that job, and he needed the money badly. His medical bills were piling up in excess of $1,000. Just for inflation, $20,000. And how much is $100 a month?

Oh, let me tell you. Like $1,900. Okay. He was clearly struggling with what happened. At one point he suggested to Eleanor Epic that he should sue the Vail family for damages. What? Why? You know, it's not clear why, but it was basically like, oh, Agnes like forced me to go on that dangerous climb and, you know, look at the damage.

Look at my finger. I don't have fingers anymore and no toes. Dude. But Eleanor Epic scolded him. Yeah. She said, quote, Wasn't this just as much your trip as hers? Didn't you want to go to?

Weren't you the leader? Right. Walter solemnly agreed, and he never brought up the idea again. He was just desperate. He was desperate, yeah. But the Vail family didn't hold any ill will towards Walter Keener. In fact, they seemed grateful that Walter was by Agnes' side that day. Perhaps they felt that Agnes died doing what she loved.

climbing a mountain. Agnes's father, Frederick Vale, used his wealth to honor his adventurous daughter and to do good in the world. First, he paid for all of Walter Keener's medical bills, and then in 1927, he commissioned for a stone shelter to be built near the popular keyhole route of Long's Peak. It was made entirely of stone to blend in with the natural surroundings. An inside was emergency food and a safe shelter from harsh weather at the top of Long's Peak. It was named the Agnes Vale Memorial Shelter, a plaque to the left of the door read, Agnes Walcott Vale. This shelter commemorates a Colorado mountaineer conquered by winter after scaling the precipice on January 12, 1925, and one who lost his life in an effort to aid her, Herbert Sortland.

Walter Keener eventually left Colorado and enrolled at the University of Nebraska, completely funded by Frederick Vale. And in 1939, Walter Keener earned his Ph.D. in botany. His doctoral dissertation was on the alpine vegetation of Long's Peak. Walter Keener ended up teaching at the University of Nebraska and also worked for the Nebraska Game, Forestation, and Park Commission. He died in 1959 at the age of 64. Today, the university holds more than 25,000 plant specimens on file that were collected by Walter Keener. Wow. What can we learn from the death of Agnes Vale?

Some people hear this story and think, Agnes Vale should have never made that climb. It was too dangerous. And obviously, yeah, it was extremely dangerous and risky. But nothing was going to stop Agnes Vale from trying to make that ascent. And in the end, she died as she lived. a thrill-seeker looking for the next great climb. And a lot of positive things came out of this tragedy.

The changes to Rocky Mountain National Park in the aftermath made the park much safer for everyone. And that's evident today. Every year, more than 30,000 people safely climb to the summit of Long's Peak. But perhaps the biggest proof of the impact of Agnes Vale comes from a waterfall they named after her. It's located in the San Isabel National Forest near Buena Vista, Colorado. And when authorities named it, they used her full name, Agnes Vale Falls.

And that's the story of a tragedy on Long's Peak. Wow. Beautifully told, Norm. Thanks. Sorry, it's such a bummer, everybody. No, it was, I mean, it's an interesting story. Yeah, I've always been, we read about it when we went on vacation one year to Colorado. And I was like, whoa, I need to know more.

Well, it's a fascinating thing, right? independence, free will, the appreciation of nature, and then that balance of safety. And safety, not just for the adventurer, but for the people who are then in the position to rescue adventurers. Yeah. I was amazed that a woman was doing this in the early 20th century. And like an extremely courageous thing, like climbing Long's Peak in the winter, That's scary.

I would never do it. It's wild. I mean, it's really incredible. Yeah. It's just, it was just sad, you know. Sure. Just sad. I think it's sad, especially when someone dies doing something courageous, because it does allow us to be, you know, Monday morning quarterbacks, including me.

Mm-hmm. I apologize for that episode. That was such a bummer. I'm sorry that bummed everyone out right before we. We go on break. Well, love, we like a, we like a good mix of things on this podcast. Yeah, I need some fun stuff when we get back. Norm, are you really feeling bad about presenting?

No, it's, it was a good story. I'm doing history of Furby when we get back. Let's have some fun. Honestly, I kind of do want to know how the hell we ended up with such a horrific creation. How dare you? How dare you? That's my son. Bum us out right before vacation.

I am sorry Well speaking of vacations Kristen Yes I thought for the slop this week We would talk about some of our favorite vacation moments What do you think I think that's a good idea

I've got some stories prepared About you sir Oh So yeah if you are not on the $10 tier of our Patreon Which is where you get exclusive access to the slop Get on there because we've got some wild tales to tell. Folks, thank you for listening to this segment of the slot.

We talked a lot about heaping piles of turds. Yeah, folks, those of you who did not sign up at the pig butter level, you're really missing out because the vacation stories took a quick, weird turn into IBS. Yeah. And if that doesn't entice you to join our Patreon, I don't know what will, okay? I don't know what will. Yeah. What do you want from us?

I mean, if you eat pig butter, I bet that'll block you up real quick. It'll block you up or cling you out, one of the two. It won't be nothing. That's what we know. There's no middle ground with pig butter. You won't be fine. We guarantee it. Well, should we wrap up this episode and head on out for our break?

Yeah, let's do it. You know what they say about history, hoes? We always cite our sources. And I forgot to add my sources. Wow. Well, Norm's doing that. I should say, we're going to miss you all a lot. We love doing this podcast.

We're excited for our break, though. Absolutely. Okay. You know what they say about history, hoes? We always cite our sources. That's right. For this episode, I got my information from the book, The Magnificent Mountain Women,

Adventures in the Colorado Rockies by Janet Robertson. In the book, People in Nature on the Mountain Top, a resource and impact study of Long's Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park by Ruth M. Alexander. Plus a whole bunch of other sources. Check the show notes. That's all for this episode. Thank you for listening to an old-timey podcast. Please give us a five-star review wherever you listen to podcasts, and while you're at it, subscribe. Support us on Patreon at patreon.com slash old-timey podcast. Join the Reddit community, our slash old-timey podcast.

Follow us on Facebook and YouTube and Instagram at Old Timey Podcast. You can also follow us individually on Instagram. She is the beautiful Kristen Pitts-Carruso. I go by Gaming Historian, and until next time, Tuddle Lulu, Tata, and Cheerio. Bye. See you after the break. Bye.

Bye.