Climbers’ Ranch Work Week: 6-12 June 2021
Lenticular cloud at dawn over Climbers’ Ranch at the foot of the Tetons
Nestled into the woodlands under the majestic spires and crags of the Grand Teton range is the magical American Alpine Club’s Climbers’ Ranch. Two years ago, after a long ride over Togwotee Pass on the TransAmerica bicycle route, I rolled into “The Ranch” for a needed and well-deserved rest day. Soon after I showered and unpacked my gear into one of the wooden bunks, and while listening to the tales spun by several of the gnarly but amicable resident dirtbags, I realized that I had unwittingly stumbled into a little spot of specialness.
Originally the Double Diamond Dude Ranch from 1926 through the early sixties, the Ranch was acquired by the Alpine Club in 1970 and serves as a basecamp for climbers who regularly ascend the multiple peaks and pinnacles that reach more than 4k meters out and straight up from the Ranch’s back gate.
Riding out of the Ranch in June 2019, headed to Yellowstone National Park
On my visit in June 2019, I discovered that most of the other guests were long-time members who had just finished volunteering at “Work Week”, an annual event when members busily prepare the Ranch for the first paying visitors of the season. The Work Week stragglers all shared a special fondness for this place, many of them had been returning each year for decades to repair nature’s attempts to reclaim the wooden cabins during the winter months. These friendly characters regaled me with stories of crags climbed, rescues mounted, and friends lost and found.
On my departure after two marvelous days at the Ranch, riding north into Yellowstone, several of the members encouraged me to return to volunteer the following year during Work Week. Of course, the 2020 season was canceled and the local critters enjoyed almost eighteen months having their way with the Ranch, nesting in the rafters, gnawing at the wiring, and probably rejoicing that those pesky humans had left the place to them. It will be a big job wrestling the Ranch out of nature’s grip. So, when the American Alpine Club announced that they were accepting applications to volunteer for Work Week 2021, I sent mine in and was accepted last week. From 6-12 June, I’ll be busy evicting the squirrels and mice, reclaiming the flower beds, helping to repair bust pipes, swapping stories with the “dirtbags”, and resting my wheels after rolling all my stuff across the plains and through the mountains of Minnesota, South Dakota, and most of Wyoming. I’ll spend some time fixing up the Ranch so that others may enjoy it this summer.
However, having fixed dates on the calendar means adjustments to my route. No problem riding from Minnesota through Yellowstone from the end of April to the first week of June. On this trip through Yellowstone, given the extra time, I may spend a few days exploring some of the geothermal areas or get in some early season hiking above Jenny Lake in the Tetons. But, there is no way that I can pedal the 1600 kilometers from the Ranch, near Moose, Wyoming to Bellingham through the Rocky Mountains and the Cascades in ten days between the end of Work Week and when the ferry departs for Alaska on the evening of 23 June. I’ve booked a seat on Amtrak’s Empire Builder leaving on Sunday evening, 20 June from Whitefish, Montana arriving Monday morning in Seattle, Washington. That will get me riding distance away from Bellingham for my ferry departure two days later.
