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An Iconic Ascent

“I’ve lived in Colorado my whole life and have always wanted to climb the behemoth of a mountain that is Longs Peak, standing proudly at 14,259 feet. On September 8, 2018, a few friends and I set out at 3:30 a.m. for a 14-mile hike with over 5,000 feet of elevation gain. Once above the tree line, the sky began to glow a haunting red color and illuminated the peak’s iconic Diamond face. We were off to a good start. We continued up to the Keyhole and then mentally prepared ourselves for a long stretch of scrambling. Through the Ledges, the Trough, the Narrows and finally the Homestretch, we were standing on top of Longs. A magnificent feeling; we were riding on a high for the next seven miles down.” Student Arts Program official selection 2019.

About the Artist

Katherine Ann Halama is an environmental studies student with minors in business and geology at CU. She is primarily interested in managing the limited water resources in the western U.S. and hopes to work to protect the diverse riparian ecosystems that depend on them. Katherine has been an officer for the Hiking Club at CU for several years and loves to take the club’s members to various places in Colorado and Utah for day hikes and week-long break trips. In her free time, she enjoys the outdoors via hiking, backpacking, skiing and whitewater rafting. She photographs her adventures and her favorite landscapes, which she later writes about for the . She hopes that her photographs and writing will one day inspire others to spend time in the wilderness and to realize the importance of conservation. See more of Katherine’s work at .