On May 22, 2022, Craig Patterson completed the Colorado Top 1000 summits with a hike up Gothic Peak near Crested Butte. Sherri Durman (Craig’s wife), John and Renata Collard, Dan and Dominique Hershberger, and Craig’s dog, accompanied Craig to the snowy summit. Dan Bereck, a CO Top 1000 finisher too, was also in attendance but did not make the climb due to a previous foot injury. The group was treated to a night at a local campground and breakfast at a local coffee shop by Sherri prior to Craig’s historic achievement. Renata provided dinner for the group the night before the climb including little chocolate mountains which were a huge hit. Renata also provided the summit photo below.
Craig is a long-time mountaineer with almost 1400 Colorado summits climbed. He has also completed the 50 highest state highpoints including Denali in Alaska on a 1971 trip, several 14ers in California, the Grand Teton and other notable mountains in Wyoming, and many other summits. He is an accomplished technical rock climber having worked as a climbing ranger in Yosemite and Grand Teton National Parks for many years. He has also ascended mountains in Ecuador, Bolivia, and Argentina.
Craig has passed on his skill set by being an instructor with the Colorado Mountain Club’s Trekking, Avalanche, Cross-Country Skiing, High Altitude Mountaineering, and Alpine Scrambling schools. He also participated on over 100 search and rescue operations as a former climbing ranger.