A historic landmark of Pikes Peak is getting a makeover.

Over the weekends of Aug. 20 and Aug. 27, Colorado Mountain Club organizers and volunteers are scheduled to restore the nearly 60-year-old structure simply known as the A-frame.

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Work is long overdue, said Dean Waits with the local chapter of the club, which since 1999 has been the designated steward of the shelter near 11,665 feet. Waits said 2008 was the last time the group did work on the A-frame, as coordinated with the U.S. Forest Service.

“I started working with the Forest Service on this about five years ago,” Waits said. “With COVID and all the different things coming up, we’re finally getting back up there now.”

First, they’ll have to go down.

Volunteers will stage from the 14,115-foot summit and haul down shingles for the roof, lumber for new support and paint for the exterior and interior.

Waits said the shingles amount to more than 1,000 pounds. Some of the wood is 16 feet long, he said. He’s expecting several trips up and down the trail — about 3 miles and 2,500 feet between the A-frame and mountaintop. The plan is to camp overnight the two weekends.

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“It’s going to be quite the challenge all the way around,” Waits said.

And then there’s “the big factor,” as he put it. “The weather can change up there in 15 minutes,” he said.

For anyone fearing change to A-frame’s rustic character, Waits assured: “We’re doing everything the way it is, the way it was built way back then.” That includes a particular brown paint that he said is “certified” by the Forest Service.

Since the agency built it in 1964, the A-frame has served as shelter in good times and bad. While it’s been a nostalgic stop for memory-making hikers, it’s also been potentially life-saving for explorers trapped in sudden thunderstorms and whiteouts.

The A-frame has also been a pivotal station for the Pikes Peak Marathon and the AdAmAn Club. On the way to the summit for New Year’s Eve fireworks, the 100-year-old club has stopped there to rest and flash mirrors to the city below, per tradition.

“The fact that it’s still standing there and the purpose that it serves, it just kind of makes you feel good to be able to rehabilitate it and give it another life,” Waits said.

To lend a hand, sign up at cmc.org.

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