Colorado
Catholic priest has celebrated Mass atop all of Colorado’s 14ers
Denver, Colo., Oct 13, 2024 / 07:00 am
The state of Colorado is home to 54 “14ers” — mountain peaks that are at least 14,000 feet above sea level. The difficulty of these summits ranges from easy to what many would consider dangerous. Many Coloradoans have completed at least one 14er, but Father John Nepil, the vice rector and a professor of theology at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in the Archdiocese of Denver, is one of the few who can say he has summited all 54 peaks — not once but twice.
Nepil hiked his first 14er when he was in seventh grade and hated it. However, soon after, “something awoke in me and I fell in love, and I’ve been climbing them ever since,” he told CNA in an interview.
When Nepil was in his 20s he completed all 54 14ers for the first time. Last year, on the feast of the Guardian Angels, atop Mount of the Holy Cross, he completed the 54 for a second time — this time as a priest and with the celebration of Mass at the top of each peak.
The first Mass he celebrated at the top of a 14er was a week after his ordination in May 2011. Now, after 13 years, he can say he has celebrated Mass on every 14er in the state.
“Saying Mass on the summit of 14ers is probably the greatest gift and privilege of my whole life,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything I’ve desired more that’s awoken my interior depths more profoundly. It’s just absolutely truly the summit of my priestly life.”
“Then of course being a priest and being a shepherd and a guide spiritually,” he added, “helping people physically climb to the heights and doing that in such a way as to lead them to the spiritual heights in Christ — that to me is what has made priestly life so deeply meaningful and impactful.”
Another aspect Nepil touched on was how taking individuals on hikes serves as an opportunity for fellowship and evangelization.
Nepil shared that when he was a newly ordained priest, he was assigned as the chaplain at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He realized very quickly that there were “a lot of great students there but a lot of their friends didn’t feel comfortable coming to Mass and didn’t want anything to do with church.”
He decided to start an outdoor club called Aquinas Alpine and began to take people on “adventures in the mountains, and that’s really where it became a ministerial life,” he said.
“You just hang out with people on the mountains and all the questions start to naturally come and the relationships form. It’s just an amazing atmosphere for facilitating communion but also for conversion.”
In his work now in the seminary, Nepil shared how he constantly encourages the men “to do hard things together.”
“Our world is built right now to eliminate discomfort, and that’s actually bad for our humanity,” he said. “As humans, we need to live with intention. We need to be challenged. Muscles need to be broken down so they can be rebuilt. It’s the same with relationships — that if we just kind of float on the surface and live comfortably we’re actually never growing and relationships aren’t being strengthened.”
“So we have to actively go into the backcountry and embrace a kind of preindustrial, non-technological life in order to recover our humanity, and when we do that together, it authenticates our relationships and deepens them in the reality of who we are as created beings.”
As for what individuals who go on hikes with him are taking away from the experience, he said he hopes it’s that they have a “qualitatively different experience of relationship.”
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“As things slow down, things crystallize, perception is heightened, and that awakens spiritual questions and hopefully it begins to form a spiritual vision to interpret reality,” he said. “We’re made to interpret. Things are meaningful … but we only find true happiness and wholeness as persons when we interpret being and the experiences in our life as meaningful, and I think that the conditions of being in creation on a backcountry adventure really facilitates that in a deep way.”
Colorado
Colorado weather: Up to 14 inches of snow forecast for mountains
Snow started Monday night in Colorado’s mountains and will continue throughout the week, likely making its way into the Denver area on Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
Colorado’s mountain roads, including Interstate 70 at the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnel and Berthoud Pass, were already snow-covered Tuesday morning, according to the weather service.
“With more snow to come throughout the day, a Winter Weather Advisory was issued for the Front Range Mountains,” forecasters said.
That advisory will be in effect until 8 p.m. Tuesday for parts of Jackson, Larimer, Boulder, Grand, Gilpin, Clear Creek, Summit and Park counties, including Rocky Mountain National Park. Additional snow accumulations between 6 and 14 inches are possible on Tuesday, forecasters said in the alert.
As of Tuesday, the weather service’s snow forecasts included:
- 2 inches on I-70’s Vail Pass, with up to 3 inches possible
- 3 inches in Winter Park, with up to 4 inches possible
- 4 inches in Eldora and on U.S. 6’s Loveland Pass, with up to 5 inches possible
- 4 inches on U.S. 40’s Berthoud Pass near Winter Park, with up to 7 inches possible
- 5 inches at Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, with up to 7 inches possible
- 6 inches on U.S. 34’s Milner Pass in RMNP, with up to 8 inches possible
- 7 inches on Colorado 14’s Cameron Pass near Fort Collins, with up to 8 inches possible
- 9 inches on Mount Zirkel, the highest summit of Colorado’s Park Range of the Rocky Mountains, with up to 11 inches possible
“Travel could be very difficult,” weather service forecasters stated in the winter weather advisory. “The hazardous conditions will impact the Tuesday morning and evening commutes.”
Snow is expected to pause in the mountains Wednesday and resume Thursday before wrapping up early Saturday morning, according to hourly forecasts from the weather service.
In the Denver area, snow is most likely between 5 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Friday, the hourly forecasts show. Rain is also forecast for the metro area during that time, so it’s unknown how much snow will stick.
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Colorado
Weiss keeps focus on job as Colorado AHL assistant, not historic promotion | NHL.com
In NHL.com’s Q&A feature called “Sitting Down with …” we talk to key figures in the game, gaining insight into their lives on and off the ice. This week, we feature Kim Weiss, assistant coach of the Colorado Eagles, the Colorado Avalanche’s American Hockey League affiliate. Weiss was named assistant for the Eagles on Jan. 16, joining Seattle Kraken assistant Jessica Campbell as the only women in the NHL or AHL to be a full-time assistant coach.
Kim Weiss doesn’t think about the history she’s made that often.
The 36-year-old is too busy with her duties that come with being the Colorado Eagles’ assistant coach, including breaking down 5-on-5 video — she was the team’s video coach prior to her promotion — presenting it to the team, pushing pucks and running practice drills.
“When the title change happened and the promotion happened, I left the office of the general manager (Kevin McDonald), and I got back to work,” Weiss told NHL.com. “In the moment you’re not really thinking about that kind of stuff, but obviously it’s an honor.
“I’m especially grateful just because of my background. I didn’t play on a national team, I didn’t grow up in Minnesota or any kind of a hockey hotbed. So to get at this level and to have this legacy, for lack of a better word, from the place I’m from, a kid from Maryland that played Division III (hockey at Trinity College), it makes me even more proud to show people that you can get somewhere no matter where you start from. Then you add in being a female and all of that, I’m really proud of my journey and I’m proud of all the people who helped me along the way to get here.”
It’s been quite a ride for Weiss with the Eagles, who are second in the AHL Pacific Division. Last week, Weiss talked to NHL.com about her new duties, working with the Avalanche and more women in hockey.
So what was it like the day McDonald called you into the office to give you the news of your promotion?
“Honestly, it’s an affirmation of the work you put in. That’s what the GM said to me. Last season I had a different head coach (Aaron Schneekloth) and we had a different assistant (Dan Hinote) that both moved onto the NHL, and they both spoke highly of me to our GM in the summer and to our new head coach (Mark Letestu). Getting to know Mark this year and working for him, everything that he had heard of me got confirmed through the first few months of the year.
“I don’t exactly know how the process went about to change the title, but I think he went to Kevin, and I know Kevin said this to me, this line of, ‘You’re doing all the work that the assistant does, so why aren’t we calling you one?’ I’m already on the ice with the team and I run skill skates and scratch skates and present (video). I’m doing everything the assistant coach does; I just had a different title. So I really appreciate them just giving me the opportunity to kind of advance my career and keep doing what I love to do, which is coach hockey.”
Letestu also had you run one of the practices earlier in the season. How did that come about?
“Every assistant got (that chance). The big thing coming in was, he had been an assistant coach before and he wanted to make sure we all had a voice and a say, and we weren’t just coming onto the ice for practice like, ‘Oh, here we go. Push some pucks. Put my track suit on for 20 minutes, push some pucks and jump off.’ He wanted to make sure we had the platform in front of the players.
“It started with our longest-tenured assistant coach, Tim Branham. It was nothing new or scary for any of us, but just a different dynamic. Not every staff allows their assistants to take full responsibility of a full practice. Then Derek (Army) took it and then the next week I took one.”
Colorado
How the Colorado Rockies Are Actually Building Its Opening Day Roster
The Colorado Rockies are seeking the right balance and experimenting under their first full-year manager, Warren Schaeffer.
It’s a different Rockies roster compared to last season. There are new faces on the active roster for the start of the 2026 season. Having a team with youth and a mix of veterans can be a successful formula for the Rockies.
Knowing how the elevation affects things in Colorado, the Rockies will see which pitcher can thrive playing in Coors Field. Anything can happen this season.
The Rockies Must Have A Roster That Can Stay Durable
A Rotation of Veterans
Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta added several arms over 34, including Michael Lorenzen, Jose Quintana, and Tomoyuki Sugano.
The fifth starter will be a competitive battle. The Rockies have options in who will win that fifth and final spot. Here is the prediction of the Rockies’ starting rotation:
- Kyle Freeland
- Michael Lorenzen
- Ryan Feltner
- Jose Quintana
- Chase Dollander
Ryan Feltner has battled injuries. The 29-year-old suffered back spasms and shoulder injuries, preventing him from performing in 2025. He’s determined to have a breakout season.
He had a lot of momentum in his final 15 starts of the 2024 season. Feltner posted a 2.75 ERA and finished with a career-high 162 1/3 innings. Feltner has been building his weight-room capacity and getting himself ready for the new season. Hopefully, he can stay healthy and produce.
Flexibility on the Infield
The Rockies’ acquisition of Willi Castro was a smart move. We know the Rockies’ future at shortstop is Ezequel Tovar. However, the Rockies organization is being cautious. They want to make sure they have an extra body on hand in case something goes south. Castro is a former All-Star and a versatile defender.
Eduoard Julien is known for playing second base, but he can also play first base if the Rockies need him there. It all depends on many situations and circumstances. Julien is one of the players on the Rockies roster who must prove his worth.
In terms of first base, TJ Rumfield is a front-office option to serve that position. He has the size, length, and youth to play the position. Rumfield is having an impressive start to the spring so far.
Current Roster and Opening Day Prediction Lineup
Ezequiel Tovar, SS
Tyler Freeman, 2B
Mickey Moniak, DH
Hunter Goodman, C
Kyle Karros, 3B
Jordan Beck, RF
Brenton Doyle, CF
Jake McCarthy, LF
TJ Rumfield, 1B
The lineup can change overnight, and especially in the next few weeks. If, for some reason, Freeman can’t okay second base to start the season, then Castro is the leading man to take the spot.
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