Rocky Mountain National Park – At 10,200 feet, Loch Vale is frozen solid and wind and snow fill a place of austere beauty.

This lake in a towering canyon normally draws a crowd, but on Saturday, the icebound Loch had all but rolled up the welcome mat. Gusts came with such force that a string of visitors turned back moments after arriving.

No matter. Just two days before Rocky Mountain National Park’s 100th birthday, there was no shortage of protected nooks in which to celebrate.

While Saturday saw high winds in the park’s upper reaches – whipping up white-out conditions on 14,259-foot Longs Peak – there was refuge to be found below tree line, clearing the way for a classic day of snowshoeing, backcountry skiing and wildlife watching.

Add scaling frozen seep springs to the list of birthday games.

Brad and Tonya Clement of Boulder and their friend, Jack Perry of Golden, ventured out with ropes and specialized equipment to climb towering ice flows that develop in the cliffs overlooking the winter route to Loch Vale.

While wind lashed hikers a mile or so away, Tonya Clement enjoyed a mostly protected perch and watched her husband complete another lap on the yellow-brown ice, which cascaded over the cliffs in the form of massive icicles that slowly dripped in the sun.

She laughed when divulging the area’s unofficial name: Crystal Meth.

Along the snowshoe path to Mills Lake, Marlene Borneman stopped to savor Longs Peak in the distance, its flat summit set off by a notched ridgeline known as Keyboard of the Winds.

An Estes Park mountain guide, Borneman has hiked all 125 named peaks in the park, but on this day, she spoke as if describing the only view that mattered.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she asked as several out-of-state guiding clients stopped for a breather.

By this point, Borneman and party had hiked no more than a couple of miles on well-packed trails, illustrating how quickly the park can transport its guests into the wild.

Aside from those hiking in snowshoes, backcountry skiers slowly climbed the same trails before earning the reward of gliding back down. Despite the excellent snow conditions, sledding is permitted at only one place in the park, Hidden Valley.

Elk, mule deer, coyotes and moose are among the wildlife that can be glimpsed in Rocky Mountain National Park, which makes for excellent sightseeing drives.

Rocky Mountain National Park was founded Jan. 26, 1915, the day President Woodrow Wilson signed the legislation that created it. But it’s a former Estes Park resident, Enos Mills, who is remembered by the National Park Service as the park’s “father,” credited with marshaling public support for the measure while facing opposition by mining and timber interests.

Estes Park historian Jim Pickering recounted the story of the park’s founding on Saturday at the park’s Beaver Meadows Visitors Center, in one of many talks scheduled this year to mark the birthday.

Centennial events began in September and will conclude by September of this year. Guided hikes, a film premiere, art shows and a half-marathon are among the festivities planned, listed at rocky mountainnationalpark.com/100-year-anniversary-
RMNP.