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BIOGRAPHY
Birth: September 27, 1904, Colorado Springs, son of Eleanor and CC librarian Manly Dayton Ormes
Marriage: December 25, 1937 to Suzanne Viertel Ormes
Children: Jonathan, born 1939; Stephanie Jean, born 1942
Death: December 22, 1994
Education
B. A. Colorado College, 1926 (English)
M.A. Colorado College, 1927 (English)
Career
Teacher and Principal, Colorado and New Mexico public schools, 1927-1934; Teacher, Fountain Valley School, Fountain, Colorado, 1935-51
Rock climbing and ski instructor, Camp Carson’s Mountain and Cold Weather Training Command, World War II
Alpinist ranger, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
English Professor, Colorado College, 1952-73; Emeritus, 1973-
Writer, lecturer, mountaineer, 1940s forward
In consultation with Colorado Mountain Club Committees, Ormes worked over a long period of time to document names of many Colorado summits for acceptance by the National Board of Geographers.
Memberships
AdAmAn Club, American Alpine Club, Colorado Mountain Club, Saturday Knights,
Colorado Education Association, National Education Association, Recreational Trails Committee, Colorado Division of Wildlife.
Publications
Colorado Skylines. Colorado Springs, 1967-74. 4 volumes. Book 1. Front range from the East; Book 2. The Parks; Book 3. Colorado River Basin. Book 4. Southern section.
The Elk Range Atlas. Colorado Springs, 1978. 22 col. maps on 1 sheet.
Farewell to Ormes: a Colorado Mountain Life in Retrospect. Colorado Springs: Hardlea Press, 1984.
Gore-Tenmile Atlas. Colorado Springs, CO, 1978. 2 maps on 1 sheet.
Guide to the Colorado Mountains. Denver, Sage Books, 1952. Robert M. Ormes, editor, with the Colorado Mountain Club.
Holy Cross Area Atlas. Colorado Springs, 1978.
Pikes Peak Atlas. Colorado Springs, 1959.
Railroads and the Rockies. Denver, Sage Books, 1963.
San Juan Trio. Colorado Springs, CO, 1978. 3 maps: Silverton south atlas; Ouray to Lake City atlas; Ouray west and south atlas.
Tracking Ghost Railroads in Colorado: A Five Part Guide to Abandoned and Scenic Lines. Colorado Springs: Century One Press, 1975.
White River Plateau Atlas. Colorado Springs, 1978.
Articles in Saturday Evening Post, Audubon Magazine, Science, National Geographic (“Colorado’s Friendly Topland, August 1951, 30 pages), Ski Magazine, Trail and Timberline, Field and Stream, Natural History, Sports Afield, Restaurant Management, American Alpine Journal, The Colorado College Magazine. See Ms 314.
Robert M. Ormes Papers, 1967-1976, Ms 0026
Gift of the author, 1980
Box 1 Colorado Skylines, Books I and II
Camera ready manuscript
Box 2 Colorado Skylines, Books III and IV.
Camera ready manuscript
Box 3 Colorado Skylines, Books III and IV.
Typescript with corrections
Box 4 Pikes Peak Atlas.
Galley and pre‑galley copy, beginning “Trails and Trips”
Box 5 Tracking Ghost Railroads in Colorado, 1975, 1976.
Camera ready manuscript for 1976 revised printing.
Box 6 Tracking Ghost Railroads in Colorado.
Box 7 OVERSIZE original maps for the Elk Range Atlas. and Tracking Ghost Railroads in Colorado.
Robert M. Ormes Papers, 1923-1927, Mf 0061
Letters on college experiences, family affairs, and early teaching experiences.
Robert M. Ormes Papers, 1960-1978, Ms 0216
Gift of the author, 1983
Box 1
Folder l Toll Roads Incorporated in Colorado (Research notes)
Folder 2 Uintah Railway Condensed Profile (Drawing)
Folder 3 Colorado & Southern Railway general history (Typescript & charts)
Folder 4 Railroads and the Rockies, corrections
Folder 5 Coal maps: Colorado Coal Maps (4); Colorado, Wyoming & New Mexico Resource map; List of Colorado Coal Mines
Folder 6 Local history clippings; correspondence
Folder 7 Names ‑ History Documents (correspondence, clippings concerning Colorado place names)
Folder 8 Royal Gorge Forts (notes and maps)
Folder 9 Maps from Haley's Denver South Park and Pacific Railroads (photocopies)
Folder 10 Colorado Railroad Maps: Map indicating territory served by Fort Worth &
Denver Railway Co., and Colorado & Southern Railway Co., (n.d.); Map of portion of State of New Mexico from U.S. Dept. of Interior, General Land Office Map, 1927 (photocopy); Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad, 1959 (1914 attached); The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway System, (photocopy); Diagram map of C.B. & Q.R.R. Co. System, 1955; Denver & Rio Grande System (4 sheets); Railroad map, no title, 1885 (original & reduced photo)
Folder 11 Research Coronet Magazine on Denver and Rio Grande Railway from 1870 to 1883 with notes on General Palmer from Marshall Sprague. (Typescript with maps)
Folder 12 Railroad maps: Railroads of the Pikes Peak Region, 1871‑1971 Colorado Midland Chapter of N.R.H.S., 1971; Dept. of Interior. U.S. Reclamation Service Grand Valley Project Map, Oct. 1912; Dept. of Agriculture. National Resources Mission & U.S.G.S. Rio Grande Joint Investigation, Plate No. 12 Espanola Valley, New Mexico
Folder 13 Correspondence, 1977‑1978: "Year by Year Outline, Corporate & Physical
History of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railway & Its Predecessor Company, 1870‑1954." Compiled by Hugh T. Geln, 1954.
ITEMS REMOVED ‑‑ see SEPARATION RECORD IN COLLECTION FILE.
ADDITIONS
Folder 14
Correspondence, maps and notes for Tracking Ghost Railroads in Colorado
Calumet Branch, Denver and Rio Grande Western
Canon City and Royal Gorge (clipping)
Colorado and Southwestern Railroad
Crystal River and Crested Butte Slate Railroad
Manitou Park Logging Railroad
Silica Branch, Denver South Park and Pacific
Skagway Power Plant Incline
Tierra Amarilla Branch, Denver and Rio Grande
Tunnel under Tincup Pass
Folder 15 Preliminary drafts for Tracking Ghost Railroads in Colorado (fragments)
Boxes 2‑3 Card Index. Colorado Railroad Index.
Box 4
Folders 1-8 Correspondence, notes, clippings, and miscellaneous items pertaining to Revision of "Tracking Ghost Railroads in Colorado."
Folder 9 Trails
Folder 10-12 Revision of "Skylines"
Box 5: "Farewell to Ormes" (manuscript)
Robert M. Ormes Papers, 1940-1980, Ms 0314
Gift of Jonathan M. Ormes, son of the author, 1995.
Box 1: photocopies and originals of magazine articles by and about Ormes, 1937-1969
Box 2
Folder 1 Curriculum Vitae; biographical notes
Folder 2 Ormes’ handwritten writings
Folder 3 Ormes’ handwritten writings II
Folder 4 Ormes’ typed originals
Folder 5 “A useable railroad talk”
Folder 6 Rhetorical for a talk on Palmer
Folder 7 Article for Grolier Publishing
Folder 8 “Ladies First”
Folder 9 Photocopies of published articles
Folder 10 Articles, pictures, and stories for Ormes
Folder 11 Mount Everest clippings
Folder 12 Sangre Trails correspondence and notes
Box 3
Folder 1 Notes and manuscripts for Pikes Peak Atlas
Folder 2 Articles sent to Ormes
Folder 3 Manuscript for “Hard Rock Blues”
Folder 4 Manuscript for “William Comes of Age”
Folder 5 Manuscript for “Abelard and Eloise”
Folder 6 Miscellaneous black and white photos and negatives
Folder 7 “Home on the Ranger Station” and “Letters to Aunt Eva” manuscripts
Folder 8 Cripple Creek Commencement speech
Folder 9 Saturday Knights Club, Colorado Mountain Club materials
Folder 10 Book reviews and newspaper stories
Folder 11 Miscellaneous correspondence and notes
Folder 12 Colorado College information/faculty lists
Folder 13 Correspondence; letter to Fergus Ormes
Folder 14 Press clippings from the McCormick accident in Albuquerque
Folder 15 Press clippings on Richard Lamm and the AdAmAn Club
Folder 16 Naming of Ormes Peak/Red Mountain
Folder 17 Ute Pass and Hucacode Cave
Box 4
41 daily planners, 1955-1988
1 packet of index cards: Saturday Knights Club trip-journal entries 1980-85
2 audiocassette tapes: “The Peter Boyles Show”, March/April 1985; one unidentified
1 Colorado Resident Lifetime Parks Pass
maintained by Special Collections; last revised, 1-2026, jr