€^t Con&txMtxon of 



^Hhe comparative merits of the Alps and the 

 ^^ Rocky Mountains for recreation purposes 

 are frequently discussed. Roosevelt and others 

 have spoken of the Colorado Rockies as "The 

 Nation's Playground." This Colorado region 

 really is one vast natural park. The area of it 

 is three times that of the Alps. The scenery of 

 these Colorado Rocky Mountains, though un- 

 like that of the Alps, is equally attractive and 

 more varied. Being almost free from snow, the 

 entire region is easily enjoyed; a novice may 

 scale the peaks without the ice and snow that 

 hamper and endanger even the expert climbers 

 in the icy Alps. The Alps wear a perpetual ice- 

 cap down to nine thousand feet. The inhabited 

 zone in Colorado is seven thousand feet higher 

 than that zone in Switzerland. At ten thou- 

 sand feet and even higher, in Colorado, one finds 



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