Member Bio

Member Bio

Donald Sanborn Photo Member #: 85
Member Year: 2003
Donald Sanborn
 
Bio Summary
Community Activity Summary
Mr. Sanborn has had membership and leadership positions in numerous community organizations. He has also given many historical presentations mostly on topics related to the history of Pikes Peak.
Occupation Summary
Mr. Sanborn serves as Chief Software Architect for SWIIM System, Ltd. He leads software development and integration at SWIIM. With over thirty years of commercial engineering and mapping application development, as a consultant to a myriad of companies, and with a degree in Agricultural Engineering, Mr. Sanborn brings a unique skill set to SWIIM Systems, ideally suited to the SWIIM problem space.
AdAmAn Service
President 2010-2018 Certified Fireworks Shooter 2007-Present Created and maintains the adaman.org website, including automating the guest application experience, guest selection, and the member bio data collection form
Hobbies
Running, mountain climbing, skiing, back packing, travel, and reading.
Climbing Experience Summary
Mr. Sanborn has climbed 44 of Colorado's Fourteeners, many of them multiple times. In addition, he has climbed a number of Colorado's Thirteeners. He has also climbed peaks internationally including El Pico de Orizaba (the 3rd highest peak in North America), Kilimanjaro, and a number of peaks in Switzerland, Slovenia, Scotland and Mexico.

 

Bio Detail
Community Activity Detail

Community Activities

Chairman, Barr Camp Board of Directors, 2010-2012

Member, Barr Camp Board of Directors, 2005-2018

Chairman, Barr Camp 2016 Project Committee, Barr Camp Board of Directors

Member, Pikes Peak Hill Climb Historical Association, 2005-Present

President, Pikes Peak Hill Climb Historical Association, 2018-Present

Vice President, Pikes Peak Hill Climb Historical Association, 2007-2018

Member, Advocates for the Pikes Peak Summit House, 2014-Present

Member, Penrose Heritage Museum Hill Climb Committee, 2014 - Present

Member, Colorado Springs Executives Association, 1999-2012

Livestream Broadcast Commentary, Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, 2014

KRDO Radio Commentary, Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, 2013-2014, 2016-Present

Volunteer, Information Management Officer, Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb, 2007-2009

Commissioner, Telecommunications Policy Advisory Commission, City of Colorado Springs, 1997-1999

Track Ambassador, Pikes Peak International Raceway, 1999, 2002-2005

Commissioner, Pikes Peak Highway Advisory Commission, City of Colorado Springs, 1993-1998

Director, Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb Educational Museum, 1993-1998

Treasurer, Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb Educational Museum, 1995-1996

Chairman, Fundraising Committee, Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb Educational Museum, 1998

Chairman, Educational Committee, Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb Educational Museum, 1994-1995

Timing Director, Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb, 1991-1992, 2009

Volunteer, Press Staff, Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb, 2002, 2004

Aid Station Lead, Race Committee, Pikes Peak Marathon, 2005-2007, 2009-11, 2013, 2015-16, 2019

Volunteer, Garden of the Gods Run, 1996

Volunteer, Walk for Children, 1996

Member, School District 12 Technology Bond Funds Advisory Committee, 1996

 Other Activities

Rookie of the Year, Stock Car Division, Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, 2000

Promoter and Manager of Legacy Motorsports Electric Division record run by Jeri Unser, Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, 2003

Ambassador, Rocky Mountain Concourse d’ Elegance, 2008

Participant, Pikes Peak Ascent Half Marathon, 1999-2002, 2004-2006, 2012, 2017-18

Participant, Pikes Peak Marathon, 2008, 2014

Ring of Steall 29K, Scotland, 2019

Guest Climber, AdAmAn Club New Year’s Eve Climb and Fireworks on Pikes Peak, 1996-2002

Inducted as Member, AdAmAn Club, 2003

Climbed as AdAmAn Member, 2003-2017

President, AdAmAn Club, 2010-2018

Volunteer, Colorado Division of Wildlife Pikes Peak Big Horn Sheep Count, 2004-2006

Fireworks Shooter Cheyenne Mountain Conference Center and Resort, July 4, 2010-2011, 2014-2019, September 28, 2014, July 14 & 28, 2018

Fireworks Shooter Flying Horse Golf Course, July 4 Show, 2007, 2009

Fireworks Shooter Steamboat Springs Ski Area, February 14, 2009, February 4, 2013, January 25, 2014

Fireworks assistant Broadmoor Golf Club July 4 Show, 2004-2006

Fireworks Shooter Doherty High School Home Coming, 2006-2008

Fireworks Shooter Cheyenne Mountain High School Home Coming, 2006, 2007

Presentations, Productions and Publications

“Pikes Peak Speed Week 2003”, 2003 Colorado Springs Executive Association

“Top Ten AdAmAn Myths, Legends and Factoids”, 2004 AdAmAn Annual Dinner

“Pikes Peak Highway Paving Issue In Retrospect”, 2004 Colorado Springs School

 “On the Mountain with AdAmAn, The History of the AdAmAn Club”, 2007 Old Colorado City Historical Society

“Kilimanjaro and Beyond”, 2011 Colorado Springs School Fifth Grade Class

“Five Generations on Pikes Peak, An Exploration of the Carle Family Heritage”, 2009 AdAmAn Annual Dinner

“A History of the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb”, 2011 Old Colorado City Historical Society

 “On the Mountain with AdAmAn, The History of the AdAmAn Club”, 2011 Colorado Mountain Club

“A History of the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb”, 2012 Manitou Springs Kiwanis Club

“Events on Pikes Peak”, 2012 Cheyenne, Wyoming Kiwanis Club

“Volunteering in the Pikes Peak Region”, 2012 Manitou Springs High School All Class Reunion

 “On the Mountain with AdAmAn, The History of the AdAmAn Club”, 2012 Ute Pass Historical Society

“A History of the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb”, 2013 Studebaker Club

“A History of the AdAmAn Club”, 2013 Manitou Springs Heritage Center

“A History of the AdAmAn Club”, 2013 Palmer Lake Kiwanis Club

“Jim Bates – AdAmAn Photographer and Historian”, The Don Gang (Don Ellis, Don Kallaus and Don Sanborn), West Word, Old Colorado City Historical Society, December 2013

“A History of the AdAmAn Club”, 2014 Pikes Peak Hospice

“A History of the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb”, 2014 Palmer Lake Kiwanis Club

“The History of Skiing on Pikes Peak”, The Don Gang (Don Sanborn, Don Kallaus and Don Ellis), an unpublished article.

“Skiing on Pikes Peak before World War II”, The Don Gang (Don Sanborn, Don Kallaus and Don Ellis), West Word, Old Colorado City Historical Society, March 2014

“Skiing on Pikes Peak during and after World War II”, The Don Gang (Don Sanborn, Don Kallaus and Don Ellis), West Word, Old Colorado City Historical Society, April 2014

“A History of Skiing on Pikes Peak”, 2014 Friends of the Peak Annual Dinner

“A History of the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb”, 2015 Veteran Motor Car Club

“Helen W. Stewart, Colorado’s High-Altitude Hostess, 1893 - 1979”, The Don Gang (Don Kallaus, Don Sanborn and Don Ellis), West Word, Old Colorado City Historical Society, April 2014

Acceptance speech, AdAmAn Club induction into Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame, 2015

“AdAmAn Behind the Scenes”, 2016 El Paso County Pioneers Association

“100th Anniversary of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb” documentary, March 2016, Associate Producer

“A History of Skiing on Pikes Peak”, 2017, Pioneers Museum

“AdAmAn Behind the Scenes”, 2017 CSHS Palmer Alumni Association, Garden of the Gods Visitor Center

“The Changing Façades of the Pikes Peak Summit” historical paper, Eric Swab and Don Sanborn, Pikes Peak Library District, July 2017

“The Changing Façades of the Pikes Peak Summit” presentation, 2017, Pikes Peak Library District Symposium

 “100th Anniversary of the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb”, 2018, Garden of the Gods Visitor Center, Pioneers Museum, Broadmoor Rotary Club

“The Changing Façades of the Pikes Peak Summit” presentation, 2018, Garden of the Gods Visitor Center

Acceptance speech, Pikes Peak International Hill Climb awarded J.C. Agajanian Award from Colorado Motorsports Hall of Fame, 2018

“A Look Back at the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb”, October 2018, Broadmoor Rotary Club

“A Look Back at the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb”, December 2018, UCCS Heller Center for Arts & Humanities

“A Look Back at the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb”, January 2019, Kiwanis Club

“A History of the AdAmAn Club”, January 2019, Rotary Club

“A History of the AdAmAn Club”, March 2019, Pikes Peak Sertoma Club

“A Look Back at the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb”, April 2019, Mercedes Club

“A Look Back at the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb”, April 2019, Veteran Motor Car Club of America

“A History of the AdAmAn Club”, May 2019, Pillar Class

“A Look Back at the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb”, May 2019, Pillar Class

“A Look Back at the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb”, May 2019, Pikes Peak Sertoma Club

“A Look Back at the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb”, June 2019, Manitou Springs Heritage Center

“A History of Skiing on Pikes Peak”, October 2019, Colorado Springs Executives Association
Occupation Detail

Chief Software Architect - 08/2016 － Current

SWIIM System, Ltd., Denver, CO

·    Responsible for SWIIM field data collection software and backend systems for the collection of irrigation delivery, return flow, and consumptive use data for the production of water balances.

·    Integrate, test and field new hardware solutions as needed to meet SWIIM’s data collection needs.

·    Implement backend services for consumption/use in the OnFarm frontend.

·    Manage and give direction to others in the development and implementation of new backend processes for QA/QC, field unit/data collection monitoring and surface energy balance-based evapotranspiration (ET) collection.

·    Document SWIIM operating procedures and help/educate personnel in implementing best practices.

President - 01/1988 － 08/2016

Unique Solutions, Inc., Colorado Springs, CO

Responsible for production and marketing of custom software development services, software maintenance, and commercial hardware/software installation, customization, and training.  Clients included Rain Bird Manufacturing, Autodesk, the US Air Force Academy, Aqua Engineering, Inc., SAIC, and the Oklahoma Department of Health, to name a few.  Unique Solutions fielded several successful commercial products for its clients.

Adjunct Professor - 08/1999 － 05/2000

United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO

Responsible for teaching E410 - Senior Engineering Design and CE215 - Computer Software for Civil Engineers (Fall 1999) and CE215 - Computer Software for Civil Engineers (Spring 2000).  Provided key role in modifying curriculum to teach Cadets AutoCAD.
Climbing Experience Detail

Colorado/California/New Mexico

Description

Accents

Description

Accents

Pikes Peak (Summer)

23

Mount Yale

3

Pikes Peak (Winter)

23

Mount Princeton

2

Longs Peak

2

Mount Antero

2

Longs Peak (Winter attempts)

3

Mount Shavano

5

Mount Evans

2

Tabeguache Mountain

2

Mount Bierstadt

1

Snowmass Mountain

1

Grays Peak (Summer)

5

Humboldt Peak

1

Grays Peak (Winter)

1

Blanca Peak

1

Torreys Peak

3

Ellingwood Peak

1

Quandary Peak

3

Little Bear Peak

1

Mount Lincoln

1

Mount Lindsey

1

Mount Democrat

1

Uncompahgre Peak

1

Mount Bross

1

Sunshine Peak

1

Mount Sherman

6

Redcloud Peak

1

Mount of the Holy Cross

2

Handies Peak

1

Mount Massive

2

San Louis Peak

1

Mount Elbert

5

Mount Sneffels

1

La Plata Peak

2

Windom Peak

1

Mount Oxford

2

Sunlight Peak

1

Mount Belford

3

Mount Eolus

2

Missouri Mountain

2

Crestone Needle

1

Huron Peak

2

Castle Peak

1

Mount Harvard

3

 

 

Mount Columbia

1

Mount Shasta (California)

1

North Maroon Bell

1

Mount Wheeler (New Mexico)

1

 

Switzerland

Description

Accents

Description

Accents

Rimpfischhorn

1

Castor

1

Oberrothorn

1

Balmenhorn

1

Unterrothorn

1

Vincentpyramide

1

Platzhorn

2

Schwarzhorn

1

Mettlehorn

1

Ludwigshöhe

1

Breithorn Occidental

2

Parrotspitze

1

Breithorn Central

1

Signalkuppe

1

Pollux

1

Zumsteinspitze

1

 

Mexico

Description

Accents

Description

Accents

La Malinche

1

Iztaccihuatl

1

El Pico de Orizaba

1

 

 

 

Tanzania

Description

Accents

Description

Accents

Kilimanjaro

1

 

 

 

Scotland

Description

Accents

Description

Accents

Ben Nevis

1

An Gearanach

1

Ben Lomand

1

Stob Coire a’ Chairn

1

Stob Bàn

1

Am Bodach

1

Sgorr an lubhair

1

Bruach na Frìthe

1

Sgurr a’ Mhaim

1

Meall a'Ghiubhais

1

 

Memories
Memories From First Climb
I remember thinking I couldn't believe I was getting to hang out with such a wonderful group of people and participate in such an amazing and unique tradition.  It was almost magical, and I couldn't wait to do it again.
Memories From First Member Year
I remember standing on the tongue of the fireworks trailer watching fireworks being loaded into their mortars and thinking I must have some kind of mental defect.  I've just signed up to climb Pikes Peak every year under some of the worst conditions for mountain climbing and then top it off by risking life and limb to shoot fireworks from over 14,000' elevation.  But I'm still happy to be doing it!  That probably shows how sick I really am.
Memories of Family
My Grandfather Don Lawrie was the last member to be added who never climbed as a guest prior to being selected as a member.  He was also President of the Club in the 1940s.  The AdAmAn Club was just barely on my radar as a child.  Growing up in Cascade, we couldn't see the mountain nor the fireworks.  As a young child we spent the night at my Grandparents house a few times and our Grandmother woke us up to watch the fireworks.  I had just a very vague understanding that my Grandfather was with the club but we never participated in the annual dinner, send off breakfast or any other AdAmAn activities.
Favorite Memories from Climbing Fourteeners
Add some granddad stories here...
Memories from Favorite Mountain Climb
It's hard to narrow all the mountains I've climbed down to one favorite mountain. I might share several experiences from a few climbs here....
Memories of Favorite Gear
It's hard to say what my favorite gear is. There are so many cool things now and they all have pretty nice features. I'm certainly glad we don't have to do the climb in the same gear the original members used!
Memories of Worst Gear Failure
None
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