Chuck Ogilby is proud of his trees, in particular a couple large Ponderosa pines on his Hell Roaring Ranch property off of the Crystal River Road, about halfway between Carbondale and Redstone. One of the Ponderosas may even be the largest one in the area … but that remains a mystery.
For Ogilby’s 65 birthday, he wanted to climb that tall tree, along with some help from his son Kayo and his friend Mark Sumera. After shooting an arrow with a climbing rope attached to the end of it high in its branches, Ogilby made it about half way up, but his fear of heights got the best of him. The younger two made it to the top for an eagle’s eye view. That was nearly 20 years ago.
Ogilby couldn’t say how much the tree has grown since his family moved to the property in 1979, but an Engelmann spruce, another prized arbol at Hell Roaring, has doubled in size since.
Today, from the downhill side, the sky-scraping pine measures at 147 inches (or 12-feet, 3 inches) in circumference at chest height. In comparison, Colorado’s Champion Ponderosa, according to the Colorado Tree Coalition, measured last at 178.04 inches in circumference. It’s located where many of the great Ponderosas in Colorado are, in the southwest part of the state in the San Juan National Forest.
Colorado’s Champion Tree List is put together and maintained by the Colorado Tree Coalition, a volunteer-based organization that monitors the state’s inventory.
“One of the second place Ponderosa pines is right at 147-inch[es in] circumference,” Champion Tree Coordinator Neal Bamesberger told The Sun.
Champion tree measurements factor in the circumference, height and spread of the branches (or crown spread). So while the first place Ponderosa has a circumference of 178.04 inches, a Ponderosa tied in second place has a circumference of 194.37 inches.
Carbondale Town Arborist Carl Meinecke recently became a board member with the Colorado Tree Coalition, and noted that there are a few trees in town on the 2026 Champion Tree list, including an Arborvitae and a Silver maple. He nominated another Arborative next to the historic Thompson House, which he said is the second or third champion of its kind.
“I am not aware of the largest Ponderosa Pines in our area,” Meinecke said, “but I do love a big pondo.”
Meineke hosts the Carbondale Tree Walk on Thursday, July 16, starting out from Town Hall at 6pm, ahead of the Town’s tree inventory project getting underway on July 21.
No Ponderosas in the Roaring Fork Watershed are currently on the championship list, but one tied for fourth is in the Gunnison National Forest. Ogilby is aware of another Ponderosa in Redstone that he said measures slightly larger than his in circumference.
Do you think you know of a burgeoning Ponderosa in the area with a larger circumference? Let us know by emailing news@soprissun.com
If you have a Champion Tree contender, you can nominate it at coloradotrees.org