Colorado Hall of Fame inducts author of ‘The Vail Hiker’

Mary Ellen Gilliland, author of “The Vail Hiker and Ski Touring Guide,” was inducted into the Colorado Authors Hall of Fame during a September gala in Denver.

Gilliland, a former Vail resident, has written more than 20 books about Colorado gold rush history. Her two hiking guidebooks, “The Vail Hiker” and “The Summit Hiker,” have each sold nearly 100,000 copies.

The induction gala guests turned out in evening attire for dinner to honor earlier Hall of Fame authors such as Clive Cussler, Sandra Dallas and Tom Noel, to remember legacy authors such as the deceased Kent Haruf, and to welcome the 2025 class of 10 inductees.

Gilliland addressed the group with stories of meeting a highly territorial mama moose with a baby in a forest glade on a cross-country ski tour. She reported she learned to ski backward, very fast, that day. She also recounted the story of the growth of her pioneering mountain publishing company, Alpenrose Press. Alpenrose initiated independent publishing in the Colorado mountains, publishing Gilliland’s local books plus many books by outside authors.

Gilliland began producing manuscripts on a 1970s manual typewriter with carbon paper and ended her 37-year book publishing span with numerous all-digital books. In May, Gilliland also received a Women in the Arts recognition from the Daughters of the American Revolution, a prestigious national honor. She is a past recipient of the Breckenridge Theobald Award and several industry awards for her books.