Born in Denver in 1872, Chauncey Thomas attended both the Colorado School of Mines and Lake Forest College, graduating from the latter in 1893. He worked as a journalist for a number of newspapers and magazines, including the Rocky Mountain News and Outdoor Life. For a time Thomas was part of the staff of the Colorado Historical Society. Chauncey Thomas was dubbed "the Sage of the Rockies" by Lee Casey of the Rocky Mountain News and was so considered by all of his friends. He was a very small boy the first time a gun was placed in his hands; he was an old man when he pulled a trigger for the last time-an ill and lonely suicide. Along life’s way, he met many of the greats and was referred to as one of the greatest marksmen and collectors of firearms in the nation. In 1941 he suffered a stroke at the age of 69. Three days later, he took his life with a Winchester rifle from his collection. Thomas was cremated; his ashes scattered on the summit of Berthoud Pass and Mount Flora. The Colorado Historical Society erected a monument there in 1943. It reads: "Chauncey Thomas, 1872-1941, Author of "the Snow Story, the Epic of Berthoud Pass "A Mountain Sleeps Here Alone."