If you don’t live in Colorado, it’s hard to explain what the attraction is for people to put themselves through such suffering as traipsing up a 14,000 foot peak. But in Colorado, climbing Fourteeners isn’t just a hobby, but is something of a cult following. It’s hard to live here and not want to climb one, whatever your age, background or experience. I’ve even had people offer to pay me to lead them up the simplest of Fourteeners, just so they could have the experience. Which is probably why so many people get into trouble while attempting them.
Bryon had is own interesting Fourteener experience on his first climb ascending Mt. Massive. He’d decided to bag his first one just a couple of months after moving to Colorado. Even though we lived in Grand Junction, the elevation is not that high there at a mere 4800 feet. Bryon took our dog, Simon, on this arduous climb one desolate Saturday in early November. With persistence, strength and will, he summited, but the descent was another matter. He got a terrible case of altitude sickness, and our dog became severely fatigued during the last two miles not being used to the rocky, difficult terrain. Bryon had such nausea and headache, he could barely drive the couple of miles to the local store to get some medication and had to nap by the side of the road before driving back home.
His experience is not uncommon, especially for those coming from lower elevations. And it doesn’t seem to matter how fit or how old you are. Several years ago, a 26-year old marathon runner visited Estes Park with the express intent to summit Longs Peak. He became so ill, he had to be airlifted from the Boulder Field to a local hospital.
But for many, other difficulties afflict them. One of my favorite Fourteener stories comes from our climb up Mt. Elbert, Colorado’s highest Fourteener. We were camping near Leadville over 4th of July weekend, and had decided we would try for this lofty peak. Our plans wavered quite a bit during the night as it poured rain on our tent all night long. We had set the alarm for 4 a.m. to try and avoid afternoon storms, and weren’t sure what to do. As the rain came to a stop, we thought we would give it a try. There was only one other car in the parking lot when we arrived, and we soon found company on the trail with a strong looking younger guy who was walking rapidly behind us. We figured him to be a seasoned veteran, knowing no one could keep such a pace up unless they were a Fourteener veteran. Turns out we were wrong.
He came from Minnesota, and had driven over the course of two days just to get to the trailhead. He had read the Mt. Elbert was the highest of Fourteeners, so had picked it out for that reason. Over the course of our conversation while hiking, we found out he had done no special training, other than working on tractors for a living and getting in physical activity on the job. As we continued to climb above timberline, our new midwestern friend dropped behind. We were moving as quickly as possible, because storm clouds had already started to build. As everyone knows, the last place you want to be during a thunderstorm is on top of a 14,000-foot mountain.
As we descended, we ran into Mr. Minnesota who had also managed to gain the summit — good for him! He was hobbling at an even slower pace, and apparently had several blisters on his feet from the rugged hike. He asked us about our boots, and mentioned in passing that he had bought his at Payless Shoe Source. I was aghast at this, and urged him to stop at a good outdoors store to buy some quality hiking boots. We went on to head down the hill, leaving him limping, but still gleeful over his accomplishment.
That’s when it hit me. Climbing a Fourteener is not always about being physically fit, but is as much about your mental will and fortitude. To think of Mr. Minnesota driving for two days just for the glory of summiting Mt. Elbert, made me realize the mystique of the Fourteener quest, and how lucky I am to be able to do them within a short distance of my house.
