#2 Climb Longs Peak

Background: I am from Colorado and spent my first 20 years there. I have hiked a fair bit but have never climbed any of the fourteeners. Growing up, my Dad and I always said we would do Longs Peak together one day. He sent me an email a few months ago mentioning the idea again…and it stuck. I am determined to make this climb this summer, if possible. I don’t think my Dad is up for it anymore (getting old is a bitch he tells me) but I am soliciting adventurers among my friends in Colorado.

Why would I want to climb a mountain? Honestly, this sort of thing didn’t appeal to me until the last few years. I used to rebel against being too outdoorsy in a REI-wearing, paddle-sporting, Powerbar-eating way as a statement against all the people clamoring for a certain lifestyle in Colorado who, I felt, invaded the state, drove up housing prices and made being a tea-drinking, vigilantly-recycling, fresh-mountain-air-loving type trendy instead of just plain sensible.

I am over that now, though. Bring on the fancy outdoor clothes and the overpriced organic oats and let’s climb us a mountain! Wait! I have been to the top of a fourteener – in a car. The summit of Mt. Evans is accessible by car in case anyone wants the thrill of the view but not the climb… I find the climb is what I long for at this juncture in my life.

Status: I have emailed some friends about this idea and so far, I have one taker – assuming he is in town the same time I am. I have looked at some websites like this and this and I am in “training.” I walk twice a day, run three times a week and do yoga three times a week. I figure that should be good for Longs Peak. The plan is to go in late June of THIS year, i.e., in a little over a month. Also, I invested in a new pair of hiking boots about a month ago. The price almost deterred me but when the salesman asked how long I had my last pair (10 years) I was convinced it was a good investment.

Plan of Action (POA): Keep “training.” Read up on the climb itself. Remind my climbing buddy once a week of how worth it waking up at 1am will be when we summit the mountain later that day.