MtnZone.com does not attempt to answer the age-old question of why people climb mountains. It does serve as a record of my climbs of high peaks in Colorado.
I hiked up Barr Trail to the summit of Pikes Peak and down again in August 1989, and repeated only the ascent one month later. The approximately 25-mile round trip of that initial climb beat me up pretty badly, since my training was minimal, consisting only of a 7-mile hike on Waldo Canyon trail the week before. Although I still frequently hiked, I did not attempt to reach the summits of any more mountains in the 12 years following Pikes Peak.
In 2001, while on an unstructured road trip that would eventually lead to southeastern Utah and northern Arizona, I made an impromptu climb to the summit of Mount Princeton. The distance was much shorter than on Pikes Peak. A trail was non-existent for much of the climb, culminating in an unpleasant scramble up steep and loose talus. I didn't have plans to tackle any more high mountains.
Late in the year 2002, my brother expressed interest in climbing some Colorado 14ers. In August of 2003, he and a friend arrived in Colorado for a week-long climbing vacation. We climbed three 14ers that week. I was beginning to catch the bug, climbing solo to the summit of three more 14ers that month.
MtnZone.com is my attempt to document some of my climbs at altitude. On the main MtnZone.com page, mountains are listed that I have either climbed, attempted to climb, or plan to climb soon. Choosing a specific mountain reveals more information, including maps, elevation profiles, trip reports, and photos of specific climbs.
I hiked up Barr Trail to the summit of Pikes Peak and down again in August 1989, and repeated only the ascent one month later. The approximately 25-mile round trip of that initial climb beat me up pretty badly, since my training was minimal, consisting only of a 7-mile hike on Waldo Canyon trail the week before. Although I still frequently hiked, I did not attempt to reach the summits of any more mountains in the 12 years following Pikes Peak.
In 2001, while on an unstructured road trip that would eventually lead to southeastern Utah and northern Arizona, I made an impromptu climb to the summit of Mount Princeton. The distance was much shorter than on Pikes Peak. A trail was non-existent for much of the climb, culminating in an unpleasant scramble up steep and loose talus. I didn't have plans to tackle any more high mountains.
Late in the year 2002, my brother expressed interest in climbing some Colorado 14ers. In August of 2003, he and a friend arrived in Colorado for a week-long climbing vacation. We climbed three 14ers that week. I was beginning to catch the bug, climbing solo to the summit of three more 14ers that month.
MtnZone.com is my attempt to document some of my climbs at altitude. On the main MtnZone.com page, mountains are listed that I have either climbed, attempted to climb, or plan to climb soon. Choosing a specific mountain reveals more information, including maps, elevation profiles, trip reports, and photos of specific climbs.