Colorado Climbing

One activity that helped get me re-motivated to run and get in shape is climbing 14ers and hiking in Colorado. From 1994-2008, I managed to climb 4 Colorado 14ers. In 2010, I managed 6 more on 3 trips, including 4 peaks solo from Oct 2-3. During that solo trip, I had a fairly light pack with bivy sack, only prepackaged food, and only the bare essentials. Over 2 days, I climbed four 14ers in the Collegiate Peaks wilderness, gaining (and losing) 11,568 feet of elevation, and hiking 20.3 miles. Only about 1/2 of the hike was on trails, the rest felt like I was discovering territory for the first time! I was definitely gasping for air since I averaged about 12,000 feet for the whole trip.

Motivation to climb and do the best I can at altitude helps encourage me to stay in shape.