Adventure: Climbing Mt. Quandary, Colorado’s Fourteeners

March 9, 2009

“It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” (Sir Edmund Hillary)

This post is part of my Spirit of Adventure series, which I started to try to inspire you to make the most of your life. We each have our own comfort zones and areas of interest, so not every adventure will appeal to every person. In a previous post, I compiled an Adventure Resource Guide to get you started thinking about what sort of adventure you would like to have.

Today I am going to tell you about my husband, Jeff (on the left in the picture above). In this photo he is attempting to summit Mt. Quandary, one of Colorado’s Fourteeners (mountains that meet or exceed 14,000 feet) with a few of his friends. I’d be remiss if I did not mention that they did, indeed, reach the summit that day. Yay!!

What I find inspiring about this adventure is that Jeff, like his friends, is a Georgia flatlander. They decided to climb Mt. Quandary even though they were not mountaineers, or even accustomed to that much snow! They were fit and had done some hiking and rappelling, but not in these conditions and more than two miles high. They set a goal for themselves, hired a knowledgeable guide (safety first!), and committed themselves to the challenge.

“You don’t have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things – to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated.” (Sir Edmund Hillary)

Like anything else that is worth doing, this adventure involved both risks and rewards. They had to sacrifice time away from work and family. Since they were not sponsored mountaineers, they had to invest their own money in gear and trip expenses. They endured blood, sweat, and tears to prepare for the climb (okay… the blood may have been just a scratch or two, but you get the point). And there was always the very real possibility of NOT reaching the summit, after having made all the sacrifices.

The rewards made it all worthwhile. They succeeded at their summit bid, getting a view of the world that most of us will never have the opportunity to appreciate. They had a great adventure they can tell their kids about. They created incredible memories and felt themselves truly alive (or was it exhausted?). Mostly, they just did it. After all, Why Not?

“Nobody climbs mountains for scientific reasons. Science is used to raise money for the expeditions, but you really climb for the hell of it.” (Sir Edmund Hillary)

** Side Note:  Sir Edmund Hillary was a New Zealander who, along with Tenzing Norgay, was the first to climb Mt. Everest, in 1953. As great as that achievement was, it should be noted that he was most passionate about helping the Sherpa people of Nepal through the Himalayan Trust. I sure do like people that help people.

Related Links from Fellow Blogs: Achieve Your Dreams | Enrich Your Life

Further Reading: Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills | Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster

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Posted in Spirit of Adventure, family, happiness