2012 14er Record Attempt Splits

Thursday, 8/23

Windom, Sunlight, North Eolus, Eolus (4)

5:15 am

0:00 - started
38:16
1:22:12 - Windom
1:58:28 - Sunlight
2:25:44
3:10:05 - North Eolus
3:25:32 - Eolus
4:17:15 - back at start
5:56:55 - Needleton

El Diente, Mt Wilson, Wilson Pk (7)

2:21 pm

0:00 - started
3:18:30 - El Diente
4:16:22 - Mt Wilson
6:16:59 - Wilson Pk
8:37:26 - finished

Friday, 8/24

Sneffels (8)

1:15 am

0:00 - started
~2:05 - Sneffels
~3:24 - finished

Handies (9)

7:23 am

0:00 - started
1:36:04 - Handies
2:25:54 - finished

Sunshine, Redcloud (11)

10:15 am

0:00 - started
2:22:32 - Sunshine
2:59:39 - Redcloud
4:06:01 - finished

Uncompahgre, Wetterhorn (13)

3:55 pm

0:00 - started
2:01:41 - Uncompahgre
4:32:55 - Wetterhorn
6:05:56 - finished

Saturday, 8/25

San Luis (14)

1:27 am

0:00 - started
3:27:02 - San Luis
5:21:11 - finished

Challenger, Kit Carson, Crestone Peak, Crestone Needle, Humboldt (19)

9:35 am

0:00 - started
3:55:50 - Challenger
4:33:28 - Kit Carson
7:17:10 - Crestone Peak
9:27:40 - Crestone Needle
12:56:19 - Humboldt
15:27:03 - finished

Sunday, 8/26

Culebra (20)

6:56 am

0:00 - started
1:46:29 - Culebra
2:54:04 - finished

Little Bear, Blanca, Ellingwood (23)

12:30 pm

0:00 - started
2:34:52 - Little Bear
4:25:22 - Blanca
5:14:50 - Ellingwood
7:07:28 - finished

Lindsey (24)

11:26 pm

0:00 - started
3:38:58 - Lindsey
6:09:02 - finished

Monday, 8/27

Pikes (25)

10:55 am

0:00 - started
2:02:37 - Pikes
3:34:12 - finished

Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross (29)

5:20 pm

0:00 - started
1:42:41 - Democrat
2:30:20 - Cameron?/Lincoln?
~3:11 - Bross
~4:16 - finished

Quandary (30)

10:18 pm

0:00 - started
2:01:47 - Quandary
3:27:21 - finished

Tuesday, 8/28

Sherman (31)

5:51 am

0:00 - started
2:05:54 - Sherman
3:37:35 - finished

Antero (32)

12:12 pm

0:00 - started
1:47:24 - Antero
2:46:45 - finished

Princeton (33)

4:38 pm

0:00 - started
1:56:08 - Princeton
3:23:24 - finished

Wednesday, 8/29

Shavano, Tabeguache (35)

12:02 am

0:00 - started
2:51? - Shavano
 - Tabeguache
 - Shavano
~5:54 - finished

Missouri, Belford, Oxford, Harvard, Columbia (40)

8:55 am

0:00 - started
1:50:50 - Missouri
3:25:10 - Belford
4:03:18 - Oxford
8:19:08 - Harvard
10:37:50 - Columbia
14:00:00 - finished

Thursday, 8/30

Yale (41)

4:51 am

0:00 - started
4:33:00 - Yale
7:14:36 - finished

Finish time was around 12:06

Total time was around 7 days, 6 hours, 51 minutes = 174 hours, 51 minutes

Approx 115 hours, 42 minutes spent on the trails - approx 66% of total time - approx 15 hrs, 53 minutes per 24 hours

Homie's Homecoming

Homie is home... And he is in great spirits. It seems like maybe the whole climbing community wanted him to succeed even more badly than he did. I sure seem more broken up over than he does. Perhaps, for him, it was like Cave Dog. It wasn't necessarily about the record. That was just the stake in the ground around which his exploration revolved. It was about pushing his limits...to the absolute boundaries. That his boundaries were so astronomically far was immensely impressive, but what was so inspirational was to see how hard he drove to find those limits. It inspired us all to find ours as well, modest as they may be compared to Homie.

When Homie first told me he was going to do all the 14ers in a push, I thought, "That's cool. Should be a fun adventure." When I realized he was going for the record, I thought, "Are you serious? That record is flat-out ridiculous. That is the realm of super beings like Cave Dog and Andrew Hamilton, for professional adventure athletes. That's not for guys like us." How wrong I was to think that I was like Homie. I'm not remotely close. How egotistical to imagine it...

Before the event started I already knew he was in a different class. I knew from Hard Rock and from other adventures we had. A long time ago, I'd lead. Now I'm thrilled to follow in his footsteps whenever the pace is slow enough. I knew he could go non-stop for two days, but could he go for 11 days in a row? I didn't know. Homie didn't know. That's what this was all about. We now know he can go 7+ days in a row. If he tried it again, I suspect he might go 11 days in a row.

There is no failure here, as he succeeded on his goal: finding his limits. He climbed those 41 14ers faster than anyone has climbed them before. And, yes, Cave Dog is still the top dog, and rightfully so. My opinion on that feat hasn't changed at all. Just the people who are capable of it has.

I started this thread by talking about how knowing famous people somehow makes you feel better about yourself. Now Homie is probably the most famous person I know. I'm proud as hell to call him my friend, but no more so now than I was before this started.

Dream Team On Tap for Elks!

Homie did the big Sawatch Traverse yesterday with his good friend, the super strong Jason Halladay. He opted to not tack on Yale and did it this morning instead. His rate of ascent was slow, though. Meaning fast for a normal person. It's the first peak where I've been concerned about his rate. I know he is having some quad issues, but those usually affect you mostly on the descent.

Today will be a tough day and he won't get all the Sawatch done, obviously. I believe and I think it is Homie's plan as well, to be at the Maroon Lake parking at 3 a.m. tomorrow (Friday), as the Elks Traverse is the "lynch pin", as Gerry Roach dubbed it. Starting this at 3 a.m. is paramount, even if he has to return to the Sawatch for clean-up on Saturday. He'll also be doing Castle/Conundrum on Saturday morning, so this isn't getting any easier.

But the Elks is the key and after talking directly with Homie he said he wants people he knows, people that I personally know are beyond solid. So, while many of the great volunteers are surely super solid and experts on the Elks terrain, my marching orders from Homie were clear. So I lined up the Dream Team:

• Stefan Griebel - I've already described this guy. Hands down, the best. Period.
• Ben Hoyt - good friend from work, 5.13 climber, very fit, super solid in the Bells
• Andrew Hamilton - former 14er record holder, holder of the most amazing endurance feat that I know of: self-powered 14er record

So, if Homie can get to the Maroon Bells in good shape, he'll see these three waiting in the parking lot, ready to rock. Ready to do whatever needs to be done. With this trio, there is no way he doesn't get the traverse done, barring injury or weather. As amazing as they are, they have not perfected their Lightning-Screen lotion, as yet.

So, we'll have to see how today goes. I'm not going to get down no matter what happens today. It ain't over, until it's over and you aren't going to get very far in life underestimating Homie...

Andy Wellman is his companion now. En route are William Surles and Wes Thurman. Wes is coming back for a second go, as it was just too much fun to stay away. He's bring Chick-a-Filet sandwiches, two points of Chocolate Chunk ice cream, and a new, larger pair of Hokas for Homie (feet are swelling). It's hard to give out a "Best Supporter" award with all that everyone is doing, but Wes has to be on that list.

Walk on, Homie. Walk...hard!

Companions Are the Key Now

On Pikes Peak (photo by Jeff Kunkle)

Homie is now on the big Sawatch Traverse - Missouri, Belford, Oxford, Harvard, Columbia, and then, hopefully, Yale. Homie said that he reserves the right to say "enough." At least for that day. Right now by far the biggest concern is his shin splints. They are very painful and he has a large bulge on his shin - a clear overuse injury. He's wrapping and icing and doing all he can to manage it.

Companions are the key now, as the fatigue and strain is making him emotional and the power of great, strong friends is the only salvation. Because of this, he's going to be much more selective about his companions, especially in the Elks, if possible. This is not meant to reflect derogatorily on any of the volunteer companions. Everyone one is a kind soul, a giving person, a super strong hiker,  and an experienced mountain man. But if Homie doesn't know the person, it justs, just slightly, to his stress.

Right now the plan is Sawatch today and tomorrow with the Elks on Friday. Joel Gratz (weather forecaster to the stars) has given this plan the thumbs up. We'll need 4WD drivers for tomorrow and have volunteers standing by. Jason Halladay is with Homie today and he couldn't have better help on that terrain.

For the Elks, standing by, we have Stefan Griebel... Someone commented on summitpost.com that I have a man-crush on Homie. Guilty. He's a great guy, a true friend, an incredible mountain athlete. What's not to love? I've got it bad for Stefan as well. In my opinion he is the best partner (except maybe Homie) you can possibly have. His range of skills is staggering. He's climbed Half Dome and El Cap in a day. He, along with partner Jason Wells, have the speed record on the Naked Edge (7 pitches, 5.11, under an hour) and the Longs Peak Triathlon (just set two days ago in under 10 hours where they climbed the Diamond in under an hour!). He's biked the 500-mile Colorado Trail in under 5 days. He set the winter speed record for Capitol Peak (which Homie broke the following day!). He owns the speed records on First and Third Flatirons. He's done Longs Peak, roundtrip, in 2h48m. Etc, etc, etc. But that all pales in comparison to him as a supportive team member. If Homie can't do that traverse with Stefan, then he can't do that traverse.

This isn't to say that Jon Kedowski, Ben Hoyt, and Andrew Hamilton (all of who volunteered to help out in the Elks) are not welcome and encouraged to join in. Andrew Hamilton's human-powered 14er record is, in my opinion, the greatest endurance feat I've ever heard of. He's an incredibly nice guy as well.

But this all depends on the shin and the next two days.

Jeff Kunkle photos from Pikes are here.

On to the Sawatch!

Heading up Crestone Peak - this isn't a trail hike...

Homie has been getting some great help lately, starting with Lindsey (Dwight), then Pikes (Jeff), Decalibron (Dave), and Quandary and Sherman (Wes). We need more help as well and I should also be clear that you should be pretty fast. I guess that might be obvious, but you'd think Homie would slow down to a pedestrian rate, but as Dave found out (being dropped in about 5 minutes and not making any summits with Homie), that is not the case. Dave still helped with companionship at the start/finish and by bringing a Chick-a-Filet sandwich.

Homie did Decalibron in 4h15m! That's with the lower start, of course. He is hiking strong. Tim Enwall, the founder of Tendril, where Homie works, drove up to the Quandary trailhead with the sole reason to deliver tighter compression socks/calf sleeves to Homie! That was it. He contacted me and asked how he could help. Lots of people say stuff like that. Tim put his money where his mouth was. He stepped up, spending the night driving through the mountains for Homie.

Tim also reported great news: "Foot pain all gone".  Tim reported that Homie was very alert, very "John-like." I have no idea what that last comment means. Who is this "John" that you speak of? I assume he meant that Homie was very much himself.

His biggest problem now is shin splints, but he has the better compression socks now and he's icing and taping his shins.

Mark Oveson took great photos in the Crestones and they are here.

Homie is headed to Antero next and would love more companionship for the long, off-trail Sawatch peaks. He needs people today, tonight, tomorrow. Contact me if you can do this.

Crestones Story

As I previously wrote, Mark and Homie left the Willow Creek trailhead at 9:35 a.m. Saturday morning. The weather was great, the forecast was promising, and they were optimistic about getting this done in the daylight. Things went well up the steep, but easy slopes to the summit of Challenger. In going to Kit Carson, they decided against the direct approach up the face. This is one that I've done up/down and Homie was hoping to take it as well. Unfortunately it involves a tricky, burly start over an overhang and the face itself looks very intimidating, though it is only 4th class. They traversed right instead on the normal link-up, but Homie spotted a gully heading up and they took it, climbing a couple hundred feet of 4th class with maybe a touch of low 5th class climbing. 

They then descended to the Bear's Playground, climbed the northwest couloir on Crestone Peak and started the traverse over to the Needle. The traverse went well until just below the Needle at the base of the crux pitch. It was snowing and they decided to stay put for a bit, hoping that things would improve. They did not. At 6:45 p.m. Mark spoke up. They were getting cold, conditions were getting worse and they couldn't be benighted on the traverse. Mark pressed Homie to move, either forward or back. Saying this would be very difficult for Mark because if he pushed for a retreat, which you might do on a normal climb, it would be the same as killing the 14ers quest. I asked him about that and, while he thought about it, he didn't see it as killing the quest, since he felt confident he could retreat and find his way down to the Colony Lakes, allowing Homie to continue the quest. 

Pushed to make the call, Homie went up the Needle's crux pitch in very difficult conditions. Mark tried to follow and ran into severe difficulties when his hands went completely numb. Clinging to snow-covered holds with a 2000-foot drop down the Ellingwood Arete on his left and a death fall into the couloir below him, he couldn't move. Mark is a religious man. It's somewhat funny and much to Mark's credit that we are best friends. He's a devout Mormon and I'm an avowed atheist. Mark couldn't go down or up. Down was less enticing since it would put him back in the same situation they had just decided to leave. Homie was just above him, encouraging him. Mark prayed for salvation. Mark prayed to get out of this alive. His god answered with sunshine, figuring, rightly (he is god after all) that Mark is a man worth saving. The sun shone and Mark fought his way up the last ten feet of steep climbing. On the summit he broke down, bawling with the relief that he would survive to see his family again. 

Emotionally drained the pair descended to Broken Hand Pass where darkness and fatigue forced them to take a break. Mark texted me from there: "Resting and reflecting." At the time I knew nothing of the danger getting to the summit, but I did know that they had to wait out the weather. I wondered if they were thinking of giving up the quest and this was indeed accurate. Homie said, "I don't think I want to do Humboldt." With every neuron in his brain Mark craved going down and immediately heading out to the trailhead. He has just been through a traumatic experience, they had been on the move for 11 hours straight. He didn't want to do Humboldt. He hated the thought, but he responded, "I'm going to support you whatever you decide, but if you don't do Humboldt now, then what you are really saying is that you're not serious about completing the 14ers. It's not that late and we have good weather now." Homie responded, "Maybe I'm not that serious about completing it. Heck, tomorrow I could be in the exact same situation on the Little Bear - Blanca Traverse." Homie had never done that traverse and while it is well within his comfort range in good weather with some companions, doing it alone at this stage of the venture would be non-trivial. If dangerous weather hit him on it, with no way to escape, it could be yet another life-threatening situation. But that was just a possibility in the future. Mark knew that Homie was talking that way out of fatigue and the stress of the recent situation. He remained silent and they sat there in the dark while Homie searched his mind for the will, the motivation to continue. 

Eventually, Homie spoke. Mark prayed once again, this time for Homie to say, "I'll go do Humboldt. You head out and tell everyone the situation." But Homie did not say this. He said, "If I go do Humboldt, will you come with me?" Mark knew that the answer to this question would define him as a man, as a friend. With the great dark bulk of Humboldt looming overhead like the gates of Mordor, he bit his tongue and said, "Absolutely!" They headed off and Mark texted me: "Heading to Humboldt. Nice night for a walk." The 14er quest continued because of Mark's friendship to Homie. It could have easily ended on the Needle. It could have ended in unspeakable tragedy and it could have ended in misery and despair. But it did not.

Mark texted me that he thought they'd make the trail by midnight or so. I knew that was unrealistically early, but with what those two were going through up on that mountain, there was no way in hell I wasn't going to have the vehicle there waiting for them. Gerry figured he'd have to drive the FJ up to get them because the FJ is a manual transmission, but I wouldn't allow someone else going to get them. I needed to see my pacing leg through just as badly as Mark needed to get Homie up Humboldt. I had driven the FJ down the 4WD section of the approach to Willow Creek. In 4-wheel-low these vehicles are basically automatics anyway. I convinced Gerry that he should get his sleep since he'd have to immediately do the long drive to Culebra through the night. At 11:30 p.m. I started the FJ and headed up. The road wasn't difficult at all, though rough and bouncy and I made the locked gate marking the trailhead start by 11:50 p.m. I settled in to wait, setting my alarm for 12:30 a.m. When it went off, I was still alone and set the alarm for 1 a.m. Again, nobody. I asked myself why was I continually waking myself up and resetting the alarm? What good did that do? I was in my Crocs instead of hiking shoes, but even if I had my shoes, what help could I be walking up the trail in the dark with just one good arm? I guess I just wanted to continually remind myself of my friends... I made a slight concession and set my alarm for 1:45 a.m. this time.

At 1:04 a.m. not deep in sleep, I heard something and opened my eyes. I saw headlamps. They were down. Homie had done great going up/down Humboldt, but got so sleepy on the hike out that he lay down on the trail, asking Mark for 5 minutes of sleep. Mark roused him in 3 minutes, knowing that he had to get Homie to a bed. That way they could move towards the next peak. That way he could truly rest. Five minutes up here wouldn't really help. Homie got to his feet and obeyed. At the FJ Homie finally appeared tired. Each time I had met him before, no matter what he had been through, he was completely alert, almost cheery, and looked fresher than an average hiker. This time he was asleep on his feet, not very responsive. I got into the back while Mark took the wheel and Homie slumped against a pillow. He was unable to sleep, though, as the drive out is like being in a chaotic blender.

Back at the lower parking lot, where Jennifer and Gerry were staged, Homie immediately climbed into this bed in the back of the Land Cruiser. Once again the specially ordered meal went  uneaten, though Mark had a few slices. Four hours later, at the gates to Culebra, Homie would devour quite a bit of pizza and a breakfast burrito so it was consumed and appreciated, but at this moment sleep was the higher priority. Before he went to bed I gave him a hug, told him I loved him, and said I'd be watching and pulling for him and that I'd be back. Mark and I got in the FJ with Mark at the wheel. He was wasted as well and needed me to drive, but wanted to do the shifting-intensive driving. After an hour we found a gas station with an open convenience store. I got a coffee here and took over the driving while Mark slept. Before he conked out, we worked like synchronized swimmers with me steering and handling the clutch while he worked the gear shift. We got home at 5 a.m. about the same time Gerry, Jennifer and Homie were pulling up to the gate at Culebra. The difference was that Mark and I were going to bed; Homie was getting up and climbing a 14er...

Roachs are Crewing Now

Jennifer and Gerry, shown here at the Alamosa Pizza Hut, are now crewing for Homie. We picked up a large pepperoni pizza for Homie here and delivered it to 10,700 feet at the end of the 4WD road into the South Colony Trailhead. My last job to help Homie: pizza delivery boy extraordinaire. With my skills and my friendship reduced to a mundane task... Yet I loved it. Funny how it can be satisfying to do something so simple.

Jennifer and Gerry are like another set of parents for Homie, with Jennifer mothering him at every opportunity and Gerry giving fatherly advice on how to handle the mountains and the logistics.