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.

Epic, Serious Situation in Crestone Group

Mark and Homie had an epic trip in the Crestones last night. I'm writing up a report but not sure how much I can make public. Suffice to say that 14ers are significant mountains even in good weather, but doing them in the dark, in a snowstorm, without a rope, while super tired and sleep deprived... This is not some glorified ultra-running deal, this serious, serious business...

I cannot express how frustrating it was for me not to be up there with my best friends. I'm a climber. I could have contributed there. I could have made a positive difference. Instead I worried like a mother hen, while sitting comfortably at the trailhead. Not being able to help at the time of ultimate need is...painful... I know it is silly, but I feel I let them both down.

The quest could have easily ended last night, but it didn't. Not on Mark's watch. They made it out by 1 a.m. and finally Homie slept solidly. His powers of recuperation are extraordinary, though, and I got a report that he ate heartily before blasting Culebra in 2:54, car-to-car. Oh, he also had to drive himself in there because of bureaucracy of the ranch down there. He's on the Little Bear-Blanca traverse now, having never done it. Once again, I should be there him and I'm not. Homie is superman in my mind, but even superman needs a companion in times like that. If the weather goes bad on him on that traverse just having a good friend with you can make all the difference...

In my mind this is not about the record any more. It's about commitment to a nearly impossible task. It's about finishing while not broken, mentally, physically, or emotionally. If anyone can spare the time to go hike with him, you'd be a hero, especially in the Elks. The traverse he is planning there is nothing short of ridiculous. You can even meet him partways through the traverse, as just doing that one day would be a lifetime achievement for most of us. 

More details on the Crestone trip later tonight.

Update from Crestone Group

Mark Oveson arrived in Lake City last night and I shared a slice of pizza with him before we both drove up to get Homie at the Matterhorn Trailhead after his link of Uncompahgre and the Wetterhorn. We arrived up there a little after 9 p.m. At 9:30 p.m. it started to rain, hard. Then it started to hail. At 10 p.m. Homie's headlamp bobbed out of the words and he immediately got in the car. He had started great, but then faded a bit. He was tired and now a bit behind Cave Dog's time. He was still behind on calories and liquids, but also sleep and elected to sleep first. After getting down to the smooth dirt road we transferred Homie to his bed in the Land Cruiser. Mark was driving his FJ. We then drove 3 hours over to the San Luis trailhead, getting there around 1 a.m. Man, that is a long haul. Once you leave Slumgullion Pass it is 41 miles on narrow, dirt roads where it seems like you are on the edge of control at 30 mph.

Homie ate while we packed his Nathan running pack and he took off 1:27 a.m. in about 45 degree weather. The skies looked good and he stayed pretty dry this night. He made the top in 3h27m02s, which he was a bit disappointed about, but came down in well under two hours, doing the roundtrip in 5h21m11s. Mark and I were already up and the Cruiser was started before he hit the trailhead. Once again we had a long drive ahead of us, 30 miles on dirt. This gave Homie the opportunity for more sleep, albeit on windy, bumpy roads. Once we hit the pavement on highway 117/114, we amped up our speed to 85 mph. It was quite the change from the 3-4 mph on Cinnamon Pass.

At the Willow Creek Trailhead, I prepared Homie's pack while Mark got ready. They started up together at 9:35 a.m. I was able to communicate with Mark via texting. Homie was only carrying two small water bottles and once he heads up Challenger from Willow Lake he might not be able to restock with water until after coming down from Crestone Needle. That could put him in a pretty serious dehydration hole. I feel really good about Mark being with him. As they left Mark said to Homie, "My goal is to get 3000 calories in you before these peaks are done." That the perfect attitude for success on this project.

I met Jennifer and Gerry Roach in Crestone and Gerry will be driving Mark's FJ around to the South Colony Lakes Trailhead, where we'll pick up the boys, hopefully around 9 p.m. but it could be later. If they arrive by 8 p.m. there is a chance of getting Lindsey before the unmovable appointment to climb Culebra at 6 a.m. tomorrow (Sunday). I doubt this will happen, though. They will have to head directly to Culebra. On the plus side this should give Homie a solid 5-7 hours of sleep to make up for the huge deficit he is running. We'll see, though.

Gerry came down a day early to relieve me. I'm a little disappointed that I will now be superfluous and just take up valuable space. Hence, I'll head home tonight with Mark. Gerry was like the father in Breaking Away (an absolutely stellar coming-of-age movie). The father is at work at the used-car lot, but not working. He's listening to the bike race that his son is dominating on the radio from the front seat of his car. For complex reasons he "had to work" that day. He so excited by his son's performance that he can't stand it any longer. He closes his door and peels out, headed for the race, to watch his son succeed. Gerry was reading the blog and reading 14ers.com and he couldn't stand it any longer. He wanted, he needed, he HAD to be a part of it and not later, but now. He called me and we devised this plan with the vehicles, which was actually quite a hole in our original plan.

Anyway, Gerry and Jennifer and here to not only watch their "son", but to be a huge part of his success. Talking strategy with Gerry, I know he "gets it." Gerry is, of course, the man. He's done the seven summits - first guy to do all the real seven summits. He's done the top ten peaks in North America. He's run the Pikes Peak Ascent in his youth faster than either Homie or I. Much faster. Yet, he is completely humble. He never talks about that unless prompted and then he's a great storyteller, as anyone who has read his books knows. Gerry is just in awe of people like Homie as I am and he and Jennifer will be great support. This is payback, too, as Homie has paced Jennifer at Hard Rock 100 at least twice.

Yes, we've been having some SPOT issues. Thanks to the people that have called me with the news. We have a spare and if we switch. I'll send out the new SPOT link.

Hey, 7 News picked up the story and used my photo of Homie without permission:

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/31380709/detail.html

Bill

Red Cloud/Sunshine

I drove him down the road to the Red Cloud/Sunshine trailhead and he started up around 10:15 a.m. He has nine peaks done and "just" 49 to go. He did 8 peaks in the first 24 hours (7 in the first calendar day) and is heading for his 2nd and 3rd peaks of the second 24-hour period. We're about 2.5 hours behind the original, idealized schedule. The bad weather caused us to get behind, but Homie did Handies 20 minutes faster than that original schedule. These next two peaks are supposed to take four hours. 

On the short drive down we talked a bit more about the tough Wilson group. Thoughts of giving up the 14er quest a half day into it ran through his mind. They went through mine as well and I wondered how he'd handle it. So much preparation and now so much interest (there were over 500 follow-up posts to his original announcement on 14ers.com - after only 12 hours!) had been put into this venture. I wondered how I'd comfort him if he gave up. I'd say that you can't control the weather, but that wouldn't be enough. I figured he'd have to just keep going and try the Wilson group again later, in better weather. I met a guy in Silverton while waiting for Homie's train to come in. He was riding the entire Colorado Trail. He was on this 14th day with still 90 or so miles to go to Durango, the terminus. He figured it would still take him three more days. He was sitting out the entire day because of the bad weather report. I asked him if he ever thought of quitting and he immediately replied, "Every day. I hate this. It isn't fun. I don't like struggling to do 20 miles in a day. I can easily do 100 miles a day on a road bike." Yet he was committed to finishing it. He didn't want to have to come back and do it again. He even said, "One and done." Before Homie stepped on the train Wednesday to start this whole thing he said, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing." I figure he will finish it regardless of how long it takes and regardless of what barriers are put up to bar him. Obstacles are just opportunities to prove to himself how badly he wants this. To break the record takes incredible planning, toughness, and world-class endurance, but it also takes luck. Since he can't control the luck, all he can do is keep going, keep adjusting, keep strong, keep showing how badly he wants it.

Seeing something like this up close, and I know I'm barely over 24 hours into it as I type this, well short of his Hard Rock 100 time of 36 hours, I'm still amazed at the level of suffering. Heading up the next pass at Hard Rock, knowing there are many other runners around you and being on a good trail nearly the entire time is a long, long way from being completely solo, in the dark, in a driving rain, at 14,000 feet while trying to negotiate a 4th class slab. But that's obvious. There aren't hundred and hundreds of people clamoring to do this each year. It takes a level of masochism that so rare and so far beyond Hard Rock. To me, it seems the only way anyone should go through something like this is during a war, where you life is at stake. Where if you don't keep moving, keep fighting, you'll die. That's the only thing that should motivate someone to go to this level of suffering...

Homie left for Sunshine at 10:21 a.m. Once again he was wearing his Gortex shell. Alas, it never really rained very hard and I doubt he had it on for long. He did both peaks in 4:06 roundtrip. Cave Dog had done 4:09, so this is really close so far. I then drove him up to the Nellie Trailhead for him to launch up Uncompaghre. He left the car at 3:55 p.m. Based upon that departure he is currently 14 minutes ahead of Cave Dog's pace. Which is essentially a dead heat in something that will last almost 11 days. 

We talked to Mark Oveson as we passed through Lake City. He's coming down in his FJ to drive Homie into San Luis at a faster pace than I can do with all the gear in my Land Cruiser. I'll follow at a more pedestrian pace (literally, as Google Maps says it will take me 3.5 hours to cover 60 miles.) San Luis is 14 miles roundtrip and Homie will be starting it around midnight. We then go to the Crestones where Mark will accompany him on those five peaks. Then he'll do Lindsey in the dark and get to Culebra by 6 a.m. Sunday. At least that's the plan.

Update from Handies

After I left Telluride last night I drove up to the new Rock of Ages trailhead. I had never been there before. Homie told me that it just opened up a couple of years ago. It was a lot longer of a drive than I expected and was having my doubts but the trailhead was clearly marked when I got there. I couldn't find the second stove and had to make up two separate portions of angel hair pasta in the JetBoil instead. I put the meat sauce on it and was all prepared for Homie to arrive at his earliest estimate. But he didn't arrive then. Or at his original estimate. I knew from chatting with Mark that Homie's SPOT track had him hunkering down below El Diente in a steady rain. He's say that that he almost gave up right there. He was just squatting down in the rain, waiting for it to ease. He was a couple hundred feet above the trees and some modest shelter, but he didn't want to give up the elevation.  He had early fallen off a log into the stream at the crossing. At the time he cursed the mistake that soaked his feet, though soon he would have been just as wet anyway.

He moved on, tagging El Diente by the easier north passage instead of sticking to the ridge. Things were obviously soaked. He had all his clothes on at this point: pile, hat, gloves, all underneath his rain paints and shell. He didn't even have tights with him, but his calf sleeves and shorts had never the same coverage, though not the same warmth. The traverse went well and he found it not nearly as soaked as he expected. The last moves up to the summit of Mt. Wilson will incredibly wet and he went carefully and slow here. The descent to the north, down endless, steep, technical, physical, wet talus took a lot out of him. He made the saddle on his way up Wilson Peak, but it got dark on him before he was able to reach the summit and this slowed things considerably. Tricky, wet, slab climbing and scrambling forced him to be very cautious and he crept toward the dark summit.

He had left the trailhead at 2:21 p.m. and took 3h18m30s to make the summit of El Diente, then just under an hour to Mt. Wilson's summit (4h16m22s elapsed, 6:37 p.m.). Wilson Peak took nearly 2.5 hours more (6:16:59 elapsed, 8:38 p.m.) He got a bit lost on the descent but the GPS in his phone helped him regain the saddle, where he found the trail down. He arrived at the trailhead just a couple minutes before 11 p.m. I was sleeping in the back, having decided to wait until 11:45 (two hours past his original prediction) before driving down the road until I could get a 3G connection and check on this SPOT location. 

I had slept for maybe an hour, but my mind was whirling. The last okay message I got from him was from the summit of Mt. Wilson. I wondered if the rain was too much for him and that he had gone back out the way he had come in. We had met a couple of bow hunters at the Kilpacker trailhead. They had come up from Texas that day for elk season starting this Saturday. They had planned to hike in a few miles but didn't want to do it in the rain. I figured they would give Homie shelter until I could drive back around and pick him up. Around 10:15 p.m. or so another vehicle came roaring into the parking lot and three guys got out, chatting loudly. My mind raced again. What if Homie had fallen on the tricky descent and injured himself. He might have pressed his "Rescue Me" button on the SPOT and here these guys were to do just that. But they probably didn't know about me. I though again about driving down the road to check the SPOT location but decided to give him two hours. But if he was hurt or going the other way, then I was wasting time. The bow hunters had rented a satellite phone for two weeks for just $250. Having a couple of those babies would have sure eased my mind on these mentally challenging point-to-point hikes.

I was relieved when Homie banged on the truck before heading off to the porta-potty. When he returned I had the car running. He mentioned how tough that group was but was remarkably alert, in good spirits and surprisingly high in energy. The cold rainy conditions had caused him to not eat or drink much. He knew a crash in energy had to be coming and tried to eat some of the spaghetti I made for him. Once again, even though I was just following instructions, it seems I had made the wrong thing. He ate some and remarked that it was good, even though it was quite cold now, but most of it is still in the container now.

He hopped in the back to sleep, though we chatted for quite a bit before he came quiet. I drove down the long 4WD road, liberally using 4-wheel Low to avoid riding the brakes. Once the pavement it was over to Ridgeway, then Ouray, then up towards Yankee Boy Basin. When we got close I roused Homie to turn on his phone. He had the starting waypoint programmed into it and it even talked to me, telling me how many yards until "Sneffels Start". Per the rules of this crazy adventure, he had to start at least 3000 feet below the summit of Sneffels, so I couldn't drive all the way to the trailhead. In fact, I stopped maybe a hundred yards too low when Homie told me we had arrived at the only semi-flat spot. 

Homie got his stuff together and I was glad to see him in tights. He had to be tired and it was cold and foggy out. He took around 1:15 a.m. and I set the alarm for 4:30 a.m. When my alarm went off I hit the snooze for 9 minutes. I should have got up and turned the vehicle around, as that proved to be a bit of a trick on the narrow, very steep road. When I eventually did it, I had to go back and forth a few times, each time grinding into the steep slope. I snoozed one more time and then Homie arrived before it went off again. He had made the summit in 2h05m, feeling like he was moving really slowly, but came down in just 1h19m, feeling good and moving well. Now he was truly tired and he laid down, sleeping in fits, for the long drive back down to Ouray, over Red Mountain Pass on the Million Dollar Highway (paved) to Silverton and then up and over the steepest, rockiest pass so far: Cinnamon Pass. Topping out this pass at 12.,640 feet at sunrise was incredibly beautiful. The steep, super tight switchbacks on the descent proved a bit taxing on my arm driving (I had rotator cuff surgery 3 weeks ago and cannot use my right arm). I was getting pretty good at steering, braking, reaching across my body with my left hand and shifting into neutral, then into 4-wheel Low, then into 1st, then 2nd, then back to first, steering with my thighs while shifting. Probably not the AAA-approved method of negotiating Cinnamon Pass, but it worked.

We hit the junction to American Basin and instead of turning right and going uphill towards Handies, I turned left and headed downhill, away from Handies, in order to abide by the 3000-foot rule. This time I parked a touch high, at Homie's recommended flat spot. After he geared up, he head downhill about 50 more yards until his phone told him it was the "Handies Start" and then headed back uphill, dropping his phone off with me on his way by. 

I tried to sleep for another hour, as I had had only four hours total so far, in 1-hour and 3-hour bursts. It was light now and despite my efforts I only slept for maybe 15 minutes. I know this because I was listening to an audio book and that was all I needed to remind when I woke up. I was typing this report when I heard "Yo!" It was Homie, already back from Handies. He had taken a direct route up to the summit, covering the 3000 feet in just 1h36m04s. He had found a perfect dirt/small talus slope to surf on the way down and  descended in just 49 minutes! (2:25:54 for the roundtrip). He ran right by the truck, has he had to return to the starting point and I scrambled to pack up my computer and drive down the hill to pick him up. He was in great spirits, moving really well. While there are many remarkable things about Homie, what really sets him apart is that he can recover and go so much faster without getting much sleep, food, or water. He was still running well behind on his calories. Despite moving well, he knows that can't last unless he starts upping the intake.

Bad Weather in the Wilson Group

Homie blitzed the Chicago Basin, making the summit of Windom in just 1h22, Sunlight in 1h58m, North Eolus in 3h10m, Eolus in 3h25m and back to camp by 4h17m. Way too fast, but it did allow him to walk all the way out and soak his legs in the Animas River before boarding the train at 11:45 a.m.

I met Homie and Loobster at the train station and after pulling out Homie's gear from Loobster's pack, we bid him goodbye and headed for the Kilpacker Trailhead via Ophir Pass. The drive went easily, but Homie made the mistake of sitting the back, facing backwards, while re-packing his pack. This caused him to get nausea, and he never gets car sick. We had to stop for a bit and Homie walked a ways before getting back in, facing forward. This sickness prevented him from eating anything on the drive.

He took a sandwich and a coke with him when he started towards the Wilson Group, pretty much right on schedule, but in the rain. I remained at the trailhead for two hours in case he turned around and it rained steadily the entire time. I finally started the drive around to the Rock of Ages trailhead and am now updating the blog in a restaurant in Telluride.

Homie has sent his SPOT message at the top of El Diente and is currently traversing towards Mt. Wilson. After that he'll drop way down, get some water, and climb Wilson Peak before descending the other side to where I'll be waiting. Hopefully the rain will let up, though Mark Oveson has told me the weather report for tomorrow isn't any better. Bummer, but he is so incredibly tough that I don't know what will stop him.

Chicago Basin Peaks Done!

Homie has 4 peaks done and is almost to the train stop. He's off to a great start. Just 54 to go... Loobster's job will soon be done and mine will start.

I took some photos from around Silverton on my walk this morning and they are here.

The schedule is somewhat fluid, but the next peaks are the Wilson group and he should start those around 2 p.m. and finish around 9 p.m. Then we go to Sneffels and then back through Silverton and over Cinnamon Pass to Handies, Sunshine and Redcloud.

Game On!

Homie started this morning at 5:15 a.m. (atomic clock time) and bagged Windom and Sunlight by 7:15! Only 56 14ers to go!

The weather here in Silverton is overcast and damp.

Homie and Loobster Headed into the Chicago Basin

Homie and Loobster boarded the train in Silverton today at 2:45 p.m. It's just an hour to Needleton where they'll get off and hike 6.5 miles and 2600 vertical feet into the Chicago Basin. Homie will start the clock tomorrow at 5:15 a.m. The weather is looking a bit better here. It is overcast and has rained some, but not very hard and no electrical activity. Hopefully that continues and improves, but we'll see. I shot a couple more photos of the train here.

I'm hanging out in the Triangle Motel for the night, where I have wifi and my last comfortable bed for the next three nights. I went for a short walk up the Mt. Kendall road.

I pick up Homie at the train station tomorrow at 12:30 and we head to the Wilson group. Then to Sneffels, for his eighth 14er in the first day. Eight? You might wonder. He's adding in North Eolus to Eolus, Windom, and Sunlight in the Basin and then doing El Diente, Mt. Wilson, and Wilson Peak.

Homie's Quest: a new Colorado-14er Speed Record

Hi all,

Bill Wright here, posting to Homie's blog for the next few days, I hope.

It's a common thing for people to enjoy and somehow have an inflated sense of self-worth when you know famous, elite people. Even more so when you are friends with them. I take pride in being friends with Hans Florine, Roger and Bill Briggs, Greg LeMond, Buzz Burrell, though it shouldn't inflate my status one iota. Even being acquaintances with famous people is cool, though. I claim among my famous acquaintances Roger Briggs, Alex Honnold, Anton Krupicka, and Rolando Garibotti. My brother had Milton Friedman at his house and he rubs shoulder with countless famous people, including former presidents. It seems that just getting to meet these people somehow makes us feel better about ourselves, since these people have granted us some of their time. 

With some famous people I have even more pride. I feel like I "discovered" Stefan Griebel and Stefan is one of the most amazing overall athletes I've ever known. I take great pride in calling him a close friend. But Homie is something else. I mentored this guy on his first mountain climbs, his first rock climbs, his first backpacking trips, his first glacier peaks. And now... now he is a superstar. He is attempting something now that is so far beyond what is possible for me that I barely have the frame of reference to realize how difficult it is. And this guy is one of my closest friends.

As I become older, weaker, slower, I have taken great interest in turning my efforts to helping my friends. Admittedly, this is selfish. What is the greater joy in life: getting a great gift or giving it? Receiving one I'm overcome with the tremendous feeling of being loved, but giving one is probably the greater joy, as that is the truer measure of the person you are. I received a lot during my life and I'm now turning my attention to balancing the books...

For Homie's attempt at the Colorado 14er record, I'll be his crew chief for the first five days. Out with a shoulder injury and unable to run or even use my right arm, I'll be little more than a chauffeur, but a critical, important chauffeur! I will also fill such important and satisfying roles as camp cook, maid, errand boy and cheerleader. My biggest fear is making a driving mistake or forgetting to fill up with gas or missing a critical detail. I know with the right support and good luck with the weather, Homie can break the record, which is daunting at 10 days, 20 hours, and 26 minutes. It involves climbing 58 summits over 14,000 feet, entailing 140,000 vertical feet of climbing, going continuously on an average of less than 4 hours of sleep per day. If you can't conceive of such a thing, don't worry, you're in good company. There aren't many people who can. I can't.

I'll post updates here, as my Internet connection allows. You should also be able to follow this progress on his SPOT page here:

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0WxU6Z9D5svMyk5QMZNlpqrvdpoA4XijX

Good luck to Homie!

Bill

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down West Ridge, Ranger, Gregory.

Started at 5:58 am. With George Z. Took it pretty easy for the most part, chatting away. Ran into Bill W as we descended Ranger.

0:00 - Gregory TH
8:58 - Amph/Saddle Rock
26:27 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
46:10 - Green summit
48:22 - started down
1:16:00 - Gregory TH

StinsonEvoYellow

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 6:31 am. Started out really easy. Caught up to Piper on Amph and chatted with her briefly. Didn't run anything on the ascent except from the Greenman junction to the spring. Did up the effort on upper Greenman, though. Took the descent pretty easy as well.

0:00 - Gregory TH
9:54 - Amph/Saddle Rock
26:03 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
44:16 - Green summit
48:01 - started down
1:11:24 - Gregory TH

StinsonEvoYellow

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 6:33 am. New Hokas this morning felt good! Forgot how well these hook up, as my old ones were basically bald, and I'd been slipping and sliding for weeks. Wanted to go hard after yesterday, but the legs didn't feel great. Thought for sure I'd be faster up Amph as it felt hard. Saw a guy (Jack) running uphill above the 1st Flatiron junction, looking smooth and fast. Wanted to try to keep him in sight, but figured he'd pull away. He ended up taking a short break at the lookout over Boulder, and I went by. Continued to work hard, but wasn't running as much as yesterday. Not a bad time but was hoping for better. Jack topped out shortly after me. Thought I was moving pretty well on the descent, but I guess I wasn't working super-hard for much of it.

0:00 - Gregory TH
8:19 - Amph/Saddle Rock
22:11 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
38:57 - Green summit
41:48 - started down
1:01:52 - Gregory TH

StinsonEvoYellow

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down West Ridge, Ranger, Gregory.

Started at 6:21 am. Bill's car was the only other car in the lot this morning. Figured he was hiking the Saddle Rock/Gregory loop (recovering from shoulder surgery). So, I had a little motivation to push to try and catch him before the Saddle Rock/Greenman junction. As usual in the morning, I wasn't feeling "on" and was a bit discouraged by my time up Amph. Didn't feel like I was going very fast up Saddle Rock either. Felt like I was on pace for 41-42 for the ascent. Didn't catch Bill by the junction, but I noticed a Crosslite track above there, so I wondered if Bill had started very early to go to the top. Managed to run more than usual above the talus, so I guess I was feeling a bit stronger on the upper part of the mountain. Finally caught sight of "Bill" just above the NE Ridge junction, except that it was Sheri. Went by her just below the log steps, but then eased off a bit and hiked and chatted with her for several minutes. At the left switchback a couple of minutes from the top, I pulled ahead and worked hard to the summit. Expected to see 43 or so, so I was shocked to be under 40. Still not sure how that happened.

Ran down with Sheri.

0:00 - Gregory TH
8:28 - Amph/Saddle Rock
22:38 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
39:54 - Green summit
41:31 - started down
1:09:20 - Gregory TH

StinsonEvo

Green

From 11th St near Baseline, 11th, Baseline Rd, Baseline Trail, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 6:12 am. Took it easy on the ascent, mostly hiking. Casual on the descent as well, moving rocks, etc.

0:00 - 11th Street
3:08 - start of Baseline Trail
9:01 - Baseline/Amph
18:08 - Amph/Saddle Rock (9:07)
34:28 - Saddle Rock/Greenman (25:27)
54:04 - Green (45:03)
59:24 - started down
1:27:27 - Amph/Baseline
1:31:30 - start of Baseline Trail
1:33:43 - 11th Street

StinsonEvo