Tuesday, September 1, 2015

A Walk Through the Sawatch

     The time draws near.  The preparations have been made.  The batteries have been charged, the maps marked up.  A good friend asked me to take a walk through the Sawatch with him over Labor Day.  I couldn't say no.
      Almost 9 or 10 months ago, I received an IM, "Hey bro, you want to give Nolans a go?"  "Yea I'd love too, but I don't know the route," I said.  "You come up and learn it, I know the route and I'll show you," Will said.
      So, here we are tying up lose ends, getting ready.  A better part of the summer spent in Leadville and quite a few dollars on plane flights.  A number of visits to the Mexican food joint, the coffee shop, and seeing Mr. Dooper.  A month with the hypoxico mask on my face.  And even so, there is no certainty.  We can only hope that the weather is favorable.  We can only hope that we have the intrepidity to continue.  There is a 60 hour time goal out there, but that is not necessarily my goal.
     From the beginning, for me, it's been about the climbing and the line.  Time does not matter.  It's about the effort, not quitting, paying homage to the mountains and homage to those who've come before.  My plane doesn't leave till Tuesday night, time is on my side. 

“Stand tall on the summit after a tedious climb. Take in the remarkable scenery and the exhilaration of accomplishment. But don't pause for long; there are greater mountains to climb while you still possess the drive and capacity to do so.”- Richelle E. Goodrich

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