grhigh wrote:The first thing I said to Homie as he walked toward the Land Cruiser at noon today was that he did set a record. Those 41 peaks have never been climbed so fast! Also, we now have "Homie Days." Feel free to try one. Let's see, Windom, Sunlight, North Eolus, Eolus, El Diente, Mount Wilson, Wilson Peak, and Sneffels for starters. As Homie and I drove away after our trailhead party, I said, "Hey! We finally got rid of everybody. Now, let's go for Huron!" Then, with a wry grin, I added, "Just give your spot to Eric Lee for his run of Nolan's Fourteeners. Nobody will know the difference until he does Yale!" Alas, The word was out, and my last duty as faithful driver was to deliver Homie to his family. He is in one piece and at peace. Hooray.
It was truly inspiring to be one of the silent crew members behind the curtain. I'll miss Homie's snoring as I drove through the night to the next trailhead. It started to seem too simple; just drive to a trailhead, point uphill, and watch him go. I told Homie that I was with him mentally in his summit skipping, but just lacked the Kevlar legs to be there in person.
Jennifer and I are also exhausted by the wee hour drives, but i enjoyed finding all the trailheads from memory. OK, I did peek at my guidebook a few times, but mostly after the fact to see how i did.
Of course Cave Dog's record will be broken. It can be done under 10 days. Homie has inspired a new generation to try.
Gerry Roach
Thanks to all of you for giving us such an inspiring event to watch this week!
Homie, you've definitely got all of us thinking about climbing, and your accomplishments this week were quite impressive. I'm sorry to see that injuries prevented you from continuing, but you sure gave it one heck of a run. Even in my best shape I couldn't imagine climbing half as many mountains in such a short stretch of time, though such stories always make me want to try! I did manage to check in on this thread about 10 times per day for the entire week though... probably not a record, but a valiant effort on my part In all seriousness, that 10 day record is insane. The fact that you were physically able to take a legitimate shot at the title is quite impressive in its own right, since it is really just a thing of dreams for the vast majority of us.
Cave Dog, very classy post on your part. You set the bar pretty damn high with your long-standing record on the 14'ers. Your support for Homie and his quest shows character and a great deal of excellent sportsmanship. Though I don't know Homie personally, I'm confident that your support has been a big driving force for him.
Gerry, it's nice to see you post here as well. Your books have been welcomed tag-alongs on many mountain adventures for me (I imagine the same can be said for many of us here on this site). I first found your 14'er climbing book in a small store in Leadville, as I aimlessly explored Colorado's backcountry during a road trip from Ohio in 1998. I'd never climbed the 14,000 foot peaks before, but your book suggested to me that it might be a fun idea. As such, your book followed me up Elbert, then Longs, then Grays and Torreys during the course of the next week. The next year I again returned to Colorado for two months of mountain adventuring (the leisurely college years), and found that you had published a second edition to your book... picked that one up too, moved here a couple years later, and have referenced that book so many times since that the pages are starting to fall out. So, for me it was fun to see that you were also involved in this action-adventure quest.