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An Old Guy Achieves His Goal… Again
#57969 08/24/20 02:54 PM
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 648
Likes: 52
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Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 648
Likes: 52
When I turned 60, I set a goal for 2009: Climb California's fourteeners plus two of my favorite thirteeners, Humphreys and Norman Clyde. Middle Palisade was an overnight trip because I was planning to climb Norman Clyde on the same trip. I dayhiked all the other peaks.

Fast forward to 2019. I was working hard finishing the Sierra Club SPS List , but I was wondering whether I could climb the 15 California fourteeners after my 70th birthday. Here is how it went:

April 24, 2019: Mt. Whitney (mountaineers’ Route), Mt. Muir (from the trail), and down the main trail.

June 5, 2019: Mt. Shasta (Avalanche Gulch) with a 55-minute ski descent to the car.

June 21, 2019: Split Mountain (the usual route up from Red Lake).

July 5, 2019: Mt. Langley (via New Army Pass with Ben).

July 9, 2019: White Mountain Peak (via the trail with Paul).

September 14, 2019: Middle Palisade (up some class 4 rock where the old class 3 route had collapsed).

October 3, 2019: Mt. Russell (East Ridge).

July 24-26, 2020: Mt. Williamson (West Face with Amin and Paul) and Mt. Tyndall (North Rib with Amin and Paul).

July 30-31, 2020: Mt. Sill (North Couloir) and Polemonium Peak (from Mt. Sill).

August 21-23, 2020: Thunderbolt Peak (Southwest Chute #1 with Sean), Starlight Peak (Northwest Chute with Sean, Amin, and Daryn), and North Palisade (traverse from Starlight with Sean, Amin, and Daryn). We got separated on North Palisade, and I ended up soloing a 100’ 5.6 chimney to the summit. That was a fitting grand finale!

This project was really fun, but the peaks all seemed harder and took longer than in 2009. I won’t be doing this again at 80 or even at 75. It’s probably time to scale back a bit.

1 member likes this: BFR
Re: An Old Guy Achieves His Goal… Again
bobpickering #57970 08/24/20 04:08 PM
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 128
Likes: 11
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Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 128
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Amazing achievement Bob!

Congrats!

Re: An Old Guy Achieves His Goal… Again
bobpickering #57971 08/24/20 06:46 PM
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 55
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A huge congratulations, Bob. And a sincere thank you for setting such a high aspirational bar.

Re: An Old Guy Achieves His Goal… Again
bobpickering #57972 08/25/20 07:03 AM
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 58
Likes: 2
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Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 58
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Congrats Bob!

Re: An Old Guy Achieves His Goal… Again
bobpickering #57977 08/25/20 10:33 PM
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 8,505
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Bob, I doubt there is anyone who can match what you have just managed. Congratulations!

Re: An Old Guy Achieves His Goal… Again
Steve C #57998 08/28/20 10:10 AM
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 256
Likes: 36
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Posts: 256
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Congrats Bob! Was a pleasure hiking one of the peaks with you!


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