Hypoxic euphoria after completing a 21-year quest...

There aren’t that many events in life that take over two decades to complete. Usain Bolt finishes a 100-meter dash in a mere 9.72 seconds. Two cells miraculously emerge into a newborn in a quick 9 months, after just a few hours in the making (“your mileage may vary”). Kepler established that the Earth orbits the sun in 12 months. High school, college and medical school take roughly four years apiece, while a full sunspot cycle takes a long 11 years. So it’s with some excitement and relief that my Colorado Grand Slam is now complete after 21 trips around the sun.

Luke (in red) and his buddies in Denver, on the way to summer camp

I’ve had the joy of sharing the high Colorado Rockies with dozens of friends over the years, some 14,000-foot peaks being easy lung busters and a few becoming quite epic challenges. This past week I took my son Luke and three of his buddies to summer camp in Colorado, and made the most of the dwell time by topping out on the final three mountains on the 59-peak list (those being North Massive, Conundrum and South Maroon Peak).

Nicky, Cindy, Scott, Bob and Don atop Mount Massive

Some great friends, including my best college buddy, fellow Everest climbers, mountain rescue team members and some NASA rocket scientists, joined me on my way to the finish line. My sincere thanks to Don, Bob, Nicky, Jaroslaw, Keith, Cindy, Alan, Steve and Tim — and my many other Mountain Compadres over the years. Here are some photo highlights of the trip, which involved over 16,000 feet of vertical in 4 days, crossing over 6 summits in excess of 14,000 feet:

Jaroslaw and Bob on the grassy slopes below (South) Massive Peak

Upper face of (South) Maroon Peak, with Tim, Steve and Scott barely visible on the traverse

Scott & Cindy finish their Grand Slams the very same day --- it just took me four times as long!

It was an exhilarating feeling to take those final steps to the top of (South) Maroon Peak outside of Aspen. The clouds were rushing around the summit, bathing the long, narrow and steep apex in an eerie light. My overachieving friend Cindy Howard, whom I’d gotten to know when I led an effort to rename a Colorado summit in honor of the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-107) crew, joined me on top, completing her Grand Slam in just 5 years! [Columbia Point dedication link: http://silgro.com/ColumbiaPoint/index.htm] We took some happy hero shots on top, and thanks to good cell coverage and cool technology, I posted our photo together from the summit of #59. Congratulations, Cindy!

"The hills are alive with the sound of muzak..." (!)

I love these mountains too much to say that I’ll never return. I hope my next circuit around these peaks will be with my son, and hopefully it won’t take another 21 years to finish the list! I had my handy SPOT tracker with me, generating an electronic breadcrumb trail along the way (http://www.spotadventures.com/user/profile?user_id=42312) Nicky “Haus Frau” Messner (Everest summit in 2008) also posted a great Picasa album from the trip here: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=HausFrauNicky&target=ALBUM&id=5500075723366428113&authkey=Gv1sRgCJOHk67w2t7gbQ&feat=email

My good friend Bob “BoBo” Lowry, who’s life motto is “Climb High, Don’t Die,” has a blog here:  www.boblowrys.blogspot.com

More general information about climbing Colorado’s 14ers can be found at: http://www.14ers.com/

High Fiving just before the finish line in Austin

Dealing with drizzle on Day 1

Finishing felt like Lance on the final lap sur la Champs Elysee dans le Tour de France...

What an epic adventure it was! Almost 180 miles over 2 days, and roughly $4000 dollars raised for MS research. Thanks to everyone who supported me and/or other riders in the fight against this devastating disease… The last few miles on Day 2 were quite a bit less than fun, with my quads yelling at me to get off my bike and thumb a ride home, but the adrenalin within Austin City Limits was exhilarating — and I hope to ride again next year.