All Peak

Mount Elbert, I Do
Oct 17, 2016
Written by Bill Long
Filed under 14ers, Colorado, love, Mt Elbert, trip report

Mount Elbert, I Do

We were sitting on a couple of small boulders on the edge of the trail, just past the first true false summit on the trek up Mt Elbert, pausing for just a moment to catch our breath. This was becoming a trend - hike up 20 feet, stop, catch our breath, repeat. Josh said it best, Mt Elbert is a rollercoaster of emotions, luckily we tended to ebb at different points of the climb, so one of us was always feeling okay.

Little did I know I was climbing for more than just the views.

Quit Your Job and Crush Peaks
Nov 20, 2015
Written by Bill Long
Filed under 14ers, CouchSurfing, El Diente, Grays Peak, Great Divide Trail, hiking, La Plata, Mountain Obsession, Mt Bross, Mt Cameron, Mt Columbia, Mt Democrat, Mt Elbert, Mt Harvard, Mt Lincoln, Mt Massive, Mt Sneffels, Mt Wilson, Patagonia, Pikes Peak, solo, Wheeler Peak, Wilson Peak

Quit Your Job and Crush Peaks

It was July. From my office window, I could see the impossibly blue Texas sky and imagine how hot it was outside the comforts of air conditioning. The high was 99 for the day – a typical summer. On days like this, I pine for the cooler alpine climes.

That’s when I got an email from Spencer Madden (http://mountainobsession.com). It read, “Hey Sherpa Bill! Spence from Mountain Obsession here. I am starting an adventure after quitting my corporate job. I will be down in Sept crushing 14ers.” Spence did what many of us only wish we have the courage to do. He quit his corporate job and set off on an adventure of a lifetime.