Tag Archives: Pikes Peak
New mountains on my horizon!
Posted on 01. Jun, 2011 by Kenny.
The title isn’t figurative, it’s quite literal. Two years ago Sara and I attempted to climb Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs along the Crags route. Only about 700 feet from the summit, we had to turn back due to near white-out conditions, hail and lightning. It was a wild ride. I wrote about the hike here and here and actually wrote about the adventure on my personal blog here.
Well, Sara and I have made plans to visit Colorado Springs again this summer and I’ve got the itch to conquer a 14,000 foot mountain. Because Sara is pregnant, she obviously won’t be hiking with me. Because she’s not hiking, I’m not going to attempt Pikes Peak again, that’s something she really wants to do with me again. However, I’ve set my sights on a new mountain… or should I say mountains.
In mid-July I’ll be attempting to summit both Gray’s Peak and Torrey’s Peak. The two mountains are joined at the waist, so after we summit Gray’s (depending on time, weather and how we feel), we’ll make the traverse over to Torrey’s before descending to the bottom. It’s a slightly longer trek than what we did on Pike’s two years ago, but only because we’ll be hiking up and down. We’ll actually be on the summit much quicker on Gray’s than we would have been on Pikes Peak.
So, two weeks ago I’ve began training. I’m on the treadmill 4-5 days a week for an hour at a time. 4-5 MPH at a 4% incline. Each day I’m either raising the incline a small percent or raising the speed. I’m very excited about being in the hills again this summer and doing everything I can to stand on the top of one. So, there’s my fitness goal for this summer (only 6 weeks away), so if you see me being lazy and getting thirds for desert, you have my permission to punch me in the neck.
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Ministry as usual or climbing higher mountains
Posted on 24. Aug, 2009 by Kenny.
On Friday I posted about the mountain I’m preparing to climb. Fifteen years ago I trained for about 3-4 weeks in preparation. I was running 1-3 miles a day and about 20-30 flights of stairs 4-5 days a week. Fifteen years have passed and I’m in worse shape and about 30-40 pounds heavier. I’m not really nervous, I’m just aware of the fact that this isn’t going to be easy. Sara, who’s going to climb with me is also very concerned about the challenge.
Almost a year ago Sara and I vacationed in Banff, Canada. On our first day there, we hiked to the top of Big Beehive Dome overlooking Lake Louise. It was a 3 mile hike ascending almost 2000 vertical feet. That little hike kicked our butts. We hadn’t done anything to prepare, but we barely made it.
The hike to the top of Pikes Peak is four times what we did last year in Banff. Four times the distance and four times the vertical climb. This is the reason for our concern and preparation. We’re working hard to prepare so that we can finish the hike. Sara and I are on treadmills for 45-60 minutes, four to five days a week keeping our heart rate above 70% of max to prepare for the high altitude hiking. The running and stair machines are preparing our legs for the 6-8 hours of climbing.
So, this is what I’ve been thinking. When’s the last time I set a goal in my ministry that almost kicked my tail trying to achieve it? Most of us set goals every year and usually my goals represent concerted growth, I don’t know that I’ve really “stretched” myself in a way that I have been to summit Pikes Peak. What about you? It’s almost time to start thinking about goals for 2010. I’m thinking about a Pikes Peak sized goal or two.
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A mountain I keep thinking about
Posted on 21. Aug, 2009 by Kenny.
If you’ve been following my tweets these last few weeks, you’ve seen that I’ve been getting in shape for something. Well, here it is. Here is why I’ve been in the gym 3-5 times a week.
Depending on the weather, Sara and I are going to climb Pike’s Peak on September 15th or 16th. Pike’s Peak is one of the 52 “Fourteeners” in Colorado with an Elevation of 14,110 feet. It’s a 13 mile hike from the trail head to the top of the summit (we’ll have someone pick us up from the top). We’ll hike up over 7,000 feet of elevation. Because afternoon thunderstorms are such a menace, we’ll begin our hike by 4:30 in the morning and hopefully summit sometime after lunch.
It’s going to be a beast of a climb. I did this climb almost 15 years ago and I’ve always have wanted to do it again. In a few weeks I will.
Last October, Sara and I climbed a small mountain in Banff, Canada and it almost did us in. Seriously, I thought Sara was going to beat me up for dragging her up this mountain. It was a 3 mile hike with a 2000 foot change in elevation. The positive thing here though is that we weren’t in any kind of shape at all last October. This time around we’ll be ready. We’re spending 45-60 minutes on treadmills or stair climbers to build our leg muscles as well as getting our heart/lungs in shape (especially for the high altitude air).
So, this is a big deal in my life right now, a mountain I’m excited to conquer. I look forward to sharing the story after it’s done.
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