I first mentioned the Summit Up project back in February, when Mark Zimmer first announced his intentions of climbing to the highest point in every state in the U.S. Now that April has arrived, he’s off and running, bagging these “peaks” as quickly as he can.
You can read all about Mark’s progress on his blog, where you’ll learn that he has already claimed the high points in Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana. He’s now off Colorado, where he’ll go after the 14,433 foot Mount Elbert, which is likely to be one of his more challenging climbs until Denali or Rainier.
The Summit Up project is not only a cool adventure though, it also an attempt to raise funds, and awareness, for Alzheimer’s research with the Alzheimer’s Association. Mark is working with some very good sponsors, such as North Face and Cloudveil, to help supply his climbs, and is accepting donations as well. Obviously, this is a very worthy cause, and a great way to bring awareness to it.
Be sure to drop on by the Summit Up website in the weeks ahead, as Mark continues to go after his goal.
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Actually Mt. Elbert isn’t that difficult in comparison to other high points in the area such as Gannett Peak in the Wind River Range of Wyoming.
http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/150362/gannett-peak.html
Elbert itself, while the high point, is certainly not the most difficult peak to bag in Colorado.
This comes from the guy who’s only driven by it while driving from Breckenridge to Aspen via the Independence Pass Scenic Byway. Tough to climb with wife and baby in tow.
Amazing scenery…
While I say “in the area” I mean in the region. Gannett Peak is in Wyoming and obviously not next to Mt. Elbert.
I was mostly referencing it in comparison to the other high points. There are certainly more challenging peaks to climb in Colorado, and the Rockies in general, but when you look at the high points in general, most are not challenging at all.
Whitney could probably be added to the list as well I suppose, but Denali and Rainier are probably the most challenging of the lot I’d think.