[/caption]Standing on top of 14,015 foot Wetterhorn peak recently with twenty new friends, offered me a new perspective on climbing these old mountains, the act of which sometimes makes me feel as old as they are. I had been here before on top of this remarkably beautiful and rugged mountain, but every time out offers something different. I was climbing with a group of "tweeners", teenagers between high school and college and our objective was to challenge ourselves in the mountains and then apply the lessons learned in the day to a talk that night. The talk would focus on college life and how best to prepare for the mountains of challenges that lie ahead. The group had travelled from Indiana for the experience of climbing a couple of Colorado's famed fourteen thousand foot peaks, and their enthusiasm was immediately made apparent to me. There were a lot of questions, a lot of nervousness, with enough excitement and energy to light a small city.
For me the thought of waking up early, setting a slow pace on familiar ground, with a large group did nothing to make me nervous, excited, or even feel challenged. The challenge for me now was to not let my crusty attitude diminish the joy of their new discovery. The rains came and doused our camp threatening to dampen our gear and our spirits as well. I have spent a lifetime pursuing outdoor adventure and have seldom felt this way, but it seemed to be getting a little old. Maybe it was me. Maybe I am getting old!? Was it the rain? Was it the longing to be with my family? Am I too out of touch to hang with teenagers anymore? Am I impatient, irritable, selfish...or just old?
[caption id="attachment_72" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Hoosiers hiking"]
[/caption]Our steps carried us up at about the same rate as the sunrise, and as we made our way up this rocky peak I began to see a bit of myself and my past in these kids. I saw them laugh with each other, lean on each other, and open up to each other through a shared challenging experience. I saw them face their fears in front of their peers, clutching at the rock exhausted, exasperated, and exhilarated. What I soon realized was that I had a role in this. I didn't get a single person up to the summit (and they all made it) but what I did do was provide the opportunity to fall in love with something I have often considered mine - the Colorado outdoors. Soon they were observing subtleties in colors, flowers, animals, rocks and even smells and pointing things out to me that had been forgotten. Just a piece of what had become old was now shown to me and made new again.
The joy, enthusiasm and fresh perspective that these kids brought to the mountains challenged me to open my eyes anew and take a fresh look at the many things that may seem to be getting old in and around my life. I may be adding on years, however that is no excuse for getting old. Now I can't wait to take my own girls out and show them these old mountains from a new perspective.
[caption id="attachment_73" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Climbing Wetterhorn's Summit block"]
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