Spotlight on George Barnes!
Congratulations
to our latest Grand Slam finisher George Barnes! We had the opportunity of
asking George a few quick questions.
Q: What was
your first fourteener, and when did you climb it?
At
the age of two (in 1984) I made it up Mt. Evans during a family vacation.
The first fourteener I legitimately climbed (and remember) was Quandary back
in 2001. Don’t worry, both ascents were completed in good “cottoneer”
style.
Q: At what
point did you commit to finishing them all?
I’m
not sure there was a singular moment, though I do recall some early
fantasies of riding my unicycle down all of them. Clearly that would be a
pretty reckless endeavor. To date I have completed 5 unicycle descents (and
1 ascent of Evans), most of which were “first descents”. I may try for a
few more of these in years to come.
Q: What is
your favorite fourteener route?
Longs Peak via the
Cables Route.
It’s more of a long hike with a rope & rack than a long or difficult route,
though it makes up for that with history, position on the mountain, and (to
me) a pleasant familiarity.
Q: What was
your most delightful moment on a 14er?
Getting married on top of
Mt.
Evans is pretty hard to beat. Having the summit of Longs Peak to myself and
climbing partner, Nate, on a couple occasions was special too.
Q: What was your most terrifying moment on a 14er?
Receiving an electrical stimulation on Handies during a mid-October
snowstorm was exciting, and it still raises the hair on my neck when I think
about it. After a long day on Sunshine and Redcloud, Joey and I reached the
summit of Handies at about 6PM. Typically I’m pretty religious about being
off summits by
noon,
but we thought we could make an exception due to the freezing temperatures
and time of year. After some corona discharge and buzzing trekking poles we
realized that we’d made a mistake that we wouldn’t soon make again.
Q:
Do you have any plans for future mountain lists?
The
centennials aren’t far off, though I don’t have immediate plans to finish
them. I’m also looking forward to more aesthetic hikes/climbs in the IPW
and RMNP (and their inherently short drives). Maybe all the ranked peaks in
Sedgwick County.
J
Q:
What 14er did you climb last? Did you intentionally save it for last or is
it a 14er that previously eluded you?
I
finished on
Sunlight Peak, which was both intentional and elusive (two
train rides).
Sunlight Peak
was absolutely a sweet way to finish the fourteeners, and it was made extra
special by sharing the summit with MarkDB (who I'd climbed 26 fourteeners
with over the past 3 years) and a campsite in
Chicago
Basin with my wife Abby (who's climbed 15 fourteeners with me).
Q:
What is the single most important piece of advice that you would give to
someone just starting out?
Err, how about two:
* Burn and then bury your TP. White “TP flowers” are worse than
willows!
* Go alone once in a while, you’ll remember why you started.
Before you go, tell someone where you’re going and what you have with you.
Finally, I would like to say thanks to all the great partners that
I’ve shared the fourteeners (and other hikes) with. Just to name a few…
My wife Abby
Nate Stutzke
Mark Brown
James Just
Kurt Traskos
Matt Shepard
Kevin Baker
Joey Luther
Ryan Mishmash
Doug Shaw
Jim Wise
David Pneuman
Aaron Reid
Jessica Klement
Brian Schuster
Aaron Parker
Eric Parker
Joel Rutkowski
Tony Melton
Kai Martin