Spotlight on Kurt Traskos!
 
Congratulations to our latest Grand Slam finisher Kurt Traskos! We had the opportunity of asking Kurt a few quick questions.
 
Q: What was your first fourteener, and when did you climb it?
A: Mount Elbert on September 7, 1994.
Q: At what point did you commit to finishing them all?
A: After the summer of 1997 when I had climbed thirteen fourteeners I knew I wanted to climb them all one day.
Q: What is your favorite fourteener route?
A: The Keyhole Route on Pyramid Peak is a lot of fun.
Q: What is your least favorite route on a 14er?
A: Mount Columbia via the west slopes.
Q: What was your most delightful moment on a 14er?
A: It is a toss up between the first time I climbed Capitol Peak with some friends which was my first really difficult fourteener and making the final scramble to the summit on Sunlight Peak and standing on the summit on my final fourteener summit.  They were both very special times.
Q: What was your most terrifying moment on a 14er?
A: Getting chased off the Mount Wilson/El Diente ridge by lightning.
Q: Do you have any plans for future mountain lists?
A: I probably have too many lists going at this point as they have grown over the years.  I definitly want to complete the Centennials one day, but I don't feel any special sense of urgency to complete them in a specific time frame, yet anyway.  I am looking forward to having fun just doing whatever grabs me at the moment climbing some of my own fun peaks on my list and miscellaneous technical routes on some of them..
Q: What is the single most important piece of advice that you would
give to someone just starting out?
A: Climb with an experienced mountaineer a few times to get some experience with the basic dos and don'ts.