Teresa Gergen completes the 12ers

[TeresaGergen]

Martin reported completing all the 12ers, in the CMC's Trail and Timberline. As far as I know, no one has actually seen his handwritten records for the 12ers and above (unlike for the 11ers and below), so I will accept his word about it for now. Mike Garratt, Ken Nolan, and Jack Dais have also finished the 12ers.

[John Kirk]

Bob Martin told me in person (and Tim Worth was along) that there were two 12ers he did not get to in the Culebra Range. The two he didn't get are ones we have speculated about as to their identity. Mike Garratt said the ones missing in LoJ are two that did not have a register left by Bob.

[TeresaGergen]

Thanks, John; I didn't realize that he told you in person and that Tim also heard. That's good to know.

Regardless of what I might personally think about Bob's 12er situation, it's a conundrum as far as keeping the list completion records for the CMC. Which two peaks it might be would possibly determine which Hundred milestones he did or did not complete. It seems wrong, in an official position as a completion listkeeper, to take one person's word over another; Bob emailed me a list of his Hundred milestones, with completion dates and peaks, when I was asked to take over the CMC finisher records for the 12ers and below, shortly before he passed away.

It would be helpful if Bob's actual records for the 12ers and above were eventually made public, as the records for the lower peaks have been. Not finding a register/entry isn't a good enough standard in my mind; I've found Martin registers not signed by Garratt, and I know others have found registers on peaks that I've missed.

John, please note that I have no quarrel whatsoever with how you've handled this on LOJ, and I appreciate your info on the topic -- I just continue to muse about it for the official CMC records.

[John Kirk]

A trip to Tuscon is probably the only way to resolve it with 100% accuracy - A LOT of hours transcribing hand-written data.

[TeresaGergen]

Yep. Although, the first course of action could just be to look at his records for the two peaks you believe are the ones in question, and see if he marked them done with dates, or with his "permission asked and denied" code, in order to confirm things for this particular issue.

[Steve Knapp]

Incredible! Sounds like you have some fun plans for the rest of the summer too. When you get back in the fall we'll have to get out and do some more peaks. Hopefully not a 15-mile snowshoe posthole-fest for one 10er on roads you can drive up in the summer though!

[TeresaGergen]

Hee - I'd love to hike with you again, Steve. Just give me a 10 hour head start. Or, actually, plan out a route where you just diverge off and fit in a dozen or so peaks lower than 10K in between each pair of 10ers on the route, and we'll meet up on the 10ers in between. That oughta work perfectly.

Those 15 hour snowshoe-fests are how I try to stay ready for WY and CA in the summer, but I did find it hilarious when you just finished them off so matter-of-factly sometimes only weeks later. Somehow I think your approach to this stuff might be a little smarter.

[RyanSchilling]

Amazing, Teresa! I'm late to the party, so I'll forgo duplicating others' comments, but I will add this: finishing the 12ers just five years after the 13ers is a truly remarkable accomplishment!

[TeresaGergen]

Thanks again, everyone.

Ryan, where the heck are you guys these days? Wanna climb some 10ers and 11ers this Fall/Winter? Those 5 years went by pretty quickly. When I was climbing 13ers, I had no interest in anything else. When I started the 12ers, I specifically tried to slow down and diversify, adding in 13ers and 14ers all over the west, state highpoints, international trips in the summer and fall instead of only in the off-season, and so forth. Apparently, that didn't work. Although, at the rate some of these guys are climbing peaks here lately, if they chose to focus on just one thousand group instead of efficiently clearing out everything ranked wherever they went, they'd probably be able to have the 13ers or 12ers done in no time at all.

[RyanSchilling]

We're still here in Colorado, but Erin's 7-months pregnant, and I'd be risking my marriage if I were to continue to bag new 13ers

We've stuck to the foothills for all of 2010, but if all goes well these next couple of months, we do hope to try for a couple more 13ers in October to push us over what has become for us an elusive 200 13er count!

We have a good support network, so we'll be arranging a babysitter here and there so we can continue hiking this fall and winter. We'd be delighted to join you for some 10ers or 11ers!

[TeresaGergen]

Ryan, Erin - CONGRATS! That's wonderful. No, don't risk that marriage. Yes, let's all do some lower peaks this off-season!

[susanjoypaul]

A *very* belated congratulations, Teresa! All the 12ers, wow.

I remember a few years ago, when I first started using this website. I used to check the list every week, to see what everyone was doing. I'd have a new peak or two, as did most of the other "peak baggers" on the site. Then there was your name, over and over and over - and over! - again. I think you inspired a lot of us to ramp it up a notch, and stop settling for our usual "peak a week" goal. You'd have six peaks in a single day! That may not sound like a big deal now, in light of the super-speedy Kirk/Knapp/Kalet dudes out there, knocking out 20+ peaks in a day, but you were doing it before anyone else, and that's pretty freaking cool.

I just want you to know that people noticed that, and remember those days. And were inspired. So, in short, if anyone out there is having personal or family problems due to their peak-bagging obsession, I think we all know who to blame!

[John Kirk]

So, in short, if anyone out there is having personal or family problems due to their peak-bagging obsession, I think we all know who to blame!

I certainly hope the LoJ effort has not catalyzed more marital issues than I'm aware of .

[DSunwall]

I certainly hope the LoJ effort has not catalyzed too many marital issues.

you might want to add that to your disclaimer if you have one.

In the mean time, see you in court.

[TeresaGergen]

Thanks, Susan. I've never been into speed (there's a rather practical reason for that - I don't have any). But I was definitely into climbing every day I could, and that's what racked up the numbers "back then" for me. However, I learned the obsession from others - the Ken Nolans and others who climb with every moment off.

I suspect I may have climbed my last peak for 2010, unless there's something ranked out there with a wheelchair ramp up it. In which case, you "sub-alpine" dudes better let me know about it asap! I can use all the intermediate mountain goals I can find on my long road back to 10ers and 11ers and WY and CA. I'll be non-weight-bearing on my badly broken left leg for an unknown amount of time, but likely at least until mid-Nov. And then I'll have to learn how to walk!