Climb any mountain - redux

In a previous post I discussed my attempt last November to climb a mountain in Colorado with my then 12-year old son.  The mountain was one of the 54 “14’ers” in Colorado that exceed 14,000 feet in elevation.  The short version of that story is that I didn’t make it to the top, but that my 12 year -old son did.  I was happy for him - proud even.  But there was a feeling of disappointment that I couldn’t be with him as he summited the mountain.

Fast forward to this past Labor Day weekend.  My son, who turned 13 on August 2, has now summited two 14er’s and wanted to bag his third.  We head out to Gray’s Peak about 50 miles west of Denver.  We camp at the trailhead the night before so that we can get a good start the next morning.  As we start out on the trail the next morning, I immediately feel the effects of the thin air.  My son waits for me patiently as I catch my breath.  A few hundred yards later - same thing.  My son patiently waits for me.  Between my desperate attempts to suck in some oxygen, I notice he hasn’t even broken a sweat.  This continues for about three miles.  As we reach the base of the mountain in earnest and begin the steep ascent, my son finally loses his patience.  By this time I’m walking about 20 yards each time before I have to stop.  He asks if he can go up on his own.  Realizing that I’m holding him back, I reluctantly agree.

As he walked off I had an empty feeling in my stomach.  Again, I was proud of him for his determination and independence, but it was obvious that I would never keep up with him when it came to climbing mountains.  At age 45, I would only get older; at age 13, he would only get stronger.

Unlike my earlier post, I don’t have a laundry list of lessons learned from my time with my son.  My experience simply reinforced the notion that his future lies before him as he gains his independence and depends on me less.  Perhaps this is one of those moments when the door opens and lets his future in.

Oh, I almost forgot.  I did eventually make it to the top after 4 1/2 hours of climbing, making Gray’s Peak my very first 14er.  I didn’t see my son, however.  By the time I made it to the top, he had already summited that mountain and had gone on to Torrey’s Peak next door.  He scaled that 14er also, doubling his lifetime count in one day.  Whatever the future may hold for my son, he goes forth with my blessing.  My hope is that no matter what mountain he runs into, he tackles it with the same determination and spirit I witnessed that day.