A Woman’s Climbing Story

I love this story – she climbs because she loves to.

“There are 638 mountains in the Colorado Rockies over 13,000 feet high. I’d climb them all, if my 60-year-old joints allowed it. I want to possess these mountains as they possess me. I want to know everything about them — the density of their forests, the color and scent of their flowers, the angle and texture of their rock….

I climbed until the vision in my left eye clouded over, and my ophthalmologist scheduled cataract surgery. I climbed until a boulder toppled over, pinning my right leg beneath a ton of immovable weight. Now there’s a permanent dent in my calf –– a badge of courage, or foolhardiness.

I’m going to keep climbing until my heart gives out and they find me beside the trail, belly up, my grinning skull a whimsical warning to those who dare to venture out on their own.”