HUGE congratulations to two individuals who recently completed skiing all 54 Colorado 14,000 foot peaks!
Matt Kamper at the summit of Snowmass Mtn, 5/15/2013 his last fourteener ski of the 54. Click images to enlarge.
Vail ER doctor Matt Kamper got done yesterday, with Snowmass as his last hit. He cheated by taking Jordan White with him, but we’ll ignore that since I’ve enjoyed the “Jordan Factor” myself (grin). Besides, Jordan claims Kamper put in most of the booter and left him in the dust. Apparently the guy was pretty motivated, this being the capstone on his multi-year 14er project. Matt is 52 years old, making him the oldest guy to have skied them all. Jordan keeps a better count than I do. He says Matt is the eleventh person to complete the 54. Still a pretty rarefied fraternity.
Carl Dowdy’s last one was Crestone Needle a few days ago (Matt was with him on that one). Took him three tries over as many years. Excellent to see the thought and care Carl must have been applying to the project by being willing to leave and return multiple times.
Like I always say, in mountaineering as in life, sometimes the failures define the successes and make them so much sweeter. Enjoy Carl’s video, at least till Yout’ turns the music off.
Eight Questions — Matt Kamper
Which 14ers were the easiest to ski?
Sherman, Shavano, I did a few of those solo.The hardest?
The hardest to get in terms of snow conditions were Kit Carson and Challenger, I had to repeat that trip a few times. Pyramid Peak is the most sustained skiing.Biggest day?
Capitol Peak in April of 2010, 21 hours round trip.How many different partners did you end up skiing with through the project?
About 20.What was your favorite gear?
Dynafit Titan boots and the SPOT Messenger.What gear failed?
I didn’t have any breakage that aborted a day or was serious. I’d say the snowmobiles were the most challenging in terms of gear.To whom do you dedicate your accomplishment?
To my parents Robert and Jenifer Kamper. They gifted me with passion for ski mountaineering. I’ve got a photo of myself on Mount Toll at 8 years old, hauling a pair of Head Standards. I skied Greys with my dad during the project.What’s next?
Get out there in the mountains with my kids, Chris and Logan 8-year-old twins, and 9-year-old Nicky. We’re planning a backpack of the 4-Pass loop in the Elk Mountains for this summer. I did that when I was 9 and it’s time to share it with them.
Matt Kamper, Snowmass Mountain west face.
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.
