Mountain Climbing

Looking out the window I see mountains. These are small mountains... maybe they aren't even real mountains... what does a kid from the midwest really know about these things. All I know is that they have snow on them. Anyway, today my wife, aunt, and a bunch of cousins climbed one of them locally knows as "Flattop." There was nothing technical about the climb. You can literally walk up it with no special equipment.

I decided to wear my heart rate monitor to take a peek at the elevation. We started "walking" up the slope. It looked like it was a 45 degree angle from its profile, but I'm sure it was much less. I was surprised what the climb did to my heart rate. It was like a giant cardio stairmaster machine, and I was well into the cardio zone during the entire ascent. I'd estimate it was about a 1800 ft climb, but those Polars are based on barometric pressure, and are notoriously inaccurate. My calves and quads really felt it. At the top, I was surprised how much colder it was, and was amazed there was still a small patch of snow. We hung out at the top for maybe an hour. There were quite a few people there, including some maniacs that were literally running up, then down the mountain.

On the way down, my knees really were aching. I couldn't wait for flat ground.

Later that evening, my aunt's husband put on a DVD about some mountain climbing disaster. Now, I'm certainly not so gradiose as to suggest our endeavors earlier that day even approached "real" mountain climbing, but I watched with a new found respect. We weren't even dealing with the issues of lack of oxygen, sub-zero weather, technical climbing issues, etc. Those guys are truly crazy. Next time someone comments how dangerous ANY aspect of biking is, I will kindly refer them to mountain climbing. To my way of thinking, technical climbing at high altitudes is so risky that I cannot even begin to fathom the motives behind climbers. Then again, I've never come close to even experiencing a "runner's high."

Different strokes for different folks.... and thank god for biking.