ManyPeaks.com

Elizabeth & I just returned from the Green Mountain State, Vermont.. via a scary ride in a relic of a propeller plane.. lots of turbulence, rain, & zero visibility. Schew! The occasion was the wedding of Elizabeth’s super-sweet college friend Ryann to her Australian husband Scott. (Click here for their wedding webpage..)

It was an amazing time primarily because of the people:
Ryann’s family is awesome.. and she’s certainly made many cool friends over the years.. My hotel roommates Elizabeth, Natalie, & Emily being some of them.. yes I’m a lucky guy
About 30 folks from Down Under made the voyage, mostly Scott’s “mates” growing up in a town of less than 1000 (they’re now making it a month long adventure around this country). Robert (Scott’s dad), Jordy, Michael, Rodney, John, Matt, Emma, Melinda.. the list goes on.. some extremely enjoyable individuals! Mel, don’t forget to send me those pics..

Their big day was held at the base of Killington Mountain — the spot where Ryann & Scott met — and the biggest/best ski resort in the Eastern US.

And now that Randall B has stirred up my interest in climbing mountains, I was stoked to tackle one that even my extreme outdoorsman brother hadn’t climbed.

Time was running short on Friday, so I took a little mini-hike on that evening.. on which I packed 1/2 a grinder (from Gill’s deli in Ryann’s nearby hometown of Rutland VT).. then proceeded to eat it at the top of the Rams Head ski lift, sitting on a lift chair looking back down over the valley.. Beautiful.. Welcome to the northeast, kid!
Saturday pre-ceremony I took Killington peak. It seemed to be peanuts compared to the mountains in the Teton range.. about 2000 ft vertical rise, to a peak at roughly 4400 above sea level. But, the ascent it was only 1.1 miles horizontal.. a short distance for that much vertical. For much of the hike, I was basically walking up a slope about like the steps in your house. It was slippery, especially near the bottom where dew had yet to evaporate (cotton socks got soaked early, kind of annoying). Near the top I was simply walking straight up a very steep, narrow ski run.

Making it up in 1:10 total, the the peak apparently gave views of 5 states + Canada. Except generally using a compass, I couldn’t tell which was which.. all 1 big green bumpy blanket. Noah, a guy I met at the peak, was cool enough to snap a shot of me & send it via email. Thanks bro. Finally I took the gondola back down.. wishing those were built on all climbable peaks.