Project Twelve4Teens

**Delayed Post from August Summit**

Another month, another summit conquered! #8️⃣

Longs Peak was no joke!

4am start
10am summit
5,525' elevation gain
14,259' above sea level
16 miles
12 total hours

It was a long grind but totally worth it!

📣 Link in bio to donate your $14 🙏🏼

Stairway to SEVEN!🏔🙌🏼

This past weekend we checked off Julys 14er by taking on Mount Evans right in Denver's backyard 7️⃣

We did a little dispersed camping near the base the night before then up and at it early to get there for sunrise. The hike was short and sweet compared to months past, I'd say the easiest one we've done so far but it was good to get some new faces out on the mountain and some 🐑 🐐

The hike was also supported by Athleivate/ Athleivate Australia brands who generously donated a large percentage of sales for the day which came out to $550! 🤯🙌🏼 HUGE THANK YOU! If your looking for super comfy high quality leggings then check these guys out...they even have fleece lined!

Please reach out if you want to get involved or if you have $14 to spare please donate through the link in bio to help the Denver Children's Foundation 🙏🏼

6 DOWN ✅ 6 TO GO🔝

You never know what hand you'll be dealt with the weather in the mountains. To go from an 80% chance of rain/ thunderstorms to this beautiful day was truly a blessing.

Grays Peak is one of the most popular 14ers in the state and I can see why - the views were incredible! All in all a great day even with the thunderstorm we got caught in at the end...and so proud of my girlfriend for crushing her first 14er!

We have 6 months left and 6 more big mountains to summit. Looking forward to making this dream a reality.

Thank you to everyone who has come along the ride to hike, donate and share this message. If you haven't donated yet, I ask you to consider just $14. Your gift will help transforms a child’s life for the future through the - LINK IN BIO 🙏🏼

**Delayed Post - Recap from May 22nd hike**

Mays 14er looked a little different than months past but we got it done! ✅

A crazy snow storm came out of nowhere at the end of last week and brought more than 2 feet of snow to the mountains which pushed me to change plans a few days out. Instead of summiting an actual 14er, having to bear with the dangerous weather conditions and avalanche risks we stayed on the safe side and hiked in Boulder.

To get the equivalent of a 14er it required 2 summits up and down Bear Peak✌🏼

First hike up was with my boys , , and the two pups from out first hike in January. The second hike I did myself. As much as I wanted to rip the hiking boots off after number 1 and get a cold beer in downtown Boulder; I had made the commitment to do it twice...so that's what I did.

The weather and the views were stunning...found some cows 🐮 (swipe) and racked up a total of 12 miles and 5k elevation gain! Felt great to be able to check off Mays summit for the project.

If you're interested in donating please use the link in bio. All donations going to to help underprivileged kids!

Where there's a will, there's a way. EMBRACE the SUCK and KEEP GOING ⚠️😤

April 16th Summit #4 - Pikes Peak • 14,115' aka Americas Mountain 🇺🇸

This was by far the longest distance hiked and most time spent on mountain thus far...just over 16 miles, 5.5k elevation gain and 11 hours total round trip! 😣 I'd be lying if I said these 14ers don't suck at times, because they do; but damn are they worth it!

A lot changed over the course of the week leading up to this hike. This is the most dangerous time of year to be in the mountains and the avalance warnings across the Rockies have been considerable. Luckily I had Mike Michael Scelsi to help research and check routes and we finally made up our minds on Pikes the night before. A 4:30am start meant I had to be up at 1:50 and on the road by 2:30. We were fortunate to have a full moon to help navigate through the darkness of the initial ascent and as things got lighter we were greeted by the wind...a lot of wind! We battled it for quite awhile but once we got into Devil's Playground things settled down (swipe to see what this is ⚡️)

Pikes isn't your typical 14er, its quite commercialized now and has a paved road to the summit that you can drive up...if you're even more lazy you can take a train 👎🏼 At the peak there is a nice, cozy summit house cafe and museum. I honestly couldn't wait to get here. Once we went inside all of the tourist looked at us like we were from another planet...Full gear, goggles on, snowshoes strapped to back, ice axes lol. I chatted with some folks and spread the word about the fundraiser (even got some donations!) but the highlight was the hot coffee and donuts...simply amazing.

With belly's full, we started our descent down and kept a really good pace. Things softened up in the afternoon so we had a little postholing and sloshing around. We got back to the trucks around 3:40pm and cracked a cold beer....Embracing the suck...totally worth🍻

PLEASE SUPPORT US • GOFUNDME LINK IN BIO • DO IT FOR THE KIDS 🙌🏼 🙏🏼

SUMMIT #3 • Mount Sherman • 27MAR2022

Another 14er in the bag! Mount Sherman complete! ✅🙌🏼

Not going to lie this one was tough. It was quicker than the last two but definitely required the most grit for me. I was sick with bronchitis all last week and could have made all the excuses in the world to cancel but I wasn't going to miss doing a 14er in March. I postponed the hike from Saturday to Sunday so I could get one more day to recover. Luckily, I woke up the morning of feeling the best I had all week. Some of the crew that planned on coming had to pull out because of day change (sorry guys) but we still had a solid group of 8 warriors! I'm thankful for this crew; my Denver buddies who came and pushed us (these guys ripped it) and for the new friends that I got to experience this epic day with!

Mount Sherman is typically a shorter 14er but with the winter road closures we added an additional 3 miles each way making it over 30k steps and 11 miles round trip! Half of the group went around the left wall and across the saddle then the rest of us pretty much went straight up the face of the summit. It was steep, slow going and we pretty much bear crawled the whole way up! The wind picked up considerably towards the top but there was nothing stopping us from getting to the peak!

"Grit is having the courage to push through, no matter what the obstacles are, because it worth it!"

3 out of 12 🏔 complete!

Next up is Mount Yale either April 16th or 17th (weather dependent) See you out there! 👊🏼

SUMMIT #2 • Mount Bierstadt • 27FEB2022

THE TRIBE IS GROWING! 🙌🏼🤩...and so are the donations $1500 out of 12K!! 👏🏼 (link in bio)

What an EPIC day!!! We had plenty of new faces supporting the cause, even signed signed up the night before! Part of the group started at 4am, the rest of us at 6am and met at the summit for a dance party! 👯‍♀️🕺🏼 Such a fun crew!

Yet again, we couldn't of asked for better weather ☀️ Sunshine all day and almost zero wind all the way up to the peak. Snow shoes were worn about 60% of the time which made for slower going and a "shortcut" put us in waist deep snow for an extra 40 min. All in, a total of 11 miles, 3,800 elevation gain and 9.5 hours later we conquered this beast. Woke up today with a bunch of new friends along with sore hips, tomato red face and racoon eyes...well with it!

Learnings for next hike:
- More sunscreen, a lot more🧴
- Use warm water for camel pack, my hose froze 2 min into the hike 😑
- Less food, more cold snacks 🍻
- Shortcuts suck 🙅🏼‍♂️

2 out of 12 🏔 complete!

SUMMIT #1 • Quandary Peak • 29JAN2022

What we do in life echoes in eternity.

Not only was this the first 14er of the project, it was my first time ever hiking one!