I had not had much of an experience with real hiking/climbing until this past weekend.  I did not know what a 13er or 14er was and had no idea of the strategy and planning that goes into climbing to the summit of a mountain.  Sure I climbed local “mountains” in the past, but I was never was presented with an opportunity to climb something bigger or more difficult.  The mountains in Southern New Hampshire just are not all that big.  Hardcore climbers would argue that they actually are not mountains at all.  The largest mountain in our area, Mt. Monadnock, is famously referred to as the “second most climbed mountain in the world”.  It reaches an elevation of 3,165-ft and is 1,000 feet higher than any mountain peak within 30 miles.  While that may seem big to some, it’s paltry elevation is dwarfed by the massive expanse of the Rocky Mountains.  Mt. Elbert, the largest of the Rocky Mountains, reaches an elevation of 14,440 feet above sea level (14,000+ Ft = 14er).  To break it down in layman’s terms: These Mountains Are BIG.

My introduction to climbing came from my brother-in-law who lives in Colorado.  For the last couple years he has always reminded me of an “open invitation” to fly out and go climbing with him in the Rockies.  I always loved traveling to Colorado and while the thought excited me, I never really found the time to make it happen.  I had no clue what I was missing out on.

Since summer is quickly coming to a close and the weather is still warm out West, my wife and I decided that now is probably the best time to take a trip out there.

I flew out on Thursday morning and we geared up that afternoon to prepare for a Friday morning climb.  I was excited to try something new and had no idea what to expect from the climb.  I told my brother-in-law that I wanted to try something challenging, so he suggested a 13er (13,000Ft = 13er) named Mt. Solitude.  We picked up the Pitkin Trail near Vail village and hiked up Pitkin Creek drainage to the base of Mt. Solitude.

I would say that for the most part the climb up to the base was relatively easy.  All we had to do was stay on the trail and react accordingly.  There were some moderate sections, but overall it was pretty enjoyable.  We dropped our 50 Lb packs and started bushwhacking through the brush as we made our way up the base of the mountain.  At this point I would say that we were at around 10,000 Ft.  For anyone who has not experienced high altitude, it becomes very hard to breathe the higher you climb.

Here’s where the part about entrepreneurship comes in…

By 12,000 Ft I was completely exhausted.  Not only could I barely breathe, I was also experiencing what felt like massive blood clots in both of my thighs.  I would climb 10 or 15 feet and have to stop because I was so tired.  Every bone in my body was telling me to quit.  I can say without hesitation that it was the most physically demanding task I have ever undertaken.

With about a quarter of the mountain still left to climb, I started to realize that the majority of what I was doing was not physical but mental.  Although my body did not want to keep climbing, my mind did.  Quitting was not an option, I had already traveled too far.  The climb continued slowly until I finally reached the summit about 30 minutes later.  What an awesome sense of accomplishment when the goal was achieved.

I think that there are so many parallels between climbing and being an entrepreneur.  Starting a company is just as much mental as it is physical.  It can be so easy to just give up and quit when times get tough for your company.  If you really want your business to succeed, you need to prepare mentally to drive forward no matter what the circumstances are around you.

Dreams are only limited by your mind.  If you want something bad enough, the only person that is going to hold you back from accomplishing that dream is you.