2 Million Feet of Climbing

I was watching a documentary a few years ago about the late great Terry Fox, who I think is one of the greatest Canadians ever. He tried to cross Canada with one prosthetic leg in order to raise money for cancer research. His goal was to run a marathon everyday.  Unfortunately, he didn’t survive to complete his journey, but the legacy Terry left with his perseverance and never give up attitude created a lasting impression.  More than enough inspiration to embark on my own journey. To date, close to 500 million dollars have been raised worldwide for cancer research in Terry’s name.

It’s just a number.  I could barely pass grade 10 math, but I can keep track of vertical feet on my watch. You just press the button and you go day after day to reach that  number of 1 million.

It’s some kind of obsession I started after reading about a mountain biker by the name of Mark Weir who climbed 1 million feet in a calendar year. Reudi Beglinger did it backcountry skiing as well. Many Tour de France riders hit the mark and didn’t even notice. Since I get bored doing just one activity, I figured I would combine my two favorite activities of mountain biking and backcountry skiing, which I can do endlessly for hours and hours at a time.

There’s nothing like living in the moment.  Once you get past the first half an hour you are in the mode.  The hard part is finding  the motivation to slog up some slope or pedal up a trail.

Most of the climbing was done in the Cascades and the Coast mountains which are notorious for heinous approaches where bushwhacking and long flat approaches are the norm.  I completed 1 million vertical feet last year. I kept at it once again and hit 2 million in less than two years.