Spotlight on Ben Brewer!

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Q: What was your first fourteener, and when did you climb it?
Growing up in Breckenridge, I had plenty of opportunities to climb early in life. We had access to a cabin in French Gulch where we spent a lot of summer weekends. I stood on top of Mt. Guyot, Baldy and Peak 8 at an early age. My Mother practically dragged me up Mt. Democrat at the age of 13 in the summer of 1981. I also climbed Quandary that summer. It's unclear to me if I stood on top of a 14er before that, but if I did, I was carried most of the way. These are the first 14ers I really climbed. 

Q: At what point did you commit to finishing them all?
At age 13 I collected marbles and baseball cards, climbing all of the 14ers was the last thing on my mind. It took many years, until I was in my 30s before I realized how much I love climbing peaks. But even then, I was a reluctant peak bagger. I was invited to climb Mt. Columbia with a friend and this was my introduction to a group of friends who would become my climbing buddies. After 40 mountains or so, I was inspired to finish them by my friends who derived such joy from having done so. 

Q: What is your favorite fourteener route?
The Southwest ridge on Ellingwood was a very beautiful route on solid rock. The scrambling was fun and I much preferred it to the standard route on steep scree. We used it as a warm up for the Bells. Traversing South to North in the Bells using a western route of ledges was spectacular. My friend Dave and I used route finding rather than sheer technical skill to keep ourselves safe on the loose, exposed traverse. It's my favorite because it was a high point for our climbing and our friendship.  

Q: What was your most delightful moment on a 14er?
There have been so many, I can't pick one. Stand-outs: summiting Wetterhorn with my friend Jacob with dubious weather, summiting Mt. Wilson with my friend JC which was his 54th, reaching the summit of North Maroon with my friend Dave after traversing from Maroon Peak, standing at the K2 / Clark Peak saddle alone, watching the sun come up, with the almost full moon between Capitol and K2. It was so quiet and still there that day, I could hear my heart beat.

Q: What was your most terrifying moment on a 14er?
In the summer of 1997 I did Bierdstadt and Evans alone. I summited Bierdstadt but then I went way too far down into the saddle to Abyss Lake in order to avoid the saw tooth ridge. This ate up a lot of time. After summiting Evans, with my car back at the Bierdstadt trailhead on Guanella pass, I thought I had to re-summit Bierdstadt before descending the other side. I went all the way back down to Abyss Lake. Half way up Bierdstadt on the return trip, the lightning started. I raced up those large blocks and felt like I was running in water, running for my life. My hair was on end and I even felt a pop behind my right ear. Once I reached the top, I might have set a record from the summit back to the car. 

Q: Do you have any plans for future mountain lists?
I'm going to take a break before making any new plans or taking on any more lists. I have a five year old at home and I'd like to spend more of the summer days with him. 

Q: What 14er did you climb last? Did you intentionally save it for last or is it a 14er that previously eluded you?
I saved Yale for last. This was partly because it's close to our home in Breckenridge, partly because it was one of the only walk-ups I had left and envisioned bringing along my family and friends, and partly because my grandfather went to Yale. 

Q: What is the single most important piece of advice that you would give to someone just starting out?
Take wipes.