Spotlight on Dave & Johanna Caley!

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Q: What was your first fourteener, and when did you climb it?
Our first 14-er was Handies.  We climbed it in August of 2001.  We escaped the Tucson heat and came to Colorado to hike.  Three friends came along, one of which knew the trail to Handies.  We started in the dark and warmed up on the way.  It was a beautiful adventure and we caught the 14-er euphoria.
 

Q: At what point did you commit to finishing them all?
It was not until the next summer heat in Tucson that we committed to "doing" the 14-ers.  David is very goal-driven and I love any hiking.  That was a good combination for the Colorado mountains.  We climbed 12 more 14-ers between 8-8-02 and 8-16-02.  We were committed.

Q: What is your favorite fourteener route?
My favorite 14-er route is La Plata.  we did it with our Colorado/Tucson friend Ann Han.  She lives half the in Tucson and the summers in Colorado.  She was already into the 14-ers.   She hiked up with us, and the changes in the terrain and landscape on La Plata are fantastic.  Starting in the woods and creeks; up the steep trail,  under the canopy of trees.  Through the meadows and crossing the creeks and up the Alpine meadows, until we were crossing snow.  I loved it until I got stuck in the halfway melted snow and could not move!!  Very scary.  David was far ahead, Ann was behind!  I felt real trapped.  The soothing calming voice of Ann coming around the corner helped.  Soon I was able to roll myself out of the post-hole and continued.  A little more careful.  Stayed free of the boulders.  The top of La Plata was fantastic!  Raw and full of snow-drifts.  Wow!

Q: What was your most delightful moment on a 14er?
To our great delight we discovered quite by accident that we could climb Longs on September 29, 2003.  The early September snow had melted, we were in a condo in Blue River, visiting Rocky Mountain Park.  At Longs trail-head we talked to the rangers and asked the hikers coming down.  All confirmed it was clear!  We made reservations in town for a motel, went back to our condo, slept till 2 AM.  Checked out and drove to Longs.  With head-lights we started.  It was cold.  Soon we got out of the woods and up the willows.  Then the boulder-fields where we saw several back-packers.  The key-hole was calling us and we marveled at the little cabin there, hiding from the strong wind.  Coming around we noticed that the mountain was ours!  No-one else had dared to climb that beautiful day!  What a treat!  We easily made it over the  scree, up to the solid rock.  The last mile was so beautiful!  Good solid rock under my boots and enough exposure to feel the thrill of mountaineering.  It kept going and going to my delight.  We easily reached the top and loved the expanding views!  Took pictures and did not dawdle; weather was coming in.  We got back to the ranger-station safe and sound and felt like heroes.  We had managed to climb the famous Longs.  We celebrated.

Q: What was your most terrifying moment on a 14er?
The most terrifying moment for me was on my last 14-er, Capital.  My stomach did back-flips on that knife-edge.  I am 5 foot 3.  My legs did not reach anything on that edge.  Scooting along, I decided to try and reach a foot-hold and shifted my weight.  My back-pack moved and shifted my weight more than I wanted.  A shot of adrenaline made it clear that I was in trouble.  Quickly I corrected and shakily I managed to finish the edge.  But I had to come back over it again!  I could not enjoy the gorgeous climb and summit with that thought. 

David had his moment of terror on North Maroon.  On a class 4 move, he instructed me to go first.  I climbed about 6 feet and came back to a solid foothold.  Poor David had put his hand on the foothold and I managed to roll a rock and than my weight on his hand.  With an injured hand he managed to climb the class 4 section, after I put I a rope.  The poor guy made it to the top.  It took 3 months before his hand functioned normally again.  Such determination.

Q: Are there any 14er routes that you would not want to repeat? Why not?
The 14-er routes that we did not like were mostly the extreme scree climbs.  Included are probably  the rotten rocks on the otherwise beautiful Maroon Bells.   I remember the hill to Sneffels as bad going up.  I hated the route to Columbia from Harvard; up and down.  But all were a challenge and hating a section is part of that challenge.

Q: In your opinion what are the 3 most technically difficult 14ers and what are the 3 most dangerous 14ers by their easiest routes.
The three most difficult 14-ers are to us Sunlight, the last rock of course.  Then there is the knife -edge on Capital, for me the worst.  David absolutely would want to include Pyramid.  Mostly because of bad rock. The three most dangerous 14-ers for us are probably the same ones.  Different people react differently to dangerous situations.  A lot of the class 4 moves don't scare me, but Capitol did.  For David, he has said that the rotten rock scares him most.

Q: Do you have any plans for future mountain lists?
Of course we have future mountain lists.  We have started both the Colorado 100 as well as the 13-ers. We want to continue our Summer treks into Colorado and climb the mountains.

Q: What 14er did you climb last? Did you intentionally save it for last or is it a 14er that previously eluded you?
Our last 14-er was Culebra.  It was mainly last because it is such a hassle to get into the privately owned ranch.  Also paying $200 to be allowed to climb two mountains was a deterrent.  The mountain itself is an easy quick climb. 

Q: What is the single most important piece of advice that you would give to someone just starting out?
My advice to someone just starting out would be enjoy and savor the experience.  It is such an awesome feeling to stand on top of a 14-er and look around.  We love it.