Spotlight on Dwight Sunwall!
Congratulations to our latest
Highest Hundred finisher
Dwight
Sunwall! We had the opportunity of
asking
Dwight a few quick questions.
Q:
At
what point did you decide to go for the Highest Hundred?
On the
summit of Culebra the Mountain Gods spoke to me, “Thou shalt complete the
high 100, have fun!”
Q:
What
are some of your favorite centennial routes?
Dallas via
Dwight’s shortcut for the exciting summit, Jagged because it is unique and
remote , Ice Mountain with traverse to West, Holy Cross ridge for the
views, Half Peak via NE ridge, Columbia Point because of the west face,
Fletcher for the traverse, Rio Grande Pyramid because of the cool area,
Vestal Peak via wham ridge, Gladstone via Bilk Basin, Teakettle for the
teeny tiny scree, Hagerman via the Snowmass traverse, Jones Mountain via
traitor couloir, Emerald Peak because it is so cute back there, Jupiter
Mountain from Purgatory, Cathedral Peak for the snow climb and traverse to
Electric peak, Crystal Peak via Father Dyer ridge, Thunder Pyramid because
it rocks, Lakawanna because of the wicked weather, Horseshoe because it
took two tries, Pigeon because I like routes that completely circle the
summit before going up, Mt. Adams because of the descent via S. Crestone
lake, Mount Ouray cause of karma, Mount Silverheels because I beat Kurt to
the summit, Cronin because it looked so cool in the cold, French because
there is no Norwegian, Mt. Edwards because I felt good and needed to get out
in the winter, Huerfano for the accidental route up 13555 and traverse,
Mount Meeker via the loft route and Clarks arrow to Longs Peak, and of
course Vermillon because of Ice lakes basin and the comradeship of friends.
Q:
How would you compare the technical difficulty
and danger of climbing the 14ers verses the
technical difficulty and danger of climbing the
Highest Hundred?
The 14ers may seem difficult and dangerous because they are first on most
peoples list, but the last half of the Highest Hundred are more difficult
and dangerous on average.
Q:
In
your opinion, what are the most beautiful centennial peaks?
Vestal
and Jagged
Q:
During the time it took you to finish the centennials, did you ever have any
moments of doubt?
Not really.
Q:
What
is the single most important piece of advice that you would give to someone
just finishing the 14ers and thinking about doing the highest 100?
Continue
Q: Which group was more fun to climb, the 14ers
or the centennials?
I
don’t have a precise scale for that, its gotta be close.
Q:
What was your final centennial and why did you save it
for last?
Vermillion because I knew Ice Lakes Basin would be special, more karma.
Q: Do you have any plans for future mountain lists?
Mostly
Colorado, maybe a few in neighboring states. The world famous big ones are
not on my list, not that there’s anything wrong with that.