Spotlight on Mike Zyzda!

Q: What was your first fourteener, and when did you climb it?
My first 14er ascent happened on Grays and Torres Peak in August of 1990. All I remember was it was breath taking, both the view and how hard it was to hike so far and be so high. It hooked me to try more. Up to that point I was an avid backpacker and deathly scared of heights.

Q: At what point did you commit to finishing them all?
Two things seemed to happen that got me thinking I could finish them. The first was leading hikes for the CMC. Most of the people I hiked with in the early 90's got old, lazy and essentially stopped doing harder mountains. I even stopped climbing 14ers for 5 years because of the lack of partners and the crowds on the mountains. It was still in me apparently as I started leading for the CMC to get out more. It pushed me to get training as well my tolerance grew for the airy side of the mountains. The other factor was taking Basic Mountaineering School in 2003. It opened up the mountains to me as well as I made some Great friends. Today I my favorite people to climb with are the students I had in my BMS class as well as the instructors.

Q: What is your favorite fourteener route?
Capital, hands down! Just a great combination of good rock, exposure and fun.

Q: What was your most delightful moment on a 14er?
A couple of years ago we climbed South Maroon's southeast couloir in early July. We started with our crampons at Crater lake and could climb all the way to the saddle (about 3000') in the snow. It was the best combination of great weather, friends and hard snow you could have.

Q: What was your most terrifying moment on a 14er?
I don't have any one terrible story that was terrifying on these peaks. I was blessed to feel safe most of the time with weather, mostly because we didn't push the envelope too much. That didn't mean we were not out in the weather, but had windows to go for it when the weather would break. I am sure I have had the same amount of rain, snow, ice, wind, loose rocks as the rest of you!

Q: Do you have any plans for future mountain lists?
No way! At times I felt like Frodo and the ring with this "list". There are so many mountains to climb that I can't wait to get going again. But now want to climb them because I want to, not because I need to. Thoughts on further mountains include the high points of Montana and Wyoming, Rainer, the 13ers, etc.

Q: What 14er did you climb last? Did you intentionally save it for last or is it a 14er that previously eluded you?
My last one was Wilson Peak. I didn't save it, it kind of just happened to be the last one. It was a great though, much better rock and more fun than I expected. I was also lucky in that I had about a 98% success rate for first ascents on the 14ers. The only one I can remember not summiting the first time was Little Bear, the snow conditions above the hourglass were horrible and we decided to call it a day.

Q: What is the single most important piece of advice that you would give to someone just starting out?
Always go with someone who has some experience and mountaineering knowledge when learning. I made so many mistakes that could have avoided with just a bit of knowledge. Train hard both physically and with mountaineering  education. And finally, no one becomes a "mountaineer" without years of experiences and practice in all kinds of conditions and terrain. Don't kid yourself, be humble, it takes a long time to get good at what we all love to do. I would still consider myself a advanced beginner after 25 plus years of the outdoors.