Spotlight on Mo Siegel!

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Q: What was your first fourteener, and when did you climb it?
Longs Peak was my first 14er and I climbed it in the late 1970’s.  At that point in my life, biking was my passion and hiking Longs was just entertainment.  I did not return to climbing any 14ers until 1999.  While visiting my cardiologist, Dr. Bill Hilty, I was intrigued by all the photos of 14ers on his office walls.  Bill raved about the sheer joy of hiking and climbing the14ers.   

Shortly thereafter, I took my first committed 14er hike up Bierstadt, over Saw Tooth Ridge, and up Evans.  I was stunned at the beauty, physical exertion, and slight thrill on Saw Tooth.  Strangely enough, at the top of Mount Evans stood Dick Bass who had driven up the mountain with his wife.  We talked until the hail storm started pounding us.  Dick drove off and we headed back to the Bierstadt trailhead.  During our brief encounter, Dick talked about climbing the Seven Summits and the book he had written with Frank Wells.  The next week I bought his book and between the hike and the book, I was hooked.  Makes sense, my first home in life was 4 miles from the Shavano Peak Trail head.  I’m a Colorado country boy who has climbed mountains all my life.  I started Celestial Seasonings Tea Company by hiking in the Colorado mountains and discovering the wild herbs.  Climbing the 14ers was a natural progression and I have loved every step (except a slip on the snow field down El Diente).    

Q: At what point did you commit to finishing them all?
When I first started climbing the 14ers, I was super busy, a father of 5, and soon to be a grandpa.  I was not at all certain I would climb all the peaks.  I had heard harrowing tales on Little Bear, Capitol, and the Bells.  The most dangerous mountains sounded out of my league but I decided I would climb at least 45 14ers and see what happened.  Capitol was my 22^nd 14er and after having one of the best days of my life climbing that mountain, I knew I could finish them all.  Capitol was exactly what I needed to build confidence and get a taste of unforgettable beauty. 

Q: What is your favorite fourteener route?
After 55 peaks (my count), there was no favorite route.  I loved every mountain although some more than others.  My favorite mountains were:  La Plata, North Maroon, Capitol, The Crestones, Handies, Red Cloud, and Sunshine (for the beauty, not the exertion or thrill), Longs, Holy Cross (there were two naked woman on top), Blanca, and who am I kidding, I loved them all.  Well, not total love.  Huron, Princeton, Columbia, and Antero were probably my least favorite.  And the rock falling on Pyramid was a bit disconcerting.   

Q: What was your most delightful moment on a 14er?
When answering this question, the fields of flowers near Snowmass Lake come to mind.  But that amazing view from the top of Sneffles is hard to beat.  And the rock block on top of Sunlight was total fun after having just gone across the Side Walk in the Sky.  Bu nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to the delightful times I had with friends.  A group of us, approx. 10 in total, hiked many of the peaks together (not including the dogs).  Between the drive times, camping, hotels, and hiking, we bonded big time.  During those years we had family members born, others die, jobs come and go, but the team stuck together.  This year 4 of us will finish the 14ers.  My most frequent training and 14er partners Jacob Beck and Ryan Hurst became life long friends during the climbs!!!!!

Q: What was your most terrifying moment on a 14er?
The toughest climb we attempted was our second trip up South Maroon.  The first attempt was spoiled by a sideways blowing snow storm two Septembers ago.  But we safely got off the mountain and other than the disappointment of not summiting, all was well.  Being anxious to climb South Maroon, we headed up the standard route early the next June.  The front side of the mountain was relatively snow free but the back side was buried.  For six hours we climbed with crampons, ice axes, and at times, rope.  For hours we were on unconsolidated snow resting on hard packed snow and ice, sitting on rotten rock while hanging over cliffs.  The day ended with 13 hours of work, no summit, and my comfort level was pushed beyond reason.  At 11:30 am I made the decision to turn back realizing that we had at least 4 or 5 more hours of very tedious climbing if we were to make it to the top and back.   Turning back was the best decision I made on any of the14ers.  If we would have continued, the late afternoon storm would have pounded us. Good chance we would have spent the night on the mountain.  As it was, we got off the mountain just before the storm hit!  I called my wife from the trailhead and said this climb had spooked me and maybe I shouldn’t come back to South Maroon.  Jen said wait until tomorrow and see how you feel.  The next day I was once again thinking of my next climb up South Maroon.  Every mountain can be very hard depending on the day and conditions.  For me, South Maroon was the toughest of all the 14ers. 

I also fell on the snow field going down El Diente.  As fate had it, Michael Covington was climbing with us.  For those of you who know Michael you know he is a great climber.  Michael was in front of me and he heard me fall.  He quickly moved two steps over into my line of slide, planted his crampons and ice axe, and waited for me to hit him.  I hit, stopped, and looked up.  There was the smiling face of the long grey haired Michael Covington staring down at me.  I thought I had seen the face of God.  And while I hope I could have self arrested, thank goodness I didn’t have to find out.  By the way, the fall was my mistake.  I was sitting too far back on my crampons trying to hug the mountain.  Big mistake!!!   

Q: Do you have any plans for future mountain lists?
More mountains? Are you kidding me?  I plan on taking up bowling and getting fat.  Well, maybe not!   I plan on repeating many 14ers, taking multi day hikes, climbing 13ers, and maybe climbing the Grand Teton and Mt. Rainer.  Two summers ago my two sons and I hiked Kilimanjaro and there might be other foreign mountain that I need to climb. 

Q: What is the single most important piece of advice that you would give to someone just starting out?
My most important advice is to love every step.  If you finish the 14ers, it will be one of the best things you’ve done in your life.  You’ll probably not do it twice so love every moment.  My second most important comment is to know yourself and your limits.  For me, hiking with others was vital to my confidence, fun, and safety. If our climbing team felt out of our league, we found someone like Michael Covington to lead us up a dangerous mountain.  My love for my family was much stronger than my need to prove myself.