Spotlight on Tom Hankiewicz!

Congratulations to our latest Grand Slam finisher Tom Hankiewicz! We had the opportunity of asking Tom a few quick questions.

Q: What was your first fourteener, and when did you climb it?
My first fourteener was Mt Elbert via the Black Cloud trail in August of 1995. I got rained/stormed on my first attempt so I had to turn back and return next week in order to summit it. My whole body hurt the following day but I also loved every minute of the climb.

Q: At what point did you commit to finishing them all?
As soon as I heard about these mountains in Colorado that are above 14000 ft, I just knew that I had to climb them all. At that time I knew nothing about rock climbing and hiking but it seemed like fun. I started climbing with friends from work but they slowly started getting married and had to stay at home or work on their yard instead. In 1998 I joined the Colorado Mountain Club and took some rock climbing classes which helped me tremendously on harder fourteeners. I also met many climbing partners and bagged many peaks on club hikes. I know I would never do Culebra without the CMC assistance.

Q: What is your favorite fourteener route?
Mt Eolus Northeast Ridge has to be my favorite, the combination of exposure and narrow ledges was great. The scenery and lack of crowds plus nice solid rock only added to the enjoyment. At the time of our climb, whole Chicago Basin was full of wildflowers so I went crazy taking pictures. 

Q: What was your most delightful moment on a 14er?
Obviously, getting to the top of Mt Wilson was great. It was my last fourteener so I felt a great sense of accomplishment especially after doing the traverse from El Diente. We had the whole summit to ourselves and the last 150 ft climb to the summit was so much fun.

Q: What was your most terrifying moment on a 14er?
Climbing the new trail on Wilson Peak. The classic route via Silver Pick basin was closed by new owner and we had to follow the rotten talus field that turned into a narrow couloir with really rotten rock. Class 4 with few class 5 movements. It was the only fourteener where I was seriously thinkng about turning back. At one point the whole side of the hill started sliding down and I had to jump, I felt like Indiana Jones !

Q: Do you have any plans for future mountain lists?
California here I come. I want to do all fourteeners there. I already finished all (1) fourteeners in Washington :) Closer to home,  I want to climb/hike every non-technical trail listed in Gerry Roach's fourteener book . That should keep me busy for a while.

Q: What 14er did you climb last? Did you intentionally save it for last or is it a 14er that previously eluded you?
Mt Wilson was my last fourteener. Nothing intentional here, it just happened to be furthest from Denver. I also wanted to do the traverse between ElDiente and Mt Wilson only after doing some other hard fourteeners. I heard some horror stories about how hard the traverse is and how crummy the rock is. The reality was completly different, and it was a fun climb and traverse.

Q: What is the single most important piece of advice that you would give to someone just starting out?
Proper nutrition and hydration are the key while climbing. I learned that the hard way after coming down many a peak with headache and nausea when I started climbing. Sometimes you will have to force yourself to eat/drink but it is necessary as you spend tremendous amounts of energy in high country. It also helps to get in shape, I suffered thru few fourteeners when I stopped excercising.