Congratulations to Alyson Kirk! Yesterday she climbed The Castles East with John, making her the first person to complete the new LiDAR list of all Colorado ranked summits above 12,000 feet! This is especially exciting for her after her rough battle with metallosis (metal poisoning from her implant) which went undiagnosed/misdiagnosed for a long time. This would have been fatal had it not been treated. Kudos to her for her strong attitude and her perseverance!
For more of her story…
Background and day of surgery:
What it was like living with metallosis:
Post and pictures from The Castles East:
John has one more left per LoJ - Ophir Overlook.
Alyson Kirk Finishes Colorado 12ers+ LiDAR List
Forum rules
- This is a mountaineering forum, so please keep your posts on-topic. Posts do not all have to be related to the 14ers but should at least be mountaineering-related.
- Personal attacks and confrontational behavior will result in removal from the forum at the discretion of the administrators.
- Do not use this forum to advertise, sell photos or other products or promote a commercial website.
- Posts will be removed at the discretion of the site administrator or moderator(s), including: Troll posts, posts pushing political views or religious beliefs, and posts with the purpose of instigating conflict within the forum.
-
bdloftin77
- Posts: 1230
- Joined: 9/23/2013
- 14ers: 58 1
- 13ers: 76
- Trip Reports (2)
Alyson Kirk Finishes Colorado 12ers+ LiDAR List
Last edited by bdloftin77 on Sun Sep 10, 2023 9:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-
Mtnman200
- Posts: 1165
- Joined: 9/26/2012
- 14ers: 58 1
- 13ers: 472
- Trip Reports (85)
Re: Alyson Kirk Finishes Colorado 12ers+ LiDAR List
Congratulations to Alyson on a fantastic accomplishment! That's a lot of summits. I've seen your summit registers all over Colorado and out-of-state, too, so is anyone really surprised that you completed the Colorado 12ers?
"Adventure without risk is not possible." - Reinhold Messner
Re: Alyson Kirk Finishes Colorado 12ers+ LiDAR List
Congratulations, Alyson!!
“Climb mountains not so the world can see you, but so you can see the world.” -David McCullough?
-
Jay521
- Posts: 1167
- Joined: 8/1/2007
- 14ers: 43 10
- 13ers: 177 22
- Trip Reports (56)
Re: Alyson Kirk Finishes Colorado 12ers+ LiDAR List
Wow! Helluva lot of mountains! Kudos to you!!!
I take the mountain climber's approach to housekeeping - don't look down
-
daway8
- Posts: 1463
- Joined: 8/24/2017
- 14ers: 58 27
- 13ers: 165 30
- Trip Reports (81)
-
Will_E
- Posts: 442
- Joined: 8/13/2018
- 14ers: 58 58
- 13ers: 350 67
- Trip Reports (23)
Re: Alyson Kirk Finishes Colorado 12ers+ LiDAR List
That’s awesome! I had to Google and find out how many ranked 12’ers there are. Apparently the number is 1,313. Craziness.
-
Boggy B
- Posts: 865
- Joined: 10/14/2009
- 14ers: 58 7
- 13ers: 781 76
- Trip Reports (50)
Re: Alyson Kirk Finishes Colorado 12ers+ LiDAR List
Awesome! Love to hear about that Castles East climb and how it compares to the dethroned Turret Ridge.
-
12ersRule
- Posts: 2303
- Joined: 6/18/2007
- 14ers: 58
- 13ers: 160
- Trip Reports (4)
Re: Alyson Kirk Finishes Colorado 12ers+ LiDAR List
Congratulations, Alyson! You and John are amazing.
-
JQDivide
- Posts: 1359
- Joined: 6/25/2007
- 14ers: 58 33
- 13ers: 123 1
- Trip Reports (64)
Re: Alyson Kirk Finishes Colorado 12ers+ LiDAR List
How many people are on this short list of finishers?
Congratulations!
Congratulations!
-
bdloftin77
- Posts: 1230
- Joined: 9/23/2013
- 14ers: 58 1
- 13ers: 76
- Trip Reports (2)
Re: Alyson Kirk Finishes Colorado 12ers+ LiDAR List
Only Alyson! According to LoJ, here's what the next closest finishers would need:
John Kirk:
Ophir Overlook https://listsofjohn.com/peak/993
Mike Garratt:
The Castles East https://listsofjohn.com/peak/1742
Teresa Gergen:
The Castles East https://listsofjohn.com/peak/1742
Ken Nolan:
The Castles East https://listsofjohn.com/peak/1742
12803 https://listsofjohn.com/peak/3241
Kirk Mallory:
The Castles East https://listsofjohn.com/peak/1742
Peak Ten https://listsofjohn.com/peak/381
Mike Garratt was extremely thorough - I don't think he climbed a single new 12er after the LiDAR list came out, and he still pre-finished every single one except The Castles East. Very impressive.
John, Alyson, Derek Wolfe (Furthermore), and Aiden (listed by Alyson in her facebook post) climbed The Castles East on 9/9/23. The only two other ascents of The Castles East that I know of are claimed by a C. Scales and an LB Mullin who claimed a first ascent in 2018 (see FA near the top). https://www.mountainproject.com/route/1 ... eers-route
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
-
Kevin Baker
- Posts: 881
- Joined: 5/19/2005
- 14ers: 58 53
- 13ers: 675 32
- Trip Reports (78)
Re: Alyson Kirk Finishes Colorado 12ers+ LiDAR List
There's actually 681 ranked 12ers with the Lidar changes. Way to go Aly, John, Derek, and Aiden!
Always do what you are afraid to do. -Ralph Waldo Emerson
-
IHikeLikeAGirl
- Posts: 1006
- Joined: 9/5/2007
- 14ers: 58 6
- 13ers: 346
- Trip Reports (6)
Re: Alyson Kirk Finishes Colorado 12ers+ LiDAR List
Congratulations Alyson!
"Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time."
- Steven Wright
- Steven Wright
