I peer to the top of Torreys Peak. I am on a high path leading directly up to the saddle between two giant mountains. The mountain air is so thin up here.
The dirt and rocks on Torreys are in deep contrast to the clear blue sky behind it. I turn towards Torreys’ sister peak, Grays. Grays is enshrouded in an ominous haze. A cloud sits resting on the top of the mountain like a fluffy white crown.
I have never climbed a “fourteener” before today, but I am daring and game. With any luck, I will tackle both of them in one day. At the moment, however, the sky at the summit of Grays seems to suggest otherwise.
I look back towards the peak of Torreys. I can just make out the miniature figures of those who set out before me. They are already all the way up at the top. They look as small as ants. I still have so far to climb.
I love this challenge and the untamed nature surrounding me. It brings to mind my constant internal challenge of maintaining my weight. I used to struggle with weight loss. Years ago, I underwent a body transformation when I lost forty unnecessary and unwanted pounds. It wasn’t easy, but keeping it off since has been far more difficult.
The journey I am on now holds many similarities. I never want to gain back more than a few of the pounds I lost. Maintaining my weight requires intense workouts like this one.
I am about 250 feet from the saddle when I feel that familiar grumble inside my torso. The extreme altitude is causing my body to consume calories at a rapid pace. I resist a bit longer, but I can feel my metabolic rate has risen. I know I’ll need to replenish my energy soon to complete the trek safely.
I eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a granola bar I was saving for the summit. I drink some more water. I may not have brought enough food to offset my altitude-induced increase in metabolism, but thankfully I brought plenty of water.
I reach the saddle a short time after and cross the strange flat-land. How do these plants even grow up here in such a harsh environment? A black bird floats in the wind. It doesn’t even need to use its wings up here.
Zig-zagging my way up the Torreys’ ascent, I near the summit. A voice inside calls out, Quit. You can’t do this. Go back down, but I don’t listen. I hush the voice and persist. I am so close to the top. There’s no way I will give up now.
Minutes later I take a final lunge up onto the peak. I take in the vastness of the surrounding view. Places that normally seem so large look insignificant from up here. A helicopter is attempting a rescue below. It appears no bigger than a Micro Machine™.
Peering across to Grays, I want to see what she and the gods of the tempest have to say. The clouds are pushing back now, back and away from the peak. For the first time since I embarked on the journey, I could visually make out Grays’ summit.
The haze over Grays mixes with the atmosphere around it. It completely dissipates as I descend Torreys back down to the saddle.
I end up climbing two fourteeners today. I love this mountain air. After eight hours of hiking my body is hungry again, but I’ve never felt better. That’s what I call an altitude adjustment!
#loseweightwhileyousleep
#highaltitudeweightloss
#mountainairhealth
~by John Andreula
John is a mountain life enthusiast and a user of the MountainAir™ Complete System. He is not a Mountain Air Health Employee.