Hiking in the Rocky Mountains

I have never done mountain hiking. But last Saturday I gained an extreme experience I will surely not forget. I spontaneously joined some friends for a hike in the Rocky Mountains without knowing what would expect me. All I knew was that it was a hike of about 7 miles, but I had no idea it would go up to the top of Twin Sisters peak, a mountain of 11,500 feet (3485 meters).

Fortunately I had bought some hiking shoes in Denver. This was not the nice little walk I had expected, it went up quite steeply and the path was covered with snow and ice. As I am not trained and not used to the altitude, I soon lagged behind the group. 

I got really exhausted and asked myself if I made a mistake to join this hike. Several times I thought about giving up and returning. But that would have been even worse. What if I slipped and fell on the icy ground? Nobody would have been there to rescue me. I didn't even have a US phone to call help.

As I later heard from friends who live in Colorado, these weren't paranoid thoughts. Many people die in the Rockies because they are unexperienced and underestimate the risks. So the only way was to continue to the top where I could catch up with the rest of the group. 

I just ignored the limits of my untrained body and kept going on. Once I lost my water bottle, and as you need to drink a lot at this altitude, I decided to go down on a slope and get it back. My hands got really wet from the snow, and as the temperature got lower and lower the higher we got, my fingers were freezing, as I had no gloves.

I said to myself that the next time I would go for such a hike I would be better prepared, but now I had to go on, rubbing my fingers and trying to cover them with the sleeves of my hoodie.

When I had nearly reached the top of the summit, I saw the group on their way down. I told them that this time I don't want to be left alone. Brad, who had organised the hike, was sorry, and from there on he took good care of me. The way down was way less exhausting than the way up, but you had to stay very focussed not to slip on the icy ground.

As I was now part of the group, I felt much better and more relaxed. While on the way up I was quite worried and scared, the way down was awesome. I even found my woollen cap that I lost.

This was quite an existential experience for me. It showed me how fragile human life is and how much we  depend on the support of others. I am glad I did not give up and finally made it. But I also realised how naive I was and how much better one should be prepared for such a hike.