Kristen Kelliher of Norwich becomes youngest female to climb the highest peaks in the

[Kevin Rooney]

Kristen Kelliher of Norwich becomes youngest female to climb the highest peaks in the continental U.S.

 

[bignslow]

That's quite an impressive accomplishment!

“We were doing them all together as a family, but on Humphreys Peak in Arizona, we ran into really high winds, sustained at 80 miles per hour with gusts to 100,” Kelliher said. “It was a bit much for my brothers, who were 1 and 4. It was kind of scary. From then on, it was divide and conquer.”

This bothers me a bit, but I'm sure there was some dramatic license used in describing a 1 & 4 year old on a 13k' peak in 80MPH winds.

 

[eddie]

Sounds like Alex and Sage will easily break Kristen's new record. You go girls!

 

[Puma concolor]

Very cool ... I've been smoked by yet another kid in my pursuit of climbing the state highpoints.

Great accomplishment for her and I certainly hope she is able to finish the deal on Mauna Kea and Denali.

For those wondering, Matt Moniz of Colorado was 12 when he finished all 50 HPs last year.

 

[TrishandAlex]

That's awesome!


Eddie -- -- Thanks for the support!

Don't know if Alex and Sage will break that record, and we're not going to try. I've no idea if they'll want to continue as the years go on. They're having a good time thus far, but who knows what the future will bring. We're at 39 now, and we may get 40 next week -- after that, it'll be one or two a year as long as the girls want to keep checking them off. We'll keep going as long as it's fun. When it's no longer fun, there won't be much of a point.

 

[Tom Rankin]

That's awesome!


Eddie -- -- Thanks for the support!

Don't know if Alex and Sage will break that record, and we're not going to try. I've no idea if they'll want to continue as the years go on. They're having a good time thus far, but who knows what the future will bring. We're at 39 now, and we may get 40 next week -- after that, it'll be one or two a year as long as the girls want to keep checking them off. We'll keep going as long as it's fun. When it's no longer fun, there won't be much of a point.

And as I'm sure you are aware, they will get much tougher. Although, the high pointers do not care how you get there, you could get a helicopter ride in to the more remote ones for all they cared!

I wonder if those people get an * next to their name!

 

[Tom Rankin]

This bothers me a bit, but I'm sure there was some dramatic license used in describing a 1 & 4 year old on a 13k' peak in 80MPH winds.

Every time I hear wind speeds mentioned, I wonder if they really had a wind speed gauge handy. The wind's force increases as the square of the velocity, so many people tend to overestimate wind speed. For instance, 20 mph winds are 16 times as strong as 5 mph winds. And for that matter, 100 vs 80 is about 56% stronger. Do you really think they were objectively measuring that?

But yeah, taking a 1 year old into those conditions does not sound like a great idea to me!

 

[TrishandAlex]

And as I'm sure you are aware, they will get much tougher. Although, the high pointers do not care how you get there, you could get a helicopter ride in to the more remote ones for all they cared!

I wonder if those people get an * next to their name!

We'd be happy to get a helicopter ride up if we could, lol. We certainly haven't hiked all of them. We've used more than one auto road and at least one gondola. There may be a horse ride or two in our future as well.

 

[una_dogger]

Every time I hear wind speeds mentioned, I wonder if they really had a wind speed gauge handy. The wind's force increases as the square of the velocity, so many people tend to overestimate wind speed. For instance, 20 mph winds are 16 times as strong as 5 mph winds. And for that matter, 100 vs 80 is about 56% stronger. Do you really think they were objectively measuring that?

But yeah, taking a 1 year old into those conditions does not sound like a great idea to me!

I think people generally overstate wind strength, myself included! I've hiked with people who carry wind guages and I'm always overestimating what I perceive vs what they measure. They are such handy gadgets, I plan to get one.

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

We'll keep going as long as it's fun. When it's no longer fun, there won't be much of a point.

Good for you!

 

[Puma concolor]

Every time I hear wind speeds mentioned, I wonder if they really had a wind speed gauge handy. The wind's force increases as the square of the velocity, so many people tend to overestimate wind speed. For instance, 20 mph winds are 16 times as strong as 5 mph winds. And for that matter, 100 vs 80 is about 56% stronger. Do you really think they were objectively measuring that?

But yeah, taking a 1 year old into those conditions does not sound like a great idea to me!

Although I'm aware that many folks often over-estimate wind speeds, I actually find 80 MPH on the upper part of Humphreys to be entirely believable. I was also blessed with a hellaciously windy day when I climbed Humphreys and encountered the stiffest winds I've ever dealt with on the summit cone. Most days on Humphreys aren't so bad, but the day I was there ... WOW. Coming down face first into the wind, I could only make it a couple steps at a time before curling into a ball ... then another couple of steps and into a ball ... you get the picture. A one-year-old would have probably gone airborne the day I was there.

 

[TrishandAlex]

A one-year-old would have probably gone airborne the day I was there.

FWIW, it might not be too difficult to keep a one year old safe in such conditions. I was still "wearing" Alex when she was one year old. A sling keeps a baby/kid close to the body, I could move easily with Alex and I felt like she was a part of me. I could wear her in the sling underneath my coat and protect/warm her with my own layers and body heat. I was centered, balanced.

I remember wearing Sage as an infant (four months old) while hiking in the Italian Alps. Below freezing temps on the mountaintops. Wore her in a sling, dressed her warmly, kept her under my partially-unzipped coat. She was toasty, cozy, and slept most of the time. Didn't have high wind speeds to deal with though, so my comments are pure conjecture based on my own not-that-similar experience.

Kudos to Miss Kelliher -- and to her parents for supporting their daughter during her amazing adventures.