"He climbed cathedral mountains; he saw silver clouds below. He saw everything, as far as you can see." - John Denver, Colorado Rocky Mountain High
Been there, done that. It's really cold at 14,000 feet elevation above sea level. Seriously, though, I have climbed a 14,000-foot mountain before: Pico Blanca; it's not the most fun experience while you're going up, or easy on your knees going down, but it is something that everyone, at some point in their lives, should do. It doesn't have to be on that scale - not everyone can climb a 14,000-foot mountain for various reasons - but everyone needs to have the opportunity to do something that they would have looked at before and said, "I could never do that." Summitting Pico Blanca was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I think that I saw silver clouds below, and I definitely saw everything as far as you could see. (click below to read more)
I do a lot of backpacking with my boy scout troop. Last summer we went to Philmont Scout Ranch (see my The Release Date is Just One Day . . . post for more about this), and afterwards we drove to the base of Blanca, put our well-worn packs back on, and started hiking. Pico Blanca is one of over 50 14,000-foot mountains in Colorado, called the Colorado 14ers. The going was hard; exactly half of it was uphill, and it was steep, too. I was struggling with the combination of uphill and the altitude, but we all made it. This was a milestone in my life because I proved to myself that I was capable of much more than I thought I was.