In the mid-60s I saw a program on TV titled 'Once Before I Die'. The 'once' was hiking to 20,000 ft. This was done on a mountain in,I believe, Pakistan which required no technical rock-climbing skills, only the physical condition and mental strength to push one's body to that altitude carrying a heavy pack most of the way. By the time the program ended, the desire to do that myself was firmly implanted in my mind. At that time I was in my mid-30s, and financial and family circumstances made such an endeavor impractical.

In later years I climbed to 14,000+ in the Rockies of Colorado and even to 18,200 in Nepal at age 57; but I did not make an attempt at 20,000 until I was 68. That was on the snow covered volcanos of Ecuador. Inexperience climbing on snow and ice and equipment failure combined to thwart that attempt; but just over a year later, at age 69, I went to Argentina and achieved my long held goal on Aconcagua.

Some photos from this trip can be seen by clicking HERE