"Keep me alive" is really just a less eloquent way of saying "guide" but I guess you get the point. This is probably one of the biggest break throughs I have had for Summit Up. The reason for this is without a guide service, few would take me serious when I made the claim that I was going to be climbing the highest point in all 50 states. A guide service gives more clout to my presentation. Most of these highpoints can be done without a guide, but there are few that cannot; or at least shouldn't. Out of these few, two really stand out: Rainier in Washington and Denali in Alaska.
It is true, I could go to these peaks with the "man verses mountain" mentality, pound my chest in sheer masculinity as base camp, and blaze my own trail up the summit. However, this would probably result in me getting stranded 1/5 the way up with a stubbed toe. People would have to risk their lives and take time out of their schedule to come out and save my sorry ass. I ruled out this option a while back.
MM has been around for longer than I have been alive, and since I think that I know what I am doing, I feel it is safe to assume they know what they are doing. They guide climbers and expeditions all around the world, sending people up Everest, K2, the highest points in all seven continents, and many others. To say the least, I am in good company.
It is my plan to work with MM through-out my climbs. I will be hooking up with them in the summer of 2010 to take a mountaineering course to get me prepared for some of the more difficult peaks out West that I won't be using a guide service on. So if you plan to give Summit Up a quick glance once and a while over the next few years, expect to see MM as well. In case you want to check out their site, it is www.mountainmadness.com. I know, I know, you would have never guessed.
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