BUCKET LISTS: The Mountain Man
Friends call him the Mountain Man, I like to call him the Superman of Summits. He’s always training for a climb, always ending up in brutal conditions, and always coming back elated at the challenge, whether he reached the summit or not. Chad Gaston works hard and plays hard. Only his kind of play is trudging through snow, a desert, up a cliff, down a valley. The more intense the conditions, the harder he prepares and the greater the reward. While I may not want to put my flag at the top of Everest, I do want to climb a mountain. And Chad makes it seem possible and even fun. I asked Chad for a little bit of history on his mountain climbing quest.
Chad: So far I’ve climbed Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Aconcagua in Argentina and Mt. Rainer in Washington state via the Kautz Glacier. My goal is to do five summits in seven years. My 40th birthday is March 29th, 2020. That falls right on the middle of the season for climbing Everest. I want to finish the 7 summits on that climb.
ML: You just climbed Denali in Alaska. Because of weather conditions you weren’t able to finish. So what’s next on the ascent agenda?
Chad: I want to re-attempt Denali. Then there’s Mt. Elbrus in the Caucasus Mountains in Southern Russia and Mont Blanc in the Alps lying along the French-Italian border and into Switzerland. I’m headed to climb the Grand Tetons in August.
ML: You live in beautiful Costa Rica by the beach. Why not just hang out and surf like everyone else?
Chad: I love climbing for the beauty, the self reliance, being unplugged and for the people you meet. Everyone seems to have amazing stories and adventures. Plus it is taking me places I might never go.
The Alps, Russia, Argentina, Tanzania … I can certainly see why he keeps going back for more. I for one am enjoying watching him climb his way around the world. Who knows, maybe I might find myself in Wyoming or the Alps sometime soon.