One of Clarke's toughest climbs was Mount Borah in Idaho, a straight-up 12,662 footer. The approach was just 3 miles, with 5,750 feet of gain in the final two. She lost toenails on that one. It was Clarke who told me that it takes more muscles to go down than up, and my Split experience proved it. Between that and the extreme ascent, I was still mincing around from pain in my shins and thighs a week later.
Time is critical in a high-elevation climb.
Going up means slowing down. I normally walk at 3 mph and backpack at 2 mph, but I'm lucky to do 1 mph on extreme elevation. Accordingly, Rick and I can never spend more than about 15 minutes on the top of our quarry, in order to be back at the Jeep by dark. Sounds brutal, but it ensures we don't lose momentum. Decidedly, but the lure of the 14ers cannot be ignored.