Defying the Odds
By Jared Campbell
May 2024
In 2017, my friend Gary Robbins and I were camped outside Buena Vista, Colorado, admiring the stunning views of the Sawatch Mountains to our west. Our objective was to summit 14 mountain peaks above 14,000 feet in less than 60 hours — a task known to ultra-runners and mountaineers as Nolan’s 14. At that point, only 16 people had completed it within the designated time frame.
Our window to attempt the route was very limited, and a storm system was expected to hit the day we started. I had finished the route twice before and had returned with Gary to help him realize a longtime goal. Our friendship had been forged the previous year in the infamous Barkley Marathons. We made an incredible team: We were physically well-matched, communicated easily, made good decisions quickly, weren’t thrown by setbacks, and didn’t falter in the face of adversity. These were critical factors for endurance tests like Nolan’s 14.
We started Friday morning and enjoyed perfect weather for the first nine hours of our adventure. The weather turned as we descended our fourth peak, but we forged ahead, marching up Mount Yale, a massive 5,300-foot climb — much of it on granite boulders. The descent off Yale involves tricky navigation and steep bushwhacking. We picked up our re-supply in the canyon below and charged up Mount Columbia (peak six). Navigating incorrectly off a ridge, we found ourselves cliffed out (unable to proceed up or down) on very loose terrain in a complete downpour at 3 a.m. The situation was getting serious and we had to stay focused and smart.
We carefully climbed back to safety and continued to Mount Harvard. Wasting no time on the summit, we began the 3,000-foot off-trail descent into Pine Creek Canyon. Ascending peak eight, Mount Oxford, the weather grew worse and temperatures dropped below freezing. We had been moving for 25 hours — 16 of them in dangerously cold and wet conditions. After tagging the summit of Oxford, the reality of our situation hit us. We had been teetering on the brink of hypothermia for many hours, and decided it was time to pull the plug. Quitting is not something that Gary or I do well.
"We defied rational protocol and let our hearts and dreams guide us."
Six miles later, we reached our crew, waiting at the trailhead. After more than a day — some spent fighting for our lives — we suddenly found ourselves in a comforting situation with dry clothes, warm food, and family and friends. It was a bittersweet return after abandoning such an important goal.
But the expedition wasn’t over yet.
Nolan’s 14 meant a lot to us, but especially Gary. After a near finish at Barkley in 2016 and 2017, he craved the reinforcement that accomplishing the near-impossible provides. I was warming myself in the camper when his wife Linda poked her head in. “You guys still have enough time to finish in under 60 hours,” she remarked. “If Gary is interested in heading back out, would you?”
I thought for a moment. We weren’t critically injured, had warmed up, dried off, and were well-fed. We were emotionally worn out, but otherwise unharmed. So I said yes! This was the turning point.
A few moments later, to the surprised looks of our crew members, we dashed out of the parking lot and headed up the trail to the summit of Mount Belford. We were back on the route, focused and recommitted. We had defied rational protocol and let our hearts and dreams guide us.
The weather remained very poor above 12,000 feet, but we had better gear now and newfound momentum. We summited Missouri Mountain, Huron Peak, La Plata and Elbert, then reached number 14, Mount Massive, with hours to spare. After reaching the peak, we ran down to meet our crew, finishing in under 57 hours to cheers from observers who had tracked our progress from afar.
So why did we finish? How did we finish? We finished because it mattered to us. The conditions had beaten us down and pushed us to the breaking point. Thankfully, our better senses took over and we bailed for our own safety. I’m proud of this. But even more proud that we took what we had been through, acknowledged the trials for what they were, set them aside, and charged ahead to realize our dream.
Jared Campbell serves on the advisory board of Endurance28, and is an adventure athlete, engineer, clean energy enthusiast, and sole three-time finisher of the Barkley Marathons.