Quote: Gluten "nearly derailed" David Hahn's 1999 Everest climb

It wasn't a freak storm or pulmonary edema that nearly derailed Dave Hahn's attempt to top out on Mount Everest for the second time. It was a piece of bread. For two years, the mountaineering legend had battled a host of maladies - upset stomach, diarrhea, and lingering weakness - but never suspected the foods he was eating to fuel himself (pasta, cereal, bread) were the root of his problem. Hahn, it turned out, had developed celiac disease, an autoimmune response to gluten, a protein found in wheat. 

Gordy Megroz
Outside, July 2011

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Mt. Bierstadt trip report

One thing we know about human migration in the Paleolithic: humankind walked a lot. While it took countless generations for our ancestors to the reach France, Spain and Britain from Africa, the bottom line, they walked. Around 13,000 years ago, they walked into Colorado. While it is not known when Native Americans first climbed a Colorado peak, it is believed Mt. Beirstadt was one of them. For paleoterran fitness and rejuvenation, a summer climb was in order.

Mt. Bierstadt, rising to 14,060 feet, is Colorado’s 38th highest peak. Located in the Front Range and within easy access from Denver, the mountain is ideal for an August ascent. For my son, it would be his second Bierstadt climb; for me, my first 14er.

Departing Denver at 5:07 am, we drove south on Colorado Blvd and turned west on Hampden Avenue (Highway-285). At Grant, forty miles outside of Denver, we turned right on the Guanella Scenic and Historic Byway, a gravel and paved two-lane road also known as Guanella Pass Road and County Road 62.

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