Terry Houk

A quarter

century of

ascents



By ERIC MULLENS

ALAMOSA — What began as an activity with his father when he was just 10-years old, has become a lifetime passion drawing 35-year old Terry Houk of Alamosa to the top of over 500 mountains in Colorado and New Mexico.

In his 25th year of mountain climbing, Houk this year completed his 500th successful Colorado ascent on Oct. 18, 2009 when he made it to the top of Tracy Mountain near Saguache; it was Houk’s 517th mountain overall.

A Valley native, Houk grew up in Gilpin County West of the Denver metro area and home to gambling towns of Black Hawk and Central City as well as home to many mountains he began climbing with his father as a child in the mid 1980s.

This was an extraordinary year for the young man who works nights at a convenience store in Alamosa. Houk climbed 57 mountains in 2009, besting his personal record of 39 peaks in 2001.

It is time now for Houk to expend his energy in the gym as he climbs usually from March until October. He will spend much of this winter like those in the past hitting the workout equipment and keeping his upper and lower body as well as the core muscles strong for that first opportunity to head to the mountains in 2010.

But climbing in the spring, summer and fall doesn’t guarantee good weather, especially at 13,000 to 14,000 feet.

Houk recounts once when climbing in the Spanish Peaks area in Huerfano County and he noticed an electric blue haze gathering around the clothing of his climbing partner. The pair had been caught in an electrical storm in the high country and “lightning was flashing all around” he remembers. While no one was injured during the climb, the incident reminds Houk of the dangers all climbers and hikers face in that rare ‘tree line’ area he has spent so much of the last 25 years exploring.

In fact, Houk admits, that it was his own father’s somewhat carefree style of climbing that has made him as safety conscious as he is. Houk said his father has retired from mountain climbing after a couple of serious falls that have resulted in permanent back injury. “He eventually fell a couple of times and was hurt pretty bad,” Houk says of his dad. That was back in ‘93, Houk says and now his father still has trouble walking.

He said his father’s style taught him by example what not to do. “He got us lost a lot, Houk laughs but grows serious as he says in a low voice, he almost killed us a few times.”

Houk says he is blessed with a natural sense of direction and carefully plans his ascents with the use of topographic maps and visual appraisal of the next target for his ‘peak bagger’ book.

But as experienced as he is, there is something of a dare devil in his nature. It has only been in the past few years he admits, that he has gotten into the habit of telling a coworker or a family member where he plans to climb and when he expects to return. In fact, Houk has made the majority of his climbs since his teens on his own; not something advised by most mountain climbers. In fact he began climbing almost exclusively alone at the age of 13.

He took part in climbing and outdoor programs at his school in Gilpin County and made presentations to fellow students about mountain climbing while at Gilpin County High School. He said at that age he was often the only one in a group that would actually go climbing when the trailhead was reached, “the others just came to hang out” he laughs. But from those years the drive to ascend was born and the freedom that comes with climbing and camping with no one to worry about but one’s self.

Houk said climbing with an experienced partner is almost as good as climbing alone, but climbing with a novice presents dangers he just isn’t comfortable with.

He has done it and has taught mountaineering skills to others; but with the exception of his golden lab Caleb, Houk has never had a regular climbing partner.

Although he recognizes the dangers of climbing alone, “ a twisted ankle at 14,000 feet in a blizzard will kill you,” he admits, he prefers it that way. “I feel more safe actually, by myself, because I don’t have to worry about the other person.”

Houk says he has had good and bad experiences in the mountains, coming a table’s length away from a bear on more than one occasion and being chased down a mountainside near Creede by a moose in a bad mood. “I don’t know what I did wrong to tick him off, but all of a sudden he comes out of nowhere and I’m running downhill.”

Houk says his most unique experiences have come more than once, and they remain climbing in a blizzard. “You can’t see in front of you, it’s intense, snow is blowing sideways and suddenly it clears up and you can see everything, for a moment,” he said. He says there is a certain rush in climbing at night as well.

The majority of Houk’s ascents are in the class 3 or 4 category of climbs. That involves hands and feet scrambling, extensive hand use and occasional technical climbing (with ropes).

While it may seem the young man has reached his goal, that would be far from the truth. He points to a three inch thick climbing record that contains photographs and notes from his 25-years in the mountains and one can tell this may just be the first edition of a series.

He says he has over 400 of the 600 plus 13,000 foot Colorado peaks in his book, but that leaves some left to do.

Houk says he wants to climb in other states as well, California, Utah and Wyoming as well as some of the sub Alps in Europe are beckoning to his spirit of adventure.

Even with his eyes set on new challenges, Houk admits the view from work is a great one. “If I had to pick my favorite areas to go would be the Sangre de Cristos, I love the Sangres, there is a feeling I get there, I don’t know what it is, but especially on the San Luis Valley side, there is something about this place,” he says.

While some people spend their lives reaching for the stars, some, like Terry Houk, take that extra step and get as close as possible as often as possible.