On August 4, 2017, I climbed my first 14,000+ foot mountain with my dad and dog. There are 58 such mountains in Colorado, I had little hiking and 0 mountaineering experience, but I knew I wanted to do them all. Slowly, over the last ten years, I’ve bulit up my skills and endurance, climbing more and more difficult mountains. I’ve since climbed 57 14ers and completed 2 of the 4 great traverses. My time spent in the mountains has been some of the best in my life. It has been the closest I’ve come to death, and the most alive I have ever felt. When I paint from my experiences, I am painting my psychological process as well as my physical one.