I recently found out about a self-supported 14er record that nobody seems to know about. In 1995 (a very big snow year), a math teacher from Maryland named Roy Benton climbed all 55 14ers, plus 6 unofficial 14,000 points such as Conundrum and North Eolus in 37 days, 12 hours.

Roy followed 5 self-imposed rules:
1: No motorized transport for himself.
2: No gear, including bikes or climbing gear could be transported for him. The only things he could replenish on the way were food, bike parts, and boot replacements.
3: He followed the 3,000 foot rule for all mountains. (he wouldn't for example, be able to ride closer to within 3,000 feet of a summit).
4: Only allowed to sleep in a sleeping bag, no beds allowed.
5: Don't always take the easiest, fastest route--add some adventure. For example, his route took him over several traverses such as the Little Bear-Blanca traverse, and the Gash ridge.

--Also, he completed a loop from a starting location at Stevens Gulch.

In a couple of places Roy did receive minor assistance, (such as wife cooking him a meal), so he acknowledges that some purists might argue his self-supported claim. But give me a break, it sounds Self-Supported to me.

Anyway, he sent me an 11 page doc. that outlined his rules/routes. I'll post it on my website if anyone is interested. However, I won't have time to put it there for a couple of weeks, so if you want to see it sooner than that send me an email and I can forward it to you. It is a great story and I laughed a lot reading about it (like when he got sprayed by two skunks in one night).

Finally, I am still in the process of writing out details of my self-powered 14ers adventure this summer, and I'll get those on the website at about the same time, along with heart rate and elevation data for those of you who might be interested. I'll send out another email when it is all completed.

Thanks,
Andrew Hamilton