Pat Manson's son is quite the mountain climber!

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http://www.timescall.com/news_story.asp?ID=23729

Boy’s goal: ‘All fourteeners by 14’

By Kimberli Turner
Colorado Hometown Weekly

SUPERIOR — A 9-year-old Superior boy is halfway to meeting his goal of climbing every fourteener in Colorado.

When Max Manson was 7, he began climbing Bear Peak and South Boulder Peak near Boulder with his father, Pat Manson.

Max’s interest in climbing increased when he saw taller peaks.

He began researching mountains 14,000 feet above sea level and set a goal to climb the state’s fourteeners — including 54 official mountains and four additional peaks at the same height — by the time he turned 18.

“At first I thought, ‘Oh, we’ll go easy, get there when I’m 18.’ But after the first summer, it was going fast,” Max said.

And at the rate he has been climbing, he could meet his goal fairly soon.

Max climbed his first fourteener, Mount Bierstadt on the Front Range, last summer, followed by 14 more.

Max then changed his goal to “all fourteeners by 14.”

Pat said he knew his son was ready for Mount Bierstadt, because Max had started with the smaller Boulder peaks and he constantly researched fourteeners online.

Max can name every Colorado fourteener, he constantly reads books about them, and posters with fourteener statistics cover his bedroom walls.

And then there’s his binder.

Max has a binder filled with information about every fourteener in the state and keeps a log with information about each one he has climbed.

Pat said it was important to start Max on shorter, easier fourteeners.

“You want to make sure it’s a fun first experience,” he said.

And Max said climbing has been a fun experience for him.

“When I get to the first summit, I’m like, ‘Yeah!’” he said. “Once I get to later ones, I’m like, ‘Here’s another (summit); let’s keep going.’”

Max said he could complete his goal early, by the time he turns 12, but he wanted to leave a little leeway in case he gets into other sports and activities.

Pat said he and his wife, Amy Manson, both former world-class track and field athletes, often ask Max if he wants to do something other than climb on weekends, but he almost always says no.

Pat noted that Max has more difficult fourteeners in his future — mountains with more mileage, limited access or more cliff exposure — but he looks forward to climbing with his son.

“I can’t say how fun it is, father and son for eight hours, cruising up a mountain,” he said.