Get Ready for Gilbertson
The most talented man you've never heard of
Introduction
Welcome back to I Run Earth. It’s been a while since you’ve heard from me. Life continues to be full of adventure as my professional life hovers between odd jobs and unemployment in Seattle. The following essay will be the first in a five-part series on my recent outings in the Cascade Mountains that climaxes in a winter ski descent of Glacier Peak, the most remote of Washington’s volcanoes. I’ll also mention that while I haven’t been writing as much, I have been making videos with more consistency. You can find them on Tik Tok: @ollyopoly.
THIS ISSUE 👉 February 7: Get Ready for Gilbertson
January 19-25: Washington Ice Climbing with Dan
February 1-2: Solo Winter Storm Overnight at Crystal Mountain
February 4: Mt: Rainier: Longmire to Muir with Peter
February 8-9: Glacier Peak Ski Descent
Friday February 7, 2025
I spent the last three weeks getting ready for tomorrow when I will attempt to climb and ski Glacier Peak with Eric Gilbertson. Who is Eric Gilbertson you ask? He might just be the most impressive man you’ve never heard of.
Eric and his twin brother Matt have made a lifelong project of climbing the highest point in every country. Growing up, they took on the goal of climbing the highest peak in every U.S. state including Denali. They then started climbing the highest peak in other countries by getting invited to international conferences while students at MIT. As of my writing, Eric has done 146 country high-points including K2 with no supplemental oxygen (Pakistan). On top of that, Gilbertson may also hold a world record for juggling 8 items on a unicycle.
My fascination with Eric Gilbertson began before I knew anything about his endless list of adventures and talents (and believe me, we’ve only scratched the surface). I first encountered Eric in November 2023 at the annual Bulger 100 potluck, a gathering of Washington’s peak-bagger community to celebrate the folks who finish climbing Washington’s 100 highest peaks each year. I had mentioned to some folks my idea to run and ski through Canada, and they said, “Well, you should talk to Eric. He does crazy adventures.”
When I finally found the guy with the “Eric Gilbertson” name-tag, he appeared quiet and unassuming in cargo pants and a flannel button-down. I would’ve thought I was meeting a kooky college professor instead of Washington’s version of James Bond. (As it turns out, he is a professor of mechanical engineering at Seattle University).
At the end of the night, Eric gave a presentation about surveying the Bulger 100 peaks to re-measure their true height. Truth be told, I didn’t feel particularly inspired by correcting the reported elevation of a mountain by 5 feet. I couldn’t understand the motivation for hauling heavy pieces of high-precision equipment to mountaintops and then waiting up to six hours for the measurements to reach completion. Passing time on top of a cold, windy summit sounds miserable to me.
But then it hit me! I was at a potluck surrounded by people who live for enduring suffering in the mountains, and Eric stood out even in this group. By the end of the presentation, I was intimidated enough to throw up in my mouth.
In addition to surveying the Washington’s 100 highest peaks, Gilbertson is on track to be the first person ever to climb all of them in the winter, something no one has ever done. Consequently, starting December 21, every Sunday, the tight-knit community of introverted Washington peak-baggers eagerly anticipates the moment when Gilberton’s mind-bending weekend trip report appears on Strava. Look no further than the past three weeks to marvel at how Gilbertson pushes the limits.
January 18, 2025: Strava Link
January 25, 2025: Strava Link
February 1, 2025: Strava Link
No turnaround times, Gilbertson goes until he reaches the top. In his January 18 trip to Easy Mox (first winter ascent) and Redoubt (second winter ascent), he double carried his inflatable boat and then motor to Ross Lake, sailed to the other side, and climbed mixed rock and ice to reach each summit. His winter ascents can involve any mix of sports from snowmobiling, clearing downed trees with a chainsaw, biking, running, boating, skiing, ice climbing, and rock climbing. In Eric’s view, “the more different activities involved the better.”
There is no pattern whatsoever to getting up Washington’s 100 tallest peaks: some are pointy needles and others are active volcanoes. The only through-line is that Eric solves for the summit every time.
So, now that you have some idea of who Eric Gilbertson is, we get back to me. You may already know that I committed to a monthlong exploratory ski expedition in May with a team of kickass mountaineers out of Utah (originally to Pakistan but security concerns have led us to change our destination, still TBD). As the least experienced mountaineer on the trip, I felt the pressure to level up my skills this season. I cold-texted Eric asking if I could join one of his winter ascents half-expecting not to get a response. Imagine my surprise when he told me he had the weekend of February 8 open.
I’m nervous for tomorrow, but I’m even more curious to see Eric in action. The past three weeks, I frantically seized every opportunity to sharpen my skills, improve my fitness, and mentally toughen. Consequently, I now have a bunch of adventures to write up before even getting to the big one tomorrow.
To learn more about Eric Gilbertson, you can check out his website countryhighpoints.com. To support his surveying work, you can visit his buymeacoffee page.