The summer before Jeff Freedman of Wilmette turned 50, he was working through a debilitating Achilles tendon rupture, feeling the loss of several longtime family friends, and worried he was peaking professionally.
“You go to funerals, and you walk out saying ‘that puts it all in perspective.’ But then you leave and you don’t change a damn thing,” he says. “I wanted to feel like I was living.”
Freedman decided to mark his milestone birthday with a major accomplishment, and he didn’t intend to do it alone. In November of 2011, Freedman gathered a group of twelve friends and gave them a compelling PowerPoint presentation, proposing they climb Long’s Peak in Colorado that following August.
People die climbing Long’s Peak every year. It’s one of Colorado’s famous 14-ers, but it’s not just the altitude that makes it dangerous. The climb requires navigating an enormous boulder field, then scaling sheer vertical rock faces, narrow ledges and steep cliffs to get to the summit. The climb is so long, you have to start hours before sunrise.
“I knew it had to be physically challenging to mean something,” says Freedman. “I didn’t want it to be all about drinking beer; I’m over that. I wanted to get physical and motivate a bunch of people to do the same.”
Over the next nine months, Freedman sent out motivational playlists to the guys; checked in regularly to make sure they were working out. He revamped his diet, logged countless miles on the Stairmaster and swam for endurance. By August, he’d celebrated his 50th, lost 12 pounds, rehabbed his Achilles, and felt better than he had in years. And his Long’s Peak group had grown to an impressive 16 men.
The day of the climb, the men set out at 2 a.m. with three guides. After a grueling eight-hour climb, the entire group reached their joint goal—the Keyhole, a dramatic rock formation at a dizzying 12,500 feet. The celebration there was sweet but short. Those who were going on to the summit had to keep moving.
Eight men continued on to the summit, led by Freedman. The final phase was dangerous and physically taxing, but the guys agree that the biggest challenge was mental. When he reached the summit, Freedman broke down crying.
“It was like no other feeling I’ve ever had—completely and totally overpowering,” he recalls. “It was the combination of the personal achievement and the fact that everyone was forever linked—that we had this bond that would never be taken away.”
The celebrations at the summit and at the communal dinner later that night are indelible memories for these men. But now, months later, the guys feel the experience has had an even deeper impact.
Scott Radtke, 43, of Wilmette says, “The climb validated my decision a few years ago to stop making my career the center of my life. Basing your life on a financial scorecard is shallow and fragile, while building a foundation of family and friends is rock solid.”
Mike Flynn, 45, also of Wilmette, says, “Thanks to the inspiration of my friends, I had the luxury of being able to proactively choose to accept and overcome what was a meaningful personal life challenge for me. I am a very lucky man.”
And as far as turning 50, for Freedman, Long’s Peak shed a new light on that too.
“Doing a physical thing to commemorate 50 validates that you’re still fresh and vibrant. I proved that I was physically up for the challenge. This totally makes me more excited and optimistic for the future.” He pauses. “God, now I’m jonesing to do something like this again,” he says with a grin. “Kilimanjaro is totally doable.”
