KILIMANJARO CHALLENGE – RUDD GATES PROFILE
August 31st marked the end of the second challenge in Alpina 4 Summits World Challenge. It was an incredibly exciting finish that sawRudd Gates of Denver, Colorado take home the #2 spot after recording 44,196m of elevation gain during the Kilimanjaro Challenge.
We wanted to learn what drove Rudd to such great lengths and here is what he had to say:
"Earlier this Spring, I just happened to decide it was time to get outside and start getting some exercise. I love hiking, and I turned to the AllTrails app to discover and keep track of trails that were close enough to home to visit around the edges of a typical work day. I was completely oblivious to the Matterhorn Challenge until almost the end of June, when I read one of the weekend newsletters and unexpectedly (and happily) discovered that I was within reach of the leaderboard! I put in a few vertically-minded walks during that final week and managed to finish in 8th place—and I was totally hooked! I had an absolute ball competing in the Kilimanjaro Challenge through the summer—so much fun to see what others were achieving in other parts of the country and world, while I pushed myself to try longer and steeper hikes as often as I could.
Without a doubt, the biggest challenge of all was finding the time to participate—but I managed to get each of my three teenage kids out for some good walks, and I’ve done my best to wear out my dog every week (but she still goes nuts every time I put on my boots). I think my success was mostly a matter of good luck with the timing and an amazing Front Range to explore here in Colorado. I have to give a big shout out to Alan (who must’ve singlehandedly worn a couple feet off that poor hill in Missouri by now) and Sylvia, Lynda and Xiaoli for keeping me motivated. You guys are awesome hikers!”
As 2nd Place finisher Rudd received an indispensable tool for his next adventure, the Alpiner 4 GMT from Alpina Watches:
See all the results here: http://alltrails.com/challenge/kilimanjaro
Participate in our next challenge here: http://alltrails.com/challenge
"Earlier this Spring, I just happened to decide it was time to get outside and start getting some exercise. I love hiking, and I turned to the AllTrails app to discover and keep track of trails that were close enough to home to visit around the edges of a typical work day. I was completely oblivious to the Matterhorn Challenge until almost the end of June, when I read one of the weekend newsletters and unexpectedly (and happily) discovered that I was within reach of the leaderboard! I put in a few vertically-minded walks during that final week and managed to finish in 8th place—and I was totally hooked! I had an absolute ball competing in the Kilimanjaro Challenge through the summer—so much fun to see what others were achieving in other parts of the country and world, while I pushed myself to try longer and steeper hikes as often as I could.
Without a doubt, the biggest challenge of all was finding the time to participate—but I managed to get each of my three teenage kids out for some good walks, and I’ve done my best to wear out my dog every week (but she still goes nuts every time I put on my boots). I think my success was mostly a matter of good luck with the timing and an amazing Front Range to explore here in Colorado. I have to give a big shout out to Alan (who must’ve singlehandedly worn a couple feet off that poor hill in Missouri by now) and Sylvia, Lynda and Xiaoli for keeping me motivated. You guys are awesome hikers!”
As 2nd Place finisher Rudd received an indispensable tool for his next adventure, the Alpiner 4 GMT from Alpina Watches:
See all the results here: http://alltrails.com/challenge/kilimanjaro
Participate in our next challenge here: http://alltrails.com/challenge