Reminds me of the day learning something new about Cannon Mountain (NH)...
After a 3-4 hour strenuous hike, hiking boots on, 45 pound pack, sweating like a banshee... finally nearing the summit, to bump into a 350 pounder in sandals, eating a hamburger, coke in hand.
What did I learn? Cannon’s ski lift is operational in the Summer.
I took a hike up the back side of Squaw Valley last year and back down. A real nose-scraper. Lots of rocks, lots of vertical. It was a pretty demanding hike.
Now, I’m a big guy. I didn’t have a hamburger in my hand, but I meet your description in other ways.
All the way down, almost every single person we passed on the way up took a look at me and said, out loud, “Well if that guy can do it, I can’t quit now!”
I was providing a real service to humanity! Motivation!
Just think, if you’d have climed Mt. Washington you’d have found some cars near the summit, and a choo-choo at the top.
Here’s the thing that I’ve always been saying as a mountain biker- you have to earn your downhill!
If you get the free ride to the top do you not get the benefit from earning your way to the top and therefore our short changing not only your body but your soul of the true enjoyment of the downhill
for example in Mammoth Mountain in the Eastern Sierra’s I start at the bottom spend all day getting to the top and then spend about two hours riding down the mountain many people take the chairlift up and ride down several times but I’m going to laugh at them because they have to pay $80 and wait in line and to me are just giant pussies