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OSU employee achieves long-term fitness goal

Friday, September 25, 2015

Mike Bale, second from right, celebrates another successful climb with friends

A chance to hike one mountain eventually led an Oklahoma State University employee to climb every 14,000-foot peak in Colorado.

Mike Bale, director of OSU Risk and Property Management, just climbed his 58th 14,000-foot mountain, or “fourteener,” and completed a journey he started almost 20 years ago.

Growing up in an active family, Bale has always enjoyed the outdoors. He learned to camp and hike through his involvement with the Boy Scouts of America and eventually became an Eagle Scout. His family vacations often included hunting, fishing or backpacking. But he never planned on climbing every fourteener in Colorado.

“When I was a senior in high school, my dad was the associate Dean of the School of Business. One of his graduate students from Colorado was saying he planned to climb all of the fourteeners in Colorado someday, and I thought to myself, ‘This guy is crazy,’” Bale said.

Mike Bale celebrates another successful climb with friends

A few years later, Bale was discussing hiking with fellow OSU employees, and they invited him to sign up for their OSU extension class. The class offered the opportunity to climb Colorado fourteeners, although Bale didn’t realize just how many there were.

“What they didn’t tell me when I signed up for that first mountain expedition was that there are 53 ranked peaks above 14,000 feet in elevation in Colorado plus another 5 peaks named and recognized on USGS maps that rise above 14,000 feet, making a total of 58 mountains to climb,” Bale said.

At first, Bale had no intention of climbing all 58. But earlier this month, Bale climbed his 58th and final fourteener in Colorado, although the journey to get there wasn’t easy.

“On every mountain I question my sanity a little bit — until I reach the summit, and then I remember why I climb,” Bale said.

Climbing helped Bale with more than his physical wellbeing. The benefits also extended to his professional and mental wellness.

“I’ve had a tendency to struggle with self-confidence over the years. Inside my head, I think I can do something, but the fear of possibly failing in front of someone else takes my confidence away,” Bale said. “Backpacking expeditions are simply short versions of life. My wife and I take our church youth group on weeklong trips to Colorado and we try and stress the similarities backpacking has to life by ‘pressing on to the goal.’”

While he may have climbed every fourteener in Colorado, Bale has no intention of stopping. He’s already discussing future expeditions with his friends. Having a fitness-focused hobby has helped him maintain his physical and mental wellbeing, and he encourages others to do the same.

“Hobbies that encourage a healthy lifestyle and participation in fitness training throughout the year can be a lot of fun and provide a lifetime of adventure,” Bale said.

Story by Catherine Wilson

PHOTOS: https://www.flickr.com/gp/ostatenews/1i8B1u

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