Summit Up USA: Mount Mitchell, N.C.
Posted on Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
If you had to guess where the highest point east of the Mississippi River is, where would you put it? I always thought it would be somewhere in the Northeast. Maine or New Hampshire came to mind for whatever reason. It wasn’t until I was on my way to Mount Mitchell, the highest point in North Carolina, that I realized I was wrong. I was flipping though my high point book — that’s how amazingly cool I am, I have a book about high points I carry with me — and learned that Mount Mitchell is the highest point my side of the Mississippi River, with an elevation of 6,684 feet.
It really isn’t that amazing when you consider that the lowest point in Colorado is more than half this high, but since we are self-conscious of our small mountains on this side of the country, we do whatever we can to make them sound bigger.
As you will be able to tell in the video, it was a rather ugly day. Not ugly enough to keep me inside, but ugly nonetheless.
I am guessing most of you travel around a fair amount, and I am sure you noticed that every place loves to be known as the biggest, the shortest, the widest, the oldest, the whatever-est in the world. Mount Mitchell’s main tourist trap happens to be the highest restaurant east of the Mississippi. That’s right, OMG! Just like the mountain!!
Not that I can blame North Carolinians; if they can find a bunch of people, like me, simple enough to go to a mountain just because it is the highest point in that state, then the same group of people will probably get a cup of chili and a T-shirt while they are up there. The pictures I got are a little blurry for whatever reason, but they should give you a rough idea of what it looks like. Check it out while you are there. The next time you are looking for a great conversation starter with the opposite sex, dropping the line, “So, you ever been to the highest restaurant east of the Mississippi? I have,” will do wonders. Take it from me, mountain climbing and relationship expert Mark Zimmer.
Climbing mountains to raise money and awareness for Alzheimer’s research has taught me to focus on two very different areas before I leave for a climb. The first thing I have to do is make sure that I am in good enough shape to complete the climb and make sure I have the correct gear with me to be ready if something goes wrong. The second part of preparation, and really the more difficult of the two, is to make sure that my efforts are going to actually gain attention for Alzheimer’s. This is more difficult than the first because there is no guaranteed course of action that will bring success. It is a sort of “try everything, see what works” process.
Part of this preparation is before each of my climbs, I contact the Alzheimer’s Association office in that state to let them know what I am doing, and to see if they are able to help me out with media attention and other contacts that will make my climbing more effective. When I called the North Carolina office, I lucked out and was able to get in touch with a lady who had spent the last 10 years working in the outdoor industry. She told me that she was friends with the owners of Black Dome Mountain Sports in Asheville. Better yet, she told me that if I was interested, I could make a presentation there as I passed through town.
I had made enough calls to sponsors to know what I would need to say in my presentation, but I was still a little nervous. Fortunately, I was 1,000 miles from home and knew that none of my friends could show up and try to make me laugh while I talked.
I ended up having a great time at the presentation, and although we didn’t have as big of a turnout as hoped, it was still a success. I talked, the viewers drank juice, courtesy of Old Orchard, and I ended up getting a decent amount of pledges while I was there. I plan to do this a lot more going forward, so if you know of someplace where I could make a presentation while I climb, drop me a line. I appreciate the help.
Mark Zimmer is climbing to the highest point in all 50 states to raise awareness and money for Alzheimer’s research. Follow his progress here.
