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PROVO — A Utah man just completed his climb of the highest points of all 50 states, taking his young children on some and his wife along for many.
On Feb. 14, Anthony “Andy” Howell completed his goal of climbing all 50 highest points in the United States when he summited Mauna Kea in Hawaii. As of 2013, 241 other people had done the same, according to numbers gathered by Highpointers.org.
Howell started mountaineering about three years ago with the Utah Climbing Club. He was drawn to highpointing as a way to set goals with the sport.
“I’ve kinda always been drawn to lists and checking things off,” Howell said. “So highpoints was right up my alley. It was a definite list, something I felt capable of doing even with my little family and my job. It seemed like a fun way to experience the United States again and climb some high mountains.”
The first intentional highpoint he summited was Gannett Peak in Wyoming. He had previously climbed Clingmans Dome in Tennessee.
“The ones out West are their own adventure,” Howell said. “The ones out in the East I always did in conjunction with each other; so those turned more into road trips and more of an adventure to tick off as many as I could in a short period of time.”
Since then, he has climbed the highest peak in continental America — Mount Denali — and even the most meager, like Mount Driskill at 535 feet or Mount Sunflower.
“To call it a hill is to misuse the term ‘hill,’ ” Howell said. “If they didn’t have the giant gate there, you wouldn’t know you were at Kansas’ high point. There’s nothing to it, but they had a lot of fun with their summit marker.”
While the smaller hills may not seem impressive compared to the peaks west of the Mississippi, Howell has been able to involve his family in the experience. His daughters, ages 5 and 2, have joined him and his wife in many of these climbs.
“They know papa climbs mountains,” Howell said. “If I’m doing something they’re capable of doing, I would rather them be there than not.”
Howell said he and his wife — who has joined him for many of his climbs — feel strongly about teaching their children about the outdoors. They have both climbed to the top of Angel’s Landing and “been in the mountains since before they could walk,” he said.
“My kids are definitely being brought up to appreciate the outdoors,” Howell said.
Just as Howell is teaching his kids to enjoy nature and do physically difficult things, he enjoys mountaineering because of the beauty and challenge.
“I think when you start, you’re excited about doing something hard and seeing something pretty — seeing something beautiful,” Howell said. “And then as you get to the top, it becomes quite a bit more about having done something hard. You can enjoy a lot of pretty things without going to the top. There is something very rewarding about standing at the top, knowing that you’re the tallest thing around. The views on top are something uncomparable, typically you’ll have 360 degree views.”
He is also motivated by the love of climbing something new.
“I’m always drawn by something new. I think that’s one of the fun things about the highpoint challenges. Even though some of them aren’t difficult at all, it’s still fun to go places you’ve never been.”
