Of Mice and Mountaineers · Geo

The Penultimate Prick

August 26, 2025·36 min·2 clips
Solo host Geo recounts his August 19, 2023 ascent of Crestone Needle — his 57th of 58 Colorado 14ers — with climbing partner Mary. Weaving an extended needle/injection metaphor throughout (Geo has been type 1 diabetic since childhood and has been hospitalized after multiple prior 14er incidents), the episode details the grueling East Gully route, the class 4 scrambling that tested Geo's limits, the terrifying loose rock on descent, and his deep and enduring loathing of the mountain. The episode closes with a two-years-later reflection exploring the psychology of why Crestone Needle — one of the most beloved 14ers — remains uniquely unpopular with Geo, linking it to contrarianism, retrospective emotion softening, and the social pressure of popular opinion.

As heard by us

A funny, breathless climb story about being almost at the end.

Geo's second-to-last Colorado 14er report gets by on the joke as much as the climb itself. It stays close to the body: breathless pauses, chunky holds, awkward gully work, and a long run of chalkstones that wear down both patience and lungs.

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Why you'd press play

You're one peak from the finish, and your legs know it.

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