Another Year, Another 50+ Summits in the Alps

Back in 2020, Scott and I made the goal to knock out 50 different peaks in a year. Tackling that goal allowed us to stay active, push ourselves physically, and explore countless corners of the Alps. Since 2020, I, Christine, have kept up the tradition and finished 50+ different summits again in 2021, 2022, and now 2023. Scott has joined me for many of the summits, but for him, the number is less of a priority so I’ve also gone solo for quite a few. 

While it certainly was an accomplishment in 2020 and 2021, living in a mountain town and having scaled back working hours due to the pandemic made things easier. This year, I really began to feel the burn while shooting multiple weddings a week and intense working hours involving almost constant travel. Needless to say, there wasn’t a lot of sleep. Somehow, despite it all, I still managed to check off summit #50 earlier than the previous three years. 

One of the biggest things that transformed my mountain goals this year was building a habit of working out daily. If I wasn’t hiking, I was lifting at home nearly every day, following along with Sydney Cummings Youtube videos. In the past, when I tackled a 30km/2,000 meter elevation gain day I would suffer through it. Now, I can do that (and more) while still feeling great. I was even able to spontaneously run a 17km/800-meter vert. trail race, and finish in a decent time despite not going on any previous runs. Honestly, I’m super proud of myself for that one. I’m stoked to continue dipping my toes into the trail running world so maybe one day I can keep up with Scott.

All in all, 2023 was a fun year in the mountains that involved some exciting scrambles, traverses, and our first taste of glacier mountaineering. As of late October, I’ve knocked out 1131 km (702 miles) on the trail, and 59,827 meters of elevation gain (196,282 feet).

Here are a few of my favorite memories, in photo form. A few non-summit adventures also mixed in 🙂