Colorado Springs man completes 1,401 trips up Manitou Springs Incline in one year
A Colorado Springs man completed 1,401 tripS up the Manitou Incline in a single year on Wednesday, beating the previous record holder ahead of schedule.
Roger Austin completed his record-breaking trip accompanied by friends, including the former record holder Greg Cummings.
“People tell you that’s crazy and I’m like yeah, it is,” said Austin.
Austin turned 50 years old this year and wanted to do something memorable. He was planning on hiking through the Grand Canyon and figured the incline would be a great place to train. After realizing he’d make a lot of trips up the Incline to get ready, he decided to try for the record.
“(I’ll) remember it (breaking the record) forever. Which I am sure I will because my legs are letting me know every day what I am doing is a little crazy,” said Austin.
The incline gains over 2,000 feet of elevation in less than 1 mile. Austin has completed 22 “incline-a-thons” where he completes 13 trips up the incline in a row.
“You never really realize what you’re capable of doing. You can push your body to limits you never thought you could do,” said Austin.
Austin describes trips up the incline as both a social activity and a spiritual activity. He said he stops and chats with people on the way up. He said having time to think and relax one’s mind on the ascent is spiritual.
“You can think about call kinds of stuff and solve all your problems in a few trips,” said Austin.
His climbing partner Cummings said seeing his record broken is a little bittersweet. He completed 1,400 trips up the Incline to raise awareness for diabetes; Cummings has Type 1 diabetes.
“No one likes to see their record go away but you get to hold it for a while than someone else gets to hold it for a while,” said Cummings.
Austin’s friends cheered him on as he reached the top of the Incline Wednesday. Cummings gave him a crown and a pat on the back. Austin said someone will eventually break his record, he’s just happy for a short time, it’s his.
“This number will be beaten and that’s fine. It’s more about the process and the journey,” said Austin.
