Over the years, climbing Colorado’s collection of 14,000-foot peaks has become more of a sprint than a hike, with .
But when Boulder’s Cleveland “Cleve” McCarty set out in 1960 to hike the then-52 acknowledged 14ers in 52 days, he was setting a speed record for a feat that nobody had even thought to try before.
“He always liked doing something that nobody had done before,” said McCarty’s oldest son, Eric. “He was innovative in some of his ideas. He always wanted to do something just a little bit extra, just a little bit different.”
Cleve McCarty died earlier this month at the age of 85, leaving behind a legacy of outdoor pioneering.
McCarty was born in Denver and went to the University of Colorado before being stationed in Germany for four years, and then going to dental school in Missouri. After moving back to Colorado, he bought a house and started a dental practice in Boulder in 1966.
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