• Melissa Kelley on the summit of Pyramid Peak, about 27 and a half hours and 27 miles into the traverse. Her friend Eric – and a goat – were the only ones on the summit with her. (Melissa Kelley – Courtesy photo) • Capitol Peak’s infamous Knife’s Edge. (Melissa Kelley – Courtesy photo)

Melissa Kelley was primarily a rock climber in 2016, when her friend Inge Perkins invited her to hike Capitol Peak (14,138 feet). “Sure, why not?” thought Kelley, though she felt uneasy. Perkins was an elite mountain athlete, so it had to be more than “just a hike.” But Kelley had no idea. “I literally did not know what a fourteener was,” she told me laughing — referring to Colorado’s mountains at least 14,000 feet tall.

Predictably, Kelley fell behind. Then, on snow, scree and jumbled rocks, she ground

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