Adventurous couple Larry Welsman and Ben Berg have been together for 25 years. In that time, they had seen no shortage of outdoor activities. Having traveled far and wide, they love to travel, bike, and hike together.
They decided their relationship needed a celebration that suits their love for outdoor activities, and 65 mountains in one year seemed to do the trick. Climbing mountains was something they’d done together for years, and it seemed only right.
“I felt proud that perhaps it might open up eyes to the wider community to say that gay people aren’t just what you might think they are,” Berg says. “I think all the things that make this accomplishment unique is not just that I’m over 65 or that we went up eight Mt. Everests in a year; I think it’s also that we did it as a couple.”
Starting January, the couple set a goal to climb several mountains per week, surpassing the halfway point in August. They reached 65 mountains in September. Berg said that they felt great relief when they reached the 65th peak. They celebrated by putting a 66th peak beneath their shoes in New York.
“Doing anything with a purpose just adds to the experience.” says Berg, according to LGBTQ Nation, on climbing mountains. “It does get better. You can make a life for yourself. You can pursue your passions, whatever they are.”
The couple celebrated every peak by waving Pride flags on the summits, bringing much-needed attention to the queer community in hiking.
“The mountains didn’t come to us,” Berg says. “We had to go to the mountains.”
He wants this to be a lesson to LGBTQ youth to what they can aspire to even in their older years, aiming to inspire and fill people with hope, as many LGBTQ youth don’t expect to reach their old age.
Image courtesy of Ben Berg and Larry Welsman
