Here's Why You Should Join the 52 Peak Club

To apply to join the 52 Peak Club: Click Here.

Journey to Become a 53er

First you might ask: What's a 53er? A 53er is a person who has climbed all 52 Peaks (around Las Vegas, NV) that are part of the 52 Peak Club. By climbing all 52 peaks you will gain over 120,000 feet in elevation and hike around 300 miles.

The below video documents Amber's journey as she climbed all 52 peaks. It's about 10 minutes in length.

4 Reasons to Join the 52 Peak Club

1. You will get into better shape.
If you hike/climb all 52 Peaks, it's impossible not to get into better shape. Why? By climbing all 52 Peaks you will have ascended over 120,000 feet, which is the equivalent of climbing 8,000 flights of stairs. Also, you will have walked/hiked over 300 miles.
Another reason you will get into better shape is rock scrambling uses all of your muscles and is not the same repetitive motion as swimming, biking, or running.

2. You will conquer your fears and increase your self confidence.
When you hike/climb all 52 Peaks, your fear of heights will be conquered. Many people have a fear of heights. This will give you self confidence that you can use in other areas of your life.

3. You will learn about the peaks and more about hiking.
The 52 Peak Club has the best leaders that can teach you about the different peaks and general hiking information. Your knowledge in any subject is directly related to who you listen to, be it a person, book, DVD etc.

4. You will meet some great people.
The 52 Peak Club attracts people who want to better themselves. These are people who set goals and achieve them. Not only will you meet them; you will get to know them. Our average hike is about five hours. You can get to know someone pretty well in five hours and that's just one of at least 52 hikes you will do.
We have females and males; ages from 18 to 75; and people from all over the world are members of the 52 Peak Club.

                                       Join now and take your hiking to the next level.

Short Instructional Hiking Videos for Hikers

Here are some helpful videos:

How to Clean your Camelbak Bladder

How to Repair your Camelbak or and Daypack

Class 1 through 4 Rock Scrambling Explained

How to Clean a Camelbak Hose

How to Tie a Swami Belt

Never Lose Your Hat

How to Tie a Double Fisherman Knot

Cam Placement for Rock Scrambling

Rappel Devices: ATC, ATS, and Piranha

Courtesy of the 52 Peak Club

Meetup Hiking Las Vegas 1000th Hike!

In less than two years Meetup/Hiking-Las-Vegas has offered over 1,000 hikes to their members. These hikes, many of which no other hiking group does, are free. That's right, there's no charge to attend any of these hikes. We currently have over 1500 members enjoying this unique hikes.

The hikes range from fairly easy to very difficult. The shortest hike last around two hours and the longer hikes are all day events. Over 90% of the hikes are in southern Nevada, mainly Red Rock Canyon, Mt. Charleston, and Lake Mead area.

This hiking club focuses on fitness and improving your hiking and climbing skills. Everyone who hikes on a regular basis gets in better shape and becomes a better climber. We even offer rappelling classes for those who want to learn.
Interested in joining Meetup/Hiking-Las-Vegas? Click here to join.

52 Peak Club

We are also the home of the 52 Peak Club, where hikers hike and climb the best 52 peaks around Las Vegas. Each time you stand at a peak with Meetup/Hiking-Las-Vegas you earn a one-of-a-kind playing card. The goal is to earn all 52 cards. When you have earned all 52 cards, you have climbed over 140,000 feet and hiked over 300 miles! How long does it take to hike all 52 peaks?  Realistically for most hikers it will take at least a year. That's one peak each week for 52 weeks.

Here's a webpage that list all of the 52 Peaks: All 52 Peaks
Here's a webpage of frequently asked questions: FAQs

Once hikers have hiked all 52 peaks they become a 53er. Currently, 22 hikers are 53ers. You can read their stories here.

Interested in joining the 52 Peak Club? Click here to join.

If you want to become a better hiker and climb peaks you never heard of, and a lot of peaks you have heard of, then join us.

Hiking, Writing and finding my way... Ken Kiser

For most of my life, I considered myself a failure. You see, I suffer from a dysfunctional, backward-wired brain. Most people find it difficult to muster the commitment to tackle long-term goals. Sure, they enter into the challenge, amped up with determination and enthusiasm, but all that soon dries up and they lose interest. It's a common problem for most people and nothing to be ashamed of. Unfortunately, that is how I always was... but with short-term goals. Give me an easy task, that should only take a few hours to complete, and days or weeks later, I'd be still trying to get it done. Needless to say, I never really accomplished much. Then, a miracle happened: I discovered that while I couldn't manage to commit to short-term challenges, I seem to excel with very long, difficult and arduous tasks. I seem to have a talent for long-term goals. Imagine that!

I have wandered the hills and mountains of Las Vegas for nearly twenty years. Over those years, my interest in hiking has come and gone. It waxed and waned like the moon, yet was never quite full. In August of 2011, I stumbled upon a thing called the 52 Peak Club. Wait just one minute... you mean this is a goal that will literally take a year, or two, to complete? Heck, this was something designed specifically for my dysfunction! Where do I sign up?

Well, six months have gone by and I'm learning to love hiking more than I ever have. I've taken on and beaten sixteen of the required peaks so far and I'm trudging steadily toward that sublime goal of fifty-two. Branch Whitney and his amazing club unleashed that long-term drive in me that has become my defining quality. Since joining the 52 peak club, I have lost weight, built confidence, and even become one of the group organizers. It is very satisfying to lead groups of new and eager hikers to some of the most beautiful and rewarding destinations in Las Vegas.

It stunned me when I first heard people talking about me being an inspiration. Me? The dysfunctional failure? Well, the truth is, that since learning to manage my strange ability to commit to the long term, I no longer consider myself the failure that I once did. I've harnessed that dysfunction and have turned to my advantage. I have seen many new goals through to fruition. I have improved my fitness, made massive gains in career, and achieved things on a personal level that I once never dreamed possible.

Easily my biggest accomplishment, was completing and publishing my novel, FIFTHWIND. This was a task that took me many years of commitment, study, practice, and effort. Where most would have given up, I pressed onward. When I found myself against the wall of writer's block, I tore it down. In an effort no different than putting one determined foot in front of the other on a hike, I typed out word after word until the day came that I had amassed 146,000 words and found myself writing the last two... “The End”

Just as I finished my dream of writing a novel, I now know that I will finish my goal of reaching 52 peaks. And along that winding trail, I will make new friends and find new reasons to succeed. For that, I give thanks every single day.
---Ken Kiser
To learn more about Ken and his novel, please visit www.thekreggorian.com

Changes in this Blog

After 512 posts in five years this blog will now focus on members of the 52 Peak Club and their accomplishments. For those readers who do not know what the 52 Peak Club is about, please go to this website: http://52peakclub.com/

If you live in Vegas, I encourage you to become part of the 52 Peak Club. In our first year we offered over 400 hikes! That's more than a hike a day.

I will occasionally blog on hiking topics other than the 52 Peak Club. Thanks for reading and I will see you at the peaks.

Branch

52 Peak Club Party - Sign Up Now!

The 52 Peak Party is on March 23rd. You can sign up now: http://www.doublethat.com/52-peak-club-party-award-banquet/

Location: Spring Valley High School 3750 S Buffalo, Las Vegas, NV

Time: 6:30 to 9:30 pm

Cost: $25, but you get to choose a $25 gift certificate from the following Las Vegas businesses: 

Red Rock Climbing Center (learn to rock climb)

Red Wing Shoes: Vasque hiking shoes - we all wear Vasques

Therapie Massage Bodyworks (get a massage)

Scorpion Warrior Obstacle Course Race (in Vegas on March 17th - how tough are you?)

Bikram Yoga (Tone your body, Energize your life)

Dinner will be served

A 40 minute slide show: Each of the 52 peaks has a slide show. 

Awards

Prizes: Over $1500 in prizes!!! Vasque shoes, REI gift certificates, Geigerring daypacks, Las Vegas Advisor Coupon books, Tully Hats, bladders, Ski passes, Nikon Camera and many more

Free raffle tickets for the prizes are based on how many cards you have by March 21st:

1 raffle ticket for hikers who have 1 - 13 cards

2 raffle tickets for hikers who have 14 - 26 cards

3 raffle tickets for hikers who have  27 - 39 cards

4 raffle tickets for hikers who have 40 - 52 cards

See you at the party,
Branch

52 Peak Club and Follow Us on Facebook

If you are a hiker living in Las Vegas, you should join the 52 Peak Club.

What is the 52 Peak Club?
The 52 Peak Club is a unique club that motivates you to improve your fitness level and become healthier by getting outdoors and hiking the best 52 Peaks around Las Vegas. Each time you stand at a peak with Hiking Las Vegas/ Meetup.com you get a one-of-a-kind playing card. These cards are not available to the public. The goal is to get all 52 cards by hiking/scrambling to all 52 peaks. Once you have climbed all 52 peaks, you will climbed over 100,000 feet and hike the equivalent from Las Vegas to Los Angles!!! Not many people can say they have done that.

How Do I Join?
First you must be a member of Meetup- Hiking Las Vegas. It's free to join. More information here.
Now, go to this page and sign up to become part of the 52 Peak Club.
Start signing up to go on hikes and earn cards.

52 Peak Club Party

I am having a party for all members of the 52 Peak Club in March. All 52ers who attend will have a chance to win some great prizes (they must have earned at least one card before the party).
Prizes include:

• Two $35 REI gift certificates
• Two Geigerrig daypacks ($100 each)
• Seven Las Vegas Adviser Coupon books (over $1000 in coupons)
• A Nikon camera ($150)
• Men's Baselayer Midweight pants by Columbia ($55)
• Tilly TTMC Airflo Cap ($65)

More prizes are being added weekly.

Join Our Facebook Group

It's free, quick to join, and you can add your comments, videos and photos. I and others update this page almost daily. It's the best way to keep up on what's happening in the hiking world.
Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_68936636102

52 Peak Club - Climb Peaks, Get Rewards!

This is an idea I had been thinking of for years. Now that I have my own Meetup group I put it into action. So, what is the 52 Peak Club? The 52 Peak Club is a unique club that motivates you to improve your fitness level and become healthier by getting outdoors and hiking the best 52 Peaks around Las Vegas. Each time you stand at a peak with Hiking Las Vegas/ Meetup.com you get a one-of-a-kind playing card. These cards are not available to the public. The goal is to get all 52 cards by hiking/scrambling to all 52 peaks. This goal will take many months to complete or longer.


To read more and become part of the 52 Peak Club, click here.