Adventurer and third-generation Colorado native George Smith was full-on #NoBarriers well before the phrase existed. Born in Denver in 1928, George experienced a traumatic childhood injury that left his right arm and right hand severely injured. Rather than let himself be sidelined, George worked to overcome his challenges.
A profound character, “Not if, but how” was George’s lifelong mantra. He learned to play baseball (catching and throwing with the same arm!), became an Eagle Scout, discovered climbing, fell in love with nature, raised four sons with his wife, and lovingly imparted his passion onto all of them. By the late 1960s, he and his family, known then as “The Climbing Smiths,” had actually topped all 68 of the 14,000-foot peaks in the lower 48 — not once but TWICE — forging bonds and values that lasted a lifetime, and setting records in the process.
George also operated a summer mountaineering school for teenagers in the 1970s, and right up until his death he taught square dancing and round dancing at a local dancehall he built in Aurora called The Outpost.
While climbing is so often a story of individual goals and accomplishments, Geoge’s relationship to the sport was one of togetherness, inclusion, and creativity. George died in October of 2020, but fortunately, his legacy and lessons live on through a book he and his sons authored about his 92 years of life.
“The Bark of the Cony” is available through our friends at Colorado Mountain Club (members save 15%), as well as the Tattered Cover Book Store, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. Get your copy today. All proceeds go to charity.
CMC: https://cmcpress.org/…/the-bark-of-the-cony-not-if-but-how
Tattered Cover: https://www.tatteredcover.com/book/9781735820323
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Bark…/dp/173582030X/ref=sr_1_1…
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/…/the-bark…/1137987422…
A special thanks to Cody Smith — one of George’s sons — for bringing this beautiful book about his dad to my attention. These are the stories that matter.
