This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Creighton Rider has been drawn to the mountains for as long as he can remember.
In his youth it was all about hitting the crags, ambitious multi-pitch rock climbs in Big and Little Cottonwood canyons.
Now at 53, the high points are of a different sort, but no less lofty.
Rider has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's, a neuromuscular disease that causes nerve cells to waste away and muscles to twitch, weaken and die. Eventually patients lose mobility and have trouble swallowing and breathing; most die within three to five years of diagnosis.
There is no cure, only one drug, Rilutek, that can prolong some patients' lives by months. But Rider's disease has progressed slowly and the drug, priced at $1,000 a month, comes with side effects and seemed superfluous.
"My doctor told me, 'Save that money and spend it on something memorable, go and make some memories,' " recalled Rider.
Since his 2008 diagnosis the Sugar House man has been ticking off items on a "high adventure bucket list."
Life continues apace. He still runs a family-owned resort in Mexico, the Inn at Mazatlan, and has seen his children off to college and Mormon missions.
But in between, he and his wife of 28 years, Lisa, traveled to Switzerland and hiked to the base of the Matterhorn, where they were engaged. They rode a mountain stage of the Tour de France and made a four-day trek to Machu Picchu. He took his three grown kids, Matt, Dana and Lindsay, to the top of Pico de Orizaba, the highest mountain in Mexico.
And last weekend Rider summited Mount Waas near Moab, joining the ranks of "high pointers" who have ascended the highest peaks in Utah's 29 counties.
It was a long-held goal, said Rider. "But after I got diagnosed there was a renewed sense of urgency."
There are actually 26 peaks, since three of them share county borders. Rider started back in 1992 with the American Twins in Salt Lake County. There was a stretch of five summits in 2004 with his kids, then a long respite before his diagnosis.
Rider's disease started in his hands; one weekend while waterskiing he found he couldn't hold onto the rope. It took nine months of testing and ruling out other possible causes. Rider hoped for something treatable like a pinched nerve.
The day he was officially diagnosed he and Lisa were in charge of throwing a Halloween party for 35 kids.
"We were just kind of numb," said Lisa. "Then it was, OK, here we go. Let's get things done."
ALS has been a lesson in accepting limits, said Rider.
Rock climbing was the first hobby to go, then golfing, tennis and biking.
"That's kind of the new challenge, figuring out how to adapt and continue doing things I love," he said. "Hiking is still a good way to get on top of Utah and see parts of the state. And it's broadened the circle of friends that I can take with me."
Last year, he made 12 ascents, including five in central Utah in just two days.
Joining him that weekend was his childhood friend and rock climbing buddy, Blaine Layton.
"The mountains were our playground," said Layton, who grew up four houses down from Rider in Olympus Cove. "He's always had this endurance. Even with his ALS, he's the one pulling me up. He just has this drive to make life meaningful."
Rider had two peaks left to climb when the weather window closed on him last fall.
He made the push for San Juan County's Mount Peale early this spring. It was still snow-capped so Rider brought skis for the descent. His buddies helped him with his boots, and he had to bind his ski poles to his hands.
And on July 23 he topped Mount Waas with about a dozen friends.
It was a bit anticlimactic, he said. "I think it was a high point for others, but for me it felt like just another hike," he said. "I've got to find more little adventures."
Rider is contemplating tackling some of the more formidable heights in the lower 48, such as Mount Whitney.
More immediately, on Friday, he'll join more than 250 road bikers, including his doctor, University of Utah neurologist Mark Bromberg, for a 500-mile relay to Las Vegas.
Founded last year by Steven Tew, whose father died of ALS, the "Saints to Sinners" ride raises money for the search for a cure.
Rider is rider No. 6 on his relay team of 10. He'll ride a tandem bike that allows him to sit reclined while his wife steers from behind. He can pedal but doesn't have to, which means the bike will last well into his disease.
"This bike thing," he said, "could open up new avenues."
How to help
On Friday and Saturday, more than 250 road bikers will take part in the Saints to Sinners relay, a 500-mile race "from the heavenly heights of Utah to the infernal heat of Las Vegas" to raise money for a cure for ALS. For information on supporting the cause > www.saintstosinnersbike
relay.com —
Rider's high points
"My motto is live until you die," said Creighton Rider, 53, who after being diagnosed with ALS resolved to reach a long-held goal of summiting the highest peaks in Utah's 29 counties. They are, in order of ascent:
1992
American Twin Peaks, Salt Lake County, 11,489 feet
2004
Naomi Peak, Cache County, 9,979 feet
Bridger Peak, Rich County, 9,255 feet
Kings Peak, Duchesne County, 13,528 feet
Gilbert Peak, Summit County, 13,442
Mount Cardwell, Wasatch County, 10,743 feet
2008
Mount Nebo, Utah County, 11,928 feet
Deseret Peak, Tooele County, 11,031 feet
2009
Thurston Peak, Davis/Morgan County, 9,706 feet
Fishlake Hightop Mountain, Sevier County, 11,633 feet
Mount Ellen, Garfield County, 11,522 feet
Bluebell Knoll, Wayne County, 11,328 feet
2010
Bull Mountain, Box Elder County, 9,920 feet
Eccentric Peak, Daggett/ Uintah County, 12,276 feet
Willard Peak, Weber County, 9,764 feet
Delano Peak, Beaver/ Piute County, 12,173 feet
Mine Camp Peak, Millard County, 10,222 feet
South Tent Mountain, Sanpete County, 11,285 feet
East Mountain, Emery County, 10,743 feet
Monument Peak, Carbon County, 10,452 feet
Brian Head Peak, Iron County, 11,307 feet
Andy Nelson Peak, Kane County, 10,027 feet
Ibapah Peak, Juab County, 12,087 feet
Signal Peak, Washington County, 10,365 feet
2011
Mount Peale, San Juan County, 12,721 feet
Mount Waas, Grand County, 12,331 feet