Six alumni reunite for the first time in 25 years by tackling a strenuous trail in the Rocky Mountains—creating new memories and discovering much about themselves in the process.

Turning around wasn’t an option.

They had already hiked for three days on Colorado’s famous Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Four Pass Loop, completing more than half of the 26-mile circuit that winds through rocky terrain above 12,000 feet. The challenging hike took them past stunning alpine lakes and snow-covered mountain peaks. But the trail ahead was covered by snow and detoured across a large, steep scree field of jagged rocks.

Friends since graduating from F&M in 1997, the six hikers began to tackle the most difficult part of their journey—but not without some apprehension.

“The hiking trip was just the backdrop. Being together and having a shared experience with friends who mean the world to me is what it was all about.”

Adam Nelson

“That was the scariest moment for me. I needed someone to coach me about where to step and grab as I peered down the several thousand-foot-drop off the mountain,” says Justin Mazur. “Geoff [Grummon-Beale] coached me and Pinakin [Amin] held some of my equipment as I carefully balanced my 40-pound pack while slowly making my way over to the other side on my hands and knees. It’s true that these moments help you to bond with people, and even more so with friends you made in college.”

Greg Kober, Adam Nelson and Mike Sobol were also on the four-day trip, which was conceived and organized by Nelson. The friends bonded in the 1990s as rowing teammates at F&M and had stayed in touch through the years, but the trip to the Rocky Mountains in 2023 was the first time they had gotten together as a group since graduation. They laughed, joked and learned with each other just like it was 1997 again.

“All those years that had passed evaporated when we got together,” Mazur says. “We were simultaneously back in our senior year house on West Chestnut reminiscing, and also in the present discussing our current lives. Only extended time together removed from our daily realities and responsibilities allowed this kind of kinship to occur.”

Many months of preparation—particularly by Nelson, an experienced backpacker—made the reunion possible.

“The hiking trip was just the backdrop,” Nelson said. “Being together and having a shared experience with friends who mean the world to me is what it was all about.”

Class of 1997 alumni Geoff Grummon-Beale, Justin Mazur, Adam Nelson, Pinakin Amin, Mike Sobol and Greg Kober were teammates on the F&M crew team.

Hatching the Plan

The lower level of F&M’s Mayser Center is currently home to the Diplomat squash courts, but it is remembered by many alumni as the “The Pit,” a multipurpose gymnasium with a synthetic floor. It housed a fleet of rowing machines, which allowed the students to practice their technique and build strength— sometimes to the point of feeling sick—while also creating special bonds.

“We spent nearly every waking hour with each other, both as roommates for multiple years and as teammates on the crew team,” Amin says. “The experiences we shared created some strong, lasting bonds. Being with them again was like stepping into a time wrinkle. I’m grateful to have had this opportunity to be with the guys once again and create more lasting memories. Spending time in the backcountry made it even more enjoyable.”

Nelson calls rowing “the most fun we never want to have again.” But it sent him on a path of testing himself physically, one that has taken him on more than 10,000 miles of hiking trails around the world in 25 years. In 2004, he climbed to Base Camp of Mount Everest because it was “the most badass thing I could think of.”

Of course, his travels have produced countless adventures. He had a memorable run-in with a member of the Nepalese army after his group’s curfew on Everest. And there was the time he found himself struggling to escape the grip of an icy river in Montana’s remote Glacier National Park. “I seem to have a hard time crossing bodies of water,” Nelson says with a laugh. “I flipped face-first into a raging river in Montana before a friend pulled me out.”

In recent years, Nelson wondered where his next adventures would lead. He began to ask himself: What about a college reunion trip? The friends couldn’t make it back to campus for their official 25th class reunion, so why not have it somewhere else? Somewhere outdoors. Adventurous. A place where the guys could hike.

Somewhere like the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Four Pass Loop.

Mosquitoes, Beautiful Vistas, Friendship

The group of six included several experienced outdoorsmen, and a few with no hiking background whatsoever. Nelson knew preparation was the key to ensuring a safe trip.

“I sat down and came up with a list of gear we needed, then sent the guys a spreadsheet with examples of each product,” Nelson said. “We planned for everything: food, nutrition, safety. We knew what we had to buy, and what we could rent at a company outside Denver.”

Mazur, who along with Kober had very little hiking experience, discovered that planning for the trip turned out to be as much fun as the hike itself.

“We would have regular Google Hangout sessions beginning months in advance, with the more experienced outdoorsmen explaining what we novices needed to know leading up to the adventure,” Mazur says. “I had not been camping since I was a little kid and was actually more worried about sleeping in the elements than the athletic rigors of hiking four peaks for the first time.”

The planning sessions became a fun excuse to catch up with each other, the first of many moments that helped the group rekindle bonds created decades earlier. “The trip allowed us to spend a lot of time talking about what is going on in our lives, and how we have changed or not changed since college,” Grummon-Beale said.

Sobol lived in Colorado for 15 years before moving to Maine eight years ago. “It probably took longer to re-acclimate to the altitude than it did for us to fit right back together as a group,” he said. “It was a surreal feeling, merging my F&M and Colorado lives together, almost as if no time had passed.”

The altitude posed one of the biggest risks to the hikers, Nelson said. “Hiking above 12,000 feet can cause headaches, dizziness, and problems breathing. So we arrived two days before the hike to acclimatize.”

“Being continually connected to five guys who knew me when I was figuring out who I was intellectually, emotionally and what my personal purpose might be in this world, is both rare and truly special.”

Greg Kober

The group met challenges together. That included keeping each other motivated during arduous moments, battling mosquitoes, helping others carry equipment when fatigue set in, and crossing a river on an extremely narrow bridge (Nelson, true to form, ended up in the water.) 

As they arrived back at the trailhead on the fourth day, all Nelson wanted was a burger, a Diet Coke, and a shower. But in time, each person found time to reflect on one of the most meaningful experiences of their lives.

“Being continually connected to five guys who knew me when I was figuring out who I was intellectually, emotionally and what my personal purpose might be in this world, is both rare and truly special,” Kober said.

Sobol noticed similarities between the group’s experiences of 25 years ago and the hiking adventure.

“In the same way that college life is defined by a striving for self-actualization while learning how to meet your basic needs, the backcountry juxtaposes breathtaking vistas against standing in the rain on aching knees, while eating a rehydrated meal from a bag,” he said. “These contrasts somehow elevate and enrich the entire experience. To share in and even enable each other to have those challenging and awe-inspiring moments is special.”

View a documentary created by Adam Nelson '97 about the trip he conceived and organized.

28 Miles, 25 Years in the Making (Video by Andrew Bilindabagabo)