Cliff Casey

Climbing the Mountain of Success

There’s no height that Cliff Casey, manager of the Advising and Counseling Center, won’t climb for students or even for himself.

Some years ago my brother-in-law taught me how to rock climb and I’ve been hooked on it ever since. Every year I try to climb a different mountain. To me, it’s all about the thrill and sense of accomplishment. Rock climbing is physically demanding, and takes a toll on you as you’re continually scaling boulders.

One of my most challenging climbs was scaling Miller Peak in the Huachuca Mountains, located in southeastern Arizona. The peak stands nearly 10,000 feet high. As I kept climbing, the thin air made it more and more difficult to breathe. I was really huffing and puffing and couldn’t suck up enough air. When I got near the top, I ate my lunch on a ledge with my feet dangling down. I could see for miles and the view was spectacular – reminiscent of The Sound of Music. While I am not afraid of heights, I did get nervous when I saw a bunch of eagles flying right near me. They were so big, they looked like they could pluck me off the mountain.

It took me all day, but eventually, I made it all the way to the top. I started my climb at 6 a.m. and returned to the ground 12 hours later. Even though my legs felt like jelly, I had this feeling like, ‘Wow, I just did something pretty cool.’

These days I find myself climbing smaller mountains and doing more hiking. Nonetheless there’s still something to be said for setting a goal and then achieving it.

Cliff Casey
Manager of the Advising and Counseling Center