"Webb Reaches Peak -- Record Climb"
Reprinted by permission from the Mt. Shasta Herald

Dated August 12, 1998, excerpt from the Mt. Shasta Herald

Robert Webb resides in another realm -- where the spirit is willing, and the flesh, as if iron, will not be denied; where month -long visits to a meditation center in New Delhi are followed by multiple climbs to the top of Mt. Shasta. "He's super-human," said Ray Pettengel, who was one of several area residents who assisted   Webb during his record breaking six climbs to the summit of Mt. Shasta in less than 24 hours Monday and Tuesday of last week. "Roberts in a league of his own."

Webb, a caretaker at the Sierra Club's Horse Camp property on the mountain, had set a record of five climbs in 24 hours last summer. "I Knew I hadn't reached my full potential on last year's climb and wanted to achieve what I knew I was capable of," Webb said. He added that this year his record was verified by a support team of friends and fellow climbers and will be submitted for consideration to the Guiness Book of World Records.

To put Webb's feat in perspective, most handbooks on climbing Mt. Shasta recommend first-timers spend at least eight hours to reach the summit and another four hours in descending. Webb averaged four hours on each of his 6,262 - foot climbs (from horse camp), several of which were negotiated at night....Preparations for last week's record climb began two weeks ago when Webb and his friends prepared camps on the mountain. They also stashed six pairs of skis at the summit. Webb said just carrying up the skis was good training, and he also prepared by spending time sleeping near the summit...

In all, Webb climbed a total of 37,572 feet in 21 hours and 22 minutes. This is believed to be the most feet ever climbed on a mountain in a 24 hour period...."It is a huge mountain that creates its own weather, " he said. " It can be very ferocious -- almost cruel -- but once you get up on it and get to feel its presence, it can also be very forgiving...Mt. Shasta feels very friendly to me now, very safe.  I never tire of just gazing at it from Horse Camp. It is as fresh to me now as it was 20 years ago."

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