I have stopped SMOKING!

“After Cirque Peak's struggles with the altitude. I have decided to stop smoking to make the speed ascents of higher peaks easier. This is day 3 of being a non-smoker....
Pepperdog and Olive Oyl, yes I did pull your legs a little at Sabrina! LOL
My lungs and sinus are feeling funny....
I need to climb something so I am off to the nearest mountain I can find. Hopefully to blow out my lungs a little and use some of this extra energy...
I will post a smokers withdraw trip report later. I am curious how my body will feel during the trip up to higher elevations.
Have a great day!”

“damn, andbody want to quit w/me?

Good luck WLD, it's a beeeeyatch.”

“ahh, wish someone would live in SC that could quit with me. I was thinking about this this week while I spend $20 for a carton of cigs”

“Something I wish I could do. The piddle smoking is a joke. I'll give up after this next one.




well, maybe after this one!










well, maybe after this one.....







well, maybe after this one......”

“Excellent, WLD! You'll never regret quitting. It's been 5 years for me as of Dec 10th.

Congrats!”

“I'm on day six! Last cig was Saturday night. I'm alittle manic but hanging in there. Keeping the distance from loved ones when a "jones" hits.
Good luck to all.
Hang in there WLD.”

“Congratulations. Keep working at it. You will notice improvement within three months. It might be he11 for awhile, but keep thinking about the mountains you want to climb and how much having lungs filled with black gooey tar is holding you back.”

“Hint for you guys who have just quit....it isn't easy, and you really have to want to do it, but if you are serious, throw away everything you own that is smoking related...ashtrays, lighters, etc.

If you feel the urge to smoke drink a huge glass of water, and remember, smoking cigarettes keeps your metabolism at a high level. Now that you have quit, you are going to have to try extra hard to keep the pounds off. The best of luck to you all...think about the benefits...4 years on January 19, 2003.”

“Shoot, quiting smoking is easy. I have done it hundreds of times.








Actaully, I did quit when my kids were born, sort of. now I only smoke if I am in a bar or drinking with a bunch of friends who smoke. On those occassions I buy a pack, then when I leave i either give the pack away or throw it away.”

“Good job, WLD! I've been a quitter for 8 years now. No comparison in how much better I feel. Good luck to you!”

“It's the hardest thing I ever did by far. I come from the East end (working class) of Montreal and both my parents were smokers (and both died of emphysema). I started smoking at age 9 and quit when I was saving up my money to return to school at 24. I started again at 29 and quit two years later, never to smoke again - I hope. It's been twenty-one smoke free years and in my dreams I still smoke. It can be done and you can do it, but it's hard.

God bless you and good luck.”

“way to go, one day at a time. Each day is a little easier to stay away, but it is always easy to slip up.”

“Awesome WLD. Good luck with that and in no time you'll be feeling the benefits.

And think about it, the money you'll save you can buy new gear with. If that isn't incentive, I don't know what is.”

“I quit six months ago after smoking for twentyfive years. Just hang in there and I promise it will get easier. I still miss them but it goes away alot faster now. Just keep thinking how heavy your pack will be with an oxygen bottle in it.”

“Good luck, both WLD and Limpy. We know that it is far from easy. Just keep reminding yourself why you want to quit.

Smoking gives you health problems, lowers your lung capacity and makes your skin older than it should be. Better to finish quitting now than to start the quitting process all over again in the future.”

“Not easy, but well worth the effort. When the craving returns, remember this one thing: it will not be Geobeet you will hurt by doing that silly thing.

I have been off 16 years now, and the craving has not returned in more than 10 years.

When I hear what a carton of cigarettes costs these days I usually start giggling.”

“get through the next two weeks, and it starts to get easier.

Oh yeah, and living in CA will help (no smoky bars), but as everyone else said, it's tough.

2 3/4 years for me...”

“I quite on February 15th 2000 after smoking for 35+ years. To remain smoke free, my wife and I climbed all 48 4,000 footers in NH. We finished October 19th of this years. Although it wasn't easy, it was well worth the struggle.”

“Q: But, you don't smoke... ;-)

To all those who have quit - Congrats! Someday, I will join you. I swear!”

“I quit 16 years ago. Like everyone else has said it wasn't easy. One of the motivators was that I put the money I would have spent on a pack of cigarettes in a coffee can, each day.

Was able to buy myself some nice gear!”

“Hang in there! It has been 7 or 8 years for me. I quit several times before I really quit (once for 2 yrs!. I can't imagine ever smoking again. Tomorrow morning I am running a half marathon--couldn't be doing that with the Marlboro 100 breath I used to have.”

“I have memo paper in the back of my address book where I've been writing my thoughts on why and how. One of the motivators is I never want to be seen in an amusement park using a scooter with O2 bottle and a pack of smokes in my little basket. Why an amusement park? Oh, I don't know.
Anyone wish to quarrel?”

“Gemini that's cheap! A carton here is $35-40.”

“Way Ta Go Guys!!

It Will be crazy for a couple of weeks, but it WILL ease up. I've been off of them for just over two years.

What 'little helpers' are you using? I went with the Zyban and the full strength nicotine gum. Funny thing, tho'... I quit the Zyban after 9 or 10 days ('manic' indeed!) and then I didn't hardly require the gum anymore (I think those guys are in cahoots).

I tore through a ton of sugar free gum, too, <G>


GOOD LUCK & Give 'Em Hell!

(you'll be so glad you did...)”

“i think it gets worth after a while. the first month or so wasn't so bad back then when I've tried to quit. But then you are so sure you wont need it anymore so one cigarette would not hurt right?? Do never ever start this one cigarette. It will mess everything up!!!! really!!

Good Luck and congrats”

“Thanks gemini. Been there, done that many, many (to many) times!”

“I've nearly reached six years of not smoking. I feel great, smell great and save lots of money.

When I dropped my daughter off at school this morning, there was a little girl next to her locker that reaked of smoke. It made me sad.

LeSubtil! ""Excellent, WLD! You'll never regret quitting. It's been 5 years for me as of Dec 10th.

Congrats!"
le Subtil" That's my birthday! Oh, and Wyatt loved his birthday card! Thank you!”

“Congratulations to all you QUITTERS.”

“Cigarettes are pushing $50 a carton now that Arizona just passed another tax. Unstamped cigarettes are big business here now.

Good luck--I know lots of folks have done it--not me :(”

“Good going!!!

I'm going on my 6th year of no tobacco.”

“Hey, MaryPhyl,

The bride and I are headed out I-8 to the Tucson-Tombstone area around the third week of December. Road trip but always plans to hike around. Any good tips for that area? Tucson is about a 7 hour drive from Orange County, and we are looking forward to the trip. Last year we ended up in Sedona the week after XMAS. Not a good time to be in Sedona...everyone else in the Southwest was there, and those teenie weenie two lane roads just ain't big enough to handle the traffic.”

“Great job for all those that quit and those that are working on it.

I've quit all kinds of abusive substances over the years and nicotine was the hardest. I tried to quit for my wife, my friends and my climbing partners...it worked when I decided to quit for me.

Funny, when I get to the top of a ridge or peak is when I want one the most.

Hang in there, it beats the hell out of emphysema or dying”

“Good for you. Quitting is very hard, especially at certain times of the day, in specific areas. I quit. Hardest was at night, dancing, coming back to a bar, sipping a drink and not lighting up. I'm breathing in the smoke, it's all over my clothes, but I resist - Why? I can hike fasterl I can climb higher. I can kiss without smelling like the inside of a chimney. It is not easy. However, it is so worth it! I;m proud of you. Stick with it. Chew gum, take a shower, hike!”

“Way to go WLD. I was in a two week program that showed us scary movies like the Marlboro man with his oxygen tank straped to his horse and stuff. Think of the extra weight of one of those in your pack and no fair hireing Sherpa's. I was doing three packs a day driving between north to southern CA when I quit some fifteen years ago. Hang in there. Go smell your closet today after about a week the nose comes back and you'll be washing your clothes for a week.”

“Hey...don't forget your lung mittens!”

“One Day at a time. Hang tough. Yo bear!”

“WLD, I didn't realize you quit! Now that I think about it, you didn't smoke at all yesterday. Keep it up!

I smoked for 10 years, and its been 21.5 yrs since I quit.”

“WLD - Great! You should be one totally awesome power-hiker when your lungs adjust to not smoking! No one will be able to keep up.

Congratulations”

“No one can keep up with him now!”

“Good move! Your'e at the hardest part, so stay with it. They make it a lot easier now than when I did it. Patches, gum, etc.

Lots of reasons for sticking it out. Just the money alone is staggering. I buy myself something expensive every year on the aniversery of my last smoke. Which added up to $1,200.00 a year, and that was when smokes were only $2.50 a pack. Now they're close to $5.oo around here.

Can you say Bibler??”

“In time ...I think you will be glad you did!
I ate tons of sunflower seeds when I was quitting but that was way before they had patches and gum.”

“"Can you say Bibler??"....didjfan

Good idea!
WLD, in a few month, you can get that Warmlite! and the Bearikade! and . . . and . . .”

“You da Man!”

“Hang in there man! Someday I'll join you even though I don't smoke. I'm a dipper.”

“Keep it up! 16 years on smoke-out day!”

“5 days....
Thanks for the encouragement.....
And congatulations to those of you who have accomplished this....
Good luck to those of you who haven't....
Things I have noticed...
1.)I do not get that sick, tired feeling when working my way up a steep hill while in altitude right after a smoke.
2.) I do not have to blow my lungs out the first half an hour to breath in thinner air.
3.) My sense of taste is returning. My Pepsi, Corona, Coffee suddenly tastes stronger!
4.) My sense of smell is returning. Some of these smells are good. And some of them are not so good! LOL
5.) I use to have a smoke on top of every summit including Whitney. I figured I would do 3 different peaks to try and break that association. On the first one, the desire was strong, my body wanted a smoke, but I did not. On the 2nd Peak it was not too bad. On the 3rd Peak I did not even thnk about it... Hopefully I was breaking the association and not just freezing my butt off..
6.) I do not require near as much recovery time.”

“Just think how much has returned after only five days. Imagine what you will be like in a couple months or a couple years. Those around you also will appreciate you a great deal more...trust me.

Keep up the good work.”

“quitting smoking is the GREATEST of feats. The tobacco industry has been controlling and destroying so many lives for so many years...the heads of Big Tobacco, should be tied to wooden chairs and have liquid nicotine shot into thier viens.”

“yep, blame it on someone else.”

“Tomorrow is day 21 without smoking. Things I have learned....

Smoking took a lot of my time...

I now smell things.. Some good and some not so good...

My taste has improved I cannot eat the super hot sauce without feeling it now.

I have areas or events
(I call them associations)
which seems to trigger something sub-conscious that causes a reaction in my body.

My lungs feel better, but I know they are still healing.

I am calmer...

The biggest problem is I have not found anything to do with my hands or my mouth.... You wouldn't think this would be that big of a dilemma”