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| When the winter caretaker needs a break, Le Conte Lodge calls Tim Webb |
Tim Webb is a surveyor from Double Springs, Ala., who serves as president of the Highpointers Club. Not only has he climbed the highest peak in 46 of the 50 states, but he has also hiked up Le Conte 163 times.
Tim is so dedicated to highpointing that he named his daughter Whitney after California's Mount Whitney, the highest point in the Lower 48 states. (See this story about Tim and the Highpointers Club published in 2015 by Atlas Obscura.)
His fondness for Mount Le Conte is measured by a different standard. Le Conte is not even the highpoint of Sevier County, much less the state of Tennessee (nearby Clingmans Dome stands 50 feet higher), but Tim describes it as "a place that is near and dear to my heart, and I hope to continue going up for years to come."
Many of his trips are in the winter, while Le Conte Lodge is closed. For the past 22 years, he has worked on the March airlifts to restock the lodge with tons of fuel, T-shirts, food staples, and other items for the upcoming season. He also makes occasional trips to relieve the caretaker who stays at the lodge throughout the winter.
Tim attended the University of Alabama and had a friendly rivalry with the late Ed Wright, an Auburn man who climbed Le Conte 1,310 times. Tim said that when their paths crossed, "He would always wait until I was out of sight and would yell out 'War Eagle!' to which I always responded to him with a big 'Roll Tide!'"
Tim is so dedicated to highpointing that he named his daughter Whitney after California's Mount Whitney, the highest point in the Lower 48 states. (See this story about Tim and the Highpointers Club published in 2015 by Atlas Obscura.)
His fondness for Mount Le Conte is measured by a different standard. Le Conte is not even the highpoint of Sevier County, much less the state of Tennessee (nearby Clingmans Dome stands 50 feet higher), but Tim describes it as "a place that is near and dear to my heart, and I hope to continue going up for years to come."
Many of his trips are in the winter, while Le Conte Lodge is closed. For the past 22 years, he has worked on the March airlifts to restock the lodge with tons of fuel, T-shirts, food staples, and other items for the upcoming season. He also makes occasional trips to relieve the caretaker who stays at the lodge throughout the winter.
Tim attended the University of Alabama and had a friendly rivalry with the late Ed Wright, an Auburn man who climbed Le Conte 1,310 times. Tim said that when their paths crossed, "He would always wait until I was out of sight and would yell out 'War Eagle!' to which I always responded to him with a big 'Roll Tide!'"
FOOTNOTE: The Highpointers Club maintains lists of the 305 individuals who have reached all 50 U.S. highpoints, as well as the 560 who have completed the Lower 48. Many of them have climbed Le Conte at least once (especially when the Highpointers Konvention was held in Gatlinburg in 2014, or in groups led by Webb). I know of one 48er who is a regular visitor to Le Conte: Stony Burk has made the pilgrimage from New Hampshire for the past eight years.
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