Ben Woolsey didn’t hike Mount Timpanogos an estimated 1,150 times to set records. This quiet and humble man did it for his love of the 11,749-foot peak that dominates the skyline of Wasatch and Utah counties.
The 81-year-old retired postmaster and father of four died Sunday. He first hiked Timp when he was 24 and his obsession started as a slow build that was often interrupted by his level of interest and injuries.
Hike the Wasatch Facebook group founder Tina Bean was Woolsey’s neighbor for 35 years. She said he loved to take people on the mountain and that he often summited this strenuous 7.5-mile climb in under 3 hours. Sometimes he’d even hike it twice a day. She said what was especially impressive is that the majority of his summits were later in life.
“He said, ‘I was at my best at 67,'" said Bean. "I think he was at his best the whole time. He was always good at it. He just got better and better, as he proved that age meant nothing. That if you'd kept active, your muscles can stay strong. And you can increase speed as you age, he proved that.”
Part of what fueled Woolsey was his love of a challenge and numbers.
“He always had a goal," she said. "He always wanted to reach so many hikes by a certain time of the year. In fact, he would take his age every year so if he was 70 years old, he made sure he did at least 70 hikes up Timp. When he was 71, he did 71 hikes. That's how he was.”
He was also a “trail angel,” someone who comes to the aid of others in the backcountry. He always packed new water bottles, food, ponchos and flashlights to help those in need… and with a rigorous 4,500-foot elevation gain and temperamental weather, there was a lot of need.
David Kenison is a fellow hiking enthusiast who said when Woolsey retired from the U.S. Postal Service at age 62, he attacked Timp with a vengeance. He arguably knew the mountain better than anyone. So which of the two popular routes did he prefer?
“Almost always Timpooneke. He told me once that out of the 1,000 times, he maybe did Aspen Grove 20 times," said Kenison. "He just really really preferred the American Fork Timpooneke route.”
Safety was always top priority; Woolsey never hiked Timp when it was snowy or icy. His season generally began around late-June and extended into September.
“I think he only hiked a single time after 2019," said Kenison. "In 2021, he was 79 years old and he had an 81-year-old friend who wanted to go up the mountain. So Ben said, ‘Well, I'll take you up, you get in shape and we'll go up.’ So, in the summer of 2021, they went up together, a 79- and 81-year-old, and made it to the summit. I ran into him that day. And I think that was the last day he summited the mountain. So it was a real blessing for me just to see him on his last hike.”
Through Woolsey’s many encounters on the mountain spanning five decades, he became known simply as “That Guy.”
“People would ask him, ‘Are you that guy?’" Kenison said. "That was a funny nickname, ‘That guy.’ He was that guy who was always on Timpanogos. I'm in my 60s, I'm nowhere near where he was. But when I'm hiking up there, every now and then someone will ask me, ‘Are you that guy?’ And I tell him ‘No, no, I'm not that guy. But I know that guy. He's a good friend of mine.’ And I'm just proud to be a friend of Ben Woolsey.”
As are the countless others whose lives were touched by the King of the Mountain.
