Mitch Lukes

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.


Mitch planned a trip of a lifetime to roadtrip with two of his Winter Park ski friends, Max Williams and Noah Close. They stuffed 4 downhill mountain bikes and camping gear into Noah’s car and headed to Whistler, BC for a two week trip of exploring and biking. It was such great fun to pack up supplies with Mitch. Although he loves the mountains, he has not camped much so luckily Seth and I have a background of backpacking and lots of gear that we foraged through and found some useful gear for his trip. Quickly pitched the tent in the driveway so we could test his new skills. What I have always admired about Mitch is his ability to figure things out quickly and with a huge amount of patience. When he wants something badly enough he works tirelessly to accomplish his goal. I love his tenacity. 


They set off Monday, September 10th and arrived in Whistler on Wednesday. They found a great campground very close to the base of the mountain. First plan of action was to set up camp and then explore their whereabouts to scope out the mountain bike trails. Downhilling is an extreme sport on full suspension downhill bikes. If you know Mitch at all, he performs all of his passions IN HIGH EXTREME MODE. He had a great few days learning new skills with his buddies and his check in texts and calls warmed my heart. He just kept thanking us for allowing him to make the trip and he also spoke of how awesome his friends were and they were having so much fun. Please know that Seth and I did not take this trip lightly...We had lots of discussions prior to his departure about safety on & off the mountain, he had to make a 3.5 GPA, speak to his teachers and get necessary homework, earn the money for funding trip,(which his lawnmowing business helped greatly with this.)He had to provide us with lots of info, itinerary, phone numbers, research of health insurance out of country and so on. And, as I mentioned before, when Mitch wants something badly enough? He MAKES IT HAPPEN! 


All was going well except the daily rainpours which quickly soaked their camping gear and definitely made the days and nights chilly. They figured it out though and found a laundromat to dry things out and learned to cook tasty mac and cheese on the propane grill. They were bonding as a team of three and as I have come to know more of Mitch’s mountain friends...they truly are a special group who watch out for eachother and have eachother’s backs. They are a closeknit group who are all commonly wired with the same daredevil, adrenaline rush genes. And, as parents of a son like this, yes, it is tough at times with his crazy antics but we know he is happiest doing these things and we agree to let him live his passions. He is admirable in his ability to live his life IN THE PRESENT. I treasure his personality because he always turns ANY day into a GREAT day....;)
Next entry I will explain about his accident. Lots of exhaustion as I tell these things...bare with me
*cath