Wilton Man Aims to Climb Seven Summits

WILTON — Vincent Sablich, a Wilton resident and Saratoga Springs High School grad, has set his sights on an ambitious feat: to climb the Seven Summits (the highest mountains on each of the seven continents). He is climbing for awareness of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), an illness he’s suffered from. 

In January, he will head to Argentina to scale his first summit: Aconcagua, which stands at 22,837 feet tall.

Sablich said it’s been his dream to climb the Seven Summits ever since he was a boy hiking in the Adirondacks. 

“As a seven-year-old kid, I used to climb the snow banks around my driveway, pretending as if I was summiting the highest peak on each of the seven continents,” Sablich wrote in an Instagram post.

Sablich grew up as a competitive rock climber and spent the last year in Nepal doing a variety of volunteer work, in addition to studying at a Buddhist monastery. He is currently working as a paralegal at the Albany-based law firm of Alex Dell and hopes to attend law school next year.   

Sablich wrote that he hopes to “uplift those [with OCD] who feel that they have no place to go. I know how life-threatening that feeling is, and I want to make a change.”

To support his efforts, an event on Thursday, Oct. 16 (5 to 8 p.m.) at Common Roots Brewery in South Glens Falls will donate all proceeds in support of the upcoming Aconcagua climb. The evening will highlight Sablich’s Seven Summits journey, his personal story of living with OCD, and spotlight ways the community can join the movement to raise awareness and support for those affected. Guests can enjoy an Argentinian-style buffet and craft beer with their ticket.

For more information on Sablich and his journey, visit www.ofmountainsandminds.com.