A Journey For The Soul

As my week long Expedition Skills Seminar with Rainier Mountaineering Inc drew to a close, I took to heart a quote offered to our group by Jason Thompson a talented climber and RMI guide, "The summit is for the ego.  The journey is for the soul"

From the days proceeding the climb to the concluding beers with my fellow climbers, a strong indescribable bond developed with fellow guides and climbers, I faced my fears, confronted my mental and physical limits, and absorbed the awesome beauty of nature.  I still carry within me the colors of the sunrise;  the immensity of the mountain;  endless horizons filled with stars, distant landscapes, mountains, blue and gray skies; clouds shaped like giant Portabello mushrooms;  the looming dangers of the glaciers filled with crevasses, pristine white snow and beautiful blue ice;  bracing temperatures: and punishing winds.

But, it is difficult to find words that adequately describe the mental and physical challenge of Mt. Rainier!  For me, it was the most difficult thing I have attempted.  Now I feel prepared to confront it and perhaps reach the summit in the future.  Results, however speak for themselves, my highpoint on  Mt. Rainier is at about 11,250 feet on the Ingram Flats.  To put that height in perspective for you, when I stopped, there was only one peak in Washington State at a higher elevation than me, Mt Adams at 12, 277 feet.  The next highest mountain, Mt Baker is 10,788 feet.  The next waypoint on the climb up Mt Rainier would have been Disappointment Clever, an apropos name for the crux of the climb and my feelings at realizing that I had not conditioned adequately to reach the summit of Rainier and safely return.

Mt. Rainier from the Muir Snow Field

My physical preparations were not insignificant.  For a year I have been building up my aerobic capacity by running, climbing Stair Master, sometimes carrying a pack on city streets, treadmills at 15 degrees and summiting northeastern mountains, including Mt. Katahdin.  I learned that two additional things needed to be improved in my regimen, 1. carrying a 45+ lb pack as I climbed and exercised, and 2. constantly pushing the pace into very difficult territory and sustaining it for an hour or more.  In a way I had done something close to those things, but I had no idea of the actual challenge that the mountain would present....Walking in plastic boots, traveling on extreme slopes with crampons and maintaining a pace that was safe for the rope teams, not necessarily comfortable for me!  I learned a great deal about technique and conditioning that will serve me well in a future attempt(s).

I arrived early at Whittaker's Bunkhouse so that I had time to rest and relax before the climb.  I did rest, but I do not think "relax" describes my state of mind before we began.  Arriving early did, however, give me an opportunity to meet and get to know Louis Kayatin II, a young climber from Ohio who was not only a strong climber, but also a great person with a strong sense of humanity and teamwork.  His quiet support, on occasion, made a difference in my ability to do more than I thought possible. I hope to get to know his family in the future and perhaps hike or climb another mountain with him.

From Left to Right (Louis Kayatin II, David Reynolds, Matt Mathis, James Holmes,
     Cody Doolan, John Rockwell, Bruce Freedman)

As the climb progressed we all got to know each other.  Our group was filled with strong and interesting people.  Bruce Freedman was just a little younger than me and filled the room with a boyish enthusiasm for our adventure and the importance of capturing it in pictures.  Matt Mathis is another young climber who is a fireman in his real life.  I believe he and Lou share some talents and personality traits that would make them excellent mountain guides in the future.  Just having them there brought stability and confidence that our adventure would turn out well.

Our RMI guides were skilled, strong and very service oriented.  Brent Okita is somewhat of a legend in the Mt. Rainier community.  He has summited Rainier over 400 times.  Cody Doolan, on the other end, had just a year of experience as an RMI guide, but I will be forever grateful to him for guiding me down the mountain, teaching me with enthusiasm, and humoring me as I flirted with buying his Volkswagen Van to  become a fellow "dirt bag climber".  In addition, Gilbert, the only woman on the team, led my rope team up the mountain as we made  our summit attempt.  She was strong, caring, skilled and enthusiastic.  Each of these people really added something unique and special to the soulful journey we took together!  Unfortunately, I do not yet have a picture of fellow climbers Zack Dodge or Bryan Morrison, both of whom were "salt and pepper" to the atmosphere of the camp and climb.  Zack, the edgy, knowledgable, kind, but crazy man was a highlight for me.  I hope to climb with him again when I return to Washington where he lives.  I unfortunately missed the La Tomatina style tomato throw that he invited me to after the climb.  It was held at the Pyramid brewery in Seattle on Saturday.  I saw some great pictures in the Seattle Times...That was Zach, warm, fun and ready for anything!  Brian was a rancher and a cement truck driver.  He was on his first adventure of this type.  A quiet, complex, strong, family man who was determined to find a soulful experience in the mountains, and I think he did find one.  I could go on about the other people, but these guys were the highlights for me.  There were 15 in our group together with another group of three climbers and guide Linden Mallory that were climbing to raise money to end childhood cancer.  Linden did a great job describing there effort if you are interested.
Climb for Five  Read the "Climb for Five Recap" on this site.

RMI Guides from left to right (Cody Doolan, Jason Thompson, Dave Reynolds, Gilbert Chase, Brent Okita)

The climb began on Saturday, September 19th from Paradise Lodge.  The sole objective for our day was to climb the 4700, heart pounding feet up to the shelter at Camp Muir 10,188 feet.  It began in a beautiful  meadow filled with wild flowers and progressed to Pebble Creek where the Muir Snowfield begins its serious and steep upward climb.  The goal is a pace of about 5 hours!!  The good news is that the scenery is spectacular, and you get a 15 minute rest to eat and drink every hour!!!

The purple flowers are Lupin, the red are Indian Paintbrush, not sure about the yellow?

Must have been early in the climb: still smiling with the 45+ lb. pack

Above the clouds on the snowfield

As we got higher and farther into the hike, I sometimes doubted that I would make Camp Muir, but Brent and Gilbert hung with me, talked and provided some much needed distraction and motivation.  Through sheer will, pressure breathing and rest stepping I got there!

Climbing the Muir Snowfield with Mt Adams in the background

Our home at Camp Muir for 4 nights

Matt and Jeff at Camp Muir

Me at Camp Muir, Paradise Lodge is deep in the valley below

We spent the next day, Tuesday, getting our snow training and enjoying the Cowlitz Glacier.  You haven't lived until you have slid downhill headfirst with an ice ax, practicing your self arrest techniques.

A crevasse on the Cowlitz Glacier.  That's us roped together at the top 

Cowlitz Glacier

All roped-up and learning to travel efficiently on a glacier!

It was a long day of learning on Tuesday.  Brent spoke to us at the end of the day and let us know that we had a favorable patch of weather through the evening and into Wednesday. The bottom line, Wednesday morning at 2:00 a.m. he woke us up and we prepared to climb.  By 2:30 we were organized and tied into our rope teams.  With our headlamps on we began to traverse the Cowlitz Glacier and the first hour long leg of the climb to 11,200 feet on the flats of the Ingram Glacier.  The night was clear, Orion lounged on his side touching the mountaintop.  The snow was crisp and the climb steep with the potential for a long fall under the rockfalls in the dark.  A chain of twinkling white headlamps preceded me up the mountain.  It was an experience I will never forget, inspiring, bracing and sometimes a bit frightening.  I did manage at times to fall into a rhythm with my gait and breathing, but it often felt inefficient, and it was clear by the time we paused at Ingram Flats that I would not make it to the summit and back on this attempt.  I was disappointed, but felt firmly that my decision was right for both me and the group.  Delaying a large team like this can cost others a chance to summit and even be dangerous for them.  So, I "tapped out" like a wrestler defeated by a stronger opponent.  We waited as the other climbers lamps headed up the switchbacks through the ice fall and up toward Disappointment Cleaver, then Cody accompanied me and Greg back to camp.  We arrived at about 5:30 a.m. and were later joined by another climber who had to return after reaching the top of the Cleaver.  I stayed up all night watching the rope teams progress up the mountain.  I caught a glimpse of them at sunrise, and again just before they were enveloped by a cloud at about 7:30 am, high on the mountain near the summit.  I was treated to a spectacular sunrise as I waited for them to return.  The week continued after the summit with training in crevasse rescue and ice climbing.  It was the experience of a lifetime, and I hope to return with "more fuel in the tank" to try again for the summit, but for now...I'll savour this soulful journey.

Sunrise on Summit Morning

Sunrise moments later

Mt. Adams at dawn

Clouds capped the mountain just after sunrise as the team approached the summit

If you look carefully in the following pictures you will see three climbers as tiny little spots near the top on the snowfield to the V formed by the rocks on the right, and as they descended to camp across the Cowlitz Glacier once more.

Three  Climbers are visible on the snowfield to the right of the summit 4300 feet above

About 11 hours after the climb began, the team descends  it's final few feet on the  Cowlitz Glacier

My journey ended in Seattle at my friend David's house.  We enjoyed a hike together on Mt. Pilchuck.  At 3 miles and a 2400 foot elevation gain it was beautiful and doable with my new found quads and calves!!!  And in the evenings we relaxed in a hot tub to soothe our aching muscles.  Before I flew out, I even made it on to the local ABC Television affiliate with a story about rating area restaurants for cleanliness! Lindsay Cohen Reports

On Mt. Pilchuck