My First 14er!

Finally!

Mitch and I went to Colorado last weekend for some final pre-Rainier training. We thought spending 4 days above 7,000 feet would probably help us adjust to the altitude. On Thursday we went into Denver to visit REI then up to Evergreen. On Friday we did a small hike and drove up to Mt. Evans which is above 14,000 feet. We decided to tackle the 14er after two days of being in Colorado, so that meant Saturday was the big day.

We decided to go for Mt. Elbert, the tallest peak in Colorado and second tallest in the contiguous United States. At 14,440 feet, it is taller than Mt. Rainier! However, it is only a Class 1 (easy) and the round trip trail is about 9 miles on the Northeast Route.

Photo from 14ers.com:  http://www.14ers.com/routemain.php?route=elbe1&peak=Mt.+Elbert

We headed out from Evergreen at 6:30am. We stopped at The Bagelry to grab some breakfast and an extra bagel each for the hike. We made it to Leadville around 8:30am and hit the trail at 8:48am.

The parking lot was FULL so we parked a quarter mile from the trailhead. It was a popular day for Mt. Elbert! There was some sort of charity event going on, so there were 3 refreshment stations along the way for the participants. We were pretty close to the last people to start the climb. The first part was pretty steep, but heavily shaded with trees. Then we came to the fork in the trail telling us to turn right for Mt. Elbert!

Treeline was about 12,000 feet. After that, we could see the false summit. We stopped to rehydrate and eat a snack. I love to recharge with Clif Shot Blocks. So tasty! There were two steep sections on the ridge going up towards the false summit. I was nervous that it would be really hard to go back down, but it was too late to back out now. I was determined to make it. If I couldn't do this, I reasoned, then I had no business attempting Mt. Rainier.

After the steep sections from 13,000 to 13,900 feet, I had my first feeling that I was actually going to make it. We counted down the last 500 feet of the climb. As we got higher, it was harder to breathe and I was moving a lot slower. Finally, we could see the real summit! We arrived at 1:10pm and took some pictures. I'll post those after we get back from Seattle. I was so exhausted up there. I sat down on some rocks with my back up against another rock and couldn't move. Physically, we were both doing fine. Our leg muscles were not tired since we've been doing a lot of stair climbing with our backpacks. I think it was mainly the altitude that was making me so lethargic. It felt great to just sit down, eat my bagel, and drink water. But it was cold! I had to put on my coat, hat, and gloves. There were a few snow flurries.

After about half an hour, we decided to head back down because some dark clouds were approaching. It took until 5pm to get back down. At first, all I could think about was taking off my boots and eating some chocolate. But once we got in the car and started driving away, the excitement hit me. We just did it, Mitch! We just climbed my first 14er!! We had a wonderful drive back to Evergreen listening to music and enjoying a heavy rainfall which is unusual in Colorado. It was a beautiful day.

Below you can see our route and the elevation gain.

Now we are as ready for Rainier as we'll ever be! Mitch was able to stay in Colorado an extra day and did two more 14ers: Grays and Torreys. He's a machine!

We check in at RMI on Tuesday. The climb begins Thursday and if the weather holds, our summit attempt will be on Friday. You can check the RMI Blog for status. The weather the last 4 days has prevented the teams from attempting the summit. The extended forecast looks ok. Fingers crossed!

I've got my out of office sign posted at my desk, and some mini prayer flags from my friend Natacha strung over my two monitors at work. Adios Houston!

Preparing for Rainier

It might be a good time to mention that I have never conquered a 14,000 foot peak. I've always loved mountains but we didn't do many mountain trips when I was growing up. In 2008, Mitch exposed me to 14ers for the first time. We hiked around Mount Evans from the upper lake, but I could see that 14ers were no joke - especially if you live at sea level. We didn't get very far that day, but I caught the mountain bug for sure! The views are spectacular.

In 2009, Mitch took me backpacking for the first time. We camped at Fern Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) and attempted Flattop (12,324) on that trip but the weather got bad and we had to turn around before the summit. We were very close. In 2010, I trained harder and we backpacked to Lawn Lake also in RMNP and attempted Hagues Peak (13,500) but did not make it all the way. I think the reason I couldn't make it is that the first day, we had climbed 6 miles with our packs and I just didn't have the energy on the second day. Last September, we made it to the Long's Peak (14,255) Keyhole (13,300) in RMNP, about 1000 vertical feet from the top. We were not planning to go beyond the keyhole that day because it gets very tricky after that and we didn't start early enough. The Keyhole was the "summit" for me and it was a fantastic hike! 

So with my track record of unsuccessful summit attempts, why do I think this time will be different? The Long's trip last year gives me a lot of confidence. That was a 12.5 mile round trip with 4000 feet of vertical in one day. Rainier is an 18 mile round trip with 9000 feet of vertical in two days. I also think we are in better shape than last year. In February, we ran a half marathon together. I also feel confident that we're using a great guide service, RMI Expeditions. What I'm most worried about isn't the physical exertion, it's the technical aspects of the climb: using crampons, ropes, and ice axes. I've never done any of that before so I have no idea how quickly I'll pick it up. I'm also worried about the psychological challenges. How will I handle the steep, icy slopes and walking over crevasses on ladders in crampons? Only one way to find out. But just 8 months ago, I didn't think I could run 13.1 miles.

All the same, we're going to do a dry run in Colorado the weekend before we head to Seattle. We're planning to bag a couple 14ers. It would be great if I could say I've at least done one when we get to RMI and they ask about our mountaineering experience!

The Rainier Adventure Begins

It all started because Mitch is obsessed with Everest and Ed Viesturs.

Mitch and I have watched just about every Everest documentary / TV show / movie out there. Last year we watched all episodes of Discovery Channel's "Beyond the Limits" on Netflix. We've also seen the 1998 Everest IMAX movie, Into Thin Air, Storm Over Everest, and The Wildest Dream. We also enjoyed other climbing movies like K2, North Face, 180 South, and Touching the Void. Mitch is currently reading "No Shortcuts to the Top" by Ed Viesturs about his conquest of all 14 peaks over 8000 meters including 7 summits of Everest - without supplemental oxygen. Like I said.... obsessed.

In mid-June, when it started getting hot here in Houston, we started to plan a week-long trip around a wedding we're attending in Seattle this September. We thought a nice, long break from the heat and a change in scenery would be perfect. One of the options Mitch suggested was to climb Mount Rainier, a 14,411 foot peak in the Cascade Range. Rainier is the fifth tallest peak in the contiguous US. It is also a volcano.

Now why did Mitch get this idea to do Rainier? Well, in reading "No Shortcuts to the Top," Mitch learned that his hero, Ed Viesturs, got his start in mountaineering on Rainier. He used to work for RMI Expeditions (Rainier Mountaineering, Inc). RMI has over 40 years of experience guiding clients to the top. We decided to check and see if there was a chance that they had 2 spots left on their 4-day expedition. On Friday, June 21, they had 2 spots on the Sept 3 trip, but we decided to think about it over the weekend. Monday, June 24, the 2 spots were taken so I called and asked if we could be on the waiting list. They said that there were 2 people who had already paid for another week but were considering switching to the Sept 3 trip (our best option). They had 3 more days to decide. On Friday morning, June 28, I called at 7:30am their time, I wasn't even sure if the RMI office was open yet. But they were open, and the last two spots were ours!!

We're on a 4-day summit climb. Day 1 will be a gear check and introduction day. Day 2 will be a training day where we'll learn how to use all the gear, how to arrest a fall with an ice axe, how to use crampons (Mitch already knows how), etc. Day 3 the real adventure begins and we climb 4500 feet to the camp which is at 10,000 feet. Day 4 we'll hike another 4500 feet up and (hopefully) summit about 6am and return 9000 feet all the way down in one day. All the details are here.

Can you tell? We're excited!