Once I landed in Seattle, Art, Karen and Mark picked me up in the rental car and we headed into downtown Tacoma where the entire gang met up at the Harmon Brewery for lunch. After we ate, we took the "scenic route" to a local grocery store [we got lost...many times...over and over again...trying to find this grocery store] so we all could stock up on food that we will need over the next couple days. Trail mix...(check)...uncrustables...(check)...beef jerkey...(check)....choco walla odwalla bars....hmm....bummer...(not check). Once we got what we needed some went to check in at the RMI Bunkhouse in Ashton, WA while I decided to get some last minute things at REI. [ie. extra water bottles, winter hat, bandanna and shoe inserts...since I had forgotten mine at home].
Photo: RMI Bunkhouse
Photo: Ashford, WA
We then headed to the RMI Bunkhouse which was an hour drive from Tacoma, and once there grabbed all of the necessary rental gear. At the end of it all, we would have, head to toe, our helmet, headlamp, winter hat, bandanna, base layer top, fleece top, thin insulating jacket, gortex jacket, parka, harness, avalanche beacon, thin mittens, thick mittens, gloves, ice axe, ski poles, shorts, base layer pant, insulating pant, gortex pant, gaiters, mountaineering socks, mountaineering boots, crampons. I think that covers it. For the clothes that we weren't wearing at the time [including an extra pair of base layers and socks] went in our packs along with all the food needed, two nalgene bottles of water, and sleeping bag. All gear added up to around 40-45 lbs that we had in our packs...strapped to our back. Nice. Well after I tried everything on to make sure I had proper fitting, I went straight to the bunkhouse and crashed. It was about 8:30pm...10:30pm my body time...and I was pretty tired.
Saturday morning, August 4th, we had to be out by the check in area by 8:00 am to head out for the training day on the mountain. It was another hour drive to the mountain. At Paradise (5500') we put on our packs and headed up the mountain for about 45 minutes before we hit snow. Once there, the guides set us down to hear our reasons of why we took up this challenge and to discuss a little of what we should be expecting over the next couple of days. When it came to my turn to share, I noted that I was intrigued by the daunting task of climbing the tallest peak in the lower 48 states... that and I liked scaring my friends and family. Chad and Jeff were the leaders of our group that day, and they taught us different styles of walking that would be key in preventing muscle burn out. In addition, they taught us how to "self arrest" in the event that we should start falling down the mountain. Since people that fall, typically fall onto their butts, to "self arrest", meant flipping our bodies over pulling our ice axe to where the 'adze' should be between our shoulder and cheek and the 'spike' should be pulled nice and tight against our hip on the opposite side of our bodies; the 'pick' needs to be jabbed into the snow. In addition, we need to jab the toes of our crampons into the snow and push our butt into the air. This entire process creates a three-point stance and gives the most secure hold. Remembering all these steps without jabbing you in the body with the ice axe, doing a face plant into the snow..and trying to heave your butt in the air while falling down a hill that you keep increasing speed on your gortex pants. Right......
We also learned the 'duck' walk, 'quick step', 'pressure breathing' and keeping a safe distance between the person in front of you and behind you while being tied together in groups. Unfortunately, prior to the guides instructing us the proper way of falling, Sue slipped and fell down the mountain and as she was falling stuck her crampon into the snow causing her ankle to snap as she fell. They knew she had broken her ankle and had to figure out a way to get her out of the valley we were in, up to the trail, and back down the mountain. So Sue and her husband Garth were out of the trip. We all headed back down to the vans at around 4:30pm and drove back to base camp...exhausted from a long day of training.
We had reservations at a local restaurant... but with less than hoped for service, we didn't end up eating and leaving the restaurant until 10:30pm...12:30am my body time. I was more than tired...I was.....super tired. :) Got back to the RMI bunkhouse and crashed.
Sunday, August 5th, we needed to be all packed, checked out of the bunkhouse and ready to head out by 8:00am again. The energy was pretty high in the group and I think we were all excited to get going. We were all about to see if the 5 months of training had paid off. We all made the last pit stop at a normal bathroom and headed up the trail at about 9:30am. We took a break every hour or so and re-fueled and drank 1/2 a nalgene bottle at each stop. There were four breaks up to Camp Muir (10,000') and once there we were going to be able to fill up our water bottles again. In the second group, Amy and Todd decided that Mountaineering wasn't their thing and decided, at the Muir snowfields (approx. 9,000') to head back down. 17 started...and now we were down to 13 people at Camp Muir. I was tired...it wasn't too extremely difficult to get to Camp Muir...but I was feeling it. When we arrived at Camp Muir around 2:30-3:00pm, we had to quickly unpack what we would need that night and 'morning' as there wasn't enough room in the 'bunkhouse' [an approx. 10' x 10' wood frame] to fit all of our packs and our bodies. We had to do this quickly as luck would have it, it started to snow. Not the light fluffy snow I'm used to seeing...but like pellets of small styrofoam coming down. It was the weirdest thing...but thankfully it only last about 20 minutes and subsided. We then had to eat 'dinner' and fill up our water bottles for the next day. The guides came in and talked to all of us for about an hour telling us last minute details of what we were going to expect the next 'morning'. At about 7:00pm, the guides told us to pack it in as they would be waking us up anywhere between 11:00pm - 1:00am that night/next morning.
Sunday night, August 5th, at 11:30pm after getting maybe an hours worth of sleep, the guides came in, flipped on the light and said that we had to hurry and get 'breakfast', pack up our packs [less the sleeping bag, which we could leave back in the 'bunkhouse'], put on our harness, put on our helmets and headlamps and make a final stop at the port-a-potty before grouping up and heading out. I must say...I made good use of that port-a-potty and didn't think I would have to experience going to the bathroom on the trail...but I was wrong. The altitude got to Mark and he had to stay back from this point on. 13 people..now down to 12.
In my group, I had Chad [the guide] then myself and behind me was Sharon, a lady from North Carolina. We were all ready to go by 12:00am and were the first group out the gate. All I kept thinking was "Focus on the guides feet....quick step....do EXACTLY what he does...step EXACTLY where he steps". Luckily it was dark and all I could see was the light of my headlamp on his feet. We began by crossing the Cowlitz Glacier towards Cathedral Gap (10,500') .My mind went into a state of nothingness and just focused on his feet. We then had to hike up this steep rock wall (no snow and wearing crampons) up to Ingraham Flat (11,000'). Right before the Flats we came up to this 10 ft high ice/snow wall of which there was a rope attached to the side of the mountain. We were told that we needed to grab the rope in our left hand, hold our ice axe in our right hand and stick the toes of our crampons into the wall and climb up with about a 35 lb pack on our backs. But there was no time to think..we just had to do it. Ingraham Flat was to be our first break and about an hour and a half had passed. Immediately into our break, even though we were warm, we were told to grab our parka out of our packs because we would start getting cold. And the guides were right. About 5 minutes into the break I started shivering like crazy while I was trying to get some food in me and rehydrate. The guides had told us that we should eat at least 250 calories at each break. Clint, one of the guides on another team, looked at me and asked if I was cold. I just nodded and smiled...and continued to shiver. The break was only 15 minutes and we had to put away our parkas and move on. Chad said that we will warm up once we started moving, so to just deal with the cold for about 15 minutes and we should be ok. Again our group was the first to head out after the first break, so I wasn't aware that Chris, Virginia, Joe G., and Melissa decided that they had enough and couldn't go on. 12 was now down to 8 people going on from the first break.
Normally, the guides would take the group on a quicker section up Disappointment Cleaver, however they had someone fall in a crevasse the weekend before and dislocated their shoulder, so a different route was suggested. This "different" route added 2 miles to the trip. Luckily it was still dark out, so I didn't know what I was walking over and around. After another hour or so, we took our second break. It was still dark out and I was getting really tired. This is where John decided he wanted to turn back. In my mind I was thinking...."I'm exhausted...I'm cold...I'm EXHAUSTED!!!!" But when my guide Chad looked at me and asked if I was good to move on...I was like, "yep...let's go!!" Huh??? No..that's not what I wanted..I was tired. But again, after our 15 minute break we had to put away the semi-warmth the parkas offered and started back on the trail. They noted that we would be doing a series of "switch-backs" where we would walk steadily on an incline, go back the other way at a steady incline and so on. In my mind I was thinking of "steady" inclines...like when you are driving in a car and you see a turn up a head, but as you are going around the turn...you don't really realize you are turning. Ok..so maybe not a good analogy....regardless...the reality of switchbacks was actually constant steep inclines going back and forth rather quickly and steeply. The trail at this point resembled a small trough...which has an ideal width across for someone who has a size 5 foot. My size 10's were not going to easily be able to do the 'duck walk' or even side steps. My side steps consisted of pointing my toe backwards after each step so actually walking up more on my heels. This proved to be very tiresome and trying to keep my balance on the steep ridge proved to be very strenuous both mentally and physically.
Going into the third break I was pretty much spent, but the sun was rising and I was excited to be able to watch it for at least 15 minutes before going on. This was the coldest time of day, about 17 degrees. It was at this time that I realized there were only 7 of us left. This is also when it hit me that I was going to make it. The trail into the final break seemed to be the most difficult. The altitude was starting to get to me. I felt dizzy, exhausted, thirsty, slightly nauseated and had to go to the bathroom. Looking around...I wondered...where would a person go to the bathroom if they needed to. Gross as it may be, I really didn't think I could hold it anymore so I asked Chad for a blue bag and where I should go to the bathroom. He said two feet up and the gang would just turn around. Right....sure...why not right? Just pull down my pants...crap into a bag...try not to make any noise...and hopefully the odor would go up the mountain...not the two feet in front of me. And yes...it was daylight and there was a group coming up behind us. But I had held it long enough and I had to go. Desperate times call for desperate measures. So I quickly dropped trou' and sat over the bag....and waited...and waited...what????... now I can't go???...Chad yelled, "just relax"...Relax...I'm sitting behind five people and now see the next group coming up the trail...watching me take a squat. Finally I was able to go as yet another group that wasn't associated with RMI walked by. Now...I have no shame. Nothing can phase me. So I tied up the blue bag and threw it in my pack and we headed up to the top. This last stop was at about 13,500' completing a series of switch backs on the 40 degree slopes of the Ingraham Glacier. It feels pretty much vertical. During the break we had to put our ice axe through the straps of our packs to make sure they don't slip down the mountain. Yeah...try taking a crap on that! The last 400' or so proved to be excruciating! I tried so hard to pressure breath and force my legs to keep moving. The guide looked back a couple times during this stretch as he could feel the rope get taught behind him. I was struggling, but I kept on. And then...we were there.
14,410'...we had made it to the peak of Mount Rainier. Art, Karen, Joe O. , Billy, Paul, Sharon and myself. It was about 7:30am, the sun was warm on our faces..the view was....priceless...and I had to go to the bathroom again. So yeah, I can say I crapped at the top of Mount Rainier. At least there were boulders around the rim to give me privacy this time. The top of the mountain is a crater...like a bowl. So once you reach the top there is about a 10' drop into this large bowl. I took off my pack and layed down on the mountain. We had about an hour to rest at the top before heading all the way back down. About 45 minutes into the break, all seven of us started to really feel the effects of the altitude. We were not focusing on sustaining our pressure breathing, so we weren't breathing in oxygen effectively. I really thought I was going to throw up...but I didn't, and neither did anyone else in my group that I know of.
At about 8:30am we head back down. It is less exhausting as far as breathing goes on the way down, however now we had to focus on 'plunge steps' as we had to make sure we had our balance and that each step was securely planted before planting our ice axe and stepping with the other foot. Since it was light, we had the heat of the sun and we no longer had to worry about being cold. Even going into breaks. Now our main concern was the security of our steps, keeping our balance, the higher risk for slips, and making sure we applied sunscreen at each break. I applied 30 SPF at each break and I still had a slight sunburn. Especially under my nose.
It was now that I saw the terrifying spots we had climbed over and through in the dark. There was one section were there was about a 10' long ice bridge, and about 1.5' wide. I remember bending down in the dark to grasp the rope that was tied to the mountain, but was unaware that the ice bridge was just that. A bridge that crossed over a deep crevasse; that one wrong step would cause you to fall into it. Then you would hope that the two people you are tied to will dig their ice axe into the ground and not fall into it with you. Well, we all made it across successfully.
There were several crevasses that I had to cross over and I was thinking...ohhhh...i don't want to...but I had to. We then came back to that ice/snow wall that we climbed up, and now had to go back down. This time looking down, I couldn't tell where I had to put my feet. All I saw was a ridiculous drop on one side and a crevasse on the other. Chad told me to rappel down it like rock climbing and he would lower me down. Oh yeah...I forgot that rappelling down mountains is another hobby of mine..so I'll just use the techniques I know and put it to good use. I HAVE NEVER RAPPELLED! But again, I just had to do it, as people were waiting on me.
It was about 12:00pm and before we could make it to our last break we had to go through a series of climbing up and climbing down trails since we were trying this alternate route to detour from using Disappointment Cleaver. I didn't know if I had enough energy in me to get back to Camp Muir. I was so exhausted, I can't even describe to you what it was like. But again...just had to do it. Not to mention, I had to go to the bathroom again! But I was determined to wait until Camp Muir and use the port-a-potty. We also had to go down that steep rock wall again with crampons on and not lose our cool each time we took a step, and our feet would drop 2 feet and rocks would slide down past us.
And there I saw it...Camp Muir about 300' away. Just a little bit longer and I can take a little bit longer break! The other team members that had turned back had to stay at Camp Muir all day until we came back. As I'm walking up to Camp Muir, we hear cheers from our team members and clapping...congratulating us on making it to the top. They were all so proud of us.
I then darted for the port-a-potty, then packed up the rest of the stuff and after about a 20 minute break, we were told that we had to go down to Paradise. Maybe I thought we would get a little more than 20 minutes...but I was wrong.
It was now about 3:00pm and we headed down the Muir snowfields. Each step sent excruciating pain through my toes. I could have sworn that I would be losing pretty much every toe nail for the amount of pain I was experiencing. After just hiking 15 hours on top of the 5 hours from the day before...I had experienced exhaustion and pain like none other... but this was bad. This was worse. And it forced me to be behind the rest of the group because I physically couldn't keep up with their speed. Clint asked me what size foot I had and he said he was a size 9, and just so happened to have an extra pair of tennis shoes in his pack. He said once we made it down to the waterfall (about an hour ahead), I could switch into his shoes and use them the last hour down the trail. Another bonus was the fact that there were a couple man-made slides in the snow to slide down and take the pressure off my feet. Unfortunately I wasn't wearing waterproof pants, but a wet butt was better than walking on my feet at that point. Plus..it was fun.
Once I took my boots off at the waterfall...I realized that my feet had created a new definition of "stink". Wow. It was horrible...and I felt so bad putting those stinking, wet socks into Clint's shoes...but not bad enough not to. Even though walking was still painful, it wasn't nearly as bad as the pain from my boots.
About 45 minutes from the bottom...I realized I had to go to the bathroom yet again. So I grabbed Chad and asked for another blue bag. I later found out that the guides said that I should have received a "blue bag award" if there was one because I almost cleaned him out of them. Oh well. When you have to go, you have to go!
So I finally made it to the bottom at around 6:00pm and we piled into the van and headed back to basecamp. 22 hours of intense...gruling hiking.
I received a certificate from the guides stating that I successfully ascended to the peak of Mount Rainier. What an accomplishment. Everyone stayed back at the basecamp for beer and pizza, but I had to head back to the hotel in Tacoma because my friend Cassie had driven up from Portland to see me, and since it was 8:30pm by the time we turned in all of our equipment, I knew it would be almost 10:00pm by the time I rolled into Tacoma.
When I removed my shoes I noticed that the entire soles of both feet were one blister, I had bruises and sores on my feet that I didn't know you could get. My body ached; and I could barely walk. But by the next day, I was feeling pretty good. My blisters re-absorbed, however I had a terrible case of 'cankles' and swollen feet for about a week afterward.
Am I glad I did this? Yes! It really proves how much the human body can be put through..mentally and physically. I believe we made our goal of raising $8500 for the Leukemia and Lymphma Society, which is AMAZING. But would I do it again....no. It was by far the most difficult thing I have ever done in my life and I am not ready to sign myself up for that kind of torture any time soon. But yes...it was extremely rewarding and I am very glad that I did it.
