Non-RTS Climb - Mt. St. Helens July 6th, 2010

It was just INSANELY FUN! We were all worried about the hot weather that was heading our way as we headed out to Mt. St. Helens just after the Independence Day.

July 5th / Climbers Bivouac

Several of us met up at Oak Tree Restaurant just off of I-5 at the Woodland exit to have a dinner before we headed off down the highway to Cougar, WA where we were required to obtain the permits for our climbs and to register for our climbs. The members in this climbing party were: Geoff - one of the 2010 Reach The Summit Mt. Adams climber, John - Geoff's friend he grew up with, Leisa - a Reach The Summit assistant, Daniel - another Reach The Summit assistant, and myself.

Even though it was after the three day weekend over the Independence Day, I was rather surprised by how quickly the permits sold out as our climb date approached. There were over fifty permits available at the time when I bought mine and remained that way for the longest time. On Mt. St. Helens, they sell only 100 climbing permits a day to mitigate the impact on the mountain. It was only when Leisa emailed me to let me know that the number dwindled down to just ten permits as she got hers. There were few other Reach The Summit climbers who wanted to join us but, unfortunately, the permits were sold out by the time they tried to buy theirs.

After eating our last real meal, we headed east on highway 503 to Lone Fir Motel (Resort?) in Cougar, WA where we picked up our climbing permits and registered for the climb.  All climbers were required to have their permits tied to either on their jackets or their backpacks.  The parking permits also came with the climbing permits.

We're now finally ready to start our adventure. By the time we arrived at Climber's Bivouac which was sort of like a small roundabout at the end of the access road, the daylight was already starting to fade away and we quickly set up our tents. We were rather pleasantly surprised when we discovered Climber's Bivouac to be a well equipped and maintained campground, complete with a clean outhouse and BBQ/fire pits. There were lots of climbers camping there and we were lucky to be able to find few spots for ourselves arriving so late in the evening.

John was tasked to start a fire in the pit but any wood we found was too wet so Geoff, Leisa and Daniel decided to drive back to Cougar to pick up some firewood along with few other things.  In the mean time, John continued his effort with no success.  So I sort of casually suggested he might want to try using the camping stove fuel as a starter.  We almost blew up the campground to oblivion when the an Innocent looking match flame ignited the generous amount of camping fuel John poured all over the fire pit.  And the stubbornly lifeless pile of wood was instantly engulfed in flame.

Since we were car camping, we had brought with us all sorts of luxury items.  A big cooler full of beer and food, camping chairs, a big Coleman stove, etc., etc.  Of course, no camp fire experience would be complete without smores.  Under the dizzying cover of stars, we sat around the fire until almost midnight yakking about  important things.

July 6th / Mt. St. Helens climb

I woke up around 4am even before my alarm clock went off.  The sky was already starting to get bright.  It was pretty chilly outside but warm and toasty inside my tent.  I quickly changed into my cloths for the climb, started sorting my gear and packed all I needed for the day.  As I poked my head outside my tent, Geoff and John were awake as well.  I fired up my Coleman stove and started boiling some water for our morning coffee.  I also started mixing the pancake mix I brought with me for breakfast.  I realized that I totally forgot to bring cooking oil but Geoff had brought some bacon slices so we decided to fry them up first and make the pancakes in the freshly rendered bacon grease.  And it was unbelievably good!!!  Highly recommended!!!!!!!  Once again, it just went to prove that bacon was the solution to everything.  In fact, it was truly up there with duct tape.  We devoured them like bears coming out of their hibernation.  Our goal was to start the approach by 6am. 

Climber's Bevouac was located at 3,765'.  We put everything but our tents back into the car and started hiking in around 6:40am.  A little late but still not too bad.  Our gentle approach on Ptarmigan Trail took us through a beautiful wooded area.  Occasionally, we were afforded with gorgeous view to the south with Mt. Hood prominently standing in the distance.  We popped out above the timberline around 8am.   I have to admit this was the most thoughtfully equipped climbing trail - interestingly, there was an outhouse there with a sign declaring "Toilet".  From there, our plan was to go straight up the south side of the mountain.

Now that we were on the snow field, we started the long series of kick stepping up the slope.  I was very glad to see unseasonably plentiful snow as it surely would beat fighting dusty and loose volcanic scree for the next several thousand feet.  We reached the first plateau around 8:45am.  To the east, Mt. Adams was clearly visible.

In another 20 minutes or so, we reached a moraine where we took one of the short breaks.  By then, the sun was getting super intense.  We were slogging up a giant sun tan reflector effectively, particularly on a day like this when the air was so clear that it was not providing much of natural filtration.  On top of my SPF 100 sunscreen, I kept applying zinc oxide cream on my nose, underneath my nose, in my nostrils, on my upper lip and anywhere else that could potentially get fried.  We reached roughly 6,100' around 9:35am.

Around 6,900, there was a small weather station standing in the middle of a moraine.  There was even a US Geological Survey's marker but, interestingly, the elevation had not been inscribed on it for some reason.  The wind was starting to pick up seriously so it was time for us to put on our shells.  It was 10:35am. 

Even though we had only another 1,400' to go at this point, it seemed like it was just taking forever.  And it was.  We were still kick stepping straight up and it was proving to be a very time consuming process.

We found a small crevasse that we could take a peek inside right next to another moraine.  There was a hole that seemed to lead to who knew where. 

So we came across a skier who appeared to be in his late 60s or even early 70s just as we were almost reaching the rim of Mt. St. Helens.  We had seen him earlier near the timberline as well and were impressed by his fitness.  Well, it turned out that he had actually been up here already and skied down once since then.  This was his second run!!  How demoralizing was that?! Anyway, at 12:30pm, after six hours of slogging up the big pile of snow covered dirt, we finally reach the south rim. 

The rim was still badly corniced and, especially given this day's warm temperature, it was not safe for anybody to get closer than 20' away from it.  In fact there was a line of red wands to keep the people from getting any closer even though some were obviously not getting the hint.  I was able to take photos only by holding my camera as high as possible above my head. 

It was absolutely incredible to see the destruction that the eruption in 1980 caused. The north side of the mountain had been completely blown off and there was nothing but a ginormous void where the other half of Mt. St. Helens used to be.

We could also see Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams clearly in the distance. 

As I mentioned earlier, the condition on the rim was not stable for us to traverse to the true summit which was a couple of hundred more feet higher than where we were.  Therefore we decided to call it our summit and to break out our lunch.  The elevation was roughly 8,100' at this point.  But wait, that's not all, folks.  Daniel topped it off by pulling a bottle of bubbly and orange juice out of his backpack to celebrate our summit with mimosa!!  You rock, Daniel!!

Now that we had been well refueled, the best part of the climb was yet to come.  It's glissading time!!  (Simply put, it's sledding on our butts.)  Daniel pulled out his secret(?) weapon - trash bags.  The idea was to cut a hole at each bottom corner and to wear it like a giant diaper.  This reduced the friction and made it significantly more efficient to slide down the snow slope.  It probably would help keep our expensive Gore-Tex pants from wearing out on the bottoms as well

And here we went!!  We were able to descend pretty much most of our way down like this.

Just before we got back down to the timberline only after two hours since we left the rim, there was an insanely steep glissade chute at the end.  It was more than 6' deep and it felt like we were going straight down in it.  Looking back at it from the bottom, we were glad we didn't know what it looked like before we started down on it.  By 4:50pm we were back down at our camp site at Climber's Bivouac.

As usual, we were hungry like a bunch of unfed wild animals by the time we were ready to leave the camp.  The burgers had never tasted so good back at Lone Fir Motel in Cougar.

2010 Reach The Summit Celebration Party June 27th, 2010

Surrounded in feeling of euphoria, everybody involved in this program and their guests gathered at Timberline Lodge to celebrate our amazing achievements.  For the Mt. Hood climbers, this would officially conclude their participation in this year's Reach The Summit program.  Not knowing what was going to happen to me at this party tonight, my wife, Sharona, and I opted to drive separately to the lodge, which was a good thing.  If it came to it, I was going to just crash in my car before I went home.  Not that that would be anything entirely new to me anyway. 

The cocktail hour started at 5pm when we started priming ourselves with some recreational beverages of our choices before the evening shifted to higher gears.  It was very exciting to listen to my fellow climbers talk about their summit experience and feel the common bond developed amongst ourselves over the past several months simply as a group of fellow human beings who came together to meet this once-in-a-lifetime challenge to serve something much greater than ourselves. 

Once we were properly prepped, we moved downstairs for our dinner.  There were a lot of us.  It was really the first time when we had a chance to get a sense of and appreciate just how many people had been involved in supporting us throughout this endeavor.  I managed to snap some photos before I was ushered back to my seat to start eating.

As the head of Reach The Summit program, Jennifer kicked off the main program, and recognized and thanked many on behalf of the American Lung Association and the climbers.  In the excitement generated in the wake of Mt. Hood climbers' ascent, the real reason why we were there in the first place could have been easily overshadowed but Marlene gave a heartfelt speech that reminded all of us that it was not only about climbing or raising fund but also about spreading awareness of the issues that affected all of us. 

Then it was time for the show!  John Waller who had contributed his talent as the official photographer of Reach The Summit premiered the incredible video and photos he took of Mt. Hood climbers' ascent this weekend.  John imparted to the audience the essence of why we did what we did with eloquence only visual images could have delivered.  (If you are on Facebook, you should be able see his trailer clip at http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150213863495114 .  I will be sure to repost this if non-Facebook one becomes available.)  WOW!! Such amazing sights - the climbers might as well have been astronauts on the moon!  While I was watching his show, I really had to appreciate the fact that John must have had to summit Mt. Hood practically four times in order to capture the images from different angles.    Before we ended the program, surprise gifts were presented on behalf of all 2010 Reach The Summit climbers to those who had volunteered their talent and time to provide us with the fitness training and technical expertise as tokens of our appreciation.  Thank you, April, Paula, Debbie, and Sue, for doing a great job putting together the gifts!!

I leave it to your imagination what ensued amongst the mountaineers after we headed back up to the bar where our rehydrating recommenced and fermented beverages flowed freely.  Big thanks to those who provided me with a bed in your room so I didn't have to sleep in my car that night!

Just after the Independence Day, several of us are heading out to climb Mt. St. Helens.  I will be back with the play by play next.  Stay tuned!!

17th Training Hike - Mt. Adams Team, Crator Rock, June 26th, 2010

Inspired by the incredible pictures from the first Mt. Hood team's ascent to the summit the day before, 3 Mt. Adams climbers and 6 training hike leaders/assistants headed out to Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood to climb this time to Crater Rock just above 10,000'.  It would be a good simulation of the long approach we would have to make on the first day of our eventual Mt. Adams climb.  The Crater Rock is the giant rock sticking out in the middle of Mt. Hood's crater rim as you can see in the zoom photo of the top section.  It would put us only a thousand feet below the summit.  This hike would be the last Reach The Summit training hike aimed for physical conditioning. 

Like our last hike on Mt. Hood, the weather was incredible especially after the long rainy season.  As we drove to Mt. Hood on Hwy 26, I was rather surprised by how much snow had melted since we were there last time few weeks before.  There were practically no clouds in the sky by the time we gathered in front of the climber's registration.  I was glad I put tons of sunscreen lotion on since it was going to be like being on one of those old fashioned sun tan reflector for over several hours.

As expected, the snow was already turning into mush as the temperature soared and we decided to put on our snowshoes from the beginning.  None of us even bothered to put on outer shells of course.  I had stubbornly packed my bag again to the max as if I was climbing Mt. Adams.  I figured I'd be alright on my real climb if I can do this day's hike with this much weight on my back.  However, since I did this last time for the hike to the top of Palmer, I had wised up just a little and gone through all my stuff in the pack at home to ask myself if each item was an absolutely necessary item or just a luxury item.  I also put all my stuff in a pack liner to prevent them from getting wet from the snow melting through the pack fabric, which would double as a cache in the tent when we camp at "the Lunch Counter" on Mt. Adams.  I wore my trusty mountaineering boots instead of my hiking boots to determine if there was any hot spot that could potentially become a source of blister.  I usually pre-moleskin my feet on all my hikes but I had also skipped this step this day for this purpose.  At some point, I will have to invest in another set of poles with external locking mechanisms though.  On our last hike to Nesmith Point, the internal locking mechanism on one of my current poles refused to cooperate and I ended up hiking with only one pole.  It was do-able but made things rather awkward at times.  I would not want to have to mess with them particularly in mountaineering situations in which it could be rather difficult to twist the poles to engage the locking mechanism, especially with frozen hands.  It's really too bad because I really love my poles otherwise. 

Once our slog commenced, our goal was to reach the top of Palmer Glacier by 1pm.  Then we would enter the backcountry area to start climbing the steeper section towards the Crater Rock.  Matt Weaver led the group doing a great job of pacing ourselves with that in mind.  But even then, it felt like we were making faster progress up the hill than before - I noticed only after the fact that we had already gone passed Sicox Hut where the second Mt. Hood team would be spending the night before their climb to the summit tonight.  Wind was blowing from west today and getting stronger as the hike went on.  We could see a standing lenticular cloud starting to form and also some rotating clouds over the ridge above the twin rock.  It was time to put on a layer when we made a pit stop several hundred feet below the top of Palmer Glacier.  Instead of my eVent shell, I opted for my Mountain Hardware's Monkeyman Jacket.  It was one of the most comfortable things I had put on my skin.  Even though this furry synthetic material was very warm, it maintained just the right level of warmness at all time because the air could go right through it. 

We made the top of Palmer around 1:15pm.  A little late but not too bad.  After we took another breather and ate some food, we marched on upward toward the Crater Rock.  But, unlike the groomed trail we took up to this point, it proved much more difficult and time consuming to make progress from there on.  The snow on the south facing slope had become so mushy that Matt was post-holing thigh deep practically every step.  I was positioned just behind him and kept filling those holes with snow to make the steps more secure for the climbers behind me.  It was already 2:30pm by the time we reached the point abeam and level with the Twin Rock sticking out on the western ridge.  Matt's altimeter read 9,100 at this point.  This meant that we made only 600' in 1:15 and we had another 1,100' to go.  There was no question in our minds that we were out of time.

In the mean time, Eric, another training hike leader, followed us on his skies which I was becoming envious of.  And I didn't think he even broke sweat at all actually.  (Later that day, Eric went out to re-hydrate with us and climbed back up again to summit Mt. Hood that evening!)  Like I mentioned, the snow was utterly a slushy mushy mess and I was kind of concerned that I might end up hyper extending one of my knees on our way down which made me hesitant to commit my weight decisively as I plunge stepped down.  We all just about had it by the time we reached the top of Palmer Glacier and it was time to put our snowshoes back on again for the rest of our way down.  Not that that made it much easier for us but at least we were not post holing.  At one point, there was a snowcat coming down the trail sprinkling salt and the snow went from mushy to crunchy instantly.  Thank god we weren't too far from the parking lot, the ultimate destination of every climb.  We were tempted to swing by Silcox Hut to crash the second Mt. Hood team's party but it was decided that keep-Jennifer-happy was still the standing mantra and that we'd probably better leave them be.  (Jennifer, a.k.a Swimbo, was the head honcho of Reach The Summit program.) 

For us the Mt. Adams climbers, we will have about four weeks of blank period in which no official activity has been scheduled so it will be up to the individuals to go out and keep up on conditioning on their own.  Towards the end of July, we will be getting together with the guides from Timberline Mountain Guides for an overnight camping event that will be aimed for more of technical training.  That is going to be lots of fun!

 

Just Released! 2010 Reach The Summit Mt. Hood Climb Trailer

Chech this out!!  Simply amazing!!!!!!

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150213863495114

(** Sorry - you will need to be on Facebook to view it.  If non-Facebook one becomes available, I'll be sure to repost this **)

Mt. Hood Climbers - Congratulations!!

This weekend, the Mt. Hood climbers realized their dreams.  They climbed on two days, June 25th and 27th.  The following are the reports by Jennifer, the organizer of Reach The Summit.
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Reach The Summit
Mt. Hood Trip Report
June 25, 2010

The first Reach The Summit climb of 2010 was a big success with 14 of the 15 attempting climbers making it to the top!

After spending the day in snow climb class with Timberline Mountain Guides on June 24, Team "Hood Fruit Salad” (ask one of them to explain the name to you) had dinner and a brief nap at Silcox Hut before their climbs. The RTS Hood climbers were joined by RTS volunteers Joe G and Marty and myself.

We had a midnight and 1:00 am snow cat so the entire team was above 8500 feet by 2:00 am. The snow conditions did not require crampons for the first hour or so but we had great “steps” and the team progressed up the mountain without incident. Just elow Crater Rock snow conditions hardened up a bit and we all put on the crampons and the snow conditions continued to be generally ideal for the rest of the climb. No icy spots or post-holing! The weather was clear and warm early in the climb and we were treated to a beautiful full moon. Many climbers did not even need their headlamps and opted to climb by moonlight. About an hour into the climb the wind picked up making the air temps colder and some high level clouds rolled in making for an incredibly cool moon-set over the lights of Portland. Of course everyone had enough gear to keep reasonably warm cold and the wind all but stopped once we hit the Hogsback.

At about a third of the way up (about 1,000 vertical feet into the climb), Christine Hansen made the tough decision to return to Silcox Hut with “take-down” guide Sheldon. The rest of the climbers continued the ascent to the Hogsback, traversed the Hot Rocks and ascended via the Old Chute route. Conditions remained excellent and the teams made their way up the steepest part of the climb without incident. Despite high clouds, the summit had spectacular 360 degree views of Rainier, St. Helens, Adams and Jefferson. Summit stays lasted about 30 minutes giving climbers a chance to snap photos, call and text friends and family and enjoy the spectacular view from the top of Oregon! The teams then made their way back down the same route to Silcox for some well-earned hot waffles and eggs!

The first teams returned to Silcox Hut by around 9:30 am and the last group arrived around 11:30 am.

Special thanks to our amazing TMG guides – Joe, Nick, Chris, Ben, Rodney, and Sheldon for leading the way and keeping us safe.

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Reach The Summit

Mt. Hood Trip Report
June 27, 2010

The second Reach The Summit climb of 2010 was a big success with 14 of the 15 attempting climbers making it to the top! Hillarie and April were not able to climb with the team due to medical reasons but they will have a chance to do so with Timberline Mountain Guides when they are feeling better. They both came up to Silcox Hut to support and encourage the team last night and this morning!

After spending the day in snow climb class with Timberline Mountain Guides on June 26, Team "Lunar-Tics” had dinner and a brief nap at Silcox Hut before their climbs. The RTS Hood climbers were joined by Montana RTS Coordinator Alison James and me.

We had a midnight which made it to the top of the Palmer but because of slushy snow conditions the 1:00 am snow cat was only made to 8100 feet, adding a 400 “bonus” in elevation to gain for the 1:00 group. Weather and snow conditions on Sunday’s climb were very similar to Fridays. The snow did not require crampons for the first hour or so but we had great “steps” and the team progressed up the mountain. Just below Crater Rock snow conditions hardened up a bit and we all put on the crampons and the snow conditions continued to be generally ideal for the rest of the climb. No icy spots or post-holing! The weather was clear and warm early in the climb and we were treated to a beautiful full moon. About an hour into the climb the wind picked up making the air temps colder. Of course everyone had enough gear to keep reasonably warm and the wind decreased considerably once we hit the Hogsback.

At about the Triangle Moraine, Charles made the tough decision to return to Silcox Hut with his guide. The rest of the climbers continued the ascent to the Hogsback, traversed the Hot Rocks and ascended via the Old Chute route. Conditions remained excellent and the teams made their way up the steepest part of the climb without incident. With bluebird skies, the summit had spectacular 360 degree views of Rainier, St. Helens, Adams and Jefferson. Summit stays varied but everyone got to enjoy the spectacular view from the top of Oregon! The teams then made their way back down the same route to Silcox for some well-earned hot waffles and eggs prepared by representatives of our sponsor Columbia Sportswear!

The first teams returned to Silcox Hut by around 10:30 am and the last group arrived around 12:30 pm. RTS alumni/volunteers on the mountain this morning included Josh, Daniel, Bob and Eric. It was great to see the friendly and encouraging faces of the volunteers who helped the team get ready for the climb.

Special thanks to our amazing TMG guides – Joe, Nick, Rodney, Tikco, John, Sheldon and Pete for leading the way and keeping us safe.

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At Last, Mt. Hood Climb This Weekend!!

Congratulations!!

This weekend, the Mt. Hood climbers of 2010 Reach The Summit team will summit this iconic mountain, Mt. Hood.  Each climber has worked hard to raise awareness and fund to benefit the American Lung Association for the past several months while we trained together to reach the summit of the northwest's most beautiful mountains.  

16th Training Hike - Mt. Adams team, Nesmith Point June 19th, 2010

It was pretty weird to be hiking without the rest of the RTS teammates today.  In fact, there were more training hike leaders/assistants than the climbers.  Joe the training supervisor took a survey earlier this month to see if we preferred to hike Nesmith Point or Ruckel Creek and apparently it was decided on hiking Nesmith Point again for today.

We met up at the parking lot of a nearby grocery store as usual and went through the ritual of splitting into groups, except that there were only two groups instead of three, the fast group and the faster group.  I let you guess which one I ended up in.  The weather was sort of misty and drizzly type for the entire duration.  Driving down I-84 to get to the trail head, we could only see the bases of the hills and the clouds blanketed the rest entirely.  Great!

Eric kicked off the hike by leading the faster group up the hill.  Having the thoughts in the back of our heads that it was going to be practically viewless had pretty much set the tone of this hike even before it got started - it's all about busting our respective butts up to the top as fast as we could. Actually, the last part of the training, re-hydrating at Edgefield, was all I remember thinking about to be honest.

And, we zoomed up the trail alright.  Including the three short breaks we took, we ascended 3,800 over 5 miles in 2:45.  That translated to roughly the sustained average vertical speed of 1,381' per hour.  Not bad!  In fact I was so zoned into it that I remembered to take no photo except for only one.  The rest of the hike is sort of a big blur. 

It had never disappointed me - there's nothing like that first sip! I ordered a tall cold pint of Rubby, one of the in-house brews at Edgefield, and a small pizza to replenish the calories I had just left on the hill.  Then another tall cold one for a good measure.  By the way, I had always admired the training leaders/assistants for their impeccable commitment to always finishing up the hikes in time for the happy hours.

Next weekend, we the Mt. Adams team will be going back to Mt. Hood, to go from the Timberline Lodge to Crater Rock at just over 10,000' in elevation, only 1,000' below its summit.  Some of the Mt. Hood climbers will be summiting that morning so we might run into them on their way down too.  I can't wait to see the photos they took and to hear about their climbs.  But, even if we don't get to see them for some reason, I will be congratulating them at the celebration party the following day!

2010 Reach The Summit Photo Collage