timmus
Well-known member
Morton, 45 miles east of Paradise, Washington State. We had a reservation for a room at the Season Motel (very cheap BTW), and when we arrived in the parking lot, we were happy to see that all the members of the team were already there. Let me introduce them :
Danny (Quebec City)
He’s Mr. White Mountain. NH48 X3, NE115 X2, NE100, Catskill3500, summited Mount Washington at least 18 times. Loves wind, snow, and low temps, but also loves Colorado : 27 peaks of the Fourteeners done, and he will finish them, I’m sure. He’s also the film maker, always the camera in his hand, narrating each moment of our mountain trips.
Karl (Quebec City)
NE115, NE100, NH100, Catskill3500, 25 CO 14K’s. He’s into bushwhacking, will probably be the first Quebecer to finish the NH3000… No matter what he conditions are, he’ll reach the summit. He likes to create funny characters to make people laugh, that makes him the perfect partner for crappy days.
Barry (Rumford, Maine)
He completed all the major lists, including the NH100. He met us in Washington State after a road trip across America, tagging many State HighPoints. Barry loves to wear funny clothing, such as his bright orange hat. He’s the cool dude.
John Sebastian (Montreal area)
While completing the Northeast peakbagging lists, he scrambled up the major peaks in Banff and Lake Louise, he climbed the Mont Blanc (Traversée Royale), and hiked in Colorado and California. He says there are too many mountains to climb to do twice the same. Very efficient, he’s the GPS and computer assisted hiker.
Julie (Montreal Area)
I’ve done stuff around (ADK46, NH48). I am very determined. I never thought I’d be on Mount Rainier 9 months only after getting surgery on both feet (bunions). I’m the slowpoke, compare to the other members of the team. And I’m the girl, so I’m the whiner (really).
So here’s how it went…
After a week of perfect weather, we started our ascent from Paradise to Camp Muir in a thick and misty fog. Enough wet to put rain covers on our packs. The Skyline Trail is probably a very beautiful path usually, but this year there are snow patches as low as the visitor center. No need to say that we didn’t see many tourists that morning…
We knew we would eventually get out of the cloud, so we kept a good spirit. 5,5h after leaving Paradise, we were there, and the first thing we did after dropping our heavy packs was looking for a flat spot down the northern side of the Camp Muir shelter. Then it was all about melting water, eating and sleeping.
We originally planned to start climbing at 2am, but a group woke us up around midnight (damn it !), so we got up and left at 1:15am. Earlier the better anyway. Unfortunately, Barry decided to stay at basecamp because he didn’t feel good enough and didn’t want to screw things up for us. I admire that. So it was Karl and Danny on rope #1, and JS and I and rope #2. It all went very well from there to Disappointment Cleaver, and then the altitude symptoms kicked in for me. Rope #1 was flying; they did Adams few days before, and they trained so much for this trip, so I was not surprised. I had to stop all the time : low batteries in headlamp, headaches that required Advils, need to pee, eat or drink water. Maybe I just needed to catch my breath…
The sun appeared above the horizon when we reached the top of D.C. We started on the numerous switchbacks at a slow pace, to keep a rhythm without stopping. Rope #1 were ahead, and when we got to a junction, we realized they took the right, while we decided to go left. Both paths were packed by many climbers. A minute later we got in front of a major crevasse. The only way to go around it was by using a one foot wide passage between the end of the crevasse, and the vertical drop on the other side. We probably should have take the right path after all !! Other people in front of us went on, so as we. It was more scary than dangerous. Karl and Danny were waiting for us a little higher, and when we got all together they told us about the way they went : they also had a crevasse to cross, but it was on a LADDER ! It was not long enough, so it was attached on both sides with anchored ropes… Feet, knees and hands were required to cross safely ! They were very excited about the experience.
At elevation 13 500”, I wasn’t myself anymore. I was so tired JS was pulling me. I heard Danny saying: “take a break guys, eat something, we don’t want to lose her”. Then I realized I might not make it to the top. But I just couldn’t resign. I took deep breathes after deep breathes, one step at a time. I finally reached the crater rim. Down there we had to stop again (blue bag time for one of the guys), and I got on my knees for a minute… and I closed my eyes. For a moment I was totally gone, sleeping… Bad idea, obviously. When I opened my eyes the sunlight was burning (did I mention I forgot my glacier sunglasses at base camp ?), and I was seeing flashing dots. I got up, shake myself up, and told JS : If you don’t want to go for the true summit that’s fine with me”. He laughed: we have only two more minutes to suffer, don’t worry, you’ll make it !”
Danny and Karl welcomed us with hugs and laughs, and tears dropped on my cheeks. That was very emotional, I was so proud to be on top. Of course Danny didn’t miss that cheesy moment, so it will be in the movie
. It was very cold, so we didn’t stay long. And I couldn’t wait to get back down and sleep !
We were worried by the sun getting high. It was nice to succeed, but the route down was now more dangerous due to rock falls. The bottom of D.C. was more technical because of scrambling on mix terrain, and the fatigue was hitting us. And it was getting warm; the several layers of clothes were killing us. We witness few rocks falls on Ingraham Glacier that could have been big trouble for us 5 minutes earlier.
Finally we got back to our tents. It didn’t take long before I fell asleep, believe me. Later we cooked dinner and stayed for another night.
The morning after the weather was deteriorating, so we broke camp early and headed down. On our way something very funny happened: There was a woman going down just in front of me, by herself. A courageous one, I thought. Right at that moment I saw her trip and fall, face down in the snow, her backpack banging on the back of her head!!! After I made sure she was fine, I start laughing in my head. Hey, we all agree, it’s always funny to see someone trip !! Later I learned that very same woman is a pro athlete… and she was on Denali not so long ago… and she’s a celebrity in the northeast hiking community… Major-oups!! Shame on me !! In fact, it was an honour to meet her, I’m just sorry we didn’t have a chance to say goodbye. Nice meeting you, Sue !!
Back in Paradise I was happy to take the Koflach’s off, my feet were burning inside. The sky was cloudy and we missed the view of Rainier from the bottom. We decided to treat ourselves with a 88$ lunch for 5 at the Paradise Inn café, and later with hot tub and Rainier Beer at the Nisqually Lodge in Ashford. It was an awesome experience, thanks to all members of the team for support and fun trip.
Next Trailhead: Mount Baker (WA) for Danny and Karl, Ramona Falls (OR) for us… Hey, water falls are fun too (especially when the body needs recovering!!
PICTURES
Also in that trip, we visited John Day Painted Hills, Smith Rock, Crater Lake, Umpqua Dunes and more. We'll put these pics online soon, stay tune !!
Danny (Quebec City)
He’s Mr. White Mountain. NH48 X3, NE115 X2, NE100, Catskill3500, summited Mount Washington at least 18 times. Loves wind, snow, and low temps, but also loves Colorado : 27 peaks of the Fourteeners done, and he will finish them, I’m sure. He’s also the film maker, always the camera in his hand, narrating each moment of our mountain trips.
Karl (Quebec City)
NE115, NE100, NH100, Catskill3500, 25 CO 14K’s. He’s into bushwhacking, will probably be the first Quebecer to finish the NH3000… No matter what he conditions are, he’ll reach the summit. He likes to create funny characters to make people laugh, that makes him the perfect partner for crappy days.
Barry (Rumford, Maine)
He completed all the major lists, including the NH100. He met us in Washington State after a road trip across America, tagging many State HighPoints. Barry loves to wear funny clothing, such as his bright orange hat. He’s the cool dude.
John Sebastian (Montreal area)
While completing the Northeast peakbagging lists, he scrambled up the major peaks in Banff and Lake Louise, he climbed the Mont Blanc (Traversée Royale), and hiked in Colorado and California. He says there are too many mountains to climb to do twice the same. Very efficient, he’s the GPS and computer assisted hiker.
Julie (Montreal Area)
I’ve done stuff around (ADK46, NH48). I am very determined. I never thought I’d be on Mount Rainier 9 months only after getting surgery on both feet (bunions). I’m the slowpoke, compare to the other members of the team. And I’m the girl, so I’m the whiner (really).
So here’s how it went…
After a week of perfect weather, we started our ascent from Paradise to Camp Muir in a thick and misty fog. Enough wet to put rain covers on our packs. The Skyline Trail is probably a very beautiful path usually, but this year there are snow patches as low as the visitor center. No need to say that we didn’t see many tourists that morning…
We knew we would eventually get out of the cloud, so we kept a good spirit. 5,5h after leaving Paradise, we were there, and the first thing we did after dropping our heavy packs was looking for a flat spot down the northern side of the Camp Muir shelter. Then it was all about melting water, eating and sleeping.
We originally planned to start climbing at 2am, but a group woke us up around midnight (damn it !), so we got up and left at 1:15am. Earlier the better anyway. Unfortunately, Barry decided to stay at basecamp because he didn’t feel good enough and didn’t want to screw things up for us. I admire that. So it was Karl and Danny on rope #1, and JS and I and rope #2. It all went very well from there to Disappointment Cleaver, and then the altitude symptoms kicked in for me. Rope #1 was flying; they did Adams few days before, and they trained so much for this trip, so I was not surprised. I had to stop all the time : low batteries in headlamp, headaches that required Advils, need to pee, eat or drink water. Maybe I just needed to catch my breath…
The sun appeared above the horizon when we reached the top of D.C. We started on the numerous switchbacks at a slow pace, to keep a rhythm without stopping. Rope #1 were ahead, and when we got to a junction, we realized they took the right, while we decided to go left. Both paths were packed by many climbers. A minute later we got in front of a major crevasse. The only way to go around it was by using a one foot wide passage between the end of the crevasse, and the vertical drop on the other side. We probably should have take the right path after all !! Other people in front of us went on, so as we. It was more scary than dangerous. Karl and Danny were waiting for us a little higher, and when we got all together they told us about the way they went : they also had a crevasse to cross, but it was on a LADDER ! It was not long enough, so it was attached on both sides with anchored ropes… Feet, knees and hands were required to cross safely ! They were very excited about the experience.
At elevation 13 500”, I wasn’t myself anymore. I was so tired JS was pulling me. I heard Danny saying: “take a break guys, eat something, we don’t want to lose her”. Then I realized I might not make it to the top. But I just couldn’t resign. I took deep breathes after deep breathes, one step at a time. I finally reached the crater rim. Down there we had to stop again (blue bag time for one of the guys), and I got on my knees for a minute… and I closed my eyes. For a moment I was totally gone, sleeping… Bad idea, obviously. When I opened my eyes the sunlight was burning (did I mention I forgot my glacier sunglasses at base camp ?), and I was seeing flashing dots. I got up, shake myself up, and told JS : If you don’t want to go for the true summit that’s fine with me”. He laughed: we have only two more minutes to suffer, don’t worry, you’ll make it !”
Danny and Karl welcomed us with hugs and laughs, and tears dropped on my cheeks. That was very emotional, I was so proud to be on top. Of course Danny didn’t miss that cheesy moment, so it will be in the movie
. It was very cold, so we didn’t stay long. And I couldn’t wait to get back down and sleep ! We were worried by the sun getting high. It was nice to succeed, but the route down was now more dangerous due to rock falls. The bottom of D.C. was more technical because of scrambling on mix terrain, and the fatigue was hitting us. And it was getting warm; the several layers of clothes were killing us. We witness few rocks falls on Ingraham Glacier that could have been big trouble for us 5 minutes earlier.
Finally we got back to our tents. It didn’t take long before I fell asleep, believe me. Later we cooked dinner and stayed for another night.
The morning after the weather was deteriorating, so we broke camp early and headed down. On our way something very funny happened: There was a woman going down just in front of me, by herself. A courageous one, I thought. Right at that moment I saw her trip and fall, face down in the snow, her backpack banging on the back of her head!!! After I made sure she was fine, I start laughing in my head. Hey, we all agree, it’s always funny to see someone trip !! Later I learned that very same woman is a pro athlete… and she was on Denali not so long ago… and she’s a celebrity in the northeast hiking community… Major-oups!! Shame on me !! In fact, it was an honour to meet her, I’m just sorry we didn’t have a chance to say goodbye. Nice meeting you, Sue !!
Back in Paradise I was happy to take the Koflach’s off, my feet were burning inside. The sky was cloudy and we missed the view of Rainier from the bottom. We decided to treat ourselves with a 88$ lunch for 5 at the Paradise Inn café, and later with hot tub and Rainier Beer at the Nisqually Lodge in Ashford. It was an awesome experience, thanks to all members of the team for support and fun trip.
Next Trailhead: Mount Baker (WA) for Danny and Karl, Ramona Falls (OR) for us… Hey, water falls are fun too (especially when the body needs recovering!!
PICTURES
Also in that trip, we visited John Day Painted Hills, Smith Rock, Crater Lake, Umpqua Dunes and more. We'll put these pics online soon, stay tune !!
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