Pacific Northwest
I had never seen a glacier before, or even been above 10,000 feet, but that was no excuse for skipping out on an awesome adventure opportunity. Christine and I decided to give Mt. Rainier a shot, but since both of us were beginners in terms of mountaineering, we joined on a 6 day course through RMI, one of the major guiding companies in the US. This trip included being lowered into a crevasse during glacier rescue practice, ice cold beers on the summit of Mt. Rainier after a 1:00am start, and hanging out with a really incredible group of people from across the country (and Canada!)
After Rainier, we joined up with Doug who we met on the mountain, and headed south to Mt. Hood. Doug was working towards the 50 high points, and only had 6 to go, and this was one of them. We summited Hood, and then headed to Smith Rock out in the desert since our toes were getting a bit cold, and climbed one of the longest trad routes there, Zebra Zion, my first multipitch 5.10.
All in all, a pretty great introduction to the climbing of the Pacific Northwest. There is still tons more to explore, and I'll have to get back there soon!
It was pretty easy to spot Christine when we met up at the airport. Not many people travel with a haul bag.
Only about 6000 vertical feet to go.
Crevasse rescue practice. Don't forget your prusiks!
Inside the crevasse. Pretty cold down here!
Summit day! We started at 1:00am and were on the summit shortly after dawn.
Top of the cleaver watching the sun rise.
Summit beers!
Windy! Mt. St. Helens in the background. It was once a bit taller.
Mt. Adams on the right, and the shadow of Mt. Adams on the atmosphere on the left.
Heading up Mt. Hood.
Heading up from the crater. The summit is above the buttresses in the center.
Sunrise shadow, and a pretty good sized crew behind us.
Summit!
Finally, some warm climbing! We climbed Zebra Zion 5.10b, which follows the dihedral in the center, and wanders up right then left to the top. We had a mini epic here. Ran out of water on pitch 3 of 5. Got our rappel rope stuck and had to ascend the rope back to the summit. Decided to walk off in our climbing shoes since our approach shoes were at the base. The suffering made the beer taste that much better once we got back to the campsite!
Sunset at Smith Rock
Waking up on the last day. Can't wait to come back!
