Paul in the Wilderness

Of Pancakes and Gut Feelings

2009-04-27T17:05:00.000-07:00

Saturday I woke up from my Nyquil induced coma (I spent the previous week battling a cold) to the sound of birds chirping and bright morning sunlight in my eyes. After fighting day for a while, I succumbed and got out of my warm synthetic-fill cocoon. I got things settled and we made breakfast, pancakes! The Bisquik Shake and Pour is a fantastic idea, unforuntately, the wind didn't agree and was blowing the inferno from my stove all over. I burned through almost all the fuel I'd brought. I figured I'd be able to burn through half, but no way could I get through all of it. After a pancake's worth of batter landing on the ground and several other minor frusturations, we cleaned up, and head for the rocks.

After an enjoyable hike up "The Stair Stepper", a seemingly never ending stair case of stone, and a little more 3rd class hiking, we arrived at the base of our intended climb. As I flaked out the rope and tied in, all I could think about was this feeling in my stomach saying that climbing today wouldn't be wise. I blame the pancakes.

Ignoring the pancakes, I work my way across the ledge and up to the first gear placement. Something really doesn't feel right, this climb does not feel like 5.6. I admit my feelings and down climb back to the ledge. As I look at the guide book again, I realize that I've misread the guide book, and the route I wanted to climb isn't even marked. I was actually about to climb a 5.8. Thank goodness for bad pancakes.

We packed up and headed towards where we climbed yesterday, hoping to maybe find something a tad easier. As we tromped down the trail, me with my tail between my legs, we came upon the bearded man from the climbing shop.

Mr. Beard, Steve, and his friend Bill, who lives about 30 minutes from my school, were tying in to climb Old Man's Route. After some chatting, they talked me into doing Conns West, something that was exactly what I was looking for.

After they headed up, we roped up and took off after them. Upon reaching the belay ledge where our routes split, they suggested we meet at the top and take pictures and rappel down together. After bringing Kelly up, I recollected gear and headed straight up.

Fantastic climbing on great rock. After reaching a ledge where the route heads left, I went straight up the direct route. Straight up the dihedral to a fantastic ledge, I set a belay and brought Kelly up. I knew she would love the last 20 feet of the pitch, super exposed.

I headed up the last pitch to the top, set a belay and up Kelly came. Soon after, Bill and Steve appeared. With them, a woman, and then several more people came up. The harnesses on these folks were the most unusual I've seen in the mountains. Several had webbing for a harness, one had a glacier harness, one had a real climbing harness, and their "guide" who I later

learned to be their friend, had a runner and some cord forming his "harness". Some of them were wearing helmets, a few, including the "guide" was not.

Bill and Steve realized the situation and were kind enough to set a fixed line to the summit. We quickly moved onto the summit, signed the register, in an old army ammo can. Bill and I headed down, and soon we learned that the group of 6 people only had 4 rappel devices and several of the people had rapped at all before!

Under the impression that they were only going for a "rock scramble", they either got very off route or were misled, and thought they could just walk off. I suppose they could, but the first 300 foot, bone shattering step is certainly a doozy. We (Bill, Steve and myself), suggested that we rap down as a large group, in teams if need be.

I would be the first one down, serving as a "fireman" for the new people with no experience. I rapped down 60 meters and was unable to find the next anchor. Hastily, I descended farther until I was on a small ledge, with a perfect crack for gear for an anchor, not more then 2 meters from the end of the rope. As the inexperienced started to come down, I decided I would lower them the remaining 40 or so feet to the ground, and after 2 hours, our mini-rescue was nearly complete.

After finally making it to the ground myself, I packed my gear and Bill, Steve, Kelly and I hiked down, preventing another accident in the process. An out of shape father and his 2 kids, probably between 7 and 10, were hiking up the trail to what they thought was the North Summit. Bill informed them they were in dangerous territory and NOT where they thought they were. A little redirection and they were safely on their way.

So many variables worked safely in the favor of 9 people. Afterwards, Bill Steve, Kelly and myself talked about what happened and decided that something very tragic could have occurred, and the group was fortunate we were there. As you can see by their expressions, Kelly and Steve were not thrilled by the situation on top...

2009-04-25T17:04:00.000-07:00

What a year it has been since I've last written! With school, work, and the few small adventures I've been able to take over the last 8 months, I have not had much time to think!

Last weekend I was fortunate enough to be able to head down to Seneca Rocks, West Virginia with the lovely Miss Kelly Gilsenan. We left Millersville about 2:30 on Thursday afternoon, headed south to Winchester, VA for dinner at an Italian restaurant, that I've dined at before. I was not thrilled with the pasta I had, but Kelly really enjoyed her meal. After passing the Wal-Mart on Virginia Route 50, we were in the country side, where we should remain for the next several days.

Cruising through the beautiful mountain and valley terrain, I couldn't help but be astonished. The mid April sun setting just beyond the ridge just made this the place to be at that moment in time. Further on we travel, moving quickly down country roads into Monongahela National Forest.

Just before 8 PM we arrived at Seneca Shadows campground. After checking in with the exceptionally friendly campground hosts Ted and Marilyn, we found our camp spot. We were fortunate enough to catch the last bit of sun on Seneca Rocks as we were hauling things from the car. After setting up the tent, we were fortunate enough to see a set of stars that in all my travels I have never seen. I was enamored by the dandruff on the the black robe of the evening sky.

Friday morning came to quick and after a small breakfast we head out. After choosing some objective climbs for the day, we headed across the river and up Roy Gap Road. After climbing up something less like a trail and more like a goat path, we arrived at the base of Candy Corner (5.6).

Although I will never be a super hard climber, whenever going to a new area, I like to warm up on something I'm sure I won't spend my time falling up. Seneca was no exception, especially with it's reputation for sandbagged, old school ratings. We unpacked the gear, stretched and tied in. As the belay commands flew, I was off and climbing. Into the cracks, my gear fit perfectly. Although cold in the early morning shade, I was content as a snake in the sun. Upwards I climbed, to the first belay station. I yelled off belay to Kelly, and pulled the rope up. Soon enough, she was on belay and climbing.

As she reached the crux of the route, she got stuck. The major drop off to the left had her gripped. A bulge with little to hold did not help either. After a few minutes of fighting with herself to pull this bulge, she told me she couldn't do it. She asked to be lowered off. I couldn't say no.

Set up in guide mode, I quickly locked off the belay device, swapped it over to a redirect and to the ground she was lowered. After setting a rap anchor from the bolts, I lowered off and pulled my gear, leaving only a runner, carabiner and rap ring at the anchor. Bummed that I had to leave some gear, I told the next guy on the route he could have it. Being the genuine person he was, as well as an instructor from Garret College, he said that he would remove it and return it. Karma was on my side this morning, and I would repay the karma later that afternoon.

After resting for a while, we followed the instructors recommendation to try Skyline Traverse (5.3), which is also the finishing pitches of Candy Corner. This route can be moderately terrifying with a step out and over 100 feet of air. After racking up and deciding to carry an extra rope, we quickly moved to the first belay. After bring Kelly up, I quickly regained my gear and off I went. The infamous step out over the void was not remotely as scary as imagined, with good protection and fantastic holds. I moved upwards to the point where the 2nd belay should be, but after finding no thrilling gear placements, I opted to run the pitch out farther and belay from the top, only 70 feet father, 170 feet of my 230 foot rope. After topping out and setting an anchor, I hollered "Off Belay!"

As I tried to pull up rope, the belay seemed to still be on. Perhaps she didn't hear me? I never did hear a response, I thought to myself. Again, as loud as I can, I scream "Off Belay!", but still, to no avail. Not anticipating this, we had not worked out commands via rope tugs. After hauling up a bit more rope, I tied off to the anchor and went over to the edge to where Kelly may be able to hear me.

In the tree, I noticed a purple sling with a small locking carabiner attached. "Booty!" I exclaim to myself, thinking of the pirate I'm not. The mountain gods have blessed me today. As I lean over the ledge, I yell "Off Belay", only to hear "Belay Off". After putting Kelly on belay, she quickly moves up and and through to the top.

As she sits down on a rock on our porch overlooking the mountains, a man walks over, looks at the tree and sighs, It's gone". I ask him what's gone, with the response of "A purple runner and carabiner I had attached to that tree over there. I left it by accident." Perhaps the mountain gods had not shined on me as much as I thought. Karma demanded its tax, and it's favor was repaid.

We coiled the ropes and tried to figure out the descent. Looking around, I found nothing. I yelled to a guy higher up the ridge and he said that we could just walk off. Down the ledge I walked, ending in a 20 foot block. Perhaps this is not a walk off. After returning to our eagle's eye perch, I found a monster tree with signs that people have rappelled from it before. Doubting that there would be more anchors further down, we tied the 2 ropes that we had together. We set up to rappel, and down I went. I had to deal with several large knots of rope, but made it to the ground in 1 long 220 foot rappel, with only 10 feet of rope left to spare.

Kelly came down, and I pulled the rope though, smoothly and without any big event. We packed up our things, and headed down to the truck. I wanted to check out the famous Gendarme climbing shop, named after the rock formation that tumbled from sky to earth in 1987.

We walked inside, eying a medium height, middle age, bearded man and a younger employee, talking about the sport. After looking around for a bit, and feeling a bit lost for routes to do, I asked. With some great recommendations, and a suggestion of "Don't make me work this weekend" from our bearded friend, reminding me to use good sense and not get myself in a situation where I needed rescue, we headed back to the campground to sort gear, enjoy dinner and relax by the fire.

The Northeast Ridge

2008-08-09T18:58:00.000-07:00

Saturday we woke up planning to head to Pigeon Spire and do a route there, but halfway through the approach, Kurt said "Hey, why don't we go do the Northeast Ridge of Bugaboo today and avoid the crowds on the splitter day tomorrow?"

We already knew the approach and descent and the weather was pretty good so we figured we could move through it efficiently. We sprinted up to the base of the approach, up to the base of the route and hopped on.

The Northeast Ridge is a classic North American Route, with the crux move being one of the first moves. Kurt led, Matt followed and I cleaned. I fell on the crux move. My hand slipped off the sharp granite and due to rope stretch and my proximity to the ground my butt ended up back in the snow!

After I started climbing, I got up to the first belay ledge. From now for 9 of the next 10 pitches I belayed Kurt. He is a very proficient leader and allowed us to move quickly up the route.

Midway up the route I realized just why this route is such a classic. The awesome exposure, not to much but enough to really show you how high you up, the gorgeous views in clear weather and the fun pitches, such as the finger crack, long chimney, and "step of faith" as I like to call it that was scary due to exposure but really not difficult.

After 10 pitches, we topped out for the technical climbing and put our boots on, and transitioned to 4th class mode which allowed us to move really quick. We traversed across the top of Bugaboo Spire, me leading the group.

Although the moves were not at all hard, it was super exposed with 2,000 foot drop offs on either side. At the point that I feel is the scariest of all, a small slab about 3 feet wide and 6 feet long with crazy exposure on either side, Matt had trouble removing a cam that I placed that had walked. I then had to stop and hang out in the middle of this slab, with a moderate wind blowing over my side.

After I got over that sketchy section we moved into a sheltered area, where we moved down and up to the summit. Although this is not the true route, it is much quicker, less technically difficult and probably a good bit more fun.

We sat on the summit for only a few minutes, Kurt and my second time there, and then went into descent mode. We descended much more efficiently then other groups have. We did the whole route in about 12 hours, not even originally planning on do it that fast. The guide book says it takes a group about 12-16 hours to do, and that it's not uncommon for groups to get caught in the dark.

A group of climbers did the route earlier in the week and spent 23 hours and a night on the route. They had the misfortune of getting ropes hung up on the descent and didn't know the ascent or descent. This whole experience was a good way to prove that planning really allows for speed and safety.

After returning to camp around 7:30, I broke out my salmon and mashed potatoes, the dinner I had been saving for the route all the week. It was glorious, and after a hearty dinner and conversation with other climbers, I climbed in my sleeping bag for a well deserved and fit-full night's sleep.

Christmas Morning

2008-08-05T09:01:00.000-07:00

Thursday we headed out of camp to climb Eeyore, an area classic. I led the first pitch, which was definitely one of the scariest pitches of my life. I successfully got to the belay ledge in good style without falling and built an anchor. As I was building my anchor, it started to snow. Not heavy, but more then flurries. Once Kurt and Matt got to the ledge, Matt took the sharp end and led the crux pitch.

Several more pitches up, it really started snowing. We kept climbing in true alpine style, but soon opted to bail off the route because of slippery rock. By the time we got down, the snow had stopped, the sun was shining and the rock was dry. Another great practice experience in bailing!

When we got back to camp it was a little late in the day to do anything so we just chilled around camp. Soon after we ate dinner the wind picked up and we retreated into our tents. The wind blew and howled, pulling out one of my guy lines. Then it started to hail, and snow and I spent the rest of the evening reading and went to bed early.

I woke up in the middle of the night just as the snow started to taper off. I was cold and realized my therm-a-rest had deflated, from a very tiny leak, about the size of a pinhole. I figured I would patch it the next day when I could actually find the leak.

Early the next morning I woke up and crawled outside my tent to the cold, crisp sunrise. It was like Christmas morning in July. 25 degrees and gorgeous. We decided to go hike around on the glacier because we couldn't do any climbing.

Our hike around the glacier was a lot of fun and we got some plans for other routes nailed down which would help us out on routes the rest of the trip. Afterwards, we went back to camp and hung out with some other climbers for the remainder of the afternoon.

Awesome Granite

2008-07-22T12:10:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning we woke and got out of camp by about 7 am. Not far from camp, Matt said that he wasn't feeling well, probably a combination of a cold and the altitude. He headed back and Kurt and I headed towards the Bugaboo-Snowpatch Col, which breaks the 2 famous spires in the Bugaboos. Once we got to the col, we took a break and then headed up the Kain Route of Bugaboo, an area classic that is used as a warm up by many new to the area and would also let us scope the descent of the Northeast Ridge, which is the same as that of the Kain route.

After a lot of 4th class climbing (climbing that a fall could result in death and being roped up is a good idea) over lots of rock fields and up some small tricky spots, we got to the gendarme pitch which requires stepping out blindly around an edge onto a wide slab with almost no handholds. Although this would be an easy feat in climbing shoes, in alpine boots it can be a slightly scary experience.

After a few more pitches of easy climbing we came to the summit where Kurt and I signed the summit register, which was filled, we wrote on the side of the descent description for lack of anywhere better to sign.

We descended to a sheltered section of the ridge where we ate lunch and started our rappels down. After several stuck ropes, we made it back to the 4th class climbing which, when down climbing, results in a lot of sliding on your backside.

After we got off the route, we grabbed our crampons and ice axes and headed back down the steep snow slope and back to camp where we chilled for the remainder of the day.

Wednesday we planned to do a more challenging climb, with almost no 4th class climbing and lots of 5th class climbing. We did the route Lion's Way on Crescent Spire. I led the first 2 pitches, then Matt led 2 pitches and Kurt led the last 2. After topping out, we decided to not traverse the whole spire which would take a while and I didn't think would be much fun, so we descended down the typical descent route and down a couloir where we glissaded the rest of the way down.

Getting back to camp was nice because we were tired and we ate and relaxed for the remainder of the day. I layed in my tent for several hours and thought of nothing of substance but really enjoyed myself!

On the Road Again

2008-07-20T10:49:00.000-07:00

July 5th I set the hotel alarm clock apprehensively, worried that if I set it wrong, which I've done in the past, that I would oversleep and be late getting to AAI. I would have set my cellphone alarm clock, but the battery was nearly dead, so I figured that was an even bigger risk. As I closed my eyes that night, I spent it thinking to myself, let's hope I did this right!

I woke up the next morning, looked over at the clock. It read 6:15. I thought to myself, awesome another 45 minutes to lay in this comfy bed. Around 6:24 I look over again, thinking to myself, "The alarm was supposed to go off at 6. I'm supposed to get picked up at 6:45. OH SHOOT!" I shot out of bed, quickly got dressed, brushed my hair for the last time for 12 days and bolted out the door, lucky that I had already packed all my stuff.

I only had to wait a few minutes for AAI to show up, and upon my arrival, learned that we were in fact going to the Bugaboos in Canada! The Bugaboos are known for being an awesome alpine climbing playground, probably one of the best in North America. A picture is featured on the cover of the climbers bible "Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills".

After cutting my ice axe shorter, because I had recently learned it was too long, and getting some donuts for the ride, we left Bellingham for Spokane, WA where we were to stop at Mountain Gear to pick up a guide book.

After stopping at Mountain Gear we went to a local park that had some short cliffs to climb on, so our guide Kurt could get a feel for how we climbed. Afterwards, we hopped back on the highway and drove to a grocery store in Idaho where we bought dinner and drove through Northern Idaho (somewhere I never in my wildest dreams expected to ever be) to the Canadian Border, where we crossed efficiently and drove to the town of Canal Flats, where we drove up a logging road and camped on the side at a "Kurt Hicks Bivy Site". Free camping out under

the stars.

The next morning we woke, reset our watches and drove to Radium Hot Springs where we sorted our gear and headed to Bugaboo Provincial Park which is down a long (35 km) dirt road. When we got to the parking lot, we were immediately attacked by mosquitos the size of small birds, which ate us alive through our clothing. We quickly wrapped our van

in chicken wire so the critters who live in the area wouldn't eat our brake lines.

We started up the trail, which started easy but got very steep and rocky. It actually became so rough that the Alpine Club of Canada and BC Parks have cemented rocks in to form steps and installed chain railings and a ladder, something you would rarely find in the US.

I moved quite slowly up the steep terrain, carrying 65-80 pounds on my back. We arrived at the Kain Hut, which is run but the Alpine Club of Canada. You can stay there, and it's fairly luxurious for its location, but is also very expensive. We paid for our campsite and hiked the extra kilometer and 250 vertical meters and set up our camp at Applebee Dome.

When we arrived it was very windy and setting a tent up in the 20-30 MPH wind was an interesting experience. Once my tent was set up, I cooked dinner chilled a little, read and went to sleep, around 9:30 because we were going to get up at 5:30 AM the next morning.

As Confusing as a Fred Becky Route Description

2008-07-05T15:07:00.001-07:00

At the ranger station in Glacier, WA, we checked on the trail conditions, got a weather report for the next 2 days. Richard, our guide, also showed us the basic route on a big 3-D topographic map.

We then went out back and talked about the route and looked at the descriptions in 2 books Richard had. We then got in the van and drove up to the trailhead.

The parking lot we parked in was surrounded by tourists. Some were interested in what we were doing, noticing all our gear all over the place and our big packs, but most just ignored us. The amount of people around was just overwhelming. Many were fascinated to see snow and the temperature being 75-80 degrees.

Rather then hiking down the remainder of the road, we cut across the snow pack and started hiking in. The first part was pretty cool because it was all down hill! We then were down in a valley where we crossed many small creeks that were covered in snow. The last part of the hike was up some pretty big hills, but we moved quickly and efficiently.

We got to a point where we had a couple choices to pick a camp site. I wanted to camp on the ridge because I could tell the view was going to be awesome. Richard and I headed up to the ridge to check it out, and Matt and Danielle went to

check out another site in the trees. We ended up choosing the site I picked out.

We set up camp and planned out how we were going to get to the bottom of the route the following day. We then made dinner and chilled out for the remainder of the evening.

We got to see a gorgeous sunset over the mountains which was a great cap to a good day.

The following morning we woke up at 4:15 AM to get ready to leave by 5:30 so we could move while conditions were still good. As we we hiked over to the route, not far from camp Danielle said she wasn't feeling it today and went back camp. Only 3, we got to the bottom of the route which was partially melted out. We climbed up a partial trail, then traversed a wide snowfield.

The route description told us to that the rock section started to the right of a huge boulder tha

t you can't miss. We're looking around. No boulder. We ask Richard where it is, as it turns out it is under the snow. Thank you Fred Becky.

We started the rock portion of the route, not very hard, we can move together very quickly but then we come to a section of super steep snow. As we climb up we find easy rock right next to the snow, and climb up that. It's tricky but doable.

When we get up to a ridge, Richard asks how I'm feeling. I'm hot because its about 80 degrees with the sun then reflecting back off the snow. The route isn't a huge amount of fun. He tells me that he thinks we should stop rather then going farther, just because conditions are falling apart and we are 3-4 hours away from the summit anyway. We stopped and had lunch before heading down.

I led us down the steep 75-85 degree snow slope. After getting down the rock section safely, the space between the rock and snow at the base of the route had gotten much bigger. I climbed down a little farther where it would be easier to get on the snow.

My knee was sore from bumping into rocks and kind of stiff as well. As i was traversing, the step in the snow broke out from under me and I went sliding. I tried to self arrest but the snow ran out and I slid into a moat. Right before I slid into the moat I could see it was an 8 foot drop on the rock slab below. I thought to myself, I'm going to end up wit

h a broken leg.

Right as I disappear below the surface of the snow, I feel the rope catch me. Safe and sound I hear a "Paul are you ok?", which I responded with "Yeah, I'm just fine". Richard climbed up onto the snow and belayed me back up and away from the moat. We gathered in a flat spot and Matt led us on.

Going down another steep slope, I slipped again, and tried to self arrest again. At the same time I slipped, Matt slipped. During my attempt at self arrest, my axe caught on a tree and slid out of my hands. Richard was able to arrest both of us.

After some more down climbing on snow, we took a break. At this point I was very frustrated and just wanted to get off that route and go back to my tent.

As we got to the rappel station, we set up a rappel and Matt headed down first. As I moved closer to the set up, my axe, which was now clipped to my harness, became unclipped and all we heard was cling, clang, clung and watched it fall off the side of the cliff.

Rather then land in a moat, it landed in the snow. Matt was able to recover it. We soon got off the route and headed back to camp.

On our walk back, I'm so frustrated about how the day went that I think to myself that I just want to go home. Not back to my tent. Home in Jersey.

Once we get back, I just crawl in my tent where I relax in the warm sun streaming through the door and just let the frustration leave my body.

The rest of the night was spent hanging out, reading, napping, eating the remainder of our food and quoting lots of movies. We all headed to bed around 9. I read in my tent for a while and the wind picked up. I could tell a storm was coming. I saw some lightning before falling asleep but heard no thunder.

Around 12:30 AM I wake up hearing loud thunder, and hearing rain pounding my tent. I sit up and look out the window and see that it's really windy, but my tent is barely showing that it is. After a few minutes of this, I hear from one of the other tents "So, Richard, what are we going to do?", to which he responds that we're pretty safe and are just going to deal. I lay in my sleeping bag thinking I'm not moving. My tent is made for Everest conditions.

I remember a conversation I had with Eric Horst, a high caliber climber who is a professor at my college, and recall him saying that some of his scariest times in the mountains have been during storms much like we were enjoying. I just buried down in my sleeping bag and fell asleep.

In the morning I woke up and started packing my stuff up. We decided that based on the look of the clouds, we wanted to get out as quick as possible. As we headed out, the clouds moved in lower in the valley, making it hard to see our landmarks. At one point we got disoriented and retraced our steps back and forth several times until we back on track. We made it back to our van in 3 hours, 10 minutes, about as long as the hike in, and were soaked to the bone because of the rain that we enjoyed for about 2 hours of our hike.

We headed back to Bellingham, and I returned to my hotel. It was a great trip and I'm psyched for part 3, the final part of my climbing adventure.

More Comfortable with Crevasses

2008-07-05T08:55:00.000-07:00

The morning after our hike into Mount Baker, we hiked up to Survey rock, where we worked on navigation skills and how to orient a map. We also eyed a good size serac to practice ice climbing on.

After our morning lesson, we headed back to camp where we reviewed crevasse rescue and climbed a rope slung over a branch using a prussic knot. This turned out to be very exhausting but works quite well.

Afterwards, we packed our day packs and went for a walk to the serac we found earlier and practiced setting ice screws and building v-thread anchors.

We then hiked back to camp, had dinner, hung out and went to bed.

The following day I led our group over the glacier and around crevasses to the serac we were at the previous afternoon and pract

iced ice climbing. I realized the more I was around crevasses, the more comfortable I got with them. Leading really made me comfortable with them. It all comes down to accepting that if you fall in, your rope team will save you and you'll be able to self rescue, and if you're injured, they will know how to haul you out!

It was a lot of fun but challenging at the same time. We used two ice tools, one ice tool and a mountaineering axe, and just a mountaineering axe. This challenged us for a situation that we may run into when traveling on a glacier.

After the fun day of ice climbing, we returned to camp, where we ate dinner and planned a route for the next day when we would navigate across the glacier for some bigger ice. Matt led us over and the big ice we had hoped for was covered with snow, so headed back down the glacier near a huge cave where we had lunch and practiced leading on ice. Although not steep us, it did allow us to get used to setting ice screws and building ice anchors, which is a little different then rock anchors.

Afterwards, we hiked back to camp where we plotted a route up to the Thunder Glacier, a navigation challenge our instructor gave us. We each took sections of the route to navigate. I had the first and largest chunk of the trip. I was to lead and navigate us up to about 7,000 feet.

The next morning, I led us out of camp and up to 7,000 feet as planned, where we had lunch. Matt triangulated where we were and I got us very close to where I had planned on.

Matt took the lead after lunch and we went up through several passes to see if we could get down to the glacier. As it turned out, the map we had been using was over 20 years old and due to melting of the glacier, very inaccurate. It turns out that we couldn't get down to the glacier because it was very steep and getting back up would just be exhausting.

We opted not to hike down and our instructor told us that we did just what he wanted and he knew we wouldn't be able to get down to begin with.

After our long day we headed back to camp where we hung out, ate dinner and had a great time. The next morning we packed up our camp and hiked back out. A lot of snow had melted over the past several days so we were able to follow the summer trailed for a good portion of the hike and were able to move very quick.

When we got close to the trailhead, we past some climbers heading in. As they walked past, I noticed that they smelled clean! I was reminded of the joke Appalachian Trail hikers have, that they can smell day hikers a mile way!

After returning to our van, we drove back to Glacier where we got baked goods and headed to the ranger station to plan our next section of our trip!

An Interesting New Tentmate

2008-07-04T09:25:00.000-07:00

First off, I apologize if I don't have lots of pictures for these entries. My internet connection is not the best, so I will go on a quest to find a better connection so I can upload pictures!

As I woke up to the early morning light of our last few hours in Leavenworth, I heard a squeak from the other side of the tent. I sat up, curious as to what this was. Propped up on my elbows, I see a small brown head stick up from behind my food bag on the other side of my tent!

I sit up quickly, trying to open the door to get my new chipmunk friend out of my small domicile. As I move towards the door, and him, he moves to where my head was. I try to get out as quick as possible, still in my sleeping bag. I get out of my sleeping bag and start pulling stuff out of my tent. The chipmunk, still in my tent is now hiding behind a fleece up near where my head was.

I've decided that it's time for him to leave and so I walk behind my tent and start an earthquake. Quick as lightening, the chipmunk flies out of the tent, across the campsite and into the underbrush.

Since we're packing up to leave today anyway, I just start pulling stuff out of my tent, when I discover how my chipmunk friend got in. He chewed a hole right through the floor of my tent at some point during the night, and he ate all of my special brand of gorp! Probably an entire cup was left and he ate all of it!

After packing all of my gear, except for my unharmed food bag and stove, and made hard boiled eggs and bacon. It was a terrific breakfast, great food I didn't expect to be eating for several weeks yet!

After packing up camp, we got in the car and head back to Bellingham, WA where we would swap out the heavy rock gear for ice climbing gear. Afterwards, we drove to Glacier, WA where we signed in at the ranger station, got a weather report as well as a trail report. We drove up the same road to the trailhead for Mount Baker. In the past 2 weeks it had melted quite significantly, and we were able to park within about a half mile of the trailhead! After packing our gear up, we started from the car at 6:20 PM, which seems late, but when you have light until around 10 PM, it isn't a big problem.

The most tricky part of the entire hike in was a bridge crossing. When we hiked out of Mt. Baker during part 1, there as a large crack in the log bridge. Over the past several weeks, the crack got much larger and the bridge had split!

We crossed using a large log down stream, and moved quickly up to Mirkwood camp. When we arrived at 9 PM, those of us who had been there recently noticed how much it had changed in the last 2 weeks! A lot of snow had melted and many more people had come and gone. After making dinner, I climbed into my tent, the point of entry for my chipmunk friend being sealed with duct tape until I could put some repair tape on it.

Back from Part 2!

2008-07-03T20:25:00.000-07:00

I've returned from Part 2 of my climbing adventure!

I really enjoyed this section of the trip and learned a lot!

The first 4 days of the program were spent in Leavenworth, WA which is a Bavarian themed town. When you first go there, you just have to laugh because some of the buildings really don't look very Bavarian.

We headed to a crag where we worked on anchor building and setting gear.

This section of the trip we had a new group member! Danielle, who wants to become a mountain guide, has climbed the highest peaks on every continent and is only 21!

We also had a new guide, Richard. He is from Chile and spent time in Syracuse, NY. He has an awesome sense of humor and really made the trip enjoyable!

On our second day, we headed back to the same crag where we were the previous day and worked on more anchor building. Richard also set up some anchors for us to evaluate. After lunch we did some practice leads.

Day 3 was spent at a different crag, where we practiced rock rescue, did another practice lead, and tried a tough slab climb, which requires using the friction from you shoes to move up the rock. I find slab climbing to be very tricky and frustrating, so I usually avoid it.

Afterwards, we headed into Leavenworth to a restaurant called Gustav's which is a Bavarian themed restaurant. Although it has a small menu, the food is excellent!

North Cascades National Park

2008-06-21T19:07:00.000-07:00

After a well deserved nights rest, we packed up our camp at Marblemount and headed to North Cascades National Park. The mountains were huge, the snow covered peaks glorious. The further we drove through the park, the more the mountains turned from snow covered peaks to tall granite spires.

Soon after we drove through Washington Pass, we pulled over to look at our first few objectives, South Early Winter Spire, and Liberty Bell. These tall glorious stone spectacles would be my first multi-pitch rock climbs!

After getting back in the van, we headed for Fun Rock in Mazama. We stopped at the Mazama store, a neat general store/gas station that was pretty fancy for it's country location. We would frequent this store for treats all week.

Upon our arrival at Fun Rock, a sport climbing area, we roped up and warmed up. I top roped a climbed that to my eye looked to be about 5.8, but our guide later told me it was 5.10a, higher then I had ever climbed.

We later moved on to a different section of the crag. I top roped a route that was very new. When I found out it was a 5.11a, I didn't think I could possibly climb it, but gave it a shot anyway. Although I weighted the rope a few times, I did climb it! I hope to get another chance to try and climb it clean, but never got the opportunity. Later, we practiced multi-pitch climbing in preparation for tomorrow's climb on South Early Winter Spire.

After an enjoyable and relaxing afternoon of cragging, we drove to Winthrope, WA to get groceries. We then decided to stop and get pizza. Being from New Jersey and kind of a snob when it comes to bagels and pizza, the pizza was terrific!

We camped at Klipchuck campground for the night and would spend several more nights there as well.

On Monday we headed to South Early Winter Spire to climb the South Arete route. The

approach was fairly short but very steep up snow from an avalanche several weeks previous. Once we reached the base of the climb we changed into our climbing gear, put our packs and boots up high so the mountain goats wouldn't eat them. The goats flocked to our area as soon as we left the ground!

The scariest part of the climb was crossing a knife ridge. Although exposed, it was a simple crossing. Standing on top was glorious! It was sunny, clear and warm. We descending by rappelling and quickly reached the ground. We packed our gear up and hiked out.

Tuesday we drove up and hiked into Liberty Bell which we would climb by the the Becky Route. An area classic, the climb starts at the top of a couloir. Blustery and cold, I put all the layers I had on. We climbed up through an awesome chimney and when I arrived on the belay ledge, the warm sun hit me. We opted to do a variation of the route and go up a crack system. By the time we reached the top of the climb, my layers had shifted and my harness was hanging very loose. I quickly tightened it up.

South Early Winter Spire is the tall spire at left and Liberty Bell is the tall spire on the right.

We rappelled off the best climb of my life and quickly descended back to our van. That evening, Matt and I planned our expedition, which was to climb Silver Star Mountain and Burgandy Spire.

On Wednesday we hiked in, the hike being up extremely steep dusty trail, gain 2,000 feet in about a mile and a half. Only the last 5 minutes of walking were on snow. Once we arrived at the area where we would make camp, we sat and relaxed. We were talking and I said that I had absolutely no desire to climb Silver Star Mountain because it would be just as big a slog as Baker was. We decided upon only doing Burgandy Spire.

The rest of the afternoon was spent napping in the sun and relaxing. A good dinner of baked beans and rice was followed by an early bed time, piling 3 people in a tent for 2.

We left camp around 8 AM. I led the hike up to the start of the route, up steep, hard pack snow. The route started off more technical then the guide book had stated and didn't get easier. As the day went by, it got colder, the ceiling dropped and it started to snow on and off. The climb was a lot of scrambling over loose rock and the intense wind and cold we hadn't been prepared for brought us to a decision to bail off the route. We learned a lot from this experience and quickly returned to the warmth of our camp. We quickly packed up camp and hiked out. I moved slow down the steep hill. Every time I got moving a little quicker I would slip on the dust and nearly face plant. I took the descent very slowly but we quickly made it back to the van. We returned to Winthrope for pizza and camped again at Klipchuck campground, where I discovered I had put a huge tear in my inflatable Therm-a-rest. I was lucky enough to borrow one from Matt and slept quite soundly.

Friday brought the end to the first section of the trip. We packed up camp and had breakfast at the Mazama store and drove the 3 hours back to Bellingham.

The thing I learned from this trip that was most valuable was not related at all to climbing, but some simple that will help me for life. Mary, the guide noticed that I walked with my feet bent out. Knowing of my knee problems, she said that I needed to walk with my feet straight and I should have any issues. On several occasions, my knee became very sore, but I started walking with very straight feet, and the pain vanished quickly.

Tomorrow I will depart for part 2 of my apprenticeship with climbing. More to come in several weeks!

Summit Dreams Realized

2008-06-21T16:50:00.000-07:00

We left our camp at 5,400 feet at 9 PM Friday night. As we started climbing, we saw the sun set over the Olympic mountains far off on the coast. The beautiful sunset was proof that the weather was going to hold off and we were going to have the weather that had been predicted!

As the sun went down we started to see the city lights of Bellingham, WA. Throughout the entire night, we could see a faint orange glow of the sun shining over far off places and mountains much grander than our own quest.

As we got onto the ghostly glacier I immediately became intimidated. Although my crampons were gripping great, the thought of the icy hell of a crevasse still weighed heavily in my mind. As we came to our first crevasse to cross, our guide found a snow bridge, tested it and crossed it. Carol crossed just fine as well. Then came James. Mid-way across the

3 foot long link between sections of his leg punched through the snow bridge. He caught himself by the time he was up to his thigh and got out and across.

My turn was next. As I got close I thought of the John Gill quote "Think hard enough and you'll levitate". As hard as I tried to think lightly, I punched through the snow bridge up to my ankle. Instinctively I fell forward onto the solid section of ice and escaped the cold jaws of the deep chasm.

Next came Matt and Roy, who both crossed just fine. As we hiked on, the sun started to rise behind the mountain. As we came to the top of the glacier, we cl

imbed up onto the ridge. As soon as I set foot on the ridge, the wind increased a lot. I estimate it was blowing about 20-30 mile

s sustained. I didn't know wind could blow so hard for so long. This was the most tricky section of the entire trek to Baker's summit, because of the poor snow quality and rock.

We were out of the wind soon enough and took a break. Off to my right I could see Baker's massive shadow on the cloud cover lower down.

After a short rest break, we continued onwards towards the steepest part of the climb. The snow quality was poor and although our guide had kicked good steps, every few steps would be broken by the larger climbers among us, myself included. The amount of frustration poor snow quality can bring is surprising, especially when you need it for steps.

300 feet from the summit, James dropped his ice axe. My first instincts were to go for it, and I probably would have been able to get it, had I not been roped up. My first instincts were crushed by an inner voice telling me that I could quite possibly take out the entire rope team in the process. Matt later told me he had similar thoughts. As the ice axe slid down the snowy, icy slope all we heard was the clinging of it as it hit bumps.

We all watched it slide down the hill, wondering when it would stop, hoping it would get caught and stop. We watched it until it slid out of sight, eventually onto a glacier and into a crevasse. Our guide's first words were "Well shit son!", followed by a thoughtful silence

My own first thoughts were that we were probably going to turn around, because the loss of this vital life-line could be quite deadly. Surprisingly, our guide opted to continue onto the summit, because we could either climb the additional 300 feet and descend, or just descend, and it didn't make sense to turn around so close.

As we trudged on, the slope got steeper, and when the summit felt like it would never be reached, I felt the warm sunshine hit me, and I knew that I was almost there! The slope slowly flattened out and soon we stood upon the summit of Mt. Baker at 7.08 AM Saturday morning.

After a short snack, we descended. Upon getting off the glacier, we sat down in a snowfield and unroped. My feet were hurting and I knew blisters were imminent. I taped my feet up with some duct tape.

Glissading, basically sledding on your body is much quicker then walking down a big snow field and is much more fun. Our guide suggested I go set a track down the last few hills. I took off and started a sitting glissade. As I picked up speed and got farther down the hill, I noticed a large gaping moat, an area were the warmer rock has melted the surrounding snow. As soon as I realized this, I arrested well within a safe area from the moat. I started climbing back up the hill and saw the group sliding down a different slope, not near the moat.

I hiked across the slope and when I met up with our guide, I realized I had misunderstood and went down the wrong slope! I was fine so I went and started glissading down a safe slope. Moving quickly we returned to camp around 11.30 AM. We packed up camp and started hiking out. By the time we made it to the trailhead, I was exhausted. I had packed my pack wrong, and it felt much heavier then it did when we came in. I started trudging down the road and was the second to last person to make it to the van.

We packed into the van, and headed down to Glacier to get some food because we were all very hungry! This terrific sandwich shop was my intended stop. As I was greeted I placed my order and was told they stopped making sandwiches. I had missed it by 22 minutes!

As luck would have it, one of the owners was nearby and offered to make a sandwich anyway! I was so appreciative, words can't really describe it. The turkey, lettuce, mayo and tomato on wheat tasted terrific.

We headed back to Bellingham. We went to a tavern for our guides birthday, and we figured that although I'm not 21, I could sit and eat anyway. Washington law says that if you're under 21 you can't. James tried as hard as possible to get them to let me to stay, but alas. I came up with the brilliant idea that I would go and make us a reservation at the Big Fat Fish Co. several blocks away while everyone had a drink and we'd meet for dinner.

At the restaurant, the food was terrific. After talking and eating for hours we departed, Roy, James and Carol for other endeavors and our guide Mary, Matt and myself, for the next section of our trip. We headed to Marblemount campground about an hour away. After nearly 30 hours I fell asleep to the sounds of Bob Marley, Jack Johnson and Dave Matthews on the ride over.

The fog finally lifted...

2008-06-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

After a damp and foggy hike in and a night's sleep, we headed up a slope near camp to practice snow skills. We practiced the various techniques for walking, how to glissade, and how to self arrest. It was a lot of fun and we got our first look at the lower end of the glacier, as well as the first blue sky in days.

The following day we headed down to the Coleman-Eastman Glacier and practiced crevasse rescue skills. The cold dark chasms in the ice that some might describe as an icy hell scared me immensely, so I stayed as far away from them as possible. We learned how to set a Z-drag system, but wit

hout pulleys to save weight. Makes a lot of sense.

Afterwards, we hiked around on the glacier and learned how to walk on ice and walk with crampons. I've always had issues with crampons, but I seemed to get more comfortable with them.

After a trek with crampons on, we found some seracs to ice climb on. This was my first time actually ice climbing, but I really enjoyed it. For the next section we will probably head back to Mount Baker to climb around on the ice and possibly do the North-Ridge route which offers 500 feet of ice climbing.

After a long day, with sights of the great Mount Baker coming in and out of the fog, we hiked off the glacier and up "heartbreak hill", a very steep snow slope. Upon our arrival in camp, we got word from another guide that the weather for that evening, was possible rain, but the following evening was supposed to be perfect. We opted to spend Friday resting. We slept in until around 9 or 10, then made breakfast/lunch and headed back to sleep around 2 in preparation for our summit push that night.

No longer a smelly climber, for now anyway...

2008-06-20T16:44:00.000-07:00

So many things to say!

I have just returned from part one of my climbing adventure! I got to take my first shower in 12 days and I am currently waiting for laundry to be finished. It feels nice not to smell anymore. Sleeping on a bed, under sheets and not a sleeping bag should be an interesting experience...

I'm having a very enjoyable time, with more then 200 pictures from the first part alone. I have this afternoon and tomorrow off, to rest, gather food and some replacement equipment.

I have so many stories to tell, I don't even know where to start! I guess the beginning might be good?

The first day of the program I woke early, was picked up my the American Alpine Institute, and was taken to their headquarters. I met my guide, Mary, who was a ballet dancer before she got involved in climbing. We spent the morning packing and reorganizing all our gear, my third time doing so, and drove to Mount Erie, where we talked about some basic rock climbing techniques. This was far to superior to our other option of hiking in to Mount Baker, where 12 inches of snow was predicted. We car camped that evening at Larabie State Park.

Tuesday we returned to AAI because almost everyone of us had forgotten something, big or small. I was unable to find my hat, and seeing as it was to be cold on Mount Baker, I figured it'd be a good idea to have one. Afterwards, we drove to Glacier Washington, where we got our permit to climb the mountain and drove to the trailhead. about 2 miles from the trailhead we encountered 6 inch deep snow on the road, which our van certainly could not handle. We parked on the side of the road, threw on our boots and started hiking in.

As it turned out, the patch of snow was only 150 feet long, and the road was clear for about 3/4 of a mile until the road was socked in with 12-16 inch deep snow pack. Once we reached the trailhead, we crossed a bridge that look incredibly sketchy, but all made it across just fine. We then bushwhacked in until we found the trail and headed for Harrison Camp, also known as Mirkwood, due to all the lichen hanging from the pines. Harrison camp sits above the toe of the Coleman-Demming Glacier and sits at about 5,400 feet elevation.

By the time we reached the camp, it had taken us about 6 hours to hike 4.5 miles in. This slog was exhausting, more so then doing 27 miles in 12 hours, of which I can actually compare. Upon our arrival, we started setting up camp. My tent-mate, James, a born and bred New Yorker, new to mountaineering, were both to squeeze into my small 2 person tent.

The other clients in the group were Roy, an awesome cyclist from Southern California, Matt, who has been climbing as long as I have but much harder and is only a few years older then me, and Carol, a Canadian geologist who has the energy of a nuclear power facility.

Exhausted, we all hunkered down for the night at about 10.30 PM. It felt like 8, because of how late the sun sets in the mountains at higher elevations. The glacier and mountain were both socked in my a thick fog, resulting in our not seeing the mighty Mount Baker on our first day in the backcountry.

Finally In Washington!

2008-06-08T20:20:00.001-07:00

I'm finally in Washington. The trip out went quick and was about as close to painless as possible!

I got to Newark Airport around 5.50, and was all checked in and waiting in line for security by 6.05. I was through security in 15 minutes. I bought a cheap but relatively tasty breakfast on the plane. Most of the land was covered by clouds, but when we crossed over the Cascades I got some awesome views of several peaks, including Mt. Rainier and Mt. Hood (I think) off in the far distance.

The Concourse at SeaTac is massive and I was in awe. The flight from SeaTac to Bellingham was a little late, but was still incredibly quick. All 107 pounds of my luggage got to Bellingham no problem.

The hotel is probably one of the nicest I have ever stayed in. I ate dinner, which was awesome, at Red Robin, and have spent most of the time since reorganizing all my stuff and hanging out and watching TV.

Tomorrow morning I will be missing the continental breakfast, so I plan on waking up early enough so I can shower for the last time for the next 6 days, eat a cup of noodles, and haul all my stuff outside to get picked up by AAI! Wish me luck!

Packing, Slacking, Super Excited

2008-06-07T11:32:00.000-07:00

I've spent the last 2 days trying to get things put together before I leave tomorrow. I imagine that if I was really motivated and worked at this like crazy, I could probably get it done in a few hours, but I've spent the time over the past 2 days buying food, of which I have nearly 15 pounds worth, figuring out where all my stuff is, and hauling it all into one location.

I find it very ironic that when all my gear was laid out on the deck, including a down jacket, O degree sleeping bag, and heavy duty mountaineering boots, the mercury read over 90 degrees!!! Definitely an interesting last day at home!

At the time of this writing, I weigh 177.5 pounds. I imagine I will loose some weight over the next few 6 weeks, but I certainly do not know how much. I do hope I am in good enough shape for this trip, but since I haven't done much of anything athletic over the past few months due to knee problems, finals, work and just being plain old busy, I'm unsure of how I will fare.

We plan on getting to the airport at 6 a.m. tomorrow morning for my 7:40 flight. Weather looks like great. I am busting with excitement, and I doubt I will get much sleep tonight!

5 Days left

2008-06-04T14:43:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that it's almost here!

Back in December, I had a conversation with a guide from Mountain Madness. I was really interested in how I could really learn more about climbing. He recommended the American Alpine Leadership's Alpine Mountaineering and Technical Leadership program. I talked to my parents soon after my return home at the end of the semester. They said it sounded like a good idea. I knew there was NO way I could pay for the program myself, and asked that they split it with me. I would pay for gear, food and the 6 or 7 hotel stays throughout the program myself, as well as half the tuition.

I was officially signed on December 20, 2007. After over 5 months of waiting it is finally almost here. Today was my last day of work. I do not leave until Sunday, June 8th, but the next few days will be spent preparing food, relaxing and resting for what may be one of the more physically grueling things I do in my life.

I am worried that I will have too much stuff to take on the plane, but hopefully I'll be able to pack it right. A call to Alaska Airlines will confirm all restrictions hopefully...