11:15 pm, Sat 6th Aug - my tent partner wakes me up - It's 11:15 Jasmine, I think we better get up. I can hear the wind and my thoughts wander between the various mountains I've had the opportunity to climb or attempt. How do I feel? Is my headache gone? Will be cold like I was on Pico or physically ill like I felt at Island peak because my normal bodily functions didn't work as well. Jackie is already outside, she pokes her head in and tells me it's surprisingly warm outside. I have to pee, time to get up and see what it is really like.
It is surprisingly warm, and I feel great. Thanks to the good sleep I got yesterday and the Ibuprofen that Jackie brought me for my headache despite my protests. That was a good idea. It is a beautiful night, can't see the moon, but there are a million stars and it is indeed fairly warm outside. It is going to be a beautiful day on the mountain!
By 12:30, our three rope teams are moving up: Jackie, Erin, Katie led by Shelia; Rob and David led by Lawrence; Srijan, Aparajita, myself led by Sandeep. Sandeep is leading the effort. He has climbed some very exciting routes on Rainer including Liberty Ridge earlier this year so this is more of an organizational challenge for him . To coordinate 11 people, some of whom are climbing together for the first time; ensure everyone is safe and achieves their own goals is a bit stressful I imagine. Climbing conditions are great as the snow is firm and the boot path is easy to follow. We jump over small crevasses and make our way to our first obstacle. It is a big, broken up crevasse or maybe a bergshrund: a big crevasse formed when the moving glacier below separates from the static glacier on top. It is generally found higher up on the mountain. Sandeep takes the lead and starts setting up protection; pounding in pickets in the snow and passing the rope through as he moves. Each rope lead must pass their rope through as they bring their party across and the last person in the last rope team cleans the pickets. We have a few minutes to admire delicate ice formations along the way.
My mind is wandering. The process of climbing a mountain or even hiking is interesting. There is a lot of time to go within the self and think. I'm cold and am wondering why I would want to wake up in the middle of the night and be cold. It is definitely time to get back to rock climbing - it is warm, the process, the activity and the adventure is completely different. There is a body movement and fluidity of motion that I miss. Before long we see the colors of dawn, there is something awesome about standing on a glacier, up a mountainside watching the beautiful sunrise. I guess those are the moments for which we wake up in the middle of the night despite the cold. Of course it is also personal ambition, wanting to discover and push beyond your personal limits.
Enough digression, back to the business at hand, by 7am, the girls team is on top. They are by far the strongest. Lawrence is not feeling so well at altitude but being a strong climber, he has experienced this before and pushes onward. The pace maybe a bit brisk for Aparajita but there aren’t very many rest stops and we want to keep moving to avoid getting cold. She missed climbing Rainier last year and is determined to do it this year, she wills herself to continue. By 7:30, everyone is on top - all 11 of us. The sun is now up, it is warm, we can see the beautiful mountains all around. Amid the cascades are the prominent peaks: Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens in the south and Mt. Baker, Glacier peak in the north. We feel great and grateful to have access to such beautiful mountains - Seattle rocks!
Most everyone in the group
Fund raising for Asha for Education
Onward ...
Shelia and Jasmine - goofy (yoga) summit shot.
Below are more photos of some beautiful ice / snow formations we saw along the way
