This is a blog article I posted on a travel website I've recently been contributing to...its sort of long, and not my best, but the experience of the trip is notable. Enjoy.
I've always thought that mountaineering was more of a guy's thing. Day hikes, trail runs, that sort of thing has always been my forte as far as gallivanting in the mountains goes. People who went backpacking for multiple days and ate dehydrated meals were surely awesome in my book, but it is never something I personally had taken a huge interest in (nor did I have right equipment, or the budget to even start). After spending a few months in Jackson, WY (which resides at around 7,000 ft. elevation) and hiking all through the Tetons - hey, I even climbed to the top of a few of the smaller peaks! - I felt somewhat "experienced" with my knowledge about hiking etiquitte, pacing, hydration patterns, safety, etc. So when I found myself somehow suggesting and then accepting the challenge to climb the highest peak in the lower 48 states, I was both excited for the challenge, but really nervous I wouldn't be even near as up to par with my climbing partner. He had previously in the year climbed the summits of both Mt. Rainier and Mt. Shasta, while I had barely thrown a pair of crampons on. I come from a really athletic background, and the both of us compete and train for multisport events. So the right mindset was there, and naturally, my competitive side immediately took over me. I WANTED the challenge, I wanted to be able to say to myself and others that I had climbed the illustrious beast that is Whitney. Besides that, I don't think it helped that at the time, I was in the process of trying to impress the heck out of this guy. Backing out at this point was simply not an option. After all, the idea was mine to begin with! So complain I did not, confident I pretended to be, and onward we went with the intense planning for our overnight adventure in the Inyo National Forest.
I was fully aware that the weekend we had picked to climb was literally the tail end of the climbing season, which meant that snow levels, weather patterns, and gear were all extremely crucial in the success of our endeavor. We had decided to climb up to trail camp, spend the night, get up at 2am for an Alpine Summit (something else I was yet again unfamiliar with, and frankly, scared out of my wits of), and descend the entire mountain that same day. Anders was Mr. Mountaineer, with his extensive line of Mountain Hardware gear, every gadget under the sun, his own trekking poles and 20 nalgienes and iodine and all that jazz. We talked and talked (and talked) about the packing list and what to be prepared for, and the more I learned just from listening to him, the more I became frantic and was all over Craigslist and discount gear websites trying to scavenge up a 0-degree sleeping bag and crampon friendly hiking boots. I wanted not only to legitimately have the right stuff for our climb, but it needed to look as if it were effortless on my part. As if I were a natural in the sport. I raided my ski equipment bag for some warm pants, bit the bullet and bought a nice and expensive warm jacket, rented poles, an ice axe, and crampons from the local REI, and I was set to go. After convincing Anders that I was fully prepared and not going to be the culprit of failure on our mission, I loaded up and drove down to LA, where we would begin our drive together up to Lone Pine and Whitney Portal. The morning we left, we were up at 5 and had caffeine in the form of Starbucks pumping through our veins by 5:30. Three hours later, we had gone from 0 ft. elevation to the start of the trail at about 8300 ft. By the afternoon we would be 6 miles in to the 11 mile trek up, at around 12,000 ft. That is a serious gain in elevation, a change I had never done before. Ever. Did I mention my backpack weighed 45lbs.? I think the most I had carried on my back up to this point had been no more than...10lbs.? Again, I was playing the part of a duck in water - on the surface, I was calm and collected, but underneath, my nerves were in full force and my heart was beating like crazy - and this was not because of the altitude change.
The trail was nicely inclined the first few miles, with switchbacks galore, and those trekking poles, I decided, were the best idea a climber ever had. We had a very regimented climbing routine, which at first I thought was kind of funny, but the more and more we climbed, I began to appreciate Anders being so strict. We would stop ever hour, drink a good amount of water, consume a Cliff product that had about 200-300 calories, provide a video update on his sweet little Flip camera, and keep going. It was a gorgeous sunny day, and it was supposed to stay that way the rest of our time there. Weather patterns looked good, we continued along at a good pace, and I had somehow successfully put on my crampons with no slip ups when we hit the high snow levels. I learned how to pressure breathe, where you inhale and exhale really quickly and heavily. This apparently neutralizes the carbon dioxide levels in your lungs as you get higher up in the atmosphere. All I know is it made my lightheadedness a whole lot less severe, so I was sold. It sounded and felt funny, but it was probably the reason I experienced very little effects from the altitude.Man, was I proud of myself so far! We rarely encountered other climbers, with the exception of a group of three guys in their mid-twenties who told us they were on the same itinerary as us. They, however, had very little gear, a pretty crappy tent, and were wearing jeans. When Anders and I passed them, we sort of gave each other the "yeah, right" look. Those poor lads weren't ever going to make it. Maybe I wasn't either, I thought, but being one step ahead of those guys made me feel just a little bit more confident and awesome.
We finally reached Trail Camp around 3:30pm, after a final stretch up a serious incline in snow and in our crampons (I was now a self-proclaimed expert, thank you), and the first thing we did was set-up our tent with barely functional hands from the cold and jump inside to warm up, laughing at how pathetic we were. Eventually the sleeping bags came out, and again, we jumped inside them and huddled up like eskimos and "slept" for what could have been 5 hours or 20 minutes. I guess it was about 40 minutes later that we came to, ate our delicious little zippie of pasta salad that I made the night before, chatted through blue lips, and organized our stuff. Up there in high altitude, everything is just...hard. It took my about 30 minutes to get all my warm stuff of just to get up to go to the bathroom, about 10 minutes to put two pairs of socks on, and about 10 more to get my gear organized for the next morning. Moving along at this snail pace, we laughed, we were never getting anywhere tomorrow! We set our alarms for 2am (oy), and once again were huddled up in our sleeping bags and 4 layers of clothing. I took a peek outside our sweet little Northrface tent, and caught a glimpse of the full moon that was shining ridiculously bright above us. I tend to be a huge sucker for beautiful skies in the mountains. I think the Tetons did that to me. I tried to get Anders to look outside but the keeping warm was his first and only priority. I sat and stared in awe a little longer, and finally succumbed to my little cacoon for the evening, trying not to think about the journey we still had ahead of us. Oh, lets be serious. It was all I could think about.
This is probably what went through my mind fromt the hours of 2am when the alarm went off until 3am when we started climbing: Holy crap its cold. Where is my jacket. Ah, cold. Coffee? Thank you Starbucks for inventing Via. More socks. Why am I still so cold? I am so sick of Cliff products. Ok, outside we go. CRAP its cold. I hope I tie these crampon strings tight enough. I hope my headlamp batteries don't die. Oh my gosh. I. Am. So. Cold. Ok, following Anders. I better warm up soon. So I did. Warm up that is, and fast. We knew we had a series of 97 or so switchbacks to ascend, but for some reason it didn't seem that daunting to me, especially because I'm pretty sure the high snow level made it so traversed a lot of them by just heading upward. Not to mention the fact that climbing in the dark prevented a lot of looking up going "oh my gosh, we have all of that to go? Oh no." It was actually quite exciting, moving along with only a headlamp as your guide. We continued to climb for an hour, stop to drink and eat, climb for an hour, etc. I was not hungry at all but my partner was practically coercing me to eat more Cliff shots so I would stay energized. We were super supportive of each other the entire way up, making sure the other was doing OK and offering encouragement along the way. I was especially thankful for this when I hit a wall for about 20 minutes, feeling like I was going to hit the ground and never get up. With a slowed pace and a lot pf pressure breathing, I started to feel better just as we got up to the trail crest at 13,600 ft. Only 900 ft. more to go! Anders and I fell pretty silent for the rest of the way up, moving really slow and steady, but it was a very peaceful section of the climb - watching the sun come up, listening only to the sound of your breath and your shoes on the rocks, thinking about not much else except how beautiful the scenery is. I began to understand the reason behind the Alpine Summit - what an amzing way to bring in the day! Finally, FINALLY we got to the point where we could see the ultimate summit, and we stopped and waited for eachother so we could go at the same time. I'm not sure why, but I always get really emotional when I see those little plaques that they put at the tops of mountains. Granted, I'd only really seen most of them in pictures, but when we stopped and saw the Mt. Whitney plaque, stating that we were offically standing at 14, 495 ft. above sea level, I got the chills (and maybe even a little teary eyed). I had seriously climbed Mt. Whitney? THE highest mountain in the continental United States? Me and my two feet alone? The chills turned to excitement, I forgot how tired and cold I was, and I spent a lot of time just standing up there looking around. And smiling. I was doing a lot of smiling.
We layed down on the summit for a bit, then went to go sign the official registry. Anders wrote a note to his dad, who really wanted to climb Mt. Whitney as well, in hopes that when they come climb it together, it will still be there. We took a few pictures, had a little sip of champagne that I brought up to celebrate, and headed down. We FLEW down the mountain back to camp. Downhill tends to be my least favorite part of hiking, so it was really mentally challenging not to go straight into grouch mode during our descent. We passed about 8-10 people on their way up, and gleefully were able to say "Yes, we made it to the top! It's a beautiful day! Good luck!" We packed up camp, re-organized, and re-dressed, as it was getting really warm out (no complaints from me on that one!) Heading down the last part of the mountain, our trail marking skills took a little lapse in judgement and we had a breif -ok, over an hour - detour while trying to get back on track. I think we were both getting pretty cranky but tried not to show it, not to mention dehydrated and exhuasted. I decided that it was high time I got myself off of that mountain. The last three miles felt like about thirty and my IT band was about to declare wear on my body, but we made it down with no broken bones, no lost gear, and seriously big egos. Well mine was, anyways. I had just climbed Mt. Whitney! Take that, guys in jeans! As for impressing the boy? While I think it was a success, at some point it didn't even matter. I had impresed myself enough for the both of us.
And if I never eat another Cliff product again...it will be too soon.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Sunday, July 13, 2008
First Domestic Trip
Jackson hole, my home for the summer. The night before my first trip here, I wasnt really that nervous. I wasnt for my VERY first trip either, and like I have said before, that is really weird for me.
We'll talk logistics first, so ya'all can see what exactly it is that I "do." We pick up the guests at 7am (this is early for them) at the Wyoming Inn in Jackson, and make the 3 hour drive up to West Yellowstone, stopping at the entrance for a bathroom/coffee break. We drive to Madison Campground for the picnic (Backroads picnics = gourmet to the max!) We do the bike demo, safety talk, etc, and ride to Old Faithful with a plethora of van support along the way. We watch the big guy go off, and shuttle back to camp. We come back to our little camp city, all set up with bags already in the tents and everything, and eat a delicious gourmet dinner made by our AMAZING camp chef. We play some football, sit around the campfire, one of us does the "orientation talk" aka the "get excited for the best week ever!" speech, talk a little jive and watch the stars. Day 1!! Day 2 is waking up to an amazing breakfast of french toast, bacon, coffee, tea, cereal...you name it, we got it (this speaks for all of the breakfasts throughout the trip), then it is off hiking the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone followed by the pack lunch we make in the morning. A kids activity (kick the can, eating copius amounts of ice cream, etc) in the afternoon, showers, then another delicious dinner. Day 3 is breakfast, kayaking on Lake Yellowstone with our subcontracted kayak guides, and a picnic set up very secretly on a beach midway (the guests think this is just so cool), biking to the Continental Divide in the afternoon, and dinner at a new fully set up (again) campground. Day 4 is OYO (on your own) with a kids dinner and adult margarita night. It gets a little wild :) Day 5 is a bike ride through the Tetons on to Jackson for the afternoon (this is our only "long" ride all week so of course I love it!) and then the final dinner followed by what we call "Cake on the Lake" (pretty self explanatory, no?) We let the kids be the "leaders" and walk everyone down to the lake where we have a big dessert picnic set up at sunset. Sigh...Day 6 is a bike ride to Jenny Lake (a lake that sits right below the Grand Teton) and then a final signature Backroads picnic where we give out framed photos of the group taken throughout the week. They love us, we schmooze over the week's events, and finally drive them back to Jackson to say (and cry!) goodbye.
My first group in the Tetons was AMAZING. One semi-overbearing mom who wanted to put bug spray and sunscreen on her son every 15 minutes and set up a tent INSIDE her tent cabin was the hardest part of it all - and really, she wasnt all that bad. Plus, her adorable son, who is all of 10, made some amazing sesame teryaki marinade for the fish he caught on Day 4. The kid is the next Emeril, I'm telling you! We had 7 boys as our kids crew. I fell in love with all of them! There was a group of 3 brothers from Seattle who totally stole my heart. The youngest of them, Aaron, was 10, and just the cutest little blond kid ever who read like 4 books in 6 days and was a hilarious cheater at card games! Everyone in our group was really close-knit - we all sat around every night by the campfire and laughed and told jokes and played games like "2 truths and a lie." Our camp chef and camp assistant were fabulous. My 2 co-leaders and I got along really well, and even pranked another trip by tee-peeing their trailor one night. All in all, I had an amazing, amazing time. It was the ten-thousandth thing to make me love this company and this job.
Since that trip, I have gone camping in Moab (a crazy red dirt desert in southeast Utah near Monument Valley, Zion Nat'l Park, etc), hung out in Salt Lake, loaded a camping unit, drove the van + trailor + 24 bikes by myself to California, spent a few days with family and close friends, bought a bridesmaid dress, flew back to Jackson, and currently I sit in my leader house up here in Victor, getting ready to go on my next trip in 2 days! Its so nice to be back at my summer home, hanging out with my beloved friends and breathing this mountain air. Coming up, its back-to-back trips through the end of August. I find out where I will be in September and October in a few weeks - keep your fingers crossed I get sent back to Italy! We are doing one of the "epic" hikes tomorrow in the Tetons called Lake Solitude. 14 miles of fun!
Even though this has been a really great summer, I miss the family and all of my friends very much! After seeing some of the most important people in my life in those 2 days in CA, I feel both refreshed and nostalgiac. I realized that even though I long to be with a lot of you, and am missing out on life back home, I am making some memories here that I wouldnt trade for anything. Hearing from family and friends means the world to me, you guys keep me grounded, and it is comforting to be reminded of familiarity. Much love and happiness to everyone, hope summer is going well. I'll try to update sooner next time :)
Baci baci!
We'll talk logistics first, so ya'all can see what exactly it is that I "do." We pick up the guests at 7am (this is early for them) at the Wyoming Inn in Jackson, and make the 3 hour drive up to West Yellowstone, stopping at the entrance for a bathroom/coffee break. We drive to Madison Campground for the picnic (Backroads picnics = gourmet to the max!) We do the bike demo, safety talk, etc, and ride to Old Faithful with a plethora of van support along the way. We watch the big guy go off, and shuttle back to camp. We come back to our little camp city, all set up with bags already in the tents and everything, and eat a delicious gourmet dinner made by our AMAZING camp chef. We play some football, sit around the campfire, one of us does the "orientation talk" aka the "get excited for the best week ever!" speech, talk a little jive and watch the stars. Day 1!! Day 2 is waking up to an amazing breakfast of french toast, bacon, coffee, tea, cereal...you name it, we got it (this speaks for all of the breakfasts throughout the trip), then it is off hiking the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone followed by the pack lunch we make in the morning. A kids activity (kick the can, eating copius amounts of ice cream, etc) in the afternoon, showers, then another delicious dinner. Day 3 is breakfast, kayaking on Lake Yellowstone with our subcontracted kayak guides, and a picnic set up very secretly on a beach midway (the guests think this is just so cool), biking to the Continental Divide in the afternoon, and dinner at a new fully set up (again) campground. Day 4 is OYO (on your own) with a kids dinner and adult margarita night. It gets a little wild :) Day 5 is a bike ride through the Tetons on to Jackson for the afternoon (this is our only "long" ride all week so of course I love it!) and then the final dinner followed by what we call "Cake on the Lake" (pretty self explanatory, no?) We let the kids be the "leaders" and walk everyone down to the lake where we have a big dessert picnic set up at sunset. Sigh...Day 6 is a bike ride to Jenny Lake (a lake that sits right below the Grand Teton) and then a final signature Backroads picnic where we give out framed photos of the group taken throughout the week. They love us, we schmooze over the week's events, and finally drive them back to Jackson to say (and cry!) goodbye.
My first group in the Tetons was AMAZING. One semi-overbearing mom who wanted to put bug spray and sunscreen on her son every 15 minutes and set up a tent INSIDE her tent cabin was the hardest part of it all - and really, she wasnt all that bad. Plus, her adorable son, who is all of 10, made some amazing sesame teryaki marinade for the fish he caught on Day 4. The kid is the next Emeril, I'm telling you! We had 7 boys as our kids crew. I fell in love with all of them! There was a group of 3 brothers from Seattle who totally stole my heart. The youngest of them, Aaron, was 10, and just the cutest little blond kid ever who read like 4 books in 6 days and was a hilarious cheater at card games! Everyone in our group was really close-knit - we all sat around every night by the campfire and laughed and told jokes and played games like "2 truths and a lie." Our camp chef and camp assistant were fabulous. My 2 co-leaders and I got along really well, and even pranked another trip by tee-peeing their trailor one night. All in all, I had an amazing, amazing time. It was the ten-thousandth thing to make me love this company and this job.
Since that trip, I have gone camping in Moab (a crazy red dirt desert in southeast Utah near Monument Valley, Zion Nat'l Park, etc), hung out in Salt Lake, loaded a camping unit, drove the van + trailor + 24 bikes by myself to California, spent a few days with family and close friends, bought a bridesmaid dress, flew back to Jackson, and currently I sit in my leader house up here in Victor, getting ready to go on my next trip in 2 days! Its so nice to be back at my summer home, hanging out with my beloved friends and breathing this mountain air. Coming up, its back-to-back trips through the end of August. I find out where I will be in September and October in a few weeks - keep your fingers crossed I get sent back to Italy! We are doing one of the "epic" hikes tomorrow in the Tetons called Lake Solitude. 14 miles of fun!
Even though this has been a really great summer, I miss the family and all of my friends very much! After seeing some of the most important people in my life in those 2 days in CA, I feel both refreshed and nostalgiac. I realized that even though I long to be with a lot of you, and am missing out on life back home, I am making some memories here that I wouldnt trade for anything. Hearing from family and friends means the world to me, you guys keep me grounded, and it is comforting to be reminded of familiarity. Much love and happiness to everyone, hope summer is going well. I'll try to update sooner next time :)
Baci baci!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Welcome to the Tetons...
Well, for a situation I was partially dreading, I would say that it has turned out quite nicely. I think I am quickly learning that a) in this job, we only go to beautiful places and b) if a person works for for this company, they are most likely incredible! Such are all of the people here in this region.
Its been a whirlwind of a month. My first few days here, I stayed at the office in one of the 5 beds we have for when leaders are prepping trips, and helped set up the office and got to know the Regional Manager, a couple of TS's and some other leaders (awesome people). I did a FAM, or familiarization, for the Multisport camping and Inn trips for 3 days with another new leader (again, awesome), starting with the Day 1 drive that is 3 HOURS to the West entrance of Yellowstone. We actually got to help out with pre-search, as we camped both nights with 4 other returning leaders (two of which are the trip specialists) and our RM in Yellowstone and Teton National Park because we were both out researching at the same time. Great experience, not only having a hand in the trip development, but we got to know the leaders and our manager really well. Its the kind of thing that gets you really pumped for the rest of the season. After this FAM, I feel so comfortable and way more knowledgable about this area than I could have ever imagined, and surprisingly, I am more excited about the family camping trips than anything! We do some really, really awesome stuff with these people, and by the look and sound of it all, these camping trips are super deluxe. We spoil these people, let me tell you...
Did I mention that we hiked in a snowstorm, and it was crazy cold the entire time? It was really sort of fun. It's June but it feels like February! I've had to invest in a ton of warm clothes this past week. But snow or no snow, this area is beyond words when it comes to trying to explain how beautiful it is. The Teton mountain range is like nothing I have ever seen before. There's something really intimidating about them, and also really intriguing. There are so many awesome hiking opportunities around here. I am thinking that with one of my weeks off later on, I want to climb one of the Tetons. Probably not the Grand, though...not yet, anyway :)
Sorry for the sporatic style this post, I am at the Victor, Idaho library using internet since we have not hooked up wireless at the house yet. In Victor, there is a library, a small market, a pub called the Knotty Pine and about 2 restaurants. Its really pretty charming. You can ride your bike here in about 20 minutes, across the gorgeous flatland valley just behind the Tetons. Ya...not bad. Not bad at all!
Its been a whirlwind of a month. My first few days here, I stayed at the office in one of the 5 beds we have for when leaders are prepping trips, and helped set up the office and got to know the Regional Manager, a couple of TS's and some other leaders (awesome people). I did a FAM, or familiarization, for the Multisport camping and Inn trips for 3 days with another new leader (again, awesome), starting with the Day 1 drive that is 3 HOURS to the West entrance of Yellowstone. We actually got to help out with pre-search, as we camped both nights with 4 other returning leaders (two of which are the trip specialists) and our RM in Yellowstone and Teton National Park because we were both out researching at the same time. Great experience, not only having a hand in the trip development, but we got to know the leaders and our manager really well. Its the kind of thing that gets you really pumped for the rest of the season. After this FAM, I feel so comfortable and way more knowledgable about this area than I could have ever imagined, and surprisingly, I am more excited about the family camping trips than anything! We do some really, really awesome stuff with these people, and by the look and sound of it all, these camping trips are super deluxe. We spoil these people, let me tell you...
Did I mention that we hiked in a snowstorm, and it was crazy cold the entire time? It was really sort of fun. It's June but it feels like February! I've had to invest in a ton of warm clothes this past week. But snow or no snow, this area is beyond words when it comes to trying to explain how beautiful it is. The Teton mountain range is like nothing I have ever seen before. There's something really intimidating about them, and also really intriguing. There are so many awesome hiking opportunities around here. I am thinking that with one of my weeks off later on, I want to climb one of the Tetons. Probably not the Grand, though...not yet, anyway :)
Sorry for the sporatic style this post, I am at the Victor, Idaho library using internet since we have not hooked up wireless at the house yet. In Victor, there is a library, a small market, a pub called the Knotty Pine and about 2 restaurants. Its really pretty charming. You can ride your bike here in about 20 minutes, across the gorgeous flatland valley just behind the Tetons. Ya...not bad. Not bad at all!
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