I think we slept well, at least I don’t remember waking up during the night or even hearing Fred snore. I had thought about sleeping under the stars but I was too tired to even make that decision. Fred and I crawled out of the tent to another beautiful day. Katie was already up, sitting on a log reading her book, enjoying her sneakers. Christina was sound asleep under the stars, Grace in her tent and Steve had already left to find Dale. When the kids were young I used to wake them with a serenade such as “rise and shine my little daffodils”; I tried it again and it met with the same groaning reaction – “go away Dad” usually followed by a flying object. It was about 7:00 AM and none of us were in any great hurry. It had been a great trip and I had mixed feelings about it ending. I knew that the parking lot meant no more heavy pack, decent food, a shower and a comfortable bed. But it also meant the end of this incredible adventure; one that I dreamed about but now realized that even in my wildest dream couldn’t begin to imagine what it was really like.
We all slowly went about our morning routines: coffee, stretching, empting our tents, that walk in the woods or to the open-air facilities. Breakfast was still optional and given the choice between an MRE or the very real possibility of real food only 3 miles away; well you figure it out. Steve finally returned with Dale and all was well. I was munching on one of Fred’s Power Bars and had set it down to tie my boots when this giagundic chipmunk decided he wanted to share it. This guy was more like a squirrel-munk. When I chased him away he became rather indignant and sat under a branch scolding me. Steve saw the opportunity for fresh meat and was about to go after it with a hiking pole when the sisters intervened with “you kill it you eat it”. Now that would hardly stop the brother.
We packed up for the last time, each of us trying to locate our lost piece of gear. I was sure I lost my cell phone and a black bag for the crampons. The phone later turned up but not the bag. Katie is still missing a pair of gaiters but she did have her comfy sneakers for the last 3 miles. We never did find a good way to stuff sleeping bags other than just stuff them. My one remaining luxury was a clean tee shirt. With everything packed and loaded up, it was time for our walk out of the park.
Our packs were lighter and we were hiking down a slight grade and there may have been a bounce in our step. I recall taking time to marvel at the scenery; the tall trees, the mountain, the river on our right, the variety of wild flowers; I would miss this place and think of it often. We passed other climbers and day hikers heading up; they were bright and full of anticipation, we were grubby and full of memories. We crossed the stream a few times, climbed around the fallen trees; came to the spot where Katie uttered that memorable line about the summit, “that’s not so big”; it was an enjoyable walk but it seemed to be getting longer rather than shorter. Hikers told us only about another half mile to go. Then we heard “Hi Mom, we came looking for you guys”. It was Seamus and Matt and those had to be the sweetest words Katie had heard in a long time. He nearly knocked us over with his hugs. “Hi Mr. Fred, Hi Ofa, we came looking for you guys.” Talk about a real pick-me-up, the last half mile was a piece-a-cake. Matt thankfully took Katie’s pack and with it much of the pressure and stress off her knee. With shortened hiking poles Seamus led us out of the park.
Kathy, Arlene and Matt welcomed us with bananas, grapes, juice, milk and sandwiches and the offer of lunch down the road. A perfect ending to a perfect adventure.
Final Thoughts
I can remember that I was in pain but I can’t experience the pain again. I can remember that I was exhausted but I can’t experience the exhaustion again. The beauty is that I can remember the excitement and thrill of many of the moments on the mountain and I can still experience those same choked-up feelings. There is no way to sum up this whole experience.
It was difficult, it was exhausting, it was painful. It was thrilling, it was spectacular, it was the best experience a Dad could have with his kids. During our descend, Fred and I commented that this was a once-in-a-life-time experience; well maybe… but maybe not….
Thanks for listening!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Day 4, Thursday – Our Rapid Descent
We were all tired from lack of sleep and the low oxygen level.
Fred was hurting head to toe, inside and outside.
Steve’s headaches were becoming more severe.
I was angry at the incessant wind and frustrated that it had kept us awake and slowed our progress.
AMS was taking its toll on all of us.
Only Christina, at the lead position, seemed to be in relatively good shape.
We had pushed our safety factor to the limit.
Steve looked to the summit and the west to see some ominous clouds cresting the mountain and coming our way.
Fortunately, among the four of us we were able to find enough common sense to start our rapid descend.
We radioed to Grace and Katie and told them our plan; you could almost sense the relief in their voices.
The sun was up and with our backs to the wind our visibility improved. Several hundred feet below we could see our gear lashed to the mountainside at our high camp, our next goal. We reminded ourselves that most accidents happen on the way down when climbers are most vulnerable due to fatigue and a sense of accomplishment. Going down uses a whole different set of muscles and different techniques with poles and ice axes. Not any more difficult, just different, plus you have gravity in your favor. Steve reminded us that the lower we got the better we would feel; Christina kept singing the praises of O2. Fred forgot to take pictures at our summit, later he told us he was too busy trying to stay alive. Going down gives you an entirely different view. On the way up you face the mountain, looking down for each successive step, looking up to see the snow or rock that you need to climb. On the way down you get to see the beauty of the surrounding mountains and valleys and rivers and sky. You also get the full realization of what you have accomplished; where you started, the route you took, the glaciers you crossed; it’s a great feeling that helps to mask the pain you are experiencing. We started down.
Mother nature wasn’t finished with us. We had descended a short distance when we were hit by what felt like ice pellets. We dug our ice axes into the snow and held on. It was like this most of the way down to high camp. After a brief rest at high camp we loaded up our packs and continued down towards base camp. We maintained radio contact with Grace and Katie who were watching us descend. They in turn sent messages to Matt so he could keep Kathy and Arlene appraised. They were also readying everything at base camp so we could continue on down. We were making good progress. In the process of crossing a crevasse, about 4 feet wide followed by a steep slope, Steve yelled SNOW SLIDE – RUN. Christina and I were across the crevasse, Fred probably in mid-air and Steve still dug-in to protect Fred from a fall; and we heard SNOW SLIDE – RUN. Christina and I ran and slid down the mountain dragging Fred behind us and in a single leap Steve bounded over the crevasse and slid down with us. We looked back and saw a cloud of snow as the avalanche went by and fell into another crevasse. It was really cool. Sliding was fun too, so we continued to slide down perhaps another hundred yards.
With Christina still in the lead, we approached our final set of crevasses above base camp, negotiated them without incident and in a few hundred yards were on solid ground at Camp Schurman. We had come down 2500 ft, the air was better, the water refreshing and yet the thoughts of food were still …, let me just say we weren’t ready for any. I do recall sitting at base camp eating a packet of peanut butter and trying to figure out what I needed to do next. I also recall thinking we were less than half way down to Glacier Basin Camp.
While we were having fun on the slopes, Grace and Katie were becoming good friends with Abby. They also restocked the water supply and sorted all the gear and gave all our excess food and fuel to Abby, now that significantly lightened our load. Abby even took a lot of our trash; better to take it down by helicopter she said, rather than for us to carry it – thanks Abby.
We rested for perhaps an hour, loaded up, roped up, said our good-byes to Abby and Camp Schurman and headed out. The scary snow-bridge was now a pile of rubble at the base of a 50 ft deep crevasse. See pictures on blog. We took the long way around and started down Emmons Glacier, Christina in the lead. We wound our way through the crevasse field that had changed a bit in the few days since our ascent. One crevasse in particular stands out in our minds; about a four foot jump onto a four foot landing spot of ice, don’t go any farther or you fall down the next crevasse. Over time, this event will require a Herculean leap to stick a 10 point landing on a postage stamp; well maybe I exaggerate. We all made it and were starting to feel really good about our mountaineering skills. We stepped off Emmons Glacier, paid proper tribute to the “special sisters spot” and started up the loose dirt and rock ridge. At the top of the ridge we stopped for a brief rest and to enjoy the view; we were aware that as we descended we would lose this spectacular view. There are no trees at this elevation and very little if any vegetations at all. The rocks are interesting in that there is such a variety; Christina found a good one for Kathy. The air seemed thicker and I guess we were probably starting to feel a little better. Well maybe that’s a stretch.
We descended the ridge onto Inter Glacier and met another team heading up. It was Thursday and the weekend climbers were arriving. Fun time again and we took the opportunity to slide down maybe a few hundred feet before we started to encounter ice. Snow is ok, but ice can be a real pain even with crampons. A few days earlier it was all snow. There were some crevasses but they were narrow and not a problem. What was quite interesting was that we were walking on the ice that forms the White River that we could see below. At one crevasse I stopped to listen to the water flowing beneath the glacier. It was a narrow one, very deep, the thickness of the glacier, deep blue as it went down and the sound of running water. Very cool. The concerns we had as we descended were slipping on the ice and the constant hazard of rock falls. Once a rock loosens from the glacier it becomes an unguided missile bouncing erratically down the mountain; sometimes picking up friends in it travels. Can be very dangerous.
We were all hurting, our equipment needed adjusting, tighten boots, tighten crampons, remove outer layers; but icy slopes are a bad place to stop. We actually lost our way on a wide open glacier and changed directions a couple times. The sun was starting to get blocked by clouds and would soon be hidden by a ridge on our left. Just over the next crest was the last snow field on the glacier. We started to slide down but Katie got her leg caught in a rope and twisted her knee. Katie did not have a good experience on Inter Glacier; either going up or down. Fred’s feet were really hurting so he and Steve continued to slide down the last few hundred yards to the bottom while Katie, Grace, Christina and I walked down. At last solid ground once again, no more snow or ice, relatively solid path and only 2 miles to camp.
The team sort of strung out during this last hike to camp. Steve and Grace seemed to have more energy than the rest of us and soon were way ahead. Katie and Fred about 100 yards behind them and Christina and I dawdling at the back. Oh, I forget to tell you earlier that this was the area where we had seen several wild sheep on our way up. I don’t know what they were surviving on as there is no vegetation where they were headed. Keep in mind that this area is covered with snow and ice most of the year so flowers don’t have much of a chance to flourish. Off to the sides where the glaciers didn’t encroach, there was a variety of plant life and small patched of grass and some really big granite boulders that look out of place. The lower we got the more vegetation we encountered until we were surrounded by trees at the camp site.
As I mentioned, Steve was way ahead of us, got to camp then returned to meet us on the trail to carry my pack to camp then returned again to carry Fred’s. By the time Fred and I reached camp Steve & Grace had already set up our tent; which was a good thing because we might not have had the energy to even bother. Katie retrieved her very comfortable sneakers that she had cached in a tree; Christina filled the water bottles and Grace boiled them. Food was essential but Fred and I were still treating it as optional. Christina had been giving all of us some magic elixir each night that was supposed to cure what ails you, it tasted terrible and I confess to not drinking my daily prescription. Fred on the other hand did and it probably helped him as he and food were still very much strangers. I was able to force down a half portion of ravioli that night along with a generous serving of water, a snack bar and some elixir. Messages were sent to Matt and Kathy that we hoped to arrive at the parking lot at about 11:00 AM the next day and it sure would be nice if they could bring a few items like real food, milk, beer ….
This very long day was nearly over for our team. We had started at about 2:00 AM after an almost sleepless night, attempted to summit, got pretty well beat up by the wind and descended 6000 ft to Glacier Basin Camp arriving at about 5:30 PM; exhausted.
While all this was going on there was the other team that did summit. I wrote about that team in “By the Numbers” but it bears repeating here. That team consisted of 3 climbers: 2 climbers who were making their 71st ascent in 30 years (and refused to miss a year) and accompanied by Dale, an Army friend of Steve’s – Special Forces, attached to the Army Northern Warfare School stationed in Alaska, extensively trained in mountaineering. They met with us at about 3:00 AM at our high camp on their ascent. Their ascent and return to base camp took 14 hours, normally 8 hrs to 10 hrs – read Dale’s account of their climb. Our team at 12000 ft was the second highest team that day.
Dale had been in radio contact with Steve throughout the day. Unfortunately during their climb Dale had suffered snow blindness and was having difficulty making it down. He was hoping to meet with us at Glacier Basin Camp. At 6:00 PM Steve ascended once again to about 8500 ft to find Dale who by this time was lost on the rocky ridge separating Emmons and Inter Glaciers. They were in radio contact but could not connect. They decided Dale would camp where he was and Steve returned to Glacier Basin, arriving at about midnight. Friday at about 6:00 AM Steve headed back up the mountain, found Dale and they returned to Glacier Basin Camp. Steve’s ability and dedication to his fellow officer enabled him to push himself well beyond what any of us might expect.
That was our day; one of the most physically and mentally taxing and memorable we have had.
Fred was hurting head to toe, inside and outside.
Steve’s headaches were becoming more severe.
I was angry at the incessant wind and frustrated that it had kept us awake and slowed our progress.
AMS was taking its toll on all of us.
Only Christina, at the lead position, seemed to be in relatively good shape.
We had pushed our safety factor to the limit.
Steve looked to the summit and the west to see some ominous clouds cresting the mountain and coming our way.
Fortunately, among the four of us we were able to find enough common sense to start our rapid descend.
We radioed to Grace and Katie and told them our plan; you could almost sense the relief in their voices.
The sun was up and with our backs to the wind our visibility improved. Several hundred feet below we could see our gear lashed to the mountainside at our high camp, our next goal. We reminded ourselves that most accidents happen on the way down when climbers are most vulnerable due to fatigue and a sense of accomplishment. Going down uses a whole different set of muscles and different techniques with poles and ice axes. Not any more difficult, just different, plus you have gravity in your favor. Steve reminded us that the lower we got the better we would feel; Christina kept singing the praises of O2. Fred forgot to take pictures at our summit, later he told us he was too busy trying to stay alive. Going down gives you an entirely different view. On the way up you face the mountain, looking down for each successive step, looking up to see the snow or rock that you need to climb. On the way down you get to see the beauty of the surrounding mountains and valleys and rivers and sky. You also get the full realization of what you have accomplished; where you started, the route you took, the glaciers you crossed; it’s a great feeling that helps to mask the pain you are experiencing. We started down.
Mother nature wasn’t finished with us. We had descended a short distance when we were hit by what felt like ice pellets. We dug our ice axes into the snow and held on. It was like this most of the way down to high camp. After a brief rest at high camp we loaded up our packs and continued down towards base camp. We maintained radio contact with Grace and Katie who were watching us descend. They in turn sent messages to Matt so he could keep Kathy and Arlene appraised. They were also readying everything at base camp so we could continue on down. We were making good progress. In the process of crossing a crevasse, about 4 feet wide followed by a steep slope, Steve yelled SNOW SLIDE – RUN. Christina and I were across the crevasse, Fred probably in mid-air and Steve still dug-in to protect Fred from a fall; and we heard SNOW SLIDE – RUN. Christina and I ran and slid down the mountain dragging Fred behind us and in a single leap Steve bounded over the crevasse and slid down with us. We looked back and saw a cloud of snow as the avalanche went by and fell into another crevasse. It was really cool. Sliding was fun too, so we continued to slide down perhaps another hundred yards.
With Christina still in the lead, we approached our final set of crevasses above base camp, negotiated them without incident and in a few hundred yards were on solid ground at Camp Schurman. We had come down 2500 ft, the air was better, the water refreshing and yet the thoughts of food were still …, let me just say we weren’t ready for any. I do recall sitting at base camp eating a packet of peanut butter and trying to figure out what I needed to do next. I also recall thinking we were less than half way down to Glacier Basin Camp.
While we were having fun on the slopes, Grace and Katie were becoming good friends with Abby. They also restocked the water supply and sorted all the gear and gave all our excess food and fuel to Abby, now that significantly lightened our load. Abby even took a lot of our trash; better to take it down by helicopter she said, rather than for us to carry it – thanks Abby.
We rested for perhaps an hour, loaded up, roped up, said our good-byes to Abby and Camp Schurman and headed out. The scary snow-bridge was now a pile of rubble at the base of a 50 ft deep crevasse. See pictures on blog. We took the long way around and started down Emmons Glacier, Christina in the lead. We wound our way through the crevasse field that had changed a bit in the few days since our ascent. One crevasse in particular stands out in our minds; about a four foot jump onto a four foot landing spot of ice, don’t go any farther or you fall down the next crevasse. Over time, this event will require a Herculean leap to stick a 10 point landing on a postage stamp; well maybe I exaggerate. We all made it and were starting to feel really good about our mountaineering skills. We stepped off Emmons Glacier, paid proper tribute to the “special sisters spot” and started up the loose dirt and rock ridge. At the top of the ridge we stopped for a brief rest and to enjoy the view; we were aware that as we descended we would lose this spectacular view. There are no trees at this elevation and very little if any vegetations at all. The rocks are interesting in that there is such a variety; Christina found a good one for Kathy. The air seemed thicker and I guess we were probably starting to feel a little better. Well maybe that’s a stretch.
We descended the ridge onto Inter Glacier and met another team heading up. It was Thursday and the weekend climbers were arriving. Fun time again and we took the opportunity to slide down maybe a few hundred feet before we started to encounter ice. Snow is ok, but ice can be a real pain even with crampons. A few days earlier it was all snow. There were some crevasses but they were narrow and not a problem. What was quite interesting was that we were walking on the ice that forms the White River that we could see below. At one crevasse I stopped to listen to the water flowing beneath the glacier. It was a narrow one, very deep, the thickness of the glacier, deep blue as it went down and the sound of running water. Very cool. The concerns we had as we descended were slipping on the ice and the constant hazard of rock falls. Once a rock loosens from the glacier it becomes an unguided missile bouncing erratically down the mountain; sometimes picking up friends in it travels. Can be very dangerous.
We were all hurting, our equipment needed adjusting, tighten boots, tighten crampons, remove outer layers; but icy slopes are a bad place to stop. We actually lost our way on a wide open glacier and changed directions a couple times. The sun was starting to get blocked by clouds and would soon be hidden by a ridge on our left. Just over the next crest was the last snow field on the glacier. We started to slide down but Katie got her leg caught in a rope and twisted her knee. Katie did not have a good experience on Inter Glacier; either going up or down. Fred’s feet were really hurting so he and Steve continued to slide down the last few hundred yards to the bottom while Katie, Grace, Christina and I walked down. At last solid ground once again, no more snow or ice, relatively solid path and only 2 miles to camp.
The team sort of strung out during this last hike to camp. Steve and Grace seemed to have more energy than the rest of us and soon were way ahead. Katie and Fred about 100 yards behind them and Christina and I dawdling at the back. Oh, I forget to tell you earlier that this was the area where we had seen several wild sheep on our way up. I don’t know what they were surviving on as there is no vegetation where they were headed. Keep in mind that this area is covered with snow and ice most of the year so flowers don’t have much of a chance to flourish. Off to the sides where the glaciers didn’t encroach, there was a variety of plant life and small patched of grass and some really big granite boulders that look out of place. The lower we got the more vegetation we encountered until we were surrounded by trees at the camp site.
As I mentioned, Steve was way ahead of us, got to camp then returned to meet us on the trail to carry my pack to camp then returned again to carry Fred’s. By the time Fred and I reached camp Steve & Grace had already set up our tent; which was a good thing because we might not have had the energy to even bother. Katie retrieved her very comfortable sneakers that she had cached in a tree; Christina filled the water bottles and Grace boiled them. Food was essential but Fred and I were still treating it as optional. Christina had been giving all of us some magic elixir each night that was supposed to cure what ails you, it tasted terrible and I confess to not drinking my daily prescription. Fred on the other hand did and it probably helped him as he and food were still very much strangers. I was able to force down a half portion of ravioli that night along with a generous serving of water, a snack bar and some elixir. Messages were sent to Matt and Kathy that we hoped to arrive at the parking lot at about 11:00 AM the next day and it sure would be nice if they could bring a few items like real food, milk, beer ….
This very long day was nearly over for our team. We had started at about 2:00 AM after an almost sleepless night, attempted to summit, got pretty well beat up by the wind and descended 6000 ft to Glacier Basin Camp arriving at about 5:30 PM; exhausted.
While all this was going on there was the other team that did summit. I wrote about that team in “By the Numbers” but it bears repeating here. That team consisted of 3 climbers: 2 climbers who were making their 71st ascent in 30 years (and refused to miss a year) and accompanied by Dale, an Army friend of Steve’s – Special Forces, attached to the Army Northern Warfare School stationed in Alaska, extensively trained in mountaineering. They met with us at about 3:00 AM at our high camp on their ascent. Their ascent and return to base camp took 14 hours, normally 8 hrs to 10 hrs – read Dale’s account of their climb. Our team at 12000 ft was the second highest team that day.
Dale had been in radio contact with Steve throughout the day. Unfortunately during their climb Dale had suffered snow blindness and was having difficulty making it down. He was hoping to meet with us at Glacier Basin Camp. At 6:00 PM Steve ascended once again to about 8500 ft to find Dale who by this time was lost on the rocky ridge separating Emmons and Inter Glaciers. They were in radio contact but could not connect. They decided Dale would camp where he was and Steve returned to Glacier Basin, arriving at about midnight. Friday at about 6:00 AM Steve headed back up the mountain, found Dale and they returned to Glacier Basin Camp. Steve’s ability and dedication to his fellow officer enabled him to push himself well beyond what any of us might expect.
That was our day; one of the most physically and mentally taxing and memorable we have had.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Day 2, Tuesday - So this is Mountaineering
Tuesday, Day 2 – It’s surprising how well you can sleep on the hard ground after a 3-mile hike and an MRE. Well the MRE’s are not the greatest but at least our packs were lighter. Steve woke us all at about 6:30 AM; we appreciated the extra half hour sleep. We packed up everything and set off for Inter Glacier at about 7:30 AM.
As we crossed the meadow and started up a low ridge we got our first real look at the glacier. By glacier standards, it’s not all that big but it is the headwater for the White River. Christina had explained that the white comes from the glacial till; very fine dirt subjected to years and tons of glacial grinding. It took us about 2 hours to reached the base of the glacier, 7185 ft elevation. This is one of those examples from the Army TV commercial; “…we do more before breakfast than most people do in a day….” Yes, we stopped at the base for breakfast and our first mountaineering class; Self-arresting.
Up to this point we had been wearing shorts and tee shirts but for this exercise we needed jackets, waterproof pants and ice axes. Grace took some videos that really tell the tale. And yes, I guess I did hit the rocks. Fred was awesome, Katie really got into it, which was a good thing for what happened later. An interesting dynamic was also taking place. Though we called ourselves a team we apparently had been functioning pretty well as individuals. The self-arrest training and the events of the day brought us together as team.
Back to shorts and tee shirts, we started our climb up Inter Glacier. It was a lot like walking up a steep sledding hill; kick your foot into the snow to get a foothold and keep going up. The route traversed to glacier to lessen the grade. We were making progress with our serpentine course when suddenly Katie slipped and slid about 50 ft down the mountain. Now that was really scary for Katie and probably hurt too. Unfortunately we were using poles whereas an ice ax would have helped her to stop much sooner. So we learned and switched to crampons and 1 pole and ice ax and everyone felt more secure. Did I forget to mention that though our packs were now 2 meals lighter, they were still very much on our backs. We came upon our first crevasses and easily stepped over them. It took us 3 hours to reach the top of Inter Glacier at 8595 ft elevation where we stopped for lunch at about 2:45 PM. We could once again see the summit.
After the glacier we roped-up so we could cross a dirt and rocky ridge. Remember that glacial till Christina explained to us, well this ridge was similar in that both the rocks and dirt wanted to slide with each step we took. The disheartening part was that once we reached the top of the ridge then we had to go down the other side. We were at a point where we were reluctant to give up any of the elevation we gained, even if it was only a couple hundred feet. At the bottom lay the Emmons Glacier and a field of crevasses. We made it down. Prior to stepping onto the glacier there was a special sisters’ moment – no pictures however.
Steve led the way onto Emmons Glacier and negotiated the crevasses. Prior to this we had joked about crevasses, so far we had been able to simply step over them. Well this was the real thing. I don’t know how Steve found a way through them, it looked like a maze. Some we were able to step across, others we had to jump over; yes, with our packs, and be able to stop when we landed. This was the first time we had to dig our ice axes into the snow and be ready to stop the potential fall of the jumper. I took the opportunity to look down a couple and it was beautiful. White near the top and turning a deeper blue as they went down. Some were shallow, perhaps 15 to 20 feet deep; some were very deep and wide. This is one of those rear moments where you want to linger to take it all in. I’ll remember this sight for a long time and look forward to experiencing it again. Little did I know what lay ahead.
Once through the crevasse field we could see our destination, Camp Schurman. Just a short way (comparatively speaking) up the glacier and across one more crevasse. This final crevasse was really scary, even for Steve. We were a stone’s throw from camp, just cross the scary snow-bridge and 25 yards to the right. We all dug in as Steve started to cross it. He was half way across when the Ranger called out to him to be extremely careful and suggested a different route. That was very good advice, Steve retraced his steps and we took the alternate route, 100 yards to the left and a short jump over the crevasse. There are pictures of the scary snow-bridge on the blog, both before and after it collapsed the next day. It was quite a relief to step off the glacier and onto Camp Schurman. See the blog for more great pictures of the camp. I no longer have a need to go to the moon, I’ve been to Camp Schurman. Perhaps the biggest difference between the two is that Camp Schurman has an outhouse, and it’s even warm inside it – take a number and get in line.
We were tired. It was about 6:30 PM and we were at 9525 ft elevation. Camp Schurman is a rocky point that splits the Emmons and Winthrop glaciers. The view is spectacular to the east and north. At this altitude you are higher than most of the surrounding mountains. Far to the east you could see the desert beyond the Cascades. To the north were Mt Baker and other outstanding peaks. Below we could see the end of the glaciers where they form rivers to the Sound. As the sun set you could see the lights all along Puget Sound, from Tacoma to north of Seattle. As I lay in my sleeping bag that night, my feet were pulsating to the roar of the thunder. Then I realized that it wasn’t thunder but the roar of the mountain as the glaciers inched downward and formed new crevasses. The mountain is alive with activity. It was a day unlike any I have ever experienced.
As we crossed the meadow and started up a low ridge we got our first real look at the glacier. By glacier standards, it’s not all that big but it is the headwater for the White River. Christina had explained that the white comes from the glacial till; very fine dirt subjected to years and tons of glacial grinding. It took us about 2 hours to reached the base of the glacier, 7185 ft elevation. This is one of those examples from the Army TV commercial; “…we do more before breakfast than most people do in a day….” Yes, we stopped at the base for breakfast and our first mountaineering class; Self-arresting.
Up to this point we had been wearing shorts and tee shirts but for this exercise we needed jackets, waterproof pants and ice axes. Grace took some videos that really tell the tale. And yes, I guess I did hit the rocks. Fred was awesome, Katie really got into it, which was a good thing for what happened later. An interesting dynamic was also taking place. Though we called ourselves a team we apparently had been functioning pretty well as individuals. The self-arrest training and the events of the day brought us together as team.
Back to shorts and tee shirts, we started our climb up Inter Glacier. It was a lot like walking up a steep sledding hill; kick your foot into the snow to get a foothold and keep going up. The route traversed to glacier to lessen the grade. We were making progress with our serpentine course when suddenly Katie slipped and slid about 50 ft down the mountain. Now that was really scary for Katie and probably hurt too. Unfortunately we were using poles whereas an ice ax would have helped her to stop much sooner. So we learned and switched to crampons and 1 pole and ice ax and everyone felt more secure. Did I forget to mention that though our packs were now 2 meals lighter, they were still very much on our backs. We came upon our first crevasses and easily stepped over them. It took us 3 hours to reach the top of Inter Glacier at 8595 ft elevation where we stopped for lunch at about 2:45 PM. We could once again see the summit.
After the glacier we roped-up so we could cross a dirt and rocky ridge. Remember that glacial till Christina explained to us, well this ridge was similar in that both the rocks and dirt wanted to slide with each step we took. The disheartening part was that once we reached the top of the ridge then we had to go down the other side. We were at a point where we were reluctant to give up any of the elevation we gained, even if it was only a couple hundred feet. At the bottom lay the Emmons Glacier and a field of crevasses. We made it down. Prior to stepping onto the glacier there was a special sisters’ moment – no pictures however.
Steve led the way onto Emmons Glacier and negotiated the crevasses. Prior to this we had joked about crevasses, so far we had been able to simply step over them. Well this was the real thing. I don’t know how Steve found a way through them, it looked like a maze. Some we were able to step across, others we had to jump over; yes, with our packs, and be able to stop when we landed. This was the first time we had to dig our ice axes into the snow and be ready to stop the potential fall of the jumper. I took the opportunity to look down a couple and it was beautiful. White near the top and turning a deeper blue as they went down. Some were shallow, perhaps 15 to 20 feet deep; some were very deep and wide. This is one of those rear moments where you want to linger to take it all in. I’ll remember this sight for a long time and look forward to experiencing it again. Little did I know what lay ahead.
Once through the crevasse field we could see our destination, Camp Schurman. Just a short way (comparatively speaking) up the glacier and across one more crevasse. This final crevasse was really scary, even for Steve. We were a stone’s throw from camp, just cross the scary snow-bridge and 25 yards to the right. We all dug in as Steve started to cross it. He was half way across when the Ranger called out to him to be extremely careful and suggested a different route. That was very good advice, Steve retraced his steps and we took the alternate route, 100 yards to the left and a short jump over the crevasse. There are pictures of the scary snow-bridge on the blog, both before and after it collapsed the next day. It was quite a relief to step off the glacier and onto Camp Schurman. See the blog for more great pictures of the camp. I no longer have a need to go to the moon, I’ve been to Camp Schurman. Perhaps the biggest difference between the two is that Camp Schurman has an outhouse, and it’s even warm inside it – take a number and get in line.
We were tired. It was about 6:30 PM and we were at 9525 ft elevation. Camp Schurman is a rocky point that splits the Emmons and Winthrop glaciers. The view is spectacular to the east and north. At this altitude you are higher than most of the surrounding mountains. Far to the east you could see the desert beyond the Cascades. To the north were Mt Baker and other outstanding peaks. Below we could see the end of the glaciers where they form rivers to the Sound. As the sun set you could see the lights all along Puget Sound, from Tacoma to north of Seattle. As I lay in my sleeping bag that night, my feet were pulsating to the roar of the thunder. Then I realized that it wasn’t thunder but the roar of the mountain as the glaciers inched downward and formed new crevasses. The mountain is alive with activity. It was a day unlike any I have ever experienced.
Day 1, Monday - A Walk in the Park
Monday, August 27, 2007; Day 1 - At last this day has finally come. We all arrived at Steve’s house in Tacoma at about 9:00 AM to complete our packing and head to Mt Rainier. In addition to the team: Grace, Christina, Katie, Steve, Fred and me (Dad / Ofa); we were accompanied by Kathy and Arlene who were taking Elizabeth, Stephen and Seamus on a NanaCamp adventure.
We stuffed and crammed and squeezed to get the last of our gear into our packs. Fred and I had the most problem with our sleeping bags. Finally we were ready to load up the cars. That became another issue; how were we going to get all this stuff and 6 climbers into 2 cars. The Buchanan packing gene took over and in a few minutes Grace, Christina and Katie had the problem solved. Somehow Fred was able to squeeze into the back seat of Steve’s Kia. The NanaCamp crew had a roomy van but then again there were 3 kids and the noise level probably compensated for their roominess.
We headed east to enter the park at the White River entrance. Along the way we stopped for lunch at a super market; really good sandwiches, cold drinks, picnic tables, clean restroom at a nearby McDonalds and other last minute supplies. We could see the summit as we grew nearer and it grew bigger and higher. I recall the emotional high I experienced in July when Steve, Matt and I approached the Mountain to do a short climb to the Muir Snowfields. This high was no less. Our first stop was to sign-in with the Park Ranger, get our permits to go above 10,000 ft. and the unique experience of picking up our blue bags. See the picture of the proud climbers holding their blue bags (empty) with Mt R in the background. Oh, perhaps I need to point out that the blue bags are for “human waste”; the rule is that you take only memories and leave only footprints…. We still had a few miles to drive to our stepping off point at White River Campground.
You could feel the anticipation mount when we started to unload the cars and make final preparations. NanaCamp was in full swing with the kids using our hiking poles to walk across logs. We donned our socks (liners and hiking), boots, affixed our ice axes and trail flags to our packs, lathered up with sun screen and posed for pictures. The moment was finally here. We were at 4320 ft elevation and our first day goal was 3.1 miles up the trail. Fred and I tried to pick up Steve’s pack… it was really heavy. We all helped each other get our pack up and on and tightened. Fred wisely had set his pack on a picnic table that probably made it easier to get on, but it was also 30 ft farther from the trail. After final hugs we set off for our walk in the park.
In preparation for the climb I had been walking stairs and hills with a 45 lb pack (rocks) and it didn’t take long to realize that this pack was heavier. I didn’t know how much heavier and I didn’t want to know. One thing was sure, the more we ate, the lighter it would get. At the 2.4 mile point we took a rest, see photos with amusing captions on the blog. This was a good opportunity to adjust our packs and thanks to Grace, learn the proper sequence of putting them on and tightening the various straps. It certainly made a difference – thanks Grace.
The trail is really nice and we would highly recommend it for day hikers. It follows the White River to it source at the base of Inter Glacier. There are sections of the trail that have been washed out by spring flooding, and beautiful dense wooded areas with tall stands as well as trees felled by snow and flooding. The end of the maintained trail is at Glacier Basin Camp, 5975 ft elevation. Though the hike was long it certainly didn’t seem like we gained 1655 ft in elevation. Just beyond our camp is a beautiful meadow with spectacular views of Sunrise (NanaCamp destination), the Inter Glacier and the summit. Grace took some great videos, hope you enjoy them.
At this point I think we qualified as hikers; tomorrow we would get our first real taste of mountaineering.
We stuffed and crammed and squeezed to get the last of our gear into our packs. Fred and I had the most problem with our sleeping bags. Finally we were ready to load up the cars. That became another issue; how were we going to get all this stuff and 6 climbers into 2 cars. The Buchanan packing gene took over and in a few minutes Grace, Christina and Katie had the problem solved. Somehow Fred was able to squeeze into the back seat of Steve’s Kia. The NanaCamp crew had a roomy van but then again there were 3 kids and the noise level probably compensated for their roominess.
We headed east to enter the park at the White River entrance. Along the way we stopped for lunch at a super market; really good sandwiches, cold drinks, picnic tables, clean restroom at a nearby McDonalds and other last minute supplies. We could see the summit as we grew nearer and it grew bigger and higher. I recall the emotional high I experienced in July when Steve, Matt and I approached the Mountain to do a short climb to the Muir Snowfields. This high was no less. Our first stop was to sign-in with the Park Ranger, get our permits to go above 10,000 ft. and the unique experience of picking up our blue bags. See the picture of the proud climbers holding their blue bags (empty) with Mt R in the background. Oh, perhaps I need to point out that the blue bags are for “human waste”; the rule is that you take only memories and leave only footprints…. We still had a few miles to drive to our stepping off point at White River Campground.
You could feel the anticipation mount when we started to unload the cars and make final preparations. NanaCamp was in full swing with the kids using our hiking poles to walk across logs. We donned our socks (liners and hiking), boots, affixed our ice axes and trail flags to our packs, lathered up with sun screen and posed for pictures. The moment was finally here. We were at 4320 ft elevation and our first day goal was 3.1 miles up the trail. Fred and I tried to pick up Steve’s pack… it was really heavy. We all helped each other get our pack up and on and tightened. Fred wisely had set his pack on a picnic table that probably made it easier to get on, but it was also 30 ft farther from the trail. After final hugs we set off for our walk in the park.
In preparation for the climb I had been walking stairs and hills with a 45 lb pack (rocks) and it didn’t take long to realize that this pack was heavier. I didn’t know how much heavier and I didn’t want to know. One thing was sure, the more we ate, the lighter it would get. At the 2.4 mile point we took a rest, see photos with amusing captions on the blog. This was a good opportunity to adjust our packs and thanks to Grace, learn the proper sequence of putting them on and tightening the various straps. It certainly made a difference – thanks Grace.
The trail is really nice and we would highly recommend it for day hikers. It follows the White River to it source at the base of Inter Glacier. There are sections of the trail that have been washed out by spring flooding, and beautiful dense wooded areas with tall stands as well as trees felled by snow and flooding. The end of the maintained trail is at Glacier Basin Camp, 5975 ft elevation. Though the hike was long it certainly didn’t seem like we gained 1655 ft in elevation. Just beyond our camp is a beautiful meadow with spectacular views of Sunrise (NanaCamp destination), the Inter Glacier and the summit. Grace took some great videos, hope you enjoy them.
At this point I think we qualified as hikers; tomorrow we would get our first real taste of mountaineering.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Ofa Reports: That Night on the Mountain
That Night on the Mountain
Wednesday, Aug 29, Day 3: The day started beautifully, the high that had been in place for the past few days was still there. The sky was blue, the air fresh and the view from 9525 ft was spectacular. Steve couldn’t believe that the old guys had actually slept 11 hours; the old guys couldn’t believe it was only 11 hours. The original plan had been to spend the day doing more rope training; belaying, etc, and resting for our assault on the summit Thursday. But plans do change……..
After the experiences of the day before, Grace and Katie decided that for this trip they had reached their summit. I can’t wait to read what they have to say about their climb to 9525 ft. Steve and Christina thought it would be a good idea to get a head start on our summit attempt by climbing up another couple thousand feet and setting up a high camp above The Corridor. The old guys agreed so we set the plan in motion. We were to take only what we needed for 2 days, leaving any excess gear at base camp with Grace and Katie. Katie and Grace made sure we each had a full complement of water, we checked all radios, applied yet another coating of sun block on all exposed skin including up our noses, geared up, roped up, and with ice axes and poles in hand set off. Our packs were considerable lighter, which buoyed our enthusiasm.
Much earlier that day, 5:00 AM, 2 other climbers set off for the summit, as did the Ranger, Sam, and his girl friend, Abby, at about 7:00 AM. Stepping off of Camp Schurman onto the Emmons Glacier was the easy part. Christina was in lead and was following the tracks from the earlier climbers. Within a hundred yards we encountered our first set of crevasses and negotiated them with little difficulty. It’s amazing how much we learned the day before and how our confidence had increased under the leadership of Steve and Christina. After climbing for a while we met up with Sam and Abby who were returning from 12000 ft; they ended their climb at that elevation because of the late start and the wind was starting to kick up. They showed us a better route and told us of a primo camping spot up a ways. We set off as they recommended, went about 50 feet and Christina suddenly broke through a snow bridge dropping up to her waist into a crevasse. A scary moment for all (see Grace’s account of Scary Moments). We can joke about it now but at the time it was quite a shock and made us all the more cautious. The wind picked up and we continued upward with visions of a flat area where we could set up camp. Then at about 11240 ft elevation Steve said this is the spot; the old guys looked around trying to find the flat primo campsite we had been promised; not to be found. Because of the grade we remained roped up and started digging ledges to create our own flat primo campsite. We worked for about 2, I’d say that Steve and Fred did the lions share of the digging. The initial ledge was about 20 ft long and 4 ft wide dug into a slope of maybe 30 degrees. Because the wind continued to gust with increasing force, we built walls on the uphill side to deflect the wind and protect the tents.
Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) was beginning to take its toll. Steve and Fred were experiencing severe headaches, Fred and Dad did not want to even think about food, Fred got sick again, and we were all exhausted. Steve placed some anchors into the snow so we could anchor our gear and ourselves to the side of the mountain for the night. Christina continued to melt snow to refill our water supply. We finally all crawled into our tents. All that is except Steve who prefers to sleep in a bivi-bag rather than a tent.
While this was going on we got a radio message from Grace and Katie that Dale had arrived at our base camp with 2 other climbers. Grace and Katie had been purifying water most of the day and refilled the new team. Steve asked Dale if he wanted to join us at high camp but he very colorfully declined. A word about Dale: he is a friend of Steve’s from West Point, presently in Special Forces having just returned from Iraq. Prior to Iraq, he had spent a few years stationed in Alaska with the Army Northern Warfare and has extensive mountaineering experience. The 2 climbers he was accompanying were on their 71st climb up Rainier in the past 30 consecutive years. They had done the climb from White River Camp (4320 ft) to Camp Schurman (9525 ft) in about half the time it took us.
We heard a plane flying overhead and got a radio message from Grace and Katie that it was Mark. We were all too tired to crawl out of our tents to look (sorry Mark). He took a lot of pictures that are available through this blog and we hope you enjoy them. Mark later told us about his unique experience; on one side of the mountain he caught an updraft that increased his elevation at about 1000 ft per minute and on the other side pushed him down at about 700 ft per minute. He was also able to fly over the mountain; you do the math on that one, quite a feat for a small plane.
The wind increased, tents were blowing as we hunkered down for the night at about 6:00 PM. Our plan was to get a good night sleep, arise at 2:00 AM to be ready to hook up with Dale at about 3:00 AM and head for the summit. Good plan. Well, there was no good night sleep. The wind hollowed all night collapsing our tents so they looked more like nylon wraps rather than tents. Amazingly, when the wind let up the tents would spring back into their normal shape. Later Steve told me that he had already developed his rescue plan should Fred and Dad’s tent rip apart. We didn’t think we got any sleep but apparently our snoring belied that. As I lie there all night waiting for the tent to rip apart, I thought that this was just a nighttime blow that would soon end; wrong again. At one point Christina called to Steve that she had the shakes; she was warm enough but couldn’t stop shaking. Steve hollered back to hang in there because there was nothing we could do until the AM. In a short time she calmed down and realized she probably had too much sugar. Throughout his Army career Steve has spent a lot of bad nights in the wilderness but he counts this as among of the worst.
At about 2:00 AM we got a call from Grace and Katie that Dale and the other 2 climbers were heading up; we thought they were crazy. What we didn’t realize was that the 2 climbers wouldn’t be denied the summit on this or any day. They arrived, we chatted a bit and they continued up. It took us another hour to get ready: pack all our gear, anchor it to the mountain side, rope up, refill our water, try to eat and get underway. Later we learned that Grace, Katie and Abby were watching our headlamps and thought we were crazy when they saw us heading up rather than down.
The next 2 hours were perhaps the most taxing we have ever experienced. We frequently had to dig our ice axes into the snow to keep from being blown off the mountain. After two hours and only an 800 ft elevation gain, an absolutely glorious sunrise, more AMS compounded by a lack of sleep, and an unceasing wind we decided that for this trip and on this day we had reached our summit at 12000 ft. Steve looked to the northwest and saw some ominous clouds cresting the mountain and heading down towards us. As we started our decent, the wind threw ice pellets at us. We know we had made the right decision. We learned later that the wind gusts at Camp Schurman (9525 ft) had been measured at 70 mph and was projected as being stronger at higher elevations. The saying goes that the lower you get the better you feel; we were all too tired to notice if we felt better.
Wednesday, Aug 29, Day 3: The day started beautifully, the high that had been in place for the past few days was still there. The sky was blue, the air fresh and the view from 9525 ft was spectacular. Steve couldn’t believe that the old guys had actually slept 11 hours; the old guys couldn’t believe it was only 11 hours. The original plan had been to spend the day doing more rope training; belaying, etc, and resting for our assault on the summit Thursday. But plans do change……..
After the experiences of the day before, Grace and Katie decided that for this trip they had reached their summit. I can’t wait to read what they have to say about their climb to 9525 ft. Steve and Christina thought it would be a good idea to get a head start on our summit attempt by climbing up another couple thousand feet and setting up a high camp above The Corridor. The old guys agreed so we set the plan in motion. We were to take only what we needed for 2 days, leaving any excess gear at base camp with Grace and Katie. Katie and Grace made sure we each had a full complement of water, we checked all radios, applied yet another coating of sun block on all exposed skin including up our noses, geared up, roped up, and with ice axes and poles in hand set off. Our packs were considerable lighter, which buoyed our enthusiasm.
Much earlier that day, 5:00 AM, 2 other climbers set off for the summit, as did the Ranger, Sam, and his girl friend, Abby, at about 7:00 AM. Stepping off of Camp Schurman onto the Emmons Glacier was the easy part. Christina was in lead and was following the tracks from the earlier climbers. Within a hundred yards we encountered our first set of crevasses and negotiated them with little difficulty. It’s amazing how much we learned the day before and how our confidence had increased under the leadership of Steve and Christina. After climbing for a while we met up with Sam and Abby who were returning from 12000 ft; they ended their climb at that elevation because of the late start and the wind was starting to kick up. They showed us a better route and told us of a primo camping spot up a ways. We set off as they recommended, went about 50 feet and Christina suddenly broke through a snow bridge dropping up to her waist into a crevasse. A scary moment for all (see Grace’s account of Scary Moments). We can joke about it now but at the time it was quite a shock and made us all the more cautious. The wind picked up and we continued upward with visions of a flat area where we could set up camp. Then at about 11240 ft elevation Steve said this is the spot; the old guys looked around trying to find the flat primo campsite we had been promised; not to be found. Because of the grade we remained roped up and started digging ledges to create our own flat primo campsite. We worked for about 2, I’d say that Steve and Fred did the lions share of the digging. The initial ledge was about 20 ft long and 4 ft wide dug into a slope of maybe 30 degrees. Because the wind continued to gust with increasing force, we built walls on the uphill side to deflect the wind and protect the tents.
Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) was beginning to take its toll. Steve and Fred were experiencing severe headaches, Fred and Dad did not want to even think about food, Fred got sick again, and we were all exhausted. Steve placed some anchors into the snow so we could anchor our gear and ourselves to the side of the mountain for the night. Christina continued to melt snow to refill our water supply. We finally all crawled into our tents. All that is except Steve who prefers to sleep in a bivi-bag rather than a tent.
While this was going on we got a radio message from Grace and Katie that Dale had arrived at our base camp with 2 other climbers. Grace and Katie had been purifying water most of the day and refilled the new team. Steve asked Dale if he wanted to join us at high camp but he very colorfully declined. A word about Dale: he is a friend of Steve’s from West Point, presently in Special Forces having just returned from Iraq. Prior to Iraq, he had spent a few years stationed in Alaska with the Army Northern Warfare and has extensive mountaineering experience. The 2 climbers he was accompanying were on their 71st climb up Rainier in the past 30 consecutive years. They had done the climb from White River Camp (4320 ft) to Camp Schurman (9525 ft) in about half the time it took us.
We heard a plane flying overhead and got a radio message from Grace and Katie that it was Mark. We were all too tired to crawl out of our tents to look (sorry Mark). He took a lot of pictures that are available through this blog and we hope you enjoy them. Mark later told us about his unique experience; on one side of the mountain he caught an updraft that increased his elevation at about 1000 ft per minute and on the other side pushed him down at about 700 ft per minute. He was also able to fly over the mountain; you do the math on that one, quite a feat for a small plane.
The wind increased, tents were blowing as we hunkered down for the night at about 6:00 PM. Our plan was to get a good night sleep, arise at 2:00 AM to be ready to hook up with Dale at about 3:00 AM and head for the summit. Good plan. Well, there was no good night sleep. The wind hollowed all night collapsing our tents so they looked more like nylon wraps rather than tents. Amazingly, when the wind let up the tents would spring back into their normal shape. Later Steve told me that he had already developed his rescue plan should Fred and Dad’s tent rip apart. We didn’t think we got any sleep but apparently our snoring belied that. As I lie there all night waiting for the tent to rip apart, I thought that this was just a nighttime blow that would soon end; wrong again. At one point Christina called to Steve that she had the shakes; she was warm enough but couldn’t stop shaking. Steve hollered back to hang in there because there was nothing we could do until the AM. In a short time she calmed down and realized she probably had too much sugar. Throughout his Army career Steve has spent a lot of bad nights in the wilderness but he counts this as among of the worst.
At about 2:00 AM we got a call from Grace and Katie that Dale and the other 2 climbers were heading up; we thought they were crazy. What we didn’t realize was that the 2 climbers wouldn’t be denied the summit on this or any day. They arrived, we chatted a bit and they continued up. It took us another hour to get ready: pack all our gear, anchor it to the mountain side, rope up, refill our water, try to eat and get underway. Later we learned that Grace, Katie and Abby were watching our headlamps and thought we were crazy when they saw us heading up rather than down.
The next 2 hours were perhaps the most taxing we have ever experienced. We frequently had to dig our ice axes into the snow to keep from being blown off the mountain. After two hours and only an 800 ft elevation gain, an absolutely glorious sunrise, more AMS compounded by a lack of sleep, and an unceasing wind we decided that for this trip and on this day we had reached our summit at 12000 ft. Steve looked to the northwest and saw some ominous clouds cresting the mountain and heading down towards us. As we started our decent, the wind threw ice pellets at us. We know we had made the right decision. We learned later that the wind gusts at Camp Schurman (9525 ft) had been measured at 70 mph and was projected as being stronger at higher elevations. The saying goes that the lower you get the better you feel; we were all too tired to notice if we felt better.
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