My Climb Log

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Team Smith!

A special thanks to everyone who has contributed! This is a great cause ... and I really appreciate your support.

Derrick and Jennifer, Smith, WA
Morgan and Melissa Ethington, OH
Randy and Heather Curtis, UT
Neal and Laura Smith, OR
Dan Cryer, WA
Kelli Davidson, WA
Doug and Jaimy Carley, UT
Paul Danielson, WA
Bob Tippett, WA
Apollo Inc. -- Keith Larson, WA
Bryce & Hollie Logan, WA
Conrad & Shellie Abrams, WA
Bryan & Autumn Long, WA
Linda Boomer, WA
Holly Wilson, WA
Gale Clark, WA
Ruth Swain, WA
Jeanne Jelke, WA
Tim & Kelli Schauer, WA
Jay and Ashley Lee, AZ
Don Cushing, OR
Dan MacKay, WA
Al & Lisa Schauer, WA
Rod & Cindy Christensen, WA
Teri Miller, WA
Mary Ruby, OR
Joetta Ruppert, WA
AJ and Tracy, Hill

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Favorite Climbs!

Here are a couple of the climbs we are planning, or have previously attempted:

Planned: April 25th, 2008

Mt. Whitney, CA
Summit Elevation: 14,505 feet
Location: California, USA
Coordinates:36°34′42.9″N 118°17′31.2″W / 36.578583, -118.292

Notes: Although this is the highest point in the lower 48, we anticipate that this will be a warm-up climb/hike for the season. We are still debating our route, however, the easier route is a Class 1 climb, meaning it is long, but not technically challenging.

Planned: June 25th, 2008

Mt. Adams, WA
Summit Elevation: 12,276 ft
Location: Washington State

Coordinates: 46°12′08.68″N 121°29′27.22″W / 46.2024111, -121.4908944

Notes: This is our home mountain, it is a fun climb. We've climbed this one twice before, but unfortunately never climbed beyond the false summit because of bad weather. Some pictures of past climbs are included here: My Adams Entries

Planned: July 25th, 2008

Mt. Rainier, WA
Summit Elevation: 14,411 ft
Location: Washington State
Coordinates: 46°51′11.9″N 121°45′35.6″W / 46.853306, -121.759889

Notes: For me, this is the big one and I'm pretty excited about it. I'm looking forward to more glacier experience, and getting some training from the pros. Should be a great end for the 2008 climbing season. Now for 2009 ...

Check out other Rainier info I've collected here: My Rainier Entries

Climbed: June, 2007

Mt. Shasta
Summit Elevation: 14,179 ft
Location: California
Coordinates:41°24′33.11″N 122°11′41.60″W / 41.4091972, -122.1948889

Notes: We summitted this one in 2007. This is a great climb, especially since Mt. Shasta is so prominent as you travel in northern CA. I have several Shasta entries here: Shasta Stuff

My Profile

One of the reasons I thought I'd start a blog was so that my friends, family, and business associates could get to know me better. I also thought they might enjoy supporting me in my 2008 New Year's resolution, which for me is personally important (both for the charity and the personal challenge).

I was told today that I should put something more personal on the blog. That sounded like a good idea (I'm new to this, so be patient). A couple of things about me:

1.) I've done a couple of things really well. For starters, I married extremely well (she says, "I married above myself"). Jennifer is an amazing person and a great personal support, even when my ambitions have been inconvenient to her. Because of her, I also have three great kids; Rachael (9), Megan (6), and Ethan (3). I thought a picture montage would help introduce them:

2.) As you might have guessed, I have over the past couple of years become passionate about mountaineering. I've really been bitten with the bug. I think its because it appeals to my aptitude for planning and research, my love of the outdoors, and my increasing need to find something big to motivate me to get off the couch (committing to a team for a climb 4-6 months in advance is a good motivator). I hate to be last up the mountain ... even though, as you might notice from some of my climbing videos, it seems that I'm often the exclusive subject of any video footage (the guys pull out their camcorders when they are waiting for me to catch up). This year I'm training hard ... hopefully I'll climb differently.

3.) My other passion is our business. I'm fortunate to have been invited to become a partner with a great group of people (some of you who are reading this may be clients, community partners, etc). We run a very well respected consulting firm called MacKay & Sposito, Inc. (www.mackaysposito.com). We have a great team, do amazing projects, and are looking forward to continued long-term success. With more than 30 years of history under our belts, it is great to be associated with a group that is really concerned about doing the right thing.