Mt. Hood?

Well ... unfortunately, our Mt. Hood climb has been postponed (or possibly canceled). We have had several weeks of bad weather on the mountain, with new snow as late as Memorial weekend. At this point, the avalanche danger, and my busy schedule is making this climb seem more-and-more unlikely this season. I am still hopeful for an Adams climb ... however, we are still waiting for the trailhead to open up. This has been an extrordinary year for snow fall in the Cascades.

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Success! Climb #1 - Mt. Whitney 14,494 ft.

First of all ... I have to thank everyone who has so generously supported my fundraising efforts for the American Lung Association -- Climb for Clean Air. I've reached the 2/3 point in the fundraiser and am on track to meet my goal of $3,500. If you haven't had a chance to learn about my fundraiser please visit my website (www.myClimbLog.com). I still have a signifant effort to complete my fundraising in the next few weeks. It is a great cause!

I promised that I would update everyone on my preparations and training climbs. This past week I spent four days in central California climbing Mt. Whitney. At 14,494, Whitney is the highest point in the lower 48. After a 14 hour drive from Kennewick on Wednesday, we successfully summitted Whitney in two days (Thurs & Fri).

We couldn't have been blessed with better weather. The first day was extremely tough. I felt quite sick, feeling both the altitude and a lack of proper fueling and water. It was a serious wake-up call for additional aerobic activity needed to prepare for Rainier. Luckily, after spending the night at our high camp (12,500 ft.) with single digit temperatures ... I seem to have acclimated; and woke for our summit day feeling really good. The final pitch to the summit (see video below) was extremely steep ... which gave us some new experience, and really stressed our lungs, legs, and nerves.

Following the extremely hairy 1500 ft climb up the snow chute (couloir) to the "notch," we crossed the north edge of the summit along a traverse which followed a rock wall just below the summit. That last traverse to the summit was quite narrow with a lot of exposure.

Ultimately we summitted, signed the logbook, and heading back to the trailhead. Our total climb time was 16-18 hours.



Stay Tuned! The next climb is Mt. Hood the end of May!

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More Mt. Whitney Photos

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Mt. Whitney Google Earth File

To download a Google Earth file with embedded pictures and a climb route please click the ShareCow icon below. Sorry, the file is almost 8 meg, I had to use a file transfer site.

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