Climbing

My 6th attempt at Mt Rainier was ultimately not successful, but it was one of the most enjoyable times I’ve had on the mountain - it really proved to us on this trip that this moutain is not for the faint of heart. 2016-06-16 The trip involved a whole crew of folks - including my wife and I, my cousin Sean and his wife, and my brother. Everyone flew in on a Thursday and we headed up to camp on Friday, heading up the Edmonds-Winthrop route again. The first part of the climb was pretty standard - sunny morning and we made quick progress up to the point where we rope up and drop down onto the glacier. We had done a few training hikes, which was good - everyone was strong and in good spirits.

In 2015, I made my fifth climb on Mt Rainier but my first time going up the Emmons-Winthrop route - which is one the opposite side of the mountain from the more popular disappointment cleaver route. There were 6 of us in total on the climb, two groups of three. This was the 3rd trip I had taken with a few of them, but this was the first time climbing with the rest of them.

Back in 2014, my friend Pam who I met doing crossfit during my Amazon internship expressed an interest in doing some big moutain climbs. She, along with two of her friends (who I had not yet met), and I decided that Mt Baker would be a good first trip. This would be the first time up Mt Baker for me, but I had heard it was a much more managable mountain compared to the other PNW volcanoes.

In early 2014, I took off with my brother and one of his friends to attempt to climb the infamous liberty Ridge route on Mt Rainier. This is a very different route from many routes on Mt Rainier in that it involves some fairly technical ice climbing - using dual ice axes and pick like crampons to climb up a 60+ deg ice slope. I even had to get some new gear for this trip.

Way, way back in 2013, I took another trip with Brian and Golden climbing crew (but without my cousin this time) up Mt Hood. We did a one day trip - which is pretty reasonable for this mountain. I met up with them in Seattle and we drove down to Oregon and camped out at the foot of the mountain - taking off early the following morning for the summit.

Back in 2012, I was given the opportunity to study abroad to finish up my MBA education - at the WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management. It was a great way to finish up my education and it offered the opportunity to travel around before heading back into the real world. 2012-04 At the end of the study abroad program, we made our way down through France and Spain to Gibraltar. I don’t actually remember how we got there, either the train or a flight, but we ended up walking across the border from Spain into the tiniest bit of England, where the rock sits. The place was not what I expected - there was some of the historical batteries and the like that protected the entrance to the Mediterranean, but mostly it was just a very touristy place where they sold everything under the sun that said Gibraltar on it. The most notable thing about the rock was the monkeys, there were probably a hundred of them on the rock and they were melicious - stealing things and harassing people. I watched one steal a little toy out of a babies crib and another distract someone while a different monkey stole an apple from his backpack.

In 2011, I was given the opportunity to intern at Amazon - a opportunity that ended up shaping the next 12 years of my life. For now though, it was just a fun opporutnity to try something new and spend a summer in Seattle - a placed I have enjoyed since first visiting Derek back in undergrad. This story is about a slightly different topic though, my successful attempt to summit Mt Rainier for the first time - and experience that also shaped the next years of my life.