A pair of Koflaks, crampons and an ice axe...

For those of you who don't know...Koflaks are plastic mountaineering boots, crampons allow you to walk/climb on snow and ice and the ice axe provides balance. These are the 3 key things we rented to climb Mt. Shasta. As I mentioned in the brief Shasta post, I am not sure exactly why people climb mountains when they are not in very good physical shape. It is pure torture with moments of greatness that are far between.

The Adventure began Tuesday afternoon when Travis told us he thought Thursday was the day to climb Shasta. We had been waiting for several weeks for the weather to clear. After many trips to the fifth season and a scouting trip (snowshoeing on Shasta to 10,000ft) we felt we were ready to make a summit bid. That week Dan had put the Aerostar back together from his run in with the Deer on French Creek Road. This was the first test further than the Ranch.

We arrived at the 5th season around 5:30pm Wednesday to pick up our gear for the climb which cost about twice as much $$ as I expected (It was worth it though). Then we headed straight for the Stage Door, a local coffee shop, to eat dinner. We are quickly becoming regulars at the Stage Door to drink Green Tea, play cards, and observe weird people (most of the people around Mt. Shasta are a little different). It's a great place. It has a coffee shop, Theater, stage, and restaurant all in one shop. I think Green Tea is quickly becoming my favorite drink.

The aerostar made it to the parking lot at Bunny Flat (base of Mt. Shasta) around 8:30 pm as planned. We took the seats out of the van and set up our sleeping bags. I packed for the next day. There was only one other vehicle in the parking lot. About 15,000 people climb Shasta per year, only about 300 of them do it in the winter. I think this makes us feel like we are more hardcore than most people.

So the climb began at 3:30 am Thursday morning. We turned on our headlamps and strapped on the snowshoes and began to walk in the dark. It felt kind of strange to hike in the dark. There was no moon so the stars were incredible! Almost immediately I realized the temp was in the upper 20's and I had to many layers of clothes on. I get hot very easily and I hate being hot! So I had to stop several times to peel layers off. Finally, I cooled down. I was struggling early on, I guess due to not being in the greatest shape. I decided the only way I would make it was if I settled into a rhythm and stuck to it even if that meant I was way behind Dan and Travis. So it was 25 steps, rest, 25 steps, rest... literally all of the way up the mountain. I asked the Lord to give me the strength and the mental toughness to make it even though I didn't feel physically up to it.

The route we chose was the same one we scouted the weekend before (Green Butte Ridge). It is a route of medium difficulty. We got up to the Ridge at about 5am where we took our first break to drink water and eat a snack. This is where the first incident happened. I laid my trekking poles down and one of them began to slide. I yelled to Dan below me and he dropped everything and dove for the pole. At this point he and the pole are sliding down a very slippery slope and steep. Fortunately they did not slide to far. When they stopped, Somehow Dan dropped his helmet and it rolled away down the ridge. Also, when he dove he broke his camelback water tank and the water leaked out so we had to share drinking water the rest of the way.

We regrouped and began to hike again. The sun was now rising (see pictures). I am still struggling at this point. We hiked along the ridge for several hours taking breaks every 1 or 2 hours. We seem to be moving slow. At some point we missed a key traverse across the mountain and made the hike much longer and more tiring. I'm not exactly sure where it happened. We push on though. At this point we all think our chances for making the summit are dwindling. Did I say that I am still struggling?

Finally, we make it to Red Banks at the Base of Misery Hill. The summit seems so close! I got a strong second wind here and realized that I probably can make it to the top. I am still in my rhythm at this point and feel good about it. The other guys are beginning to slow down a bit. The time is around 12 noon. 1/4 of the way up misery hill the wind starts to blow. This is no ordinary wind! My guess is that it was blowing somewhere between 60-80 mph and it would gust way above that at times. I wanted to turn around every time the wind would nearly knock me down. I had taken off my shell jacket (that blocks the wind) because I was hot and my gloves (I had the liners on). So This wind chilled me to the bone and it was to strong for me to get out the jacket. So I pushed on a few steps at a time. I constantly sang praise songs in my head. I like to do this on the mountain when I feel weak. I asked the Lord to give me the strength of a Lion and the courage of a tiger to push on when I felt like I had nothing left.

So after what seemed like forever we made it to the top of misery hill. This is the summit. I pulled out my jacket and gloves and tried to warm up. I laid down and went to sleep. It is not over yet. The summit is not the top. The Pinnacle is. We now had to cross a plateau and then climb to the top of the true summit. We were exhausted at this point and had little desire to do this. Now that I am back I am glad we went all the way to the top. The Time is now about 2pm. It is getting late fast and we need to hurry down to get to the car before dark.

We hurry down and make it back to the car by 5:15pm just before dark. Then we loaded the car and drove back to the Ranch.

Overall, The trip was a great adventure. I think it was one of the hardest physical things I have ever done. Much harder than the last time I climbed Shasta (1998). We did make it harder on ourselves than it had to be. I think doing it in one day is to much. Next time I'll do it in 2 days. Like I said at the beginning of this, I am not sure why people torture themselves on purpose to get to the top of a mountain, for some reason I want to do it again though. Click on the link at the right to see my Shasta pictures and to read Travis's account of the climb.

NOTE: For those of you who are wondering. I worked on Saturday and late several days to make up for the day of work I missed.