Umm... talk about last minute planning. Some people might be wondering, 'you climbed Mt. Everest, don't you want to settle back into work and your normal life as soon as possible?' Yes, that is something I look forward to, however, circumstances lined up so that I have another smaller opportunity and I would like to pursue that. Which is to say, for the next two months, I am well acclimated to anything that we have in the lower 48 states in the USA, so going to 14,000 feet will be no problem. Also, I had originally planned to return to work on Monday, June 6th. So when I returned a few days early to the USA it seemed either return to work a few days early, lay around at my parents house, my house, or visit relatives, or the third option, go do a speed ascent on a 14,000 foot mountain, particularly the biggest baddest 14er in the lower 48: Mt. Rainier.
Rarely is it done as a one day climb because it involves nearly 9,000 vertical feet of ascent from the parking lot to the summit, but it is possible. I think I can do it in around eight hours round trip, let's say 7-10 hours for the likely range.
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Mt. Rainier Summit Photo September 11th, 2015 |
So I fly out this afternoon, will pick up some last minute supplies and my permit Friday, and spend Saturday morning trying to speed climb Mt. Rainier. Yes I will be taking my Delorme InReach, a rope, ice screw, and even a small down jacket in case I don't have as good of
weather as predicted. I will be back in Dubuque on Sunday afternoon and then work on Monday as originally planned.
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