Slalom Seattle Team on Rainier

Pre-Summit

Summit!

The Slalom team has just arrived on the summit of mt rainier!

Heading to Camp Muir Tomorrow

After a long day of training we are now set to push up to Camp Muir tomorrow morning. We’ll stop for a few hours to refuel and catch a few zzz’s before making our summit bid shortly after midnight. As of now the weather looks promising so we’re all feeling pretty good about our chances.

Stay tuned for updates from the slopes of Rainier!

On our way

The team is now officially en route to Mt. Rainier. Summit or bust!

Follow us live on Saturday and Sunday for live posts from the mountain.

Camp Muir Training Hike

On Saturday, June 12th, a group of us headed up to Mt. Rainier to do a training climb to Camp Muir. We lucked out with the weather, as it was the first sunny day in what felt like weeks, and it had to be one of the most beautiful days of the year thus far. I had never been to Camp Muir before, and was excited and nervous for my first alpine experience.

We had six in our group. Our group consisted of myself, Hans, Dan, and Kevin (all participating in the Slalom Rainier climb in two weeks) and we were led by Michael and Margaret, friends of Hans who had been to Muir several times before. It was great to have some experience with us. I packed my backpack will all the gear I had, trying to simulate the experience to come. It weighed about 20 lbs. I will probably be 10 lbs heavier next time. A couple key pieces of gear I had on from the start were my gaiters, mountaineering boots, soft shell pants, and glacier goggles. All were key. I had on sunscreen too, but not enough!

There had been some ominous signs leading up to Saturday, with an avalanche the weekend prior and another high avalanche warning in place in the Cascades. Even our barista chimed in with her two cents as we stopped for coffee on our way down. We checked in with the ranger before heading out and were pleased to hear that the trail to Muir was safe, provided you stayed near it. And when we got there, there was a ton of people headed to Muir, so that was also reassuring.

We arrived at Paradise around 9:30 AM and started the hike at about 10:00 AM. Paradise is at about 5,000 feet and Camp Muir lies just about 10,000 feet. All in all it is about a 5 mile hike that rises 5,000 feet in elevation. And every step in snow. Paradise still had a huge base at this point in the year.

We encountered the first real test at about 6500 feet, which was a trek up a steeper section to Panorama Point. Stepping in previous tracks, it’s almost like going up an ice staircase. After that the slog began and at about the 2 hour mark, we took a break. We were at about 8,00 feet and the views were just spectacular. I was feeling good at this point, but was definitely ready to take off the pack and have a snack and water. It was also fun to snap some pictures and video. The six of us were hiking as a group at this point.

After this rest, we pushed forward. We started to separate a bit at this point, with everyone starting to go at their own comfortable pace. I followed Hans and Kevin, who were in sight but took the lead. It took about two more hours to get to Muir. You can start to see Muir when getting to the beginning of the Muir Snowfield, but you are about 3/4 of a mile out at that point, and it takes a while to finish of the rest of the way. It is slow going towards the top, as the air is thin. I was taking 40 steps at a time and then catching my breath.

Hans arrived first and found several members of our Slalom group that had already ascended. It was a bit of a reunion at the top, and we all were in great spirits having reached 10,000 feet and the Camp. When they called out to me as I arrived, I tried to kick in gear to reach them, but really couldn’t. I had to keep it slow and steady but got there the same. Amazing how a few quick steps will tire you out up here. It took us about 4 hours from Paradise to reach Camp Muir.

We took photos and video as we ate, rested, and chatted over the next hour. I felt really strong after catching my breath, and did not have altitude sickness, which was great. We ran into a group of people who were planning to stay the night, and they had lugged a keg of Rainier beer up to the camp! Needless to say, everyone was in a bit of disbelief at this feat. Apparently 6 people hauling a keg on a sled did the trick. Some of us dumped out a water bottle and filled er up. It was pretty hilarious.

The way down from Muir turned into a real slog. We were able to glissade down some chutes, which was fantastic, but there weren’t near enough of them. The snow turned soft and deep in the afternoon sun, and frequently you ended up sinking in to your knee with each step. We went down at a fast pace, but it felt like a long way down nonetheless. It took about 2 hours to get down. I have a feeling the trek down in a couple of weeks will be long and tough as well.

All in all it was an amazing day. The views were fantastic and I left feeling much more confident about our trip in two weeks. Making it to 10,000 feet and back, and still feeling pretty good was a great sign.

Here is a link to the YouTube playlist containing other videos from the trip: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=F4BF29ABC1188383

Mailbox Peak

I hiked Mailbox Peak with Hans on Friday, June 4th. It was the hardest hike I have done to date in my training, and it felt great to get out and do something that was a lot more challenging. Having done Mt. Si and Tiger Mountain pretty much exclusively thus far this spring, this was definitely a cut above. Here is a link to an article written about the hike in the Seattle PI.

One of the videos in this post is a video I took from Mt. Si looking over at Mailbox Peak, just to the east. What you would only know from the trail itself is that it is pretty much straight up the entire way. It feels like you are going directly up the slope, rather than back and forth on a series of gradual switchbacks. I think you can reach forward and touch the slope in some parts. Furthermore, the terrain is rough. It doesn’t feel like a trail at all. Sometimes there is no trail. Sometimes you are just trying to avoid losing your boots in deep mud. Sometimes you are sliding 15 feet down on your ass after losing your footing (this was me once on the way down).

The hike, or climb itself, gains over 4,000 feet of elevation in just under 3 miles. That is well over 1,000 feet of gain per mile….pretty intense. It took us about 2:20 to get to the top, with only taking a minute or two for rest a couple of times. We were each carrying about 25 pound packs. We felt awesome about the time. We rested for 5 minutes after descending off the peak and into the trees for some shelter.

From the other video in this post (of Hans and I on the summit), you can see that the weather was dicey at best. It wasn’t snowing, which was good. But it was wet and cold. It felt like we were in a cloud. We were sheltered for most of the climb, but for the last 1/2 mile or so, you emerge from the trees and ascend up towards the actual peak, which is exposed. It grew much colder and nastier once out of the trees. We didn’t spend much time at the top itself. We didn’t even investigate the mailbox at the top (for which the hike is named). People leave all sorts of cool stuff in that mailbox. It is tradition to leave something there in it. But I will wait for next time. I need to make it up again just to check out the view. I hear it is awesome, but there was nothing to see this day.

After that 5 minute rest and snack, we descended the rest of the way. I think we were both ready to be down and warm again. And to get some food. We did it all in 4 hours. We hit the truck stop for a meal afterwards and coffee and reminisced about the adventure.

It felt great to get myself out there a little bit, out of the comfort zone, as Rainier approaches.

Here are a few other videos we took during the Mailbox Peak hike. Video of us starting out, a clip in the forest, and then footage as I arrived on the peak.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5d4E6uxLU4
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_IydrleQeI
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaToUWpTeZc

Get Involved – Support the Climb for Community

Hey Everyone-

I’d like to pass along an exciting update that we have officially teamed up with Community for Youth to add a charity component to our climb.  If you would like to get involved and support CfY and their ongoing programs please make a donation via the following link:

http://communityforyouth.org/eventsslalomclimb.html

Community for Youth is a program that transforms high school students who are struggling – with school, with family, with their direction in life – into young adults who have confidence, determination and self-awareness. Supported by a community of adult mentors who are relentlessly committed to their success, teenagers learn to make thoughtful choices, fulfill their commitments, acknowledge their mistakes and account for their actions. By taking control of their lives, students realize they can achieve more than they ever dreamed possible.

Thanks in advance for your support!

-Hans

Camp Muir Training and Gear Check

Thy and I did Camp Muir on Sunday in challenging conditions.  Visibility was poor with fairly persistent wind and snow.  We got to about 9,200 and had to turn around since we were warned about going on unless we were prepared to spend the night at Muir, and we weren’t.  We were on target for about 5 hours to get to Muir at a steady but not adventurous pace.  Probably a good call since the weather started closing in just as we were getting off the mountain. 

Since there was some new snow we did most of it in snow shoes, up and down.  Snow was too soft for crampons to make a difference and my gators kept filling up over the top of my boots trying to posthole.  I was curious about that since RMI doesn’t list snow shoes on the equipment list, from my recollection.  In reading other posts, it sounds like snow pants with interior ankle gators underneath the main gators are the only way to go if you want to keep snow out of your boots confidently.

I have the Mountain Hardwear South Col backpack.  I noticed that my gear was wet inside at the end of the day, especially the bottom when the pack had been sitting on the ground.  I couldn’t find a reference to “waterproof” in the specs so I am going to line the inside of the pack with a garbage compactor bag next time.  We did this on Baker and it worked great.

I dumped my old boots after getting soaked on St Helens.  My new Zamberlans were the bomb and I used the heat moldable “Sole” insoles rather than Superfeet this time.  They were great, I’m now a convert from Superfeet.  I am planning to rent the premium mountaineering boots from RMI rather than buying.  Although I was thinking about taking regular boots for the lower part of the mountain and the mountaineering boots for the summit, since there is snow all the way to Muir, I think I’m going to save the weight and just take the mountaineering boots all the way.

My high quality ski gloves were soaked through, so I need to rethink the glove situation now that I solved my feet issue.

I tried my hydration pack without insulation, and the drinking tube started to freeze.  So I am going to need to insulate it even for the lower section, and/or have bottle backups.

Even in 25-30MPH winds, I only had on a hard shell with a windstopper soft shell and a wicking layer and was plenty warm while moving – but cooled down super fast when stopped.

We past some groups on the way down who had summited the night before, even with bad weather.  One group only had 4 reach the top out of 16 though.

We are thinking about doing Camp Muir again the weekend of 6/11, probably spending the night in Ashford beforehand to get an early start without getting up at butt o’clock.

Climber Profile – Bob Dhaens

Bob grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, where the nearest hill allowed him to stand roughly 10 feet above grade and see for 50 miles. Just a little flat. While working for Deloitte, he moved to Munich, Germany in 1999 and returned to Seattle in 2001. Bob joined Slalom in 2007. As a kid, his uncle introduced him to hiking in the western National Parks (Glacier, Yellowstone) and in Canada (Banff, Jasper).

What is your previous climbing experience?

Zip. I’ve hiked, but never really “climbed” anything. Prior to starting my training, I have hiked the local trails: Mt. Si, Mt. Index, Granite Peak, but that’s about it. Now you can see me early mornings mostly on Si, but I’m planning to get onto Tiger Mountain and Mailbox soon and looking forward to either Mt. St. Helens or Mt. Adams before we do Rainier.

What is your favorite piece of gear?

I have a love-hate relationship with my mountaineering boots. My feet blister extremely easily, so I thought renting was a poor choice. I purchased the La Sportiva Nepal Evo’s. Lovely Italian boots, kinda sexy to look at (I guess that’s a personal opinion). But, I’m still having trouble convincing myself that they actually fit. Some days they are like gloves and I can’t even feel that I’m wearing them. Other days, they feel more like two concrete blocks.

What aspect of the climb are you most looking forward to?

This climb is really a personal challenge for me. I’m not really comfortable with heights and my knees just aren’t what they used to be (too much basketball and volleyball). I want to make it for myself and I don’t want to let the team down by holding anyone back. I’m looking forward to standing on the top of Rainier – which means that I’ve been able to rise to both the mental and physical challenge.

Climber Profile – Adam Barley

Adam grew up between New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, giving him extremely valuable insight into how to make maple syrup and the culture of the Amish. He moved to Seattle in 1997 to work with Accenture, and then after a year of traveling abroad, joined Slalom “way back” in 2003.  He always enjoyed exploring and being active in the outdoors, and does a lot of running and cycling around the city when he can’t be out in the mountains.

What is your previous climbing experience?

Internationally, my wife and I have been fortunate to have summited Mt. Kilimanjaro and done high-altitude trekking in Peru and Nepal (getting to 14,000 and 17,000 ft, respectively).  Locally, I’ve done some of the other volcanic peaks such as St. Helens and Adams, and every summer I go on a 4-day climb in the rugged Northern Cascades that include alpine climbing and glacier traversing.

What is your favorite piece of gear?

If it is ever invented, I’d say a helium-filled backpack to actually LIGHTEN the load.  Seems like a no-brainer to me!  For things that actually exist, I’m a huge fan of anything that is super light, functional, and high quality, such as my Montbell inflatable pillow (a little comfort goes a long way!) or my Evernew titanium pot.  I’ll also put in a plug for hiking with a visor (like OR’s) that is perfect for shading eyes while keeping the head cool, and a simple bandanna that I’ve found indispensable for things like wiping away sweat, providing shade, and cleaning the camera lens for that perfect shot when you get to a summit.

What aspect of the climb are you most looking forward to?

Ever since I moved to Seattle and upon first sight of it thought Rainier was a cloud on the horizon, I’ve always wanted to get to the top.  I’ve let the years tick by without making it happen, so I’m looking forward to finally making this mission a reality and getting to share the experience with some of my friends from Slalom and other soon-to-be-friends who are part of our group.