Summer Season Begins

Live Your Dream.....

The season is underway. Myself and six other guides went to Camp Muir and set up our weather port. All Rainier operations are organized and ready for the masses. Two days of guide training were incredibly informative. We went over haul systems, snow anchors, and snow living. Overall I am excited for the busy season ahead.

One of the greatest lessons I am learning during this transition time is to be in the moment. Life is incredibly short. Don’t waste one moment. Love those around you, and love what you do. Live for something bigger than yourself, and be remembered for more than who you were.

What is dreaming? We live, and laugh. We take chances. We go fast, act on instinct. Living for that serendipitous moment--All for what? We dream to live--or live to dream. We want to be fulfilled. We desire to pursue things of worth. We sacrifice; we persevere, fall and fail. Life is about living. A wise man once said, “the uninspired life is not worth living.” I propose taking that a step further and say, “Live your life in pursuit of your dreams and you will find inspiration.” Desiring a sense of wildness.

Climbing, living in the outdoors, and inspiring others to pursue their dreams. These are a few of the things that make me come alive. One of my mentors said, “it isn’t climbing unless you can fall off something.” Life is incredibly boring if you can’t fall down or off something. Live to the best of your ability. You are capable of more than you can imagine.

Denali Prep Seminar

With blowing wind and snow we left the comfort of the parking lot. Hiking up into the soupy clouds, we found refuge in a small grove of trees at the edge of a large cornice. Everyone worked diligently despite the weather and camp was set up in no time.

During the last six days this was our reality, changing weather, considerable avalanche conditions, and great climbing. We went through skills such as crampon walking, ice axe arrest, and rope travel. We put these newfound skills to the test on the Gib ledges route. Full of fun alpine climbing and glacier travel the Gib ledges route is a Mt. Rainier classic.

While all these class sessions were enjoyable it seems that the group had the most fun with crevasse rescue and haul systems. First we gave an introduction to haul systems inside the hut. Then once a significant understanding was established we took it to the glacier. We built two anchors and lowered people into a beautiful crevasse on the Cowlitz glacier.

After the crevasse session we returned to camp and awoke to howling winds and blowing snow. A short guide meeting in the morning determined descending was safe. Navigating by GPS we found our way down in the 50 to 60 mph winds. Despite the adverse conditions the weather played a perfect role in the training for Denali. Thanks for the great trip team, hope to see you in the future. Keep Climbing!