The adventure started in January 2003. This year George (my husband) and I turn 50. He wanted a challenge to celebrate his 50th year. Living in the Northwest, Mount Rainier is always in the horizon. We have several friends who have climbed or attempted the climb so we have always had the idea of some day climbing to the top. He decided to climb Mount Rainier as his challenge and he signed up with Rainier Mountaineering to do the climb.

But when? The prime climbing season is June and July and his birthday is in March. But my birthday is in July. Perfect. He would make the climb and wish me a happy 50th birthday from the summit.

For the past several years, a group organized at my work has attempted the climb. I tapped their knowledge on what type of training to get in condition. I didn’t have any interest in making the climb but I love to hike. I took on the role of his trainer and started planning weekly hikes. We needed to start in January to build the strength and endurance for the climb. Fortunately, here in the Seattle area, there are many good conditioning hikes within an hour drive. It was also mild enough winter to be able to do many of the hikes snow-free. Tiger Mountain and Mount Si became our frequent weekend destinations.

We also needed a place to stay. The climb takes three days; one day of training on self-arrest, use of ice ax and ropes; Two days doing the actual climb. A bit of web searching and I found the perfect place. Laze Daze,, a cabin just outside the park boundary. It is a two bedroom A-frame chalet. We invited George’s parents to join us and we would make it a slow travel week.

April and May came and we continued our weekly hikes. George increased his pack and the weight so he was carrying 50 pound pack. It was warming so we could venture farther for steeper hikes. He also started running two days a week.

Only a month left. There was one more item to do before George would be ready. He needed to climb to Camp Muir at 10,000ft at Rainier. Camp Muir is the climbers’ camp for ascending Rainier. It is 4 ½ miles 4800 ft climb from Paradise. The day was misty and foggy, but once above 7200ft, it was a perfect day. I wasn’t in the mood that day so I found a nice group of rocks at about 8,000 ft and left him to finish the climb. Now with Muir completed, George was more and more confident that he could make it. It was now just up to the weather and the possibility of altitude sickness.

[This message was edited by Marta on 10 January 2004 at 08:06 PM.]

Sunday, July 5th we drove to our cabin. It was perfect. The main bedroom is a new addition. It has a large king bed and a Jacuzzi. The room is surrounded in windows so it feels like you are sleeping in the forest. Up a steep flight of stairs is a large room which is the second bedroom with a queen bed and two double beds. The kitchen is modern with everything you need. The living room has VCR, DVD, and CD. Everything but TV reception. We would cut the morning chill by lighting the gas propane fireplace. There was a bathroom with a shower downstairs and a second toilet in master bedroom. There is no bathroom upstairs.

We spent Monday getting familiar with the cabin and driving up to Paradise. The weather was broken clouds but warm. Tuesday was climb school day. I drove back to Ashford and dropped off George at 8:00am. His class would go up to a snow field and learn safety techniques.

I picked him up at 4:30pm. He was ready and anxious to do the climb the next day. The forecast was for good weather. First we needed to dry his clothes after spending the day sliding and falling on the snow. The rental has a washer and dryer so we did a quick load of laundry.

We were up early Wednesday. Another quick trip to Ashford to drop him off. We then drove up to Paradise to see him off on the trail. The weather was gloriously clear. Now the waiting began for us. We drove down to the closest reservation casino to kill time and made a stop at grocery store. We spent the night watching movies and trying not to worry.

Meanwhile George was hiking to Camp Muir. The group left at 9:30 and arrived at Muir about 4:00pm. Camp Muir is just a large dormitory with wooden bunk-beds. He selected his bunk and setup his bed. Boiling water was available so dinner consisted of leftover pizza and cup of soup. Bedtime was 6:00pm because they had to get up at 1:30am. He grabbed a quick breakfast of instant oatmeal, cocoa and pudding. They split up into groups of four and dressed for climbing, roped up, put on their helmets and avalanche beacons. They turned on their headlamps and started out in the dark across Cathedral Gap and up onto Disappointment Cleaver. Soon he could see the dawn breaking in the east. They continued up and up, switch backing higher and higher. At 7:45am, he reached the crater and the top! He crossed crater and signed the registry.

Meanwhile back at the cabin, we spent the day making dinner not knowing if he had made the summit or not. At 2:00, we drove up to Paradise to welcome him and hopefully congratulate him. I spoke with RMI and the group had left Muir at 1:30pm and would be at the parking lot between 3:30- 4:00. About 3:45, they arrived back at the parking and found out he made it! Congratulations! The training paid off and he had a great climb.

We spent the last night hearing about the climb and celebrating. The Jacuzzi was put to good use soaking the sore muscles. Friday we checked out and drove back to Seattle after a final trip to Paradise.

Marta,

Congratulations to George and you for training him so well!!!!!!

What a great accomplishment! And it looks like it was fun, too.

Marta,
What an inspiring story! (My friends and I were just talking about sailing around the Greek Isles on our 50th b-days. LOL)

A giant-sized Congratulations! to George and his trainer!