Playtri Festival

First of all, I didn’t register for the race until Wednesday of last week, but I was lacking motivation for training and in need of a confidence boost after Wildflower.  Not to mention that I got dropped by a girl on a group ride a couple weeks ago.  She’s won top amateur at every race so far this year and is about to turn pro so I don’t feel so bad I guess (that’s how I rationalize it)!

The OWS went good and I set a new PR for 1500 meters and that was pretty much the highlight of my day. 

From there, I raced over to my bike, threw my helmet on and took off out of T1.  I had (or thought I had) pre-clipped both of my shoes on my bike only to realize that as I was mounting my bike that my right shoe was gone (MISTAKE #1)!  I shouted a couple expletives, threw my bike down and ran back into transition to find my shoe lying on the ground a couple of feet away from my rack position.  I grabbed it, ran back out, hopped on my bike and took off.  Not only did it cost me probably 30 seconds in transition, but it took nearly 15 minutes for my HR to come down out of Z4 from a combination of fury and trying to make up for lost time.

Here's where it gets better....I forgot to wash my aero bottle from the previous weekends ride, so I soaked it overnight in the kitchen sink full of sudsy dish soap.  Race morning, the sink had drained and I forgot to rinse out my bottle before filling it (MISTAKE #2).  So my hydration plan on the bike consisted of sipping Dawn flavored water every 15 minutes!

And finally, I miscalculated the run course which was a series of out-and-backs and I thought I was approaching the finish line when it was actually the turn around to begin the second lap (MISTAKE #3)!  I definitely didn’t negative split the run as I was demoralized...how I mistaked 3 miles for 6 I have no idea!

I screwed up my GPS in the water before the start so I raced blind, other than HR (MISTAKE #4).

Not that these mistakes would’ve put me on the podium, as the competition was ridiculous for some reason.

All in all it was a great race...OWS, bike course was flat & fast and the run was mostly shaded. It was very spectator friendly as well. I'd definitely do it again.

I finished 7^th in my AG out of 36 and 26^th OA out of 250 men (including those in the Open).  1st, 2nd & 3rd in my AG all finished in the Top 7 overall. I was in 3rd in my AG and 8th OA off the bike but got smoked on the run.

For comparison sake, my friend won the 30-34 AG but was 10th OA...yeah, 35-39 was stacked!

RESULTS:http://mychiptime.com/searchevent.php?id=7589
*The bike and run distances were short so the paces are misleading.

Next up is the Disco X50 which is a repeat of last year and will serve as a good race to meas progress. 

31st Annual Wildflower Triathlon

Well, a month has passed since the Wildflower Triathlon in Bradley, CA and I think I have finally recovered enough mentally to write about it.

For those that don't know, the Wildflower Triathlon is one of the largest and oldest triathlons in the country.  This year will be the 31^st annual Wildflower which has been held at Lake San Antonio in central California since 1983.  Lake San Antonio is located about 20 miles inland from the coast and 15 miles West of Paso Robles, CA. 

Known for a particularly hilly and grueling course with over 5,000’ of elevation gain, this race draws 7,500 athletes and 30,000 spectators each year.  Wildflower is commonly referred to as the 'Woodstock' of triathlons and ranks near the top of the ‘must do’ triathlons.

Sean and I pulled out of Frisco at 2:30 PM on Wednesday to begin our 24 hour drive to California.  Surprisingly, the drive went a lot better than anticipated with the worst section being that on Hwy 287 from DFW to Amarillo.  Too many small towns and stop lights.  The 1,000 mile stretch on I-40 was a breeze. 

We rolled into Paso Robles around 12:00 PM PST on Thursday and made a pit stop at Walmart to gather our final necessities before heading into the hills.  We wanted to make it to the park early on Thursday as everything on the internet lead us to believe that the campsites fill up quickly.

Once we pulled in the park, we made our first right into the Redonda Vista campground which was our first choice.  We stopped at a lone campsite with three (3) guys sitting in the shade with a pile of empty PBR's in front of them and they invited us to become their neighbors....we should've known better!  To be honest, it turned out to be a great campsite, 100% shaded and relatively quite.

The rest of Thursday afternoon was spent setting up our campsite, driving the bike course and drinking beer with the neighbors.

Friday morning, Sean headed into town for a couple hours to get some work done.  I rode down to the lake mid-morning for a warm-up swim.  While putting my wetsuit on, I struck up a conversation with a fellow athlete who happened to be from Madison, WI who was waiting on some friends.  I went in and swam a couple laps and as I came around the second time, I couldn't help but notice that the friend she was waiting on was 2012 Wildflower champion Heather Jackson!  I swam one final lap and then got out and could resist but to grab my phone and ask HJ for a picture.

I tweeted Heather to tell her thanks for the pic and she was even kind enough to reply!  Come to find out that that "fellow athlete" I struck up a converstaion with was Jackie Arendt who is also a pro who has her own list of accolades including back-to-back runner-up finishes at IM Louisville.

After the swim, I rode the first couple miles of the bike course back to our campsite which included a mile long climb up Beach Hill Road....granny gear all the way up!

I rode back down to transition later in the day to meet Sean and walk the expo.  This time we rode the course backwards and went up Lynch Hill Road...I'm not sure which was worse, but there is nothing that resembles either of these within 200 miles of DFW!

Friday evening Sean's baked ziti cooked on his new Coleman grill, a glass of wine and an early bedtime.

We both woke early Saturday morning and were just lounging at our campsite when they guy from the motorhome behind us (who we were given warning) walked over to the tents next to us and started shaking them furiously while yelling "GOOOOOOD MOOORNING WILDFLOWER!!!  WAKE UP, YOU HAVE A RACE TODAY!!!"  It was hilarious as he continued to do this all throughout the campsite until he was far enough away and we could hardly hear him in the distance.

Sean and I packed our final things and headed on down to transition.  The morning was calm and the weather was perfect!

The swim start at Wildflower is rather unique in that you begin on the boat ramp and the first 50 meters is swam in a narrow chute in between two (2) docks.  This video is not of my AG but gives you an idea of what it is like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo-flbVnsK8

Sean and I stood near the middle of the pack and allowed all of the crazies to be up front.  The last thing I wanted to do was get all caught up in that and spark an anxiety attack!  Our philosophy worked as the swim start wasn't near as bad as I was anticipating.

The entire swim went great and I set a new PR at that 1.2 mile distance finishing it in 35:36 (1:50/100m).  What's even better is that at the end of the race they formally announced that the swim distance was long and was actually 1.3 miles which put my pace at 1:42/100m.

T1 was smooth and I was off on the bike.  The bike course is a single loop 56-mile course which circles the lake.  The first challenge on the bike course is the climb up Beach Hill Road about 1 mile into the course.  Half way up Beach Hill stood a female college student wearing nothing but a bikini bottom holding a sign over her head which read "My eyes are up here!"  That was perfect timing as it took a little bit of the edge off and allowed me to settle into my groove.

The early parts of the bike course were going great as I was not pushing hard and just keeping my HR under control.  I dropped my chain on a climb around mile 15 but was able to recover rather quickly and repassed everyone that snuck by.  The first 40 miles of the bike course could not have gone any better.  I had not been passed by a single bike and I hit the 40 mile mark just under 2:00 so I was averaging just over 20 MPH up to that point.

And, that's when the wheels fell off....not literally, but I might actually have been better off!  At mile 41 on the bike you begin a 5 mile long 900' climb up what is referred to as Nasty Grade.  Sean caught and passed me at the base of Nasty Grade and I steadily watched him ride away from me.  He wasn't the only one as it seemed like everyone on the course rolled passed me with ease including a little old lady in a wheel chair...ok, maybe not, but it felt that way!

I was about half way up Nasty Grade when I realized that I made a fatal mistake and had completely forgotten about my nutrition plan.  My gel flask was full with five (5) gels which I was supposed to take one (1) every 0:30, however, I forgot to add water to the flask to thin out the gel, otherwise the gel is too thick to come out.  I did take a hit off the flask at about the 0:45 minute mark into the bike, but that was it.  I began the bike with two (2) water bottles which I was supposed to drink 1 bottle/hour....well, I drank 1 bottle over the course of the entire 3:00 bike ride.  And to top it off, I was supposed to take one (1) SaltStick Cap every hour throughout the race and failed to do that as well.

Needless to say, my goal time of 2:45 on the bike was blown by over 0:15 as my bike split was 3:01:49 at an average of 18.4 MPH.  That means that I averaged only 15.5 MPH over the final 16 miles of the bike course which included a 2 mile long descent at +40 MPH. 

I completely fell apart!

Here is the profile of the bike course:

The bike courses ends with a mile long descent down Lynch Hill into transition which allowed me time to catch my breath.  T2 was uneventful and I was off on the run.

The run course is equally, if not more hilly than the bike course.  It's another single 13.1 mile loop that meanders through the park and campsites.  I knew I was in trouble when I had to stop and walk before the first mile marker. 

The first 4 miles are relatively flat as you run along the lakeshore, but then you turn onto a dirt path and head straight up a hill that I'm not convinced I could run up it on fresh legs.  Everyone, I mean everyone, was walking up this hill.  Once I reached the top, I tried running but my legs we shot.  I was struggling to run for 60 seconds at a time. 

Instead of boring you with the details of my 13.1 mile leasurely hike (naked buy riding a bicycle at mile 8), I'll shorten it by saying that it was the worst 02:40:49 of my life!  I did manage to run the entire length down Lynch Hill and even put a smile on my face running the finish chute!

My overall time was 06:25:17 which put me at 118th in my AG and 721 OA.  Results I am by no means proud of, but they beat the hell out of a DNF!  This took me exactly one (1) hour longer than IM 70.3 Austin back in October 2012 and I am in unbelievably better shape today than I was six (6) months ago not to mention that my training for Wildflower was much more regimented.

The good news is that I took this one off the chin and didn't let it get me down.  I made a mental mistake with regards to fueling and hydration which I will NOT make again.  Plus, I'm glad to have learned this lesson at Wildflower and not IMAZ in November!

I found Sean shortly after the race and we drank a couple beers and ate some nachos before jumping on he shuttle to take us back to the campsite.

The remainder of the evening was spent drinking beer, pitching washers, playing beer pong, conversing with complete strangers, cooking pizza pockets on the grill, etc...  Surprisingly, I felt great that evening after fueling my body appropriately.

On a side note, the guy who parked his mobile home next to us was Dick Nordquest who has completed over 70 Ironman races and competed in Kona 22 times! 

We did retire relatively early that night as we had to wake up early Sunday morning, tear down camp and be out of the park by 7:00 AM before they close the roads for the olympic race Sunday morning.

The drive home was anticlimactic other than relentless binge eating at McDonald's, In-n-Out Burger, Taco Bell, etc... The was a close run in with some zombies in some small town in New Mexico, but we managed to escape! 

I will be taking the month of May rather easy prior to beginning my training for IMAZ in June.

The Best of the Best Triathlon

The Best of the Best Triathlon was an invite only event in which you must have finished in the Top 10 at a Dallas Athletes Racing event during the 2011 or 2012 season to qualify.  There were a total of 196 competitors (69 female/127 male) and the competition was rather stiff.  With the forecasted high exceeding 100 degrees, the start of the race was moved up to 6:45 AM.


This was a 250 meter pool swim at the Denton Aquatic Center (indoor 25m pool).  I estimated my swim time to be 3:30 so I was a little nervous when I saw my bib number was 22.  The swim was rather uneventful as I did not pass anyone and only one person passed me (who happened to have the fastest swim of the day 3:17).  I came out of the water in 4:00 flat (1:36/100m), my estimated time was assuming this to be a 50m pool in which you can take advantage of the draft.  I had the 3rd fastest swim in my AG and 23rd Overall.  I could have pushed it harder on the swim and flip-turns would have shaved a few more seconds as well.


Running out of the natatorium toward T1, I was pleasantly surprised to see/hear Kylie, Avery & Kirby cheering me on.  I always manage to push myself harder when my family attends...something about accountability and the fear of letting them down.


That said, I was in and out of T1 in :56, much of this was attributable to the location of my bike rack being within 10 feet of the 'Bike Out' (benefit of low bib number).  I did the flying mount again, but struggled to get my shoes on.  I completely forgot to grab the heel tab and was trying to do it by only using my foot.  This cost me some precious seconds as the folks I passed in T1 flew by me as I had to slow down to slide my feet in my shoes.


Once strapped in, I started hammering to make up for lost time.  The bike course was one of the best I've ridden yet as it was a simple out and back on FM428 with some rolling hills and no turns other than the turnaround at Aubrey Middle School.  The highway itself was rough (chip-seal), but the shoulder was butter smooth (asphalt) and one lane wide which gave plenty of room for racing.  I was soon passed by the eventual Overall winner, Benjamin Drezek, who happened to be the 2010 NCAA National Sprint Triathlon Champion! 


I wound up riding the majority of the bike leg with a group of five (5) other guys.  It was rather nerve wracking and difficult to get in a rhythm as there was a ton of passing and jockeying for position.  I knew we were walking the line with regard to "drafting" so I was not too shocked or disappointed when I saw I was assessed with a 2:00 penalty.  What did surprise me was that only myself and one other guy in the group was penalized when all six (6) were guilty at one point or another.


DRAFTING
Drafting - Keep at least three (3) bike lengths of clear space between you and the cyclist in front.  If you move into the zone, you must pass within 15 seconds.


Position - Keep to the right hand side of the lane of travel unless passing.


Blocking - Riding on the left side of the lane without passing anyone and interfering with other cyclists attempting to pass.


Overtaken - Once passed, you must immediately exit the draft zone from the rear, before attempting to pass again.


Based on the timing of when the referee pulled up next to us on the motorcycle, I assume he nailed me for either Blocking or not completing a pass within 15 seconds.  Oh well, I'll chalk this up to experience.

Once the Aquatic Center was insight, I backed off a touch to take in some fluids, catch my breath and let my heartrate recover before the run.  I still do not have a computer on my tri-bike so I was unaware of our speed out on the course.  My goal time for the bike was 45:00 (21.5 MPH) so I knew we were flying as I hit my lap timer crossing into T2 at 41:56 which was right at 23 MPH...like I said, we were FLYING!!!  I had the fastest bike split in my AG and 5th Overall.  The only thing that kept me from having the fastest Overall bike split is about $4,000!!!

I benefited again from the bike rack location and was out of T2 in :41.  My legs felt squeamish and I gave Kylie a "I'm not sure about this" look as I ran by them exiting T2.  The run was a flat and fast 2-loop course which circled the Denton ISD football stadium and then finished in the stadium with the final sprint down the middle of the football field.  I kept the lead pack in sight and managed to overcome one of them and did not get passed on the run which is a first!  I had a good rhythm going and felt strong but had no clue what pace I was clipping along at hoping for low 7:00's.  Nearing the end of the second lap, I glanced at my watch and noticed I had a chance to finish in less than 21:00 so I picked up the pace and then sprinted the length of the football field across the finish line (oh the glory days!) finishing the run in 20:25 (6:48 min/mile) which was only good enough for 7th in my AG and 34th Overall.

My goal time was 01:12:35 and I crushed it by over 4:00 finishing in 01:08:00 and I was only :25 seconds behind the winner of my AG and 5:10 behind the Overall winner.  Even with the 2:00 penalty I still managed to come in 2nd in my AG, but it dropped me from 7th to 16th Overall.  I'll take these results any day of the week!

Considering my first sprint triathlon was a little over two (2) years ago, Gatorbait Memorial Triathlon August 2010, where my splits were 1:44/100m swim; 17MPH bike; 10:07 min/mile run, I'd say I've come a long way.....and to think, I thought I was in shape back then!

Going forward, I have officially registered for my first half IRONMAN 70.3 in Austin on October 28th.  My parents have already booked their tickets and we have reserved a condo downtown on 6th street for the weekend.

Kylie also registered US for the Dallas Marathon...yes, the full 26.2 miles....on December 9th.  This is a goal of her's and I want to help her achieve it (I'm second guessing this decision)!

Up next is the Disco Triathlon X-50 (1-mile swim; 40-mile bike; 9-mile run) which will be my first true endurance test and my longest race to date.  I only have three (3) weeks to train, one of which we are on vacation at the lake, so I will need to remain true to course and take advantage of the challenging terrain in Southwest Missouri.

Wish me luck!

TexasMan Triathlon

The weather finally cooperated for my first Olympic distance triathlon of the season.  Conditions were low 70's and partly cloudy with a 10 MPH wind at race time.  This was a 1-mile (1,609 meters) open water swim in Lake Ray Roberts.  This was a beach start which was a first and there were two (2) waves (39 and under; 40 and over).  The wind played a factor on the swim out as it create 1-foot rollers which made it difficult to find your stroke rhythm.  About half way out I popped my head up to take a breather and felt a panic attack coming on so I immediately rolled over to my back until my heart rate came back down.  I met a guy after the race who actually stripped his wetsuit on the way out and handed it to one of the kayakers!  Once you made the final turn and headed to shore, you could almost body surf on the rollers which helped make up a lot of time.

I finished the swim in 24 minutes even (1:36/100 meters) which was 4th in my AG and 44th overall (192 men).  I felt good coming out of the water and took advantage of the wetsuit strippers.  I then ran to T1, grabbed my bike and took off.  This was the first time I preclipped my shoes and did a semi-flying mount which saved a ton of time.  My time for T1 was 2:10 which was above average, the overall winner's T1 time was 2:08.

The bike leg was on chip-seal roads with some Texas hills.  About the 6 mile mark, the Olympic distance separated from the Sprint and X-50 and turned right for a four (4) mile out and back.  After I made the turn, I fully expected to see the leaders on the way back but no one was in sight.  I finally came across the leader about a 1/2 mile from the turnaround.  I couldn't help but count the number of riders in front of me and I was riding in 19th place at the time (39 and under).  That was enough to fuel the fire as I began picking them off one at a time.  I eventually climbed up to 15th until I was passed by the guys who finished 1st and 2nd overall.

I had the fastest bike split in my AG at 1:06:30 (21.7 MPG) and 18th overall.  Unfortunately, that performance may have done me in on the run!

It got a little squirrelly at the dismount as I had slipped my feet out of my shoes and attempted a flying dismount which I bailed out on before it turned ugly!  Kylie was quick to point this out afterwards.  I was in and out of T2 in :54 and could have been a little quicker as I took the time to stuff some GU Chomps in my top and take a Saltstick cap.  I also chose to run sockless, which also hindered my run.

My legs felt good coming out of T2, but I knew it was going to be a long 6.2 miles.  This was a two (2) loop run on concrete sidewalks throughout the parks and was mostly shaded which was appreciated.

I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to my splits or time elapsed until I hit the halfway point of the run when I realized that I had just eclipsed the 2:00 mark and could shatter my goal of 2:45.  I tried to pick up the pace on the second loop, but my tank was running on empty and I had to stop and walk several times to let my heart rate recover.  Once I knew I had achieved my goal, I then got more aggressive and wanted to finish in under 2:30.  Once I heard the announcer, I dropped the hammer and flew across the line finishing in 2:26:54.  This was a :28 minute improvement from last year!  

The run continues to be my achilles heel as I finished it in 53:18 (8:36 min/mile).  I somehow need to find a way to shave a minute off my pace to be more competitive.

I checked the unofficial results and to my surprise, I was 3rd in my AG!  I was a little skeptical as I always seem to drop a few places once the official results are posted.  The official results were posted to nolimitstiming.com (https://www.nolimitstiming.com/results/default.aspx?event=12423) and I did indeed finish 3rd in my AG, however, there were only 17 competitors in my AG.  I also finished 36th overall out of 192 men.

All in all, I am totally pumped about my performance today, especially knowing I have plenty of room for improvement on the run.  Kylie, Avery and Kirby were there to cheer me on as I came out of the water, dismounted the bike and as I crossed the finish line.  Trying to contain Avery and Kirby is a chore in itself and I think Kylie may be more worn out than I am!

My next race is The Best of the Best sprint triathlon in Denton.  This is an invite only event from Dallas Athletes Racing and competitors must have one (1) top 10 finish in a Dallas Athletes event within the last year.  Needless to say, the competition will be stiff and I'll need to PR on the run to even compete.

I have a reminder on my calendar this Tuesday to register for the IRONMAN Austin 70.3 in October. I was a little skeptical during the run today as I couldn't fathom running another 7-miles.  Now that things have sunk in, I guess I'll roll the dice and see what I'm worth!

Dallas Athletes Racing has an X-50 distance (1-mile swim; 40-mile bike; 9-mile run) on July 15th I may do to help me prepare.

Until next time.......

King Tut Triathlon

Once again, inclement weather reared it's head so the sprint distance triathlon was shortend to the 'My First Tri' distance of a 300 meter swim, 6 mile bike and 2 mile run.

This was my first OWS in my new Aquaman Racer wetsuit so I was a little concerned about my history of panic attacks.  To make matters worse, it was an in water start and all men ages 20 - 39 started at once.  I started on the inside about three (3) rows deep which gave me plenty of room to flip over and backstroke if a panic attack set in.  I started off extremely slow breathing every stroke, and much to my surprise....no panic attack!  I think some of this can be attributed to how differently this wetsuit fits compared to the Orca Sonar worn last year (high and tight around the neck).  My left goggle took in water the entire swim which was frustrating, but I continued to "take it easy" on the swim and came out of the water in 3:35 (first third).

There was a long uphill run to T1 and I was rather slow removing the wetsuit.

The bike course was rectangular with only a few Texas hills mixed in.  The course was wet so only having to navigate a handful of turns was good.  I was only passed by one (1) rider on the bike who just happened to be in my AG, although I kept him in range.  I averaged 21.5 MPH on the bike which is a new PR and had the 18th fastest split out of 165 total men.

I managed to make it in and out of T2 in only :26 seconds which was an improvement.  I lost my water bottle on the bike so I took a second to hydrate before heading out on the run.

The run course was an out-and-back on residential sidewalks.  I new I was a little slow on the way out and hit the turn around at an 8:00 pace so I picked up the pace on the way back.  I finished the run in 15:41 (7:50 pace) which was way slower than the 7:14 pace I ran the race prior.

In the end, I finished 5th out of 17 in my AG and 33rd out of 165 men overall (20%) so another good outing. 

My next race will be the TexasMan Olympic Triathlon on May 20th so I need to start focusing a little more on my training, especially the 10k run.

St. Patrick's Day Sprint Triathlon

My first triathlon of the year was this past Sunday in rainy/wet 45 degree weather!  The swim was indoors with an 82 degree water temp, I was conservative on the swim as I did not want to overly tax myself for the remainder of the race.  I’m obviously leaner than I was a year ago because my tri top fit loose around the torso and acted as a parachute through the water.  I managed to pass a couple people and only got passed by one (1) person who happened to be a female.  At the end of last season I was swimming 300 meters in under 5:00 minutes so I could easily shave a minute off my time from yesterday. 

My body nearly went into shock running out the door to T1!  I had a thermal long sleeve jersey and wind vest with me to put on for the bike, but no one else was taking the time to do so, so I jumped on and froze for the first mile or so.  The bike leg was cut short to one (1) loop (6.4 miles) due to the rainy conditions.  I had the 20^th fastest bike split overall at 20.3 MPH which was only 1 MPH slower than the guys that won the overall, not bad considering I’m still rolling the stock Shimano R-501’s while their wheelsets cost more than my entire bike!  I probably could have averaged around 22 MPH in dry conditions, but I did not get passed on the bike so I knew I must have pushed it pretty hard.  That was my first time riding in the rain which is quite nerve racking…I took some chances on a few corners!

I then managed to set a new PR on the 5k run finishing in 22:26 (7:14 min/mile) and feel as though I left something on the course.

To my surprise, I finished in 4^th place in my Age Group (out of 38) and 39^th overall out of 381 men.  I was only 11 seconds behind 3^rd place who happened to beat me by :42 seconds in transition alone.  If only I'd have known I was that competitive, I may have hurried along a little quicker through transition.

Overall, I’m extremely pleased with my results for the inaugural race of the season and have identified several opportunities for improvement (ie. transitions).

My next race is in a month and is an open water swim requiring wetsuits….let the panic attacks begin!

Mount Rainier Summit

Mount Rainier Summit 2010

If you read my previous blog post about the Grand Teton, you read that my Dad and I swore to never to anything that crazy/stupid again....famous last words! Well, the fear and soreness of the Grand Teton eventually wore off and we decided to take on Washington State's Mount Rainier at 14,411'.

The first time I saw Mount Rainier in person was on a business trip  to Seattle back in the 2006ish time frame.  I remember flying over "the Mountain" and then enjoying its view from downtown Seattle.  Mount Rainier is considered one of the most dangerous volcanos in the World and is the third most prominent peak in the US.

This go-round, my Dad and I didn't go it alone...I recruited two (2) coworkers in Ryan Aalsma and Stephen Voight to join in on the fun!  We began discussing the trip around Christmas 2009 and finalized our plans in January 2010 for a summit attempt in June 2010 giving us six (6) months to prepare.

After plenty of research, we booked our trip with Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. (RMI) which was founded by mountaineering legend Lou Whittaker.  RMI also has several other mountaineering legends including Lou's son Peter Whittaker, Ed Viesturs, Dave Hahn, etc...RMI is headquartered in Ashford, WA six (6) miles from the Nisqually Entrance to Mount Rainier National Park.

The plot thickens...less than two (2) weeks prior to our departure date there was a massive avalanche on the Mountain which resulted in one casualty (never found).  That added a tremendous amount of anxiety as I thought to myself "shit just got real!"

Ryan, Stephen and I flew into Seattle on Wednesday where we met up with my Dad at SEA-TAC, loaded our gear in the rental car and made the drive out to Ashford.

Day 1 Pre-Trip Orientation

Thursday morning, we drove into GTNP and parked at Paradise and went for a brief hike to help get ourselves acclimatized.  We returned to RMI that afternoon to officially kick-off our trip with the Pre-Trip Orientation.  It was at this time that we were introduced to our guides, given an overview of what to expect, meet the other climbers and run through gear check.  RMI has a plethora of rental equipment available onsite so that made things extremely easy and helped keep the overall cost of the trip down so we didn't have to purchase items we were only going to use once.

Day 2 Mountaineering Day School
The Mountaineering Day School is spent training on the lower slopes of Mount Rainier where we are introduced to a number of skills, from the foundational techniques of efficient mountain travel (rest-stepping and pressure breathing), through cramponing, roped travel, and ice axe arrest practices.  We spent nearly eight (8) hours on the Mountain that day.

Day 3 Climb to Camp Muir

On Friday, we hiked 4.5 miles from Paradise (5,400’) up to Camp Muir (10,080’) gaining 4,500' in elevation.  We had partly sunny skies and were able to see Mount Adams and Mount St. Helen’s to the South. 

 

We took several breaks on our way up the Mountain and enjoyed the panoramic views.  We went to bed at 6:00 PM to get some rest before our 2:00 AM alpine start. 

 

Day 4 Summit Day

We awoke to 4”– 6” of new snow and 10-15 MPH winds.  We put on our crampons and assembled into our rope teams and began traversing the Cowlitz Glacier in nearly white-out conditions.  It was snowing/blowing so bad that you could barely see the headlamp of the person on your rope 30' in front of you.  At times it felt as though we were walking into an abyss!  It took about an hour to traverse the Cowlitz Glacier at which point we stopped for our first break.  Surprisingly, there were all ready a couple climbers who struggled mightly and chose to return to Camp Muir.

 

They have had an unseasonably cold/snowy spring so the mountain is still in full winter conditions which allowed us to follow the Ingraham Direct (Headwall) route in lieu of the Disappointment Cleaver which is the typical summer route.  With the recent avalanche, our guides were continually checking the snow conditions to confirm we were good to continue our climb.

 

This climb was extremely strenuous and I'm not exactly sure how to express it in words.  My fingers were numb, my toes were numb, the zipper on my down parka was frozen so I couldn't zip it up, we were hiking adjacent to 400' deep crevasses, etc...it was a total test of body and mind.

 

When we reached High Break at 13,800', Stephen was ready to throw in the towel and I wasn't too far behind him.  Our guides were offering words of encouragement and forced a couple gels in him to give him the fuel needed for the final push to the summit.  It was at this point, when out of nowhere my Dad jumps in front of the group and emphatically yells "LET'S CLIMB THIS $?/{ #^@%*&!!!!!"  That gesture provided the oomph we all needed to get back on our feet determined to make the summit.

 

As if someone was watching, we finally climbed above the clouds at the crater rim and were able to enjoy the summit in the sunshine at 8:00 AM.  As we removed our backpacks and pulled out the cameras, Aalsma walked over to me and said "Was that hard for you?"...I could have thrown him off the Mountain if I had the energy!  That statement suckered me into joining a few others to hike across the crater to the highest point so we could sign the Summit Log.  In hindsight, this was a bad mistake on my part as the hike across the crater and back at 14,000' took every last bit of energy I had and we still had a long day ahead of to make it all the way back down to Paradise.

 

 

The clouds rolled back in and made the visibility even worse for our descent.  It did clear up around The Flats at 11,200' which was a little eery as it exposed all of the hazards (crevasses and ceracs) that we unknowingly walked past in the dark. 

 

Back at Camp Muir, we gathered the remainder of our things and prepared for the hike down to Paradise.  We encountered some rain on the way down which made for some slick spots but not overly dangerous.  We also go to go glacading one at a time down one of the steeper passages which was a lot of fun and brought smiles to some tired faces.

 

All said, summit day was 12.5 miles round-trip gaining another 4,500' on the way to the summit (Columbia Crest 14,411’) followed by the descent back down to Paradise at 3:00 PM making for a 13 hour day.

 

We jumped back on the bus to head back to RMI where we returned our rental equipment, received our certificate and drank some celebratory beers.  We then packed up and drove to Seattle for a final night in a hotel and a much needed shower.

 

Ironically, we were there for over five (5) days and never able to see the Mountain as it was continuously engulfed by clouds and snow.

 

This was yet another unbelievable trip in which words and pictures do not do it justice.  I highly recommend RMI for any expedition and our lead guide Mike Haugen is one of the best!

 

I'm not quite sure what my next expedition or tangent may be, but we're expecting our second child in January so whatever I do will need to take place a little closer to home!