Picture My World

A deer wishes us a good climb

Day 2 started at 5 am. I could tell from the light coming through the window that the weather was good. I shot out of bed and got dressed. We then had breakfast and prepared to leave. Our packs felt very light as we started up Skyline trail at 6:30. We started at approximately 5600′ of elevation.

I had rented plastic-shelled mountaineering boots and hoped to also bring my light-weight leather hiking boots for the initial approach and camp use. However, after hefting my fully packed bag, I quickly changed my mind. The pack must have weighed 60 pounds and I didn’t want to deal with a bulky pair of boots. As we plodded along the first couple of kilometers of paved trail, I realized the boots were going to be trouble. They are similar to downhill ski boots in that they have no “give” in the ankle or sole. Walking on anything other than snow proved to be awkward at best and extremely painful at the worst.

Up, up, and away

Enough whining, though. The scenery of the sub-alpine area was gorgeous. We saw a total of three deer and two fawns on the way up. The mountain revealed itself again and again through the clouds. When we reached our first rest after about an hour, I felt great. We passed the “Danger Zone” sign and headed into the fog.

Are we there, yet?

A little while later, we left the tree line and rocks behind. We were now on the Muir Snow Field and the long grind really began. I think the snow started at around 7500′ and we still had over 2000′ to go until Camp Muir. Distances seemed to grow exponentially as the air thinned and we moved slower and slower. There was nothing particularly challenging about the snow. It was steep in places (although, in retrospect I have to laugh at what I thought was steep on day 2) but it was just a slog. I remember hearing we had only gained 200′ since our last rest stop at one point. I wasn’t sure we were going to make it at that rate.

Not quite…

As we climbed higher, we broke through the fog and the summit stood before us the rest of the way up. Fast moving cloud would occasionally obscure it, but not for long. It was beautiful and very bright and I couldn’t take off my sunglasses.

Into the sun

At each rest, we’d be joined by a little bird or two. These birds would appear all the way up the mountain — even at over 12,000′. Besides eating climbers’ crumbs, they probably fed on the thousands of insects we passed on the snow. The mountain is littered with bugs that are brought up by convection currents and end up in a very hostile environment. They can’t last long. I did come across a still-alive lady bug around 8000′, but it wasn’t doing well.

At around 9000′ (1000′ to go), the altitude effects really hit me. I felt a foggy headed and every step was an effort. At one point, someone pointed out the huts of the camp ahead. We were resting and I was feeling OK and seeing our goal re-invigorated me. However, when we got moving again I quickly lost my wind along with my enthusiasm. It may have taken an hour to make it the rest of the way. I think we’d descend this distance in about 10 or 15 minutes the next day.

Setting up camp

About 7 hours after our departure, we reached the campsite and were buffeted by an incredible wind that almost knocked us over. This wind was going to be the defining feature of Camp Muir.

We picked out a couple of spots for our two tents and Brian and Keith got busy constructing some wind walls and putting up the tents. That was much appreciated since the rest of us were exhausted (or so we thought). I felt like an old man. I had no energy and little motivation. Surprisingly, I felt fine physically after the climb, but the altitude was having its affects on me. We took a break and then set about melting snow for drinking water. We then got a quick lesson on glacier safety that included how to attach our harnesses, clip on to the rope, and self-arrest with the ice axe in case we slipped. Finally, we tried on our crampons and ate dinner.

We headed to bed a little after 7 pm to get some rest before our “alpine start” at 12:30 am. Keith had assured us that we’d feel “100% better” in the morning after some sleep. By bedtime, I was praying he was right, as I was unmotivated and even a little depressed. I was questioning why I was doing this climb at all – I hoped it was the altitude talking.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 21st, 2005 at 2:31 pm and is filed under General, Photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.