Mt St Helens Summit Climb (July 2012)

In July, I tried my second attempt to summit Mt St Helens.  Our previous attempt in March got us within a few hundred feet of the top before high winds and icy conditions forced us to turn back.  This time was much easier as the weather was much more forgiving.  Also, since more snow had melted, more of the roads were open, so we were able to drive further up the mountain and start at a higher elevation trailhead.  With much longer daylight hours in the summer, we were able to start at a later time (getting up at 3AM for the previous attempt was a little rough way to start the day).

 foggy conditions during the start of the climb

 part of our crew

 the snow, while slick in some spots, was easier to walk up than climbing over the large boulders

 towards the top is mostly scree and loose ash, making traction difficult

 

 a crevasse - 

it looks much smaller in the pic, but this one was scary enough for me...a fall into here could be devastating

 

 I finally reached the summit around lunchtime, after 4.5 hours of climbing.  

The views into the crater were breathtaking.  The steam vents are still active, reminding us that this is still a powerful volcano.  It is hard to imagine the amount of force required to blow the top off of a mountain this large. 

 celebrating at the top

 my buddy, Mike, jumps off the top of the mountain  :)

*special thanks to Mike for organizing the trip and getting the permits secured for our group months in advance (he even made T shirts to commemorate our group climb)

 the clouds on the horizon parted for about 30 seconds to give us a glimpse of our next challenge: Mt Adams

after such dramatic views of the crater, the descent is always less appealing  ;)

Our entire group of 35 made it safely up and down the mountain.  We only had minor injuries (sprained ankle and hurt knee), but they were able to hobble down with a little help from friends.  It was a very successful climb and my first summit of a "real" mountain.

Canada Roadtrip: Vancouver

(Canada roadtrip, continued) 
We arrived in Vancouver and, of course, Emily's first stop had to be shopping.  She visited the Lululemon Lab where they make unique custom clothes.  She also demanded a stop at the original Lulu store.

Next, we visited Granville Island to check out the local markets:

fresh fruit at the Granville Island market

We spent the rest of the weekend just walking around the city, enjoying the boutiful views and taking advantage of the great diversity of restaurants.  One of our favorite spots was Stanley Park.  It is over 1000 acres and filled with lots of great walking trails.  Here are some of the must-see items in Stanley Park.

 taking a walk in Stanley Park

rhododendron garden in Stanley Park:

blue herons nesting in the park

the view of downtown Vancouver, B.C. from Stanley Park

And, of course, no trip is complete without sampling the local cuisine.  We loved the night markets, which had a variety of unique foods:

calamari and spiral sliced fried potato on a stick

kabobs...always a sure bet at festivals

my favorite: fried tofu with sweet chili sauce

 

glazed fruit - same as the kind we admired in Beijing, but we were too afraid to try it in China due to the uncertainty of food preparation techniques....this time, it was a go, and it was good!

we also found some fried buns which were very close to the kind we loved in Shanghai

It was nice to learn that we can get many of our favorite authentic Chinese foods so close to home (6hr drive instead of an around the world trip).  We thoroughly enjoyed Vancouver and vowed to visit more often.  I am seriously tempted to move there....it has all the amazing outdoor stuff of Portland (mountains, ocean nearby) but with the big city feel that we loved in Chicago.  If you are ever in the Pacific NW, it is worth a visit.

Canada Roadtrip: Whale Watching

During Labor Day weekend, we took a roadtrip to British Columbia, Canada.  On the way, we stopped just north of Seattle for a half day whale watching tour.  The skies were so blue that everything, even the snow-topped Mt Baker, appeared to be shades of blue. 

 

Mt Baker

We found a group of Orcas (killer whales) within 30 minutes of being out to sea.  I was surprised at how close to the shoreline they stayed.  They moved so fast; I have all new respect for those National Geographic photographers.  I had to burst shots as fast as my Canon would allow and sort through for the few good ones at the end.  I was lucky to catch a few of them in the air as they jumped out of the water.  They put on quite a show for us:

 

We caught up to a group of Orcas hunting sea lions.  They encircled two of the sea lions and the violent thrashing that ensued was an amazing spectacle.  The captain of the boat said that in the 12 years he has been doing these tours, this was one of the top 3 days ever.  To be able to see them hunt in the wild was a testament to their unbridled power.  They killed one sea lion, while the other sea lion made it safely to the nearby shore.  I was surprised it was able to get away from their speed and agility.

 

 

a seal rests safely on a buoy

 

the Orcas head back out to sea in search of their next meal

We also saw 4 bald eagles within a few hours:

 

 an immature bald eagle (no white plummage on his head yet) eating a baby seal on an island

bald eagle perched in a tree

bald eagle in nest

bald eagle soaring overhead

We finished the drive across the border and into the lovely city of Vancouver...stay tuned for the next post about our adventures in Vancouver...

Mt. St. Helens Expedition

Back in early March, I embarked on an expedition with my friend Mike from work.   Our mission was to conquer Mt. St. Helens.  We both snowshoed up the mountain, but used different methods to descend.  Mike snowshoed back down while I snowboarded.  Carrying the extra weight of my snowboard and boots up the mountain was worth it, because the descent was nothing short of epic.  Since it was fairly early season for climbing, we almost had the mountain to ourselves; we saw less than 10 other people during the entire day. 

Mike gearing up at the truck in the dark.  We left at 3AM  to get to the mountain and start before the sun came up.  Needless to say, I did not sleep but a few hours the night before because I was so excited for the trip (and because I was up until midnight getting all of my gear ready).

That's me in the far distance towards the center of the picture (this shows how much faster Mike is at snowshoeing).  It was my first time on snowshoes, so what better time to try than when climbing a mountain with a 40+ lb pack on my back?  The bulk of snowshoes definitely takes some getting used to, but I only tripped a few times. :)

Some beautiful snow formations including drifts, cornices, and even a few small avalanches

...about half way up, and we were finally above the clouds....and the views abounded!

Mt Adams in the distance with a lenticular cloud.  The cloud looks cool for its lens shape, however, Mike (who is an experienced mountaineer) educated me that it is actually not a good sign since these clouds form when there are high winds at the top of the mountain (high winds over on Mt Adams means high winds on Mt St Helens are likely, since there are no peaks in between to block the wind).

I had to take a few breaks to rest my legs because they started cramping.  Mentally, I can push myself and my body to do things that are far beyond my capabilities, however there comes a point where my body will not keep driving, no matter how hard I push.  This is one of those times.  At least it was a nice sunny day and the view was so spectacular, that I didn't mind kicking my feet up to relax every now and then. 

As we approached the top portion of the climb, it was very important to try and keep skin exposure to a minimum.  Even with SPF 50, I developed a nasty sunburn on that little part of my forehead that you can see exposed in this picture.  The more intense UV rays that come with high altitude, coupled with the reflection from the bright white snow, results in blinding bright sunlight.

Well, we almost made it to the top.  We got within a few hundred feet of the top edge of the crater before the harsh conditions forced us to turn back early.  The high winds coupled with pure ice on a steep incline made for conditions that Mike judged to be not worth the risk of completing the summit, even with the crampons we had packed.  Given the state of my almost failing leg muscles, it was not too hard for him to convince me.  Besides, Mike reminded me of an experienced hiker who died the previous month at Mt Hood due to a fall.  We decided to not become a statistic and to live for future adventures.  It took us about 6 hours to climb 5700 feet up the mountain. 

As Mike proceeded to snowshoe back down, I had a little time to kill so he could get a head start (as my descent by snowboard would be much faster than his walking down).  I sat for 30 min to enjoy the view, eat my lunch, and rest my legs some more in preparation for what might be considered the most epic ride of my life. 

Solitude.  Bliss.  Carving deep snow with fresh tracks everywhere I turned.  No rules. No boundaries.  No people.  No work.  No stress.  Just me and the mountain, becoming one in a true moment of Zen.  I respected her sheer size, immense beauty, and insurmountable strength.  She rewarded the efforts of my climb ten-fold. 
These are the closest that my feeble words can come to express how this day felt and what it meant to me.  Until you have pushed yourself to do extraordinary things, and until you have seen the tops of mountains that you have climbed with your own two feet, you have not truly lived.  I long for my next adventure, yet I fear this will one day be my downfall.

on the way down, Mike caught a shot of my snowboarding just before dropping into this cornice

*I want to give a very special thanks to Mike for providing his expertise and companionship on this climb.  I really could not have done it without him.  I also respect to the fullest degree that he did not let his pride get in the way of making a safe judgement of whether we should proceed with the final few hundred feet to the summit.