February 14-15, 2009
Drew Tabke and Tyler Sterling
MRNP, Washington
I had never been so nervous as when I packed for this trip. What was it? We were headed to Rainier first, which should make you giddy with excitement. From there we'd drive to Utah, and I was really happy to see the friends and family I left when I moved up to Seattle last fall. Then a drive to Squaw Valley for a big mountain comp. I've done plenty of those and Squaw rocks, why be nervous? Then catch a ride back to Utah and jump on a plane for Geneva to go to the next competition in Tignes. Then spend another couple weeks in the Alps, eventually finishing with the Verbier Xtreme, after which I would fly back to Utah, where I would arrive with no plan on how to get back to Seattle, and no job waiting for me in Seattle once I finally made it. Which was bad, considering at the start of the trip I had something like $300 in my bank account.
So I was nervous. I was packing not for two days on Rainier, but for about six weeks on the road. The money thing definitely added to my apprehension, but I heard the exchange rate in Europe was more favorable to the dollar, so what's to fear?
I finished packing, kissed my girlfriend, and in a remarkably quick few moments I was on the road. Tyler, who had come up a week previous to visit from Utah, and I headed south to that big fucking mountain that looms eternally (for the time being) on the southern horizon of the Seattle area.
The view from my roof.
And getting closer.
While hiking up to Camp Muir, an occasional cloudbreak would provide views that compromised our sense of balance.
We finally arrived at Camp Muir around sunset. Since we didn't bring much food, we feasted on some thigh-deep blower with a dash of alpenglow.
The next morning, we tied some shoe string to our waists and headed across the glacier towards Cathedral Gap. Camp Muir at the saddle, Mt. Adams in the distance left, Mt. Hood in the farther distance.
At Cathedral Gap I made a joke about that serac that would have made you laugh, too.
Up the Ingraham we go.
The powder we ate for dinner turned out to be our downfall. Copious snow blanketed the upper mountain and we began to encounter crevasses that were too well-hidden. I took out my probe pole and our pace slowed as we would need to investigate many benign-looking slopes that turned out to be hiding gaping chasms in the glacier. You might not want to tour with me.
We tried. We wanted it. Maybe we didn't want it bad enough. But eventually we'd had it.
So we turned around at about 12,000', still 2,400' from the summit. We had lots of reasons, one of them being we had to get to the car so we could immediately drive 14 hours to Utah. One of them was the ice cliff 1,000' above our heads that was dripping in the powerful early-afternoon sun. Oh well, next time. Dropping!
Tyler made an even funnier joke about this rock at Cadaver Gap.
Pause to pose. Nisqually Ice Fall
We skied down the Nisqually Chute to the toe of the glacier, and out to the bridge at 3,900', which made for an 8,000' failure of a descent. Wetslide in the chute. Don't worry, we were wearing our force fields.
Toe of the Nisqually.
We got to the car, and pointed it towards Utah over White Pass. Why hello, Mt. Adams.
Last view of Rainier before we gave 'er into the night.
Tyler was disappointed he came and wasted his time in Washington, and I was so distraught I crashed in all of my upcoming competitions.
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