“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” - Winston Churchill

Last night as I was driving up to Government Camp, it was raining so hard and the clouds were so low that I couldn't see the lines on the road. There was so much water on the road that my windshield wipers and new tires were inadequate, but still we pushed on. After a hardy breakfast at the Huckleberry Inn, we donned our gear and headed up to Timberline. The wind was blowing so hard that the truck rocked back and forth and the rain was blowing sideways. The thermostat on the truck read 38 degrees. That makes for soft slushy snow that is hard to drudge through. My dad made a statement that indicated he thought our chances of summiting in this were slim but the other members of this party wanted to push on. There were no other climbers on the mountain (as indicated by the climbers registration area climbers in/climbers out area) and a snowcat operator waiting for the party he was supposed to take up to the top of Palmer. This was fortunate as we were able to finally figure out how to get a hold of the snowcat drivers and get an idea of the cost. He said it was easy and only cost about $180 for as many people as you can cram into that thing. His party never showed up and he went home. It just was not a good night for climbing. I told my dad that I was not interested in getting wet and cold unless I make it to the top and since that was not looking promising at all, I decided to head back to the motel. At about 4:30 am they called saying they were back in government camp. It was worse up on the mountain (duh) and they only made it up to Silcox Hut.

How do I feel about 2 failed attempts to summit? I feel great. I really do. Part of the whole adventure is packing your gear and sleeping during the day..... eating breakfast at Huckleberry Inn, should we go or should we not go..... its all a part of the journey. Last weeks attempt was closer to success and even though it was difficult, it was fun and I seen things up there that most of you (if not all of you) have never seen other than on calendars and in photos. Can anyone even grasp how amazing it is to see the gigantic shadow of Mt. Hood all at once? Imagine that! I can tell just by the lack of comments on that photo I posted on facebook how many people don't appreciate that rarity of that view. 2 years ago there is no way I would've made it out of the parking lot at Timberline anyway. The fact that I made it up to the 9600 ft level is amazing.

I want to just expand on the above quote by Winston Churchill. Even if I did make it to the summit, would that have been a success? When we get to our goal weight, is that a success? Yes! Of course! But is it the end? No! Never! Success is not final. I will continue to train. I will continue to eat healthy, I will continue to pursue optimal health and I will someday summit Mt. Hood. Failure is not fatal. My two attempts to summit Mt. Hood this last week did not kill my dreams of making it up there. My last month being off program (and perhaps gaining 5 lbs! uck!) does not mean I am going to bag the whole thing and give up.

When we define failure as being fatal, we get beaten down and its hard to get back up. That takes courage. I don't know how many times I tried to lose weight and failed miserably. More times than I can count, I assure you. I was afraid to try one more time because I thought people would laugh and I was sure they'd doubt my ability to change. Moving past that fear takes a great amount of courage and I really would like to, if I could, stir a little bravery in you, if that is what holds you back. "Never give up." A quote from my friend Dawna. I owe her for that. I don't think I would've ever tried again without her permission to try again. "Never give in to fear." Another great quote from Winston Churchill. It has crossed my mind, however briefly, that people could roll their eyes when I share that I'm attempting to climb Mt. Hood a third time. I'm not afraid of that anymore. Roll your eyes. How many times did you try to climb a mountain? It takes courage to continue and I've found mine. Have you found yours?

In closing, I'd be very wrong to not take a moment to publicly thank God for the courage He's given me, the healthy body He's given me, the great opportunities He's given me with Take Shape For Life and the life He's given me. I acknowledge that without Him, I'd never know success or courage. Many times I've cried out to Him in my pillow praying for strength to resist the pizza and He was there for me without fail. This scripture and the corresponding song from Sonic Flood have been going through my head a lot this week.

Psalm 121

A song of ascents.

¹ I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?

² My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;

⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

⁶ the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

⁷ The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;

⁸ the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Mt Hood Climb

Well, the day is finally here. This is the day of our originally scheduled climb. Tomorrow it will be the 30th anniversary of Mt. St. Helen's eruption. It will also be the 30th anniversary of my dad's last mountain summit.

Last week the weather was beautiful and we decided to jump the gun and head up and attempt it early. Of course the cloud cap on top of the mountain and the overly nice weather worked against us. I'm sure lack of preparedness played its part as well. We really did just wing it. Today I am attempting to summit again with a better idea of what to expect and how to pack my gear. I am going up there without any fairy tales in my head about how easy its going to be. I have taken some benedryl to help me sleep today. Climbing with zero sleep is not recommended. So here are the changes made based on last weeks lessons:

1. Get some sleep. Take meds to help if you need to, but get some sleep!
2. Get an earlier start. We started too late because of our lack of preparedness and unrealistic expectations. We hit the mountain by 1 am last week. Tonight we plan to be on the mountain by 11:30 PM.
3. Take wrappers off food. Its a pain unwrapping bars and then figuring out where to stuff the wrappers when I was done. My snacks are in one big zip lock bag unwrapped.
4. Don't eat a lot before the climb. You do not want to know what it is like to poop at high altitudes. Not fun.
5. Don't take your heavy billfold/wallet. You wont need it. It's extra weight. No thank you.
6. Gatorade is your friend.
7. Texting with gloves on is not easy.
8. Iphones are not waterproof.
9. I am a nerd and bought a fanny pack. I wanted something that would keep my sunscreen, snacks, camera, ect. easily accessible without having to take off my back pack. We will see if that plan works or not.
10. Pack a small shovel. Refer to lesson 4.

So in 8 hours I will head up to Huckleberry Inn. I will skip the pancakes, maybe have a small bowl of oatmeal and a milk or something. I will take some No-Doz rather than lots of coffee. Then hopefully those changes will improve my chances to reaching the summit.

This is not a hike. This is hard work. After all my 'training' I could only walk 60 steps at a time and then have to take a break. The slopes are a lot steeper than they appear on the photos. I actually got scared of the heights even though my feet were firmly planted.

If you pray, please pray for us, for our sleep, for our drive up, for our climb, for wisdom with the weather, for walking sessions longer than 60 steps at a time and pray we recover quickly tomorrow regardless of the outcome.

Thanks!