Mission Impossible

Finally. June 13, 2010 at aprox. 6:30 a.m. I reached the summit of Mt. Hood. For the last 8 weeks I have set aside and forsaken many things to prepare myself for this adventure. I set my mind of accomplishing this big task and refused to stop until I met my goal. I had no idea that I had that in me. To be completely honest, I don't think I had any business up there. I was not ready. My heart and my mind were in the right spot, however, I don't think my body was ready for that sort of a challenge. I found myself in a 'do or die' sort of situation and had to push beyond normal human capabilities to survive. The extreme.

I have been thinking for 2 days how I could fit everything that I seen, heard and learned into one small blog entry. What are the highlights that I could share? I really don't even know where to begin. So, for now, I'll just share the facts of the climb.

We began at about 10:30 PM at Timberline Lodge. We were scheduled to meet our CAT driver at 10:45-11:00 PM. The snowcat was pretty cool. Huge, warm, lit, FAST...... it dropped us off at the top of the Palmer Ski lift which is at about 8500 feet. My research on altitude sickness shows that people are susceptible to altitude sickness above 8000 feet. So going up to that elevation within 30 minutes probably had its draw backs. I don't know though, I'm assuming. We were in no hurry at that point. We didn't want to be on the steep parts too much before day break and we did not want to be the first ones on the summit. We were hoping that the next load of climbers would lead the way so we walked slowly. By the time we reached the Hogsback, we were surrounded by good company and professional climbers.

The Class 1 climb "The South Side" as I knew it followed the Hogsback ridge up and through the Pearly Gates. The Hogsback apparently has been moving left so its not a straight shot up through the Pearly Gates anymore. Furthermore, there is a bergschrund (glacial crevasse) across the Hogsback, big enough for a semi-truck to fall in. Can't go around that huge beast. People died falling into it in 2002 (see http://www.traditionalmountaineering.org/News_HeliCrash.htm for that story and a picture) I wish I would've gotten a picture of it. Hopefully dad did. So climbers had to resort to what we refer to as "The Old Chute" This can be approached a few different ways but we followed the professional guides before us. Up and over the Hogsback, down below the fumerol pits then up the chute. The final push for the summit was terrifying to me. The wall was too steep, I didn't trust my crampons (metal teeth you strap to your shoes to grab the ice) I was tired, sore, I had a migraine that was making me want to throw up and frankly, I felt like I was at the end of my rope. But I was so close to the top it would've been embarassing and lonely to sit there and wait for the rest of my party to summit while I sat crying like a baby. So with my dad yelling at me, I put one foot in front of the other, one hand in front of the other, allowed the tears to freeze like little icicles from my nose and pushed on. Several times I got hit in the head with some ice chunks. Thank God my dad forced me to wear a dumb helmet. I think what added additional fear for me was seeing how the other groups were belaying and setting hooks and tying themselves to the mountain.... and we were not. I was so unsure of myself and seeing that others more experienced then I, were also unsure of themselves, I really would've liked to have been strapped to a Picket: (A "T" shaped length of aluminum 2' to 3' long pounded or buried in the snow for protection.) for peace of mind, if nothing else! After taking way too long on that dumb chute (I'll have nicer words for it next week, I'm sure!) we reached the summit. I have to tell you though, the whole time I'm scrambling on all fours trying to get up there, I am dreading the trip down.

You'd have thought that after all that I would've been happy to be up on the summit. I had anticipated tears, wild emotions, kissing the snow.... I just wanted to be home. It was windy, it was steep, it was scary. you could not get too close to the edges at all because the snow was over hanging and it'd just collapse with you right on top of it. I couldn't really take a ton of pictures because you'd have to take your gloves off to work the camera. First I was afraid my gloves, or my camera would blow away. Second it was cold. I did not want to remove my gloves. I got a few though. Not the pics I had imagined. I had made a banner that said "Thank you Take Shape For Life" I was going to hold up. It would've acted like a kite and blown me off the summit right into the Columbia River behind me!

The return trip: Just as scary as I imagined. We were in a hurry now, had to get out from under the ice chunks that were over our heads before the sun got too warm. We had traffic to tend with getting down. We crawled backwards on all fours, on our tippy toes, jamming the points of our crampons into the wall, trying to have 3 points on the wall at all times. I totally busted my two big toenails right in half. Even when everyone else was relaxing, taking off their ropes and helmets I was still freaked out beyond repair. So, we moved slow. We had to trek this way and that to stay out from under the avalanche paths. We did witness a pretty big avalanche just above Illumination Saddle. Now, if I had been a tad more brave, we could've started glissading down the mountain on our backsides and gotten down quicker, but I was just still too scared. The fall line (the direction a ball would roll from the top) ends up over Mississippi Head (cliffs) and I just didn't trust my ability to go fast and stop myself so I opted to walk and I walked slowly. Once the degree of the slope calmed down I did slide down, maybe about a mile on my buns and really, that was fun. I wish I had been braver now to start that up a little higher.

My little brother, Larry and his mom (my step-mom???) Robin met us at Silcox hut on the way down. I cannot believe they walked up a mile in the snow with zero sunscreen or sunglasses. They had on jeans and regular shoes. And I will never forget this kindness. Larry took my dad's backpack and Robin took mine. They carried our packs down the last mile. When we got to the lodge, I RAN to the bathroom and Robin met me in the car there so I wouldn't have to walk over to my car. When we got back to their RV Robin let me sleep (I slept for 3.5 hours!) and I woke up to hot soup, coffee, chicken and a salad! Robin took such good care of me when I got back to the trailer and I get a little emotional when I think about how grateful I am for her.

The lessons learned are abundant. It may take me time to process each one into words. The trip was the hardest thing I ever did in my life. I would've quit so many times if I didn't have someone yelling at me, pushing me forward and telling me I could when I thought I could not.

In closing, I really need to emphasize that first Philippians 4:13 played on through my head over and over again. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." I wouldn't not have made it to the top with prayer, without the Lord willing it. There just is no way. I also would not have made it without my dad. When he signed up for Take Shape For Life with Chemae (my health coach) one of the reasons he listed that he wanted to lose weight was so he could climb Mt. Hood with me! I cannot believe he did it! I owed him that trip. But he yelled at me a lot. LOL I really was hating him on the summit of the mountain, but isn't that what a good coach would do? Empower you to accomplish what you thought was impossible? Dad, I think that you are a great coach and I love you. Thanks for yelling at me.

Thanks to Take Shape for Life. Thank you Dr. Wayne Anderson for your vision to get America healthy. How amazing is it when people get their health (and life) back? I have not summited Mt Hood in 25 years, and my dad has not done it in 30 years. It took more than one try, but today I've got the sunburn and aching muscles to prove I made it--along with my dad and my 15-year-old son Cody. What a life! What a transformation! Between the two of us, my dad and I have lost over 200 lbs and my kids get to grow up in a healthy family! If you are interested in learning how we did this, what Take Shape For Life is all about or about how you can be a great coach like my dad, then there are a few opportunities. Tonight in Hillsboro we are having a meeting at 7 pm. There is one on the eastside in Gresham tomorrow night at 7 pm and there is one happening in Bend, Oregon on Friday/Saturday this weekend (June 18-19, 2010). If none of those time slots are open for you just call me or my dad. We'd be happy to meet with you and share our stories with you one on one in person or over the phone. Distance is no object. You don't have to live in the same state! I look forward to helping you achieve your goals. 503-936-9728 husk7736@comcast.net