By Guest Blogger Kristen Oliphant, friend of the Fund and participant in the 2019 Climb for a Cause

It feels like yesterday that we just finished our climb up Mount Rainier last July, which got cut short due to an ice fall that completely wiped out the route we were on. Blocks of ice the size of houses fell from 13,000’-11,000’, completely destroying everything in its path, including our route. Our summit attempt got pulled, there were too many unknown variables. We may not have summited Columbia Crest, but we did summit Disappointment Cleaver and it was such an unforgettable experience to watch the sun rise up over the horizon illuminating the entire world below us including Mount Rainier.

Ever since we descended, we anticipated if and when the climb would be happening this year. In January, Laurie Ward (Chief Executive Officer at WNPF) reached out to offer the opportunity to climb Mount Rainier at the end of July. We obviously accepted her gracious offer with much excitement and eagerness. With deliberation and support from one another, four of us that went last year decided to apply for the climb again, determined to get back on Rainier and make it to the top. We started to get the ball rolling in February by selecting a team of eight enthusiastic climbers, half of those having participated in the previous year’s climb. Last year, the entire team went into the experience completely blind, with so many unknowns to figure out once on the mountain. It’s a complete 180 this year. We have a lot of those questions answered which allows us to put the newcomer’s worries at ease.

I knew there was a good possibility we’d be offered to do the climb again so I made a goal to stay in solid hiking shape, determined to do the climb again and summit Mount Rainier. I knew there was the unknown factor of the last 2,000 feet of the climb to the summit that would physically push me to the limit and I wanted to be prepared. I made a pact with myself to do a hike once a week. I set out to do some killer hikes: Glacier Basin Loop, Plummer Peak and Denman Peak of the Tatoosh Range, Mount Ellinor, Blanca Lake, Snoqualmie Mountain, Hex Mountain, Colchuck Lake, Church Mountain, Kendall Katwalk, a couple treks to Rainier via Skyline trail, and recently Mount St. Helens.

Of all those hikes, Mount St. Helens was the most challenging, mentally and physically. We left the trailhead at 5 am and took the Worm Flows Route: 12 miles round trip with roughly 5700’ elevation gain in just 6 miles. I decided to use the climb as part of my training plan and took my trusty 30-pound pack with me. I wasn’t sure if that would be an instant regret given the last part of the climb was a smooth 70% grade incline. Steep doesn’t properly describe the second half of the ascent to the summit, but with each meeting of the foot to unsteady gravel, I was getting that much closer to the summit and within no time I made it. I was standing on the top of Mount St. Helens. A slew of emotions came over me and it felt like time was at a standstill as I set my eyes on the surrounding beauty of the Pacific Northwest and had my first introduction to the interior of the crater.

I never thought something so destructive could be so beautiful, with the varying colors of the interior of the crater and the steam rising from within all complementing one another to end up producing something so unimaginable and powerful. I had a moment where I was looking at the views before me and realized I was surrounded by a world I never thought I would get the chance to see: the entire Cascade range, Mount Rainier, Mount Hood, Mount Adams, Mount Jefferson. You see photos, you like those photos, you search for those photos and think that’s enough but nothing prepares you for when you are there, seeing it all with your own eyes. It’s a feeling you can’t define, a moment only you, yourself will grasp.

I found last year that the best training that worked for me was getting out and mimicking what I would be doing on Rainier. I decided this would be my main focus for this year’s training plan, deciding to forego training in the gym and just start hiking; building up my legs and feet. I have the last 2000’ of Mount Rainier that I have not experienced yet, which I know will mentally and physically be the toughest. Along with the steep incline, there are also the unknowns of what the altitude may bring. I know it is important for me to do hikes that really push myself physically and mentally. These hikes allow me to focus on my footwork, breathing, mindfulness and my mental capacity of pushing through the trek.

Last week I did the old trail on Mailbox Peak for the first time and I brought my 30 lb pack with me. I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into but soon realized just how brutal the hike really was. There’s even a warning sign at the trailhead that gives you a clear-cut warning on what you are about to embark on. It’s 2.5 miles one way with 4000’ in elevation gain. I started strong and felt great throughout the hike, but there were times where I was feeling tired and a bit overwhelmed with the continuous steep climbing. I felt like I was losing my state of equanimity. I knew I had to create a motivating “mantra”, to help keep me going, keep me from being overwhelmed and distracted. I would tell myself to take it one step at a time, to not focus on the hike as a whole, repeating to myself  “10 more steps, you got this.” Then repeat the mantra for the next 10 steps, and then the next 10 steps. Before I knew it, I stopped counting and I was there. I had pushed through and I was finally at the boulder staircase, making my way up to the mailbox. It was a major accomplishment and quite an unexpected turn of events since I had intended to do Granite Lakes that day. Even though it was all clouds up top, the sense of accomplishment, determination and progress I felt was well worth it.

With the recent rock fall on Liberty Ridge last month on Mount Rainier, the team and our families are filled with concern, wondering if something like that might happen on our route. Several of us have had to put our friends and families at ease and assure them that we couldn’t be in better hands than with International Mountain Guides. It is their job, as risk managers, to make sure we get safely up and down the mountain and they demonstrated their expertise last year. It is always unknown what will happen on the mountain. Mount Rainier is going to do what it wants to do and all we can do is learn as much as we can about the mountain and be physically and mentally prepared.

Few places in this world are more dangerous than home. Fear not, therefore, to try the mountains passes. They will kill care, save you from deadly apathy, set you free, and call forth every faculty into vigorous, enthusiastic action. -John Muir