Drying Out in the Wettest Place in the Continental USA

[ Part I ]

After the tropical storm disaster on the Kautz -- errr, should I say Wilson glacier (we never quite got as far as the Kautz) -- we traveled back to Issaquah with our tails between our legs. We were served a hefty "raining" of blows dealt to our mountain egos. All we could focus on was our next shot at the mountain. We hoped that by the end of the week that heinous tropical system would fizzle out and throw open the gates to decent weather. In the meantime, we milled about the surrounding Seattle area, eating plenty of food -- we have Dave's wife and Dave to thank for that; such generous hosts. Many movies were watched, but we really focused on making the next trip a success.

We focused much towards improving on our systems, everything from tents to clothing. My gortex shell had failed me, most likely due to me washing it in liquid detergent. Please take my word, heed my warning, do not wash gortex material with liquid detergent. I think I was wetter on the inside than outside during the rainstorm since the fabric membrane couldn't breathe. Wet in the alpine world equals cold. No bueno. We stopped in at the local REI and I gave them my story about the gortex shell -- they quickly agreed to take back my shell and gave me the advice to pack something heavier, none of this "Pac-light stuff for alpine" anymore. I took their advice and walked across the mall walkway to the local Eddy Bauer and lo and behold, they had just the "perfect jacket for [me]". I tried on the BC-200 3-layer WeatherEdge Pro coat, and loved it. It was even more minimalist than my prior shell, and it was likely a better fit for what I needed. With the REI refund and a lil' Memorial Day discount, I essentially walked away with a brand new shell for only a few sheckles. We also made right on our promises to drink plenty of beer for all the beers missed during the training months leading up. Before we knew it, Wednesday had arrived and we packed the truck once more to make the journey back down south to the volcano.

El Cabitan.

We had planned to split the rent of a cabin for everyone to meet at before the climb, somewhere close to the park entrance -- this was by far the best idea of the trip. We rolled into Whittaker mountaineering once again in Ashford and met my friend Ace, who had just driven up the entire left coast from Yuma, AZ. Yuma is basically Mexico. That's a long long drive, my friend. Regardless, Ace made great time and was able to meet us a day early at the cabin. The plan was to begin prepping our meals, split up group gear and finish last minute packing at the house before everyone was due to arrive the next day, Thursday.

Hanging out on the shores of the Nisqually river, within a rock's throw of the cabin.

Ace, myself, and Dave sipping some brews and taking in the lush scenery in the foothills of Rainier.

We all took turns finding some awesome features to the house: a wooden stairway that one could practice finger-hangs and pullups on. Wooden beams that could be used to do pullups on. Patio roofs that could again be used... to do pullups on. Yep, we did a lot of pullups to pass the time. We also spent some time going through the tents, discarding unnecessary items like stakes, and stuff sacks. We pre-rigged guy-lines on all the tents to ensure the quick set up and equalization of the tents once we were on the mountain. At the end of the night we all crashed on the sofa and watched a soccer game as well as the Wrath of Kaaaaaahhhhnnnn on VHS while we ate and drank merrily. Hey, we needed those calories.

Some shots of the cabin. Plenty of space to spread out... which is exactly what we did.

We pitched tents, climbed ceiling rafters, and made use of spaciousness.

Kaaaaahhhhhnnnnnn.

On Thursday, we made a quick trip into Ashford to pick up some firewood kindling and to grab a quick meal. We sat next to a group of guides debriefing about the upcoming season on Rainier and feasted on burgers. I made a quick last call to my fiance's voicemail using the wireless internet at the cafe and before long, we headed back to the cabin. 


Along the way, during our search for firewood, we found a peculiar detour that was indeed worthy of our time. One of the locals made easy prey of us out-of-towners (based on proximity to Ashford, Dave's a Canadian and Ace is a Mexican, according to this old fella) and ushered us into his store, wandering through the aisles of random "stuff". Every few feet he would pull out something to show us and attempt to deliver a punch-line alongside. "Say son, what do you call this lil' diddy?" As he displayed a stick with a bullet casing glued in it, he quickly retorted, "why it's a Cartridge in a Bare Tree! Great for the holidays." Ha, ha, ha, we each took our turns at humoring his comedic efforts. It was a great time pouring through his "junk-turned-treasure" collections for sale.

"Now son, you can't just buy firewood. Come have a look-see inside our store." On the right, is the supposed Mexican Yeti, known as the Cupacabra, formerly the remains of some woodland creature's face glued to the back of a goat's leg. Interesting.

Looking over some ancient photographs of Mt. Rainier from the early 1900's. Back then she had far more ice and glacier.

I believe Ace is looking for a nice bird's nest or wooden shape to take back home to his lady.
"Umm, are we following him into the back? I guess we are..."

Dave walked away with a prized hatchet for splitting our new firewood, and a "hill-billy flashlight". It's a rather advanced contraption involving a Home Depot paint stiring stick, with a box of matches glued to one end and a clothespin attached at the other end. "Directions: Light a match from box. Place lit match in clothespin. Use as flashlight."

Back at the house we rigged the outdoor patio as our own rope training facility.

We each took turns practicing our prusiking and crevasse rescue skills in a controlled fashion.

Just hanging the day away. Hurry up Mark!

Mark might have a pooper in his nappy. <-- real description from a
youtube video we found used to describe walking in crampons on snow/ice.

Here's a lil' 5:1 pulley system I rigged with 3 prussiks and a couple pulleys.

Ace getting prepped to assist me in "rescuing him", while Dave and Mark make some Texas-style prusik cords.

Just hanging around. Hey look there's a dart board! This place has got EVERYTHING!

"Dave! Tie your leg prusik BELOW your waist prusik! Wait, you did it again!"

Mark gave us a quick, timed demo of rigging a quick Z-pulley system with a munter-mule hitch to boot.

By golly, I think he's got it. We're bloody ready for the crevasses.

At some point, these two deers came to hang out with us.

They were a lil' skiddish at first, but not skiddish enough to resist oats! Haha, I found thy weakness!

So yeah, we hung out for a while, got to know each other, ate oats, waxed poetic about pressing forest issues.

Then we got a lil' too comfortable. "Hey you don't mind, right? Cool."

"Well hey, if he's going to just go wherever, I'm just gonna do it too."

Man, this was a cool find! Kudos to Mark for finding the cabin.

After chewing the fat with the wildlife, I wandered away to the river again to soak in the breeze and feel the chilled, damp air as it churned over the rushing rapids of the water below. I did some reflecting by myself. I gave some words of thanks where thanks were due for even having this opportunity to explore new places, for a great family, for a wonderful, supportive fiance, for a career that can support this. All around, it was a great chance to dwell in the beauty of nature and savor some amazing views for the ol' memory bank. 

 

Yeah, I could live here.

By the time I returned to the cabin, three more of our team showed up. Elliot, Laurell and Don were the first to arrive that evening. We ushered them along a grande tour of the property and we each pitched in to bring in gear. Tyler and Drew arrived later that evening. The rest of the night was spent paring down packs to minimize weight and balance loads. As the group gear was divvied up, we ate to our stomach's content, storing any potential fuel stores for the next morning. We would start bright and early at 5am, hopefully arriving in Paradise by 6 and so on. Our second chance had arrived. We were ready.

Dave sowing oats.

Elliot and Ace trading medical war stories from the medical profession as I treat the gloves with some extra waterproofing.

It was a great vibe having everyone there, some of us meeting for the first time, each of us with a
common objective for the weekend, essentially uniting us as a family -- a climbin' family.

Laurell tries her hand at self-rescue in our crevasse training park. Passed with flying colors.

Hanging with my good friend Ace.

Night fell quickly and we eagerly looked forward to the next morning's start.

To top off the night, Mark, Don, myself and Drew participated in a few rounds of some crossfit-like moves to get the blood pumping and hopefully burning up any last reserves for the day before turning in for the night.

Part III coming soon...


**Many of these awesome photos are from Mark and Don. Gotta give them credit for capturing the candid moments and beauty of the surrounding scenery.