I am getting ready to climb Mt. Rainier for the second time in August of this year. As my previous posts have illustrated, I have switched my drug addiction for a mountain addiction. It started out by me being called by the trees and evolved into hiking in and outside of the city. From there I began solo backpacking. I originally planned to backpack with my husband but he relapsed and landed himself back behind bars (story for another blog post). I was left with no choice but to backpack by myself. I certainly was not going to cancel my trip just because he made some bad choices. So, I learned to push myself beyond what I thought I was capable of and eventually, I found myself on a mountain with an ice axe and crampons. Now, I have mountain fever.
On Saturday, May 15, 2021 I co-led a group of women up the side of Red Mountain in the Snoqualmie Region of the Cascade Mountains. There were 5 women and 4 men climbing in my group that day. I have climbed with each of the men on a number of occasions but never with any of the women. 2 of the women on the team have never climbed a mountain before so there was a lot to do and learn on this trip. Each of the women that have never climbed has a goal of summiting Mt. Rainier in August of 2021. I will be leading one of the ropes on this trip and one of the women will be on my rope. It was important for me to make sure to encourage the women as some of this climb was very steep and slightly intimidating for a person with no experience.
The women enthusiastically hiked and climbed all the way to the top of the mountain. As we climbed, I switched positions from the middle to the back and then the very front of the group. I did not want any of the team to feel like they were slowing anyone down. When one of the new people was in the rear, I would slow down and move to the back so as not to leave a new person feeling left behind. When one of the more experienced climbers was in the rear, I would move to the middle and encourage the newer women, letting them know how great they were doing. Or, go and check in with one of the other climbers, catching up and chat about future adventure plans. And, when everyone was getting tired, I led the group to the summit.
The day was amazing, the sun was out, not a cloud in the sky. I was so proud of the women for pushing themselves to the top. I was particularly proud of them for their willingness to face their fear when we began our descent. The terrain was very steep and it seemed nearly impossible to descend for the two new women. I helped them take hold of their fear and taught them to slide down the mountain and use their ice axe to stop them when they started moving too fast. Their progress was beautiful. I am always impressed with a finisher. Many people let fear stop them from living. When I am able to tackle a mountain with a woman overcome with fear and she pushes through anyhow, I am more impressed with her than I can ever express with words. The women on my team last Saturday were strong and unstoppable. I am really looking forward to summiting the highest peak in Washington State with them in August.
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