All who know me on a personal level know that I have an obsessive goal that is pretty much: climb Glacier Peak. Why did I want to climb Glacier Peak? Did I? How did it go? Well, sit down and grab some coffee with a beer as a backup cause my stories are long.
Make it look easy.
For a while I heard rumors of this peak known as Glacier. But it turns out the only way to really see it is to be somewhere up high in the Washington State Mountains...on a clear day. So if you ever find yourself looking at Glacier Peak - congrats! You are having a nice day high in the Washington State mountains!
Up early enjoying some typical PNW views.
I'll be honest. It took me a while to actually see Glacier Peak. Mostly because it is nearly impossible to be in the Washington Mountains on a clear day. And when I was a "hiker" I didn't really spend a enough time figuring out the names of the peaks around me. It was more like, "pretty view, *click*." They all looked the same.
Pretty mountains, right? Now name them all.
It was scrambling that finally got me to start memorizing names of peaks and mountains. It helps to remember names when you stand on them. And as I got stronger my scrambles became longer. And all that walking gave the group a lot of time to speak of legends and peaks far away. Glacier was a popular topic. Did you climb it? Are you out of your mind? Stuff like that.
When your legs are burning and you're in a terrible calorie deficient the last thing you want to do is ask more questions about climbing more mountains. You don't do anything to distract the group from getting to the beer. So I wasn't sure why Glacier was a big deal. I could have googled it with the little googling device I have on me 24/7. I could have.
But then one day I saw her.
It's a freak'in strata volcano in the middle of freak'in nowhere!
Then she was everywhere!
A strata volcano! In the middle of nowhere!
"That is a good sufferfest" - Dandilion
One of the many reasons Glacier Peak is so cool is because it is so isolated. The most isolated strata volcano in Washington State. With an approach that was once described to me as "a grodd sufferest."
Since I was never able to get a good close-up look at her my well over-active imagination decided to help me out. I started to romanticize the mountain. It became this exclusive location only the best and willing would be able to see. Fewer would summit. There was a moment the Darling Human would have to remind me "The Wildest Dream" is about Everest - Not Glacier Peak.
I was just nearly halfway through the Basic Alpine Climbing course when Operation: Dakobed was in full swing. The first phase of the operation was to find some other people as crazy as I to climb it. Which was bit of a challenge because of the multi-day factor and no one was sure what I was talking about when I called it Dakobed. Then in July there was an opportunity.
It turns out the only thing harder than climbing Glacier Peak is not looking like a total bad-ass while standing in front of it.
Next to Glacier Peak is a lesser-known peak, Kololo. It wasn't Glacier. But I had an opportunity to get a look and introduce myself. Maybe if I good get on good terms with Kololo, Glacier would be kind when I was able to find a good team in the future. Also I needed the conditioning.
Dakobed is the native name for Glacier. Just making sure everyone got that.
Kololo was to be done in 2 days while Glacier would typically take 3 days (4 for the less insane). We would walk the same trail those climbing Glacier would take. The difference is that we would go up the more eastern part of the White Chuck Glacier instead of following the Glacier bootpath north on summit day. I would be closer to Dakobed then I had ever been. I would get a better look at her from the top of Kololo. The issue? The Kololo team was out of their minds. Also, there was a surprise ice storm.
I say that with love...now. The group tried to set some sort of insane land-speed record on the 15 mile trip out. When I was in cell range and called Darling Human before 3pm he was confused as to how it was possible. It was possible because the team was out of their minds. We got Mexican Food. I recovered.
I forgot how brutal the approach was. I found more people out of their minds who wanted to do Glacier in 2 weeks. And it would include tagging Kololo again while we were up there along with scrambling Portal on the way out. These people were nuts and I loved them.
Solid type-2 fun.
Tim would lead the most insane and awesome team to summit the legendary Glacier Peak.
Then Washington and Oregon State along with Canada was on fire. Smoke was making it impossible to safely do anything in the wilderness. It wasn't fun being outside in my own backyard. It would be almost a month before I would be able to get back out into the mountains. I spent the time doing stewardship and daydreaming of Dakobed. I missed her. I promised I would be back. It is a mountain to you but to me it is....still a mountain. But I love that mountain so weird on.
We could see the Oregon fires from Lundin Peak on Snoqualmie Pass.
The fires cleared just enough. We were able to get out again. I climbed Sahale and Lundin peaks while waiting to hear the fate of Operation Dakobed. Then the email came. The group was ready to go. We all agreed on a date. And we picked up a legend - Doug.
That's Doug!
On the morning of September 2017 we all met in person for the first time and started the long brutal 15ish mile walk to camp.
To adventure!
When someone tells you Glacier Peak is a 17 hour day sandwitched between two 12 hour days - believe them.
Day 1: We walked. Really not much to that day. Oh, and the fall colors were gorgeous.
Yeah.
Basecamp.
Doug's humble abode.
Preparing for day 2.
Day 2: Summit day. 3am alarm. Everyone was ready to go by 4am. We scrambled up the loose rock in the dark. We got up onto the saddle facing the mountain. And finally, I got to see Glacier Peak in total.
Holy duck we have been up for hours.
Crap. It is still really far away.
Fueling up on the glacier. On Glacier. Before heading for the Cool glacier. That is cool. And called the Cool Glacier. Describing this route on this mountain can be so confusing....
Climbing over the seracs, the highlight on the climb! If you do one thing on Glacier Peak with crampons and an ice ax and safely tied to someone else who knows what they are doing, go over the seracs.
Crevasses were very open. Everyone had a turn punching into one involuntarily.
That's me marking the trail in vomit. So we can find out way back. I'm a team player.
We made our way onto the Suiattle Glacier and onto the Cool Glacier. Where I promptly threw up.
Then I threw up again.
The day I had been training for months for didn't go the way I had envisioned it. I wasn't exactly happy about leaving my mark via vomit all over the volcano. Although it didn't slow me down much. I was lucky to have the most wonderful team ever. And when the wind got chilly and I told everyone to head for the summit and I was happy enough to make it as far as I did, they patiently stood by and made sure i made it to the top to celebrate with them. Something I will forever remember and appreciate. I even type this with a little tear in my eye.
At the summit with the team. Happy!
Despite my begging and feeling much better once we were below 7,000ft the group decided to skip on Kololo. At that point I hadn't been able to keep even water down since that late morning so making me feel like the weakest link I was we headed back for camp. On the way we made plans to climb Dakobed once again in 2018 during a full moon tagging Kololo on the way up. Because climbers have very bad memories.
Day 3: Fueled by CHEERIOS I was able to make the 15ish mile journey to the trailhead. My body was feeling the difficult calorie-lacking day before and I was cramping a little from getting too dehydrated. Once back to civilization I refueled on pizza and beer and snuggled the darling human and manic dog. Then passed out and slept for 15 straight hours.
Time to GTFO and get some beer.
Future Plans: imagine what I can do when i keep food and water in my stomach all summit day! Who wants to climb Mount Olympus?!