Rainier Summit Climb

My First Climb

So I chose Rainier as my first climb. I was pretty successful for one of the toughest in the lower 48. Needless to say I am instantly consumed by the sport. It is absolutely what the human mind is capable of. I say the human mind because for me that is what it came down to. In my first climb I learned and important mountaineering lesson: mountaineering basically means learning how to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. This at age 22, I can tell is now my life. The beauty, the point of pushing the body to realize life's core values. In love...my first love.

Who and What?

I climbed with RMI. I was so fortunate the I got to climb with the one and only Dave Hahn. For those of you that don't know who Dave is here is a little rundown. This year (2008) Dave was nominated for and ESPY for outdoor athlete of the year. He lost to a blind guy whom summitted Rainier and the blindness was due to serving in the military. Dave has summitted Everest 10 times. That is more than anyone who isn't a Sherpa. He also holds the world record for summits of Vinson Massif, the tallest peak in Antarctica. He has summitted Denali 18 times and my trip with him to the top of Rainier was his 251. The experience was awesome and you couldn't have talked to him long enough. It alone made the whole trip worth it.

Images

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