Wednesday July 14h we packed up the car with all of our gear and headed out for Ashford, WA where we would be staying for the next two days in preparation for our climb. We arrived at Jasmers, which is run by my Uncle John and Aunt Tana. My Aunt and Uncle generously donated one of their vacation rentals to us to stay in while we were prepping for the climb. I cannot tell you what a blessing that was! The East Echo Chalet was not only less than one mile away from the RMI basecamp but had a full kitchen and a hot tub where we were able to rest our bodies in before our climb. I think all climbers need to seriously consider staying in one of these cabins. It truly was the PREFECT space to simultaneously rest and prep for a summit attempt.
After settling in, we went over to RMI for orientation. Here we met our guides Win Wittaker and Mike Haugen. Win has summited Rainier 144 times on various routes in addition to leading trips to Mt. McKinley (20,320') and Aconcagaua (22,841') Mike has an Everest summit under his belt and also has led trips to McKinley and Mt. Vinson in Antarctica. We were going to be in good hands.
Thursday July 15th- the group met at RMI headquarters at 8:15am. From here, we boarded the shuttle and went up to Paradise for a day of 'snow school'. Mike and Win guided the team roughly an hour up the mountain where we spent the next few hours practicing mountain safety and climbing techniques. Here the guides make sure the climbers are aware of RMI expectations to traverse the glaciers and to make the summit. It's also a time where the guides evaluate each climber's ability, physical strength, and confidence. My favorite part of the day was practicing 'self-arrests'. If I, or someone else on my rope team was to fall, the goal is to yell 'falling!' and then have everyone one else on the rope team drop to a knee and dig their ice axe into the snow as fast and as hard as possible so to hopefully stop the fall. It gets you into a position where you and the rest of the team could save one another. After practicing these and other techniques we hiked back to Paradise where we boarded the bus at 3pm.
After school, Mandy and I went back to the cabin and began to pack our food for the next two days on the mountain. For our summit attempt we essentially will be hiking for 15+ hours. At orientation we were told that we'd be given a break about every hour- where it was our responsibility to drink a half litter of water and consume between 200-500 calories each time. Basically we were told to plan for 12 breaks and two main meals equalling well over 5,000 calories. Here is our menu that we wrote out to make sure we were packing enough:
Friday July 16th we woke up at 6:30am. It was hard to sleep that night knowing that everything we had worked for, fundraising and training alike, was all because of this day. We had to bring so much gear, so we spent most of the early morning packing and checking off the long list of needed items.
Ed has repeatedly proven himself as America's leading high-altitude mountaineer, having ascended many of the world's most challenging peaks, many of those without the aid of supplemental oxygen. He has made the summit of Mt. Everest seven times, most recently on May 19, 2009, with the RMI/First Ascent Team. Ed also became the first American and one of only five people to climb the highest peaks on all six continents, yet again without supplemental oxygen.
His latest quest is to climb all fourteen of the world's highest mountains with elevations over 8,000 meters without the use of supplemental oxygen. On May 12, 2005, he successfully completed his quest when he stood on the top of Annapurna. Only nine others have done so, seven of them forgoing oxygen. Ed is the first American to top all fourteen.
The stars were AMAZING! We began climbing in the dark with nothing but our headlamps guiding our feet along the glacier. An hour into the climb we had our first break at Ingram flats. I certainly felt the altitude- feeling nausea and not wanting to eat. Nevertheless, after getting my parka on, I did my best to consume the needed calories and water. The guides came over to each one of us looking us directly in the eye and asking how we were feeling. Mandy and I got the thumbs up to continue on but Brett told the guide that this would be his personal summit. An old injury was acting up, and he knew that there would be no way he continue on. I felt awful for him, but as the same time very proud of him for knowing his limit. Brett and three others went back to Muir with one of the guides. Meanwhile, we packed our bags back up and continued on. 
The next section was Disappointment Cleaver, one of, if not the hardest stretches of the climb. The exposed rock made climbing with crampons extremely difficult. It seemed impossible to climb without the use of pressure breathing and rest steps. Occasionally, I'd look down and realize the depth of the crevasses we were crossing and the steepness of the cliffs. My heart would began to speed up in fear, but I tried my best to counter-balance it withpressure breaths. After another hour and half of fear, exhaustion, and extreme effort- we made it to the next break. "Ok, guys... we're at the top of Disappointment Cleaver," Win announced. Mandy and I looked at each other, our eyes got big as did our smiles. "90%!" we shouted. A few days before we left for the climb, one of our training guides emailed us some tips and number eleven on the list said this, 
Once back to the team, we got our gear together and headed back down the mountain. I fully expected the descent to be the hardest part- it certainly was. As the sun continued to rise we could really feel the heat radiating off of the glacier. The footing between with rock, glacier, ice and snow was less than inviting. At the first break down the mountain, Win reminded us that as the day warmed we had to increase our pace to get over opening crevasses and bypass rock and ice fall.
Three hours into our descent we braked for the last time. Win took a moment to talk to the group. He reminded us that while we had all made the summit- not everyone back at the camp had. We had to remember that those who had not made it- had instead made their personal summit and that in itself is a huge accomplishment. We needed to be prepared for their reactions to their disappointment and our excitement and pride. It was a good reality check remembering that not everyone was able to see and do what we had done that day. As we made it back into Camp Muir- exhausted, excited, humbled, and happy we were met by the other member of the team. They graciously welcomed us back full of congratulations. We spent the next hour packing up Camp Muir and getting adequate food and water into our bodies. From there we made our way back to Paradise. At pebble creek we were surprised to have welcoming committee headed by none other than Bronka and other members of the CFCA. Brokna had Rainier beers cooling in the creek, Oreo cookies, and watermelon. I don't think beer and Oreos have ever tasted so good:) It was awesome to have such a welcome!
After five months of training hikes, July 4
We told her how much of an inspiration she was to us and that we looked to her when we felt fatigued or 
After lunch had been had, the group began the decent. As we left Muir and looked up at the mountain we could see about fifteen dark spots speckling the glacier... another team making their way from the summit. In 28 days, this was going to be us. 
