Back to Pebble Creek

Sunday was our last mini-mountain climb before three Muir climbs and then our summit attempt. Mandy went solo, as our friend Brett was climbing Hood and I am nursing a hamstring injury. I believe I strained my muscle a couple of months ago and unfortunately it has gotten increasingly more painful as I continued to train. I am now under the care of wonderful doctor who is helping me with physical and cold laser therapy. I have taken the last 5 days off from all training and exercise which is driving me mad, but I am beginning to feel the benefits to the rest and treatments. I plan to resume training this week and hopefully be fully healed in the next two weeks.

Mandy headed out by 5am to first pick up a few rentals at Whittakers in Ashford and then onward up to Paradise. It was freezing at 3,000 feet and the snow was falling hard as Ashford neared. She followed fellow climber Ron and told him that if she flashed her lights, she'd need him to pull over so she could ditch her car and ride in a more snow-suitable vehicle. A few slips and slides but she made it safely and departed with the group by 9am. Compared to just a few weeks ago, the weather had completely done a 180. CFCA team member Kevin posted the following before and after photo showing the drastic difference between last Pebble Creek climb and this Sunday's.

Mandy said she couldn't see more than five feet in front of her, let alone the mountain's peek.

Because of the temperature difference and heavy snowfall, the climbers got to train for the first time with warmer gear, more layers and considerably less visibility. As far as July's concerned, we really could experience both types of conditions (snow or sun) Ultimately it was a good thing for everyone to train conversely to our last climb- adding to our comfort and education as novice climbers.

We have hit almost $7,600! It is a really exciting time for us as we have have 51 days until our summit attempt and get even closer to reaching our goal of $10,000 for the ALA.

Don't forget:

*Every donation through June 10th will be entered to win 2 tickets to the Mariner's June 21st.

*The largest donation will win a wine-paired dinner for two to the Bellevue Purple Cafe.

Special thanks to my Aunt Barbara, Kay Spikes, Jill Thompson, and Aaron DeFeyter who supported us this past month!

k&m

1st training on Rainier

Getting up at 4am was certainly not easy, but the excitement behind Sunday's conditioning climb on Rainier made it easier. We got our packs packed, gear together, lunch packed, and were ready to go by the time Brett picked us up at 5 that morning. The roads were almost vacant making the drive fast and care-free- the gorgeous sunrise didn't hurt either.
By 7am we were in Ashford. Along with about 10 others from our team, we gathered at Whittaker's mountaineering rentals. We got our plastic boots, gaiters, glacier glasses and then walked next door to my aunt and uncle's, Jasmers, to borrow two pairs of snowshoes. It took us another 45 minutes but before we knew it we were at Paradise and at the foot of this amazing mountain. It felt like my first day of school with a mix of anxiety and excitement pumping through my veins.

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. The sun was bright and Rainier seemed to glow in the turquoise sky. While we geared up more of our team arrived and by 9 am we stood with the entire group talking the day's schedule and strategy. It was many of the team's first time wearing the plastic mountaineering boots and climbing in the snow with 30lbs on our backs.
Our first stop on the climb was right before the avalanche shoot where our guides taught us about pressure breathing and the rest stop step, both mountaineering techniques that help regulate breathing at altitude and enable your muscles to climb for both endurance and grade. By the time we reached our summit for the day, many of us climbers were surprised with the ease of that day's hike.

As we sat on the backs of our packs, ate our lunch and adjusted our boots, our guide announced that our team was looking in great shape. He explained to us that collectively, our team, was one of the stronger teams he had guided before and that while we should not get cocky we should be seriously proud of the training we have put in thus far as it clearly indicated to him that this was a team to be reckoned with. The day was simply amazing and it is clear that I am falling madly in love with this mountain :)

Thanks to a generous donation by Mr. and Mrs. Mattson, we have raised the minimum needed to secure our summit date. July 16th it is. It was such exciting news to hear that we have reached $7,000 in donations. How cool is that?! While we are pumped to have met the minimum, we still have every intention of getting to the goal we set for our team at the beginning of all of this... $10,000.

Every donation through June 10th, will be entered into a raffle to win to Mariner's tickets for the June 20th game at Safeco Field. Win those tickets!

k&m

All Star Suite

Monday morning, Mandy received a call from Carna our event coordinator, "Congratulations, you won this month's incentive from the ALA..." Because our team raised the most throughout the month of April we a were awarded four tickets to the All Star Suite at the Mariner's game. Mandy, myself, my brother Dustin, and his wife Bekah met downtown Wednesday evening and made our way the ramp to the suite level of the stadium. We were met by the suite host we guided us down the hallway to our room. There we were haded off to Linda, who welcomed us to the game and began her tutorial on what our suite offered. It went a little like this, "The refrigerators are stocked and everything in there is your to take... the buffet on the left has a fantastic blacken cod special this evening... the dessert bar on the right has cheesecake, cookies, ice cream, ever topping you could ever want... in the middle there is some of the ballpark favorites: hot dogs (with every garnish imaginable), popcorn, peanuts... we are here for you... what can I start for you?" We were well taken care of and enjoyed watching the game in that capacity. It truly was a wonderful prize!

Tiger Traverse

Two Sunday's ago, while I was running in Spokane's annual Bloomsday Race, Mandy joined the CFCA group for a endurance conditioning hike. The Tiger Traverse off of I-90, is a 16 mile trek similar to the Rattlesnake Traverse that we did half of a couple of weeks ago. About 30 poeple came out to enjoy the rainy Northwest weather... oh and the trail too. Mid-way through the hike, the group stopped for a picnic. Actually, it was more even some wine! The tree cover was ample enough to sheild the group from most of the rain and the high spirits endured all 16 miles. It was a great hike.