Rainier Climb to Promote Donation

Posted by admin on July 15, 2009 12:26 pm / 0 Comments

I climbed Mt. Rainier in Washington State last weekend with my transplant friends to promote organ donation awareness. It was an awesome hike. I was proud to be a part of the project and team. What a beautiful mountain. The glaciers and crevices were spectacular. We had a great group of people organized by Dr. Andrew Precht, Transplant Surgeon at Swedish Medical in Seattle. The climb was sponsored by Astellas. Two other recipients and a donor family joined the climb along with myself. The goal was to get the word out about life-saving organ donation and promote quality of life post-transplant.

Last Friday we climbed up to Camp Muir which is situated at about 9,500 ft. We left Camp Muir roped up in crampons with ice axes just after midnight. Climbing up Disappointment Cleaver in the dark with headlamps on was cool. There’s a few places on the Cleaver I didn’t want to step out of my crampon. I stepped over some big holes and walked by some scary looking features below the Ingraham Icefall illuminated by moonlight. The sunrise heading up was awesome. There were a few too many people on the route for my liking, but we made good time to the top. We reached the top at about Five O’Clock in the morning. We got some great photos and signed the register, then headed back down. I was surprised how chilly it was on top with the wind. I left Paradise in shorts and a t-shirt, at the summit I had all my layers on including down jacket and mittens. I used all of the clothes in my pack and ate and drank everything I brought, and some of my friends snacks too. Nine Thousand vertical feet downhill from the summit was a long haul. I prefer to ride down on my board, but it was too late in the summer and the snow was too transitional. I did glissade down on a trash bag with my huge pack on my back from Camp Muir. It was comedy! It was a super fun adventure. I was stoked to climb with my new friends. If you get a chance to climb Rainier go for it – it rules. Enjoy the photos below.

I’m home in Aspen the next month training hard. I’m back on-snow in late August, so I’ll be working hard to be ready! I hope you’re enjoying a fun summer! Talk to you soon,