Day 3

The following morning I said good bye to Whitakker’s Bunkhouse and checked out. We met at 7:30 a.m. at RMI and were off. On Day 3, the goal was to start the trek in at White River Campground (4,400 ft) and trek past Glacier Basin Camp (6,000 ft) to camp at the base of the Inner Glacier about (7,600 ft). The ride over to our starting point was about two hours.

Time that day was a blur, I know we started late morning and the trek to our first camp took about 5 hours. The trek to Glacier Basin was over varied terrain of snow, dirt, and fallen trees and small streams. Due to the massive floods in 2006, a lot of the trail had been wiped out. Bits of yellow “caution” tape had been placed throughout the trail to help keep climbers on the right direction. The views into Glacier Basin were spectacular. One minute we were in the forest with a light mist and the next we were walking through an area hit by an avalanche with fallen trees all around. It was breathtaking and I just felt so lucky to be there.

The first couple of miles through the forest were challenging because we had to acclimate to the varying terrain and get used to being hot (even though the weather was in the mild 50s). For me, at a little five-foot-three, maneuvering over fallen trees with the pack was challenging. We took a break just past Glacier Basin Camp and the stunning views of surrounding peaks came into view. It was breathtaking and I just couldn’t believe I was actually there. It was a pinch-me moment. We passed another climbing team at Glacier Basin Camp and some other skiers on their way down from the mountain. Everyone was sharing weather and terrain conditions, which was helpful in planning our final route.

From our break we headed into a snowfield that would lead us up to the Inner Glacier. The guides worked with us on our rest-stepping techniques and pressure breaking. After climbing for about an hour through the snowfield, we stopped once again and roped up in teams of three and put our crampons and helmets on. The final two hours or so of climbing up to our camp were strenuous and steep. The key was really in your rest-stepping and pressure breathing. It was also helpful to be able to step in the previous climbers steps. I was quite slow in this last stretch, as I was really hot, my backpack kept pushing my head and helmet forward, and my neck was really starting to hurt as a result.

I had been in a car accident in January 2008 and had suffered some back and neck injuries. Although I was fully recuperated, this two-hour stretch of improper posture and pressure on my neck was aggravating. It is all about teamwork and John, the guide on my rope team, was extremely encouraging and offered helpful tips on my helmet adjustment and backpack adjustment to alleviate the situation.

In our last rest stop of the day, our lead guide, Shaun, pointed out our final destination for our camp and we were off on the last stretch. I was wiped out by the time we made it, but so proud of this first accomplishment. Our day’s work wasn’t done though - we still had to set up camp by digging out our team’s tent platform into the snowy slope. Next, was waiting for “hots,” or boiling water for our instant meals and getting ready for bed.

Day 4

I was rudely awakened by my Blackberry alarm, which I forgot I had brought along. I felt badly as it woke up my tent mate, but luckily no one else. I fell back asleep for a couple more hours and, after a breakfast of tea and a Luna bar, it was time for some avalanche transceiver instruction. The snow was heavy and not well-packed in our track to Camp Schurman, making it a bit more strenuous.

There was a bit of falling for me on this climb. With some steps, our boots and crampons would just plunge through the snow, leaving most buried shin-deep, or knee-deep in my case. Roped up in teams of 3, we reached Camp Schurman in a few hours of climbing. The final approach involved a short descent down some loose rock and dirt, then down and up a narrow snowy and icy trail on the side of a slope leading to an area with a large crevasse, which we carefully avoided. There was only one other team when we arrived, and one other team had left and obviously not practiced the Leave No Trace recommendations. That night, I was in bed at 6:30 p.m…we had a take-off time of 1:30 a.m. for our summit bid.