Mt. Adams - test of grit
During the summer of 2018, I was getting ready to hike the iconic John Muir trail in Yosemite National Park. Months of research, maps studying, reading, weeks of YouTube videos, and gear selection. Food preparation took me weeks with countless hours of dehydration, calculation of calories to weight and volume ratio, and amount of fiber and nutrients to fuel the hike. However, California had different plans for the summer. The deadliest and the most horrific wildfire in its history happened and that changed my plans after so much work was put into this hike. You can follow this link to see info about that wildfire https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2018
I did not get discouraged, though. I had 30 days of vacation time approved at my full-time job, and I was not going to let it go to waste. I thought “Why don’t I climb something?” and went on Google looking for places to climb. After a few minutes, my mind was made and I called my friend Vitalii “letting him know” that WE are climbing Mt. Adams in Washington State. It was an easy, from a technical point of view, climb but physically challenging. We had some experience using crampons and ice axe from climbing Mt. Washington in NH a few times so nothing was stopping us. Not stopping but making us rethink if we should do it because our level of physical fitness was low. Probably, not the best idea to go on the climb and suffer from lack of oxygen and lack of physical fitness but we love mountains and this kind of suffering is what we like too. Mountains and suffering in the mountains. Perfect combination. By the way, it was supposed to be my first time on the plane since I flew to the US from Ukraine 12 years prior. It was my second flight total. I was excited. After gear packing and a short conversation with Vitalii about the climb, we went for it. My ability to make spontaneous, last-minute plans to do big things, and my ability to pull them off successfully, always amazed him, as he always tells me. Seeing my level of enthusiasm bout this climb was enough for him to fall for it.
My first time in OR. I like it. The air smells like BBQ. Of course, what do you expect when neighbors are having the biggest wildfire in its history?
We got a cheap hotel and spent a night there. I woke up 3 hours earlier than I was supposed to and went to shower, brush my teeth, and start packing but Vitalii stopped me asking why am I up so early. It turned out that my phone did not automatically change time and still had New York time. Gladly I dove back into my bed and fell right back to sleep.
In the morning we went to rent a car to get to the trailhead. We got a pickup truck because the car rental place, for some reason, did not have the car type we reserved. This car was supposed to be our home after the climb because we did not look forward to paying for another hotel. However, sleeping in the pickup truck is possible only in the front seats and when you have massive backpacks in the back seat your sleeping becomes sleeping sitting straight up with no room to recline even a bit.
After stopping at the visitor’s center and getting our passes we arrived at the trailhead later than the ideal time, got our packs on, and went for it. In English, the word “Climbing” is used interchangeably for rock climbing and mountaineering or alpinism. In this instance, we are doing exactly mountaineering. This is when you walk (for the most part) up the snowy and icy hill wearing your mountaineering boots and crampons. You have an ice axe in case you fall for self-arrest purposes. A helmet is a must too because rocks and ice, as well as items of other climbers above you, can fall on your head. There are also ropes, harness, carabiners, and a whole bunch of other technical gear involved but not on this climb. This climb is non-technical, thus only requires mountaineering boots, crampons, an ice axe, and a helmet. It was two days climb, so we had to bring camping gear as well. Our loads were huge! Huge!
Making our first steps and I already knew that it will be a really tough climb. Questioning myself and rethinking my whole life but wanting to climb so badly. I told Vitalii “This is our first big mountain. If we can do this one despite being out of shape, we have business climbing”. Steaks were high - climb it or come back embarrassed. We met two park rangers who were walking down the mountain. We stopped and they checked our passes as well as expressed our concerns about the amount of gear we brought with us. We assured them that we knew what we were doing and left with them thanking us for getting climbing passes.
Mt. Adams is a volcano and volcanoes tend to have this fine ash that gets everywhere and it is annoying. Our first day was walking up the hill on this volcanic ash with no snow in sight. It is, of course, more pleasurable to walk on the frozen, crunchy snow. Progress was slow due to a lack of physical fitness (I know I have said it a few times already but this story is about how we did it despite being out of shape, so…). By the end of day one we made it somewhere where we could set up a tent. It was not as high as we could reach if we were fit and had an earlier start. But still, we got what we got and it was time to go to sleep because we had to wake up at midnight and leave by 1 am to make it to the summit and back in time. The earlier the start the better.
Setting up a tent was a problem due to high winds. And sleeping was not possible because, again, of the wind that was ruthlessly beating on our tent. I was just lying there with my eyes closed listening to the wind trying to destroy my tent and wondering if it was at all possible for the wind to pick up a tent with two climbers inside and carry us away. I was able to sleep maybe 2 hours. Maybe. And that was not quality or restorative sleep by any means. Once we sat up the tent I realise that I left my warm mittens in the car. Climbing without them can be dangerous in case of bad weather or cold temperatures. This small mistake could ruin our trip. I got panicky. Going back down was not an option. I would just be too tired to come back up again. Even though we did not buy return tickets home, I knew that If I go back down, this climb will be over. I saw this lady who was coming back down to her tent from a summit push (kinda too late in the day to be coming back) and I asked her if I could use her gloves and I would send her money for them or just mail them back to her but she refused. Understandably. I decided to climb anyway with my liners and fleece gloves.
We woke up like planned, packed our gear (just a small “assault pack” with absolute essentials for the summit push), and stepped on the frozen snow. Quickly, we realized that climbing such a big mountain in the darkness, with only headlamps reaching so far, is not the same as following a trail in the snow on Mt. Washington. Anywhere you look, you can see as far as your headlamp reaching - not far at all. Here comes a real climb with its navigational challenges. It was time to pull out a compass and a map, GPS, and whatever other tools we had. Once you find your north, it is easy to find your way. Also, there were people who woke up and went on summit assault even earlier than us and we could see their headlamps moving far ahead and above us showing us the way, like a lighthouse. Luckily, this was an easy climb and all we had to do is to climb in a straight line up to the summit.
Climbing in the darkness is the safest time of the day because everything is frozen, thus you have a very small chance to fall into a crevasse, cause an avalanche, or being wiped away but a rockfall (snow acts like glue for rocks. When it is frozen, it holds them securely in place). Also, it is dangerous because it is, simply, dark. Higher chance to get lost, losing your gear, misstepping, etc. It is also very cold. And depressing. Usually, climbers can't sleep well due to high winds and low oxygen levels at high elevations. So, now you need to perform at your best with no sleep and on low oxygen.
Off we went. As we are walking, we are looking down at our feet trying to shine our headlamps directly to where we will be stepping. Occasionally, climbers have to look up to get the broader picture for navigation purposes. And as we walked and walked, every time I look up trying to see if we made any progress, those far-ahead climbers with their headlaps seem even further away from us. I could not help but question myself whether we are in such horrible shape or whether those climbers are just superior athletes who moved out at like 8 pm last night to make such big progress. In any case, the only thing we could do is put one foot in front of the other. And this is all you can see, walking at night - your boots being shinned out by headlamp.
Once the sun rises it gets warmer and team morale goes up a lot. Now we can see where we are and where we are going. However, now there is a rising risk of avalanches and rock falls. It gets hot. Really hot. Up to the point where you can be topless at 18,000 feet elevation. Sunburn is real and this is what happened to my face. Sunburn will also happen to your eyed if you don't wear special climbing sunglasses which have higher protection than your regular sunglasses. If you talk a lot, the roof of your mouth will get burned due to the sun reflecting off the surface of the snow and flying straight into your mouth. Oh, and into your nostrils. No wonder I got a second-degree sunburn on my face. I was exhausted from carrying 60 lbs of gear up to camp 1 and sleepless night. I was watching my friend using his lip balm, which contained some 15 fpv, on his face but it still did not cross my mind to do the same. This is what lack of sleep, exhaustion, and hypoxia do to your cognitive ability.
With the sun up, we could enjoy beautiful views on the way up. We carried two Nikon DSLR cameras with us so we were taking pictures. As the day went on, the snow was becoming softer and softer which made it harder to climb. Another reason to hurry up. We would occasionally stop for a short break to drink hot tea and eat a snack. Some people were catching up to us and passing up, other people were passed by us. As we were getting closer to the summit, those early, super athlete climbers, whose headlamps we saw in the dark, were coming down after successfully summiting. Some of them did not look like climbers at all. I saw dudes wearing regular casual winter jackets and regular shoes. One guy had something resembling sneakers and the other guy had a wooden stick instead of an ice axe or at least hiking poles. Speaking about our safe ways to climb by using proper gear. Oh, and the guy with sneakers on had micro spikes on. Not crampons but micro spikes. Anyway,” Good for them”, I thought, and on we went.
Feeling tired and weak, like never before in my life, we saw, what seemed to be, a summit. Feeling happy that this self-imposed torture will be over soon we reached it and very quickly we were almost crying because it was a false summit and the real summit was hours away. I was regretting bringing my DSLR with me, at this point. “No way we are gonna make it”, I thought.
We sat down and discussed what should we do. But after some rest, hot tea, and a chocolate bar life gets easier and we felt like we can do it, again. But we decided to leave our pack with heavy cameras behind. This is what other climbers were doing so we figured it was safe enough. Climbing community have good people, for the most part. This time, we hoped, it was our final push for the real summit. Walking without a backpack was definitely easier. On the way up we met two girls our age who were happy and friendly, smiling, and clearly had some life left in them. They said things like “You almost made it”, “It is worth it”, and “Just keep pushing”. We had a short conversation with them and one of them said that she climbed Mt. Rainier twice before. Mt. Rainier was on my lift and I wanted to climb it so bad. It is a beast of a mountain. After we said goodbyes and parted ways.
That last push was not easy because we were walking on loose volcano debris like rocks of different sizes and a bunch of ash. You take a step up and your foot slides down half. Very exhausting and frustrating experience. My friend was so tired that he did not look alive anymore. He stopped talking and even stopped responding to me. I was constantly talking and making stupid jokes. But he was just silent. Later he told me that I always talk a lot when I am tired. I also talk a lot as soon as we wake up early and get ready to climb, while everyone else is sleepy and wants some peace and quiet.
Finally - summit. I was overwhelmed with emotions. It was windy so I could cry if I wanted to and no one would hear me. For some reason, a thought crossed my mind that at this elevation I am the closest to my father, who passed away a few years ago, than I have ever been. We were never really close but I guess hypoxia does its job.
There is a collapsed small wooden house on the summit and a big mound of snow next to it. I went ahead and climbed that to be even higher but Vitalii kindly declined my generous offer to join me. It was enough climbing for him, I guess. The views were amazing. You could see all the other mountains of OR and WA states. Also, I got a good look at Mt. Rainier and let it know that I was coming for it too.
We took some selfies and videos on our phones on the summit, rested for a bit, and went back down. As soon as we walked back to the spot where we left our backpack we got lost. We came to the ledge which we thought was a summit and went the wrong way. After we descended like 250 feet we realized that we are not where we were supposed to be. We looked up over our shoulders and simultaneously said “Hell no, we are not going back up”. We had to traverse instead. Snowfields on Mt. Adams have these huge rock fields and sometimes climbers have to cross them. It was that time - we had to traverse out of this “lost” situation by walking through rocks filed which is not safe at all. Rock is loose and they roll downhill and can kill you. We had to move fast. Jumping from rock to rock or sliding down with a loose mass of smaller rocks and volcanic ash. It sucked. We already had to go over a few of these rock fields and this extra one could have been avoided if we paid attention. We made out ok, just gained more unnecessary stress. Walking down is always more dangerous. Plus, it was late in the day and the snow was as soft as it can be, and each and every step we took sent up knee-deep into the soft snowy smoothie. It took a lot of energy to keep the balance at every step. Dues to warm weather I was fine without my mitts. About halfway down, we met a few people who were asking if it was far from the summit. It was around 4 pm and way too late to attempt summiting, especially being so far from the top. Most of the people listened to our stern suggestion not to try it because it is too late. But there were those who wanted to learn the hard way. One guy said “ Ok, I guess I will go down with you, guys”, with disappointment in his eyes. As we walked down, we spoke and he told us how he guides groups of people on climbs like the one we just did. To this day I can't comprehend how “a guide” can make a decision to keep going for a summit at such a late hour. This is dangerous and irresponsible. Ok, going climbing being out of shape, like we were, is also dangerous and irresponsible but not as much as going to a summit so late.
Once we reached our camp, we packed all our gear and sat down for our first hot, real meal since yesterday. We had very little water left and had to conserve it. Melting snow was not an option due to how tired we were. I could not believe I could still move. A few minutes and MSR Winburner Brough 500 mL of water to a boiling state and I dumped my last bag of homemade dehydrated food in there. After devouring it, I would say I snored that food in, I had to clean my pot but I had no water to spare for cleaning purposes. So I cleaned it with what I had left and just drank that dirty (not so dirty water) not to let it go to waste. Vitalii looked at me with his face twisted in disgust and said “Eeeew dude, I would better die than drink water like that”. I don't know what he was talking about because I was in survival mode and was not squeamish at all. He makes fun of me for drinking that “dishwasher water” to this day.
After the meal was over we put all of our gear on our backs again and went down. Slowly but surely we were approaching the parking lot. We saw lots of climbers going up and just regular people and families who were setting up tens somewhere along the trail to enjoy nature. We were walking down as fast as we safely could. I felt like I was running downhill. Finally, we saw the parking lot from afar and decided to take a bushwacking shortcut approach instead of following a snaky train with its endless turns. Reaching our car was such a relief. We dumped our heavy backpacks on the back seat and jumped in hurrying to make it back to the paved road before dark. I remember driving to the trailhead on this beat-up, bumpy dirt road but have no recollection of doing the same on the way back. It was getting dark fast. We made it out ok and now were driving on a normal asphalt road looking to get some food. I was so tired that I was seeing things that were not there. It is due to me being tired and on no sleep. I guess, you can call it hallucinations. But I call it a game of light and shadow. I was seeing a bunch of people standing by the road, a deer, mane deer by the road, etc. Vitlii was telling me that it was nothing there and had a serious concerned look on his face thinking if I will get us there in one piece.
We found macdonalds and got some food from it. Its parking lot was a perfect spot for our “camper car” in which we spent a night sleeping in an upright position. In the morning, Macdonals’s bathroom become our washroom where we got our quick morning routine done. From there we went to the airport. But first, we had to stop by a pharmacy to address the second-degree sunburn on my face. I spoke to a pharmacist who had horror in her eyes seeing blisters on my face and clear yellowish fluid dripping down the tip of my nose. She gave me some cream that was supposed to help and I got some cotton disk because I had to constantly blot my nose so it would not drip. I felt how a drop of fluid would build up and get heavier and knew exactly when to blot it. It is what it is.
Another thing that bothered me was that we had not showered in a long time and we exerted a lot on this climb and had to sit on the plane next to strangers smelling not too good. But there was nothing I we could do. I got lucky and the guy who sat next to me assured me that I don’t smell at all we spoke about things for the entire 6 hours flight which made it seem fast and helped me to take my mind off my hurting face, blistered feet, and sore body.
Coming back to regular life in NYC is not fun, especially after vacation, especially after a vacation in the mountains. My burnt face did not help to readjust to regular life. I had sunglasses “imprints” and my face was all red and cracking up. It was my nephew’s graduation from paramedic school and I was invited. I went and was getting these looks from people. But I was proud of my tan because I earned it the hard way. Besides, I felt better after someone told me that it looks like to fell asleep on the beach with your sunglasses on.