Main Page > 2002 Mt
Rainier 1, Mike and Bone 0 !!! >
Yep!!
This is fun!!
Hope springs eternal!! Or so they say, so as our optimistic heroes jetted
across the fruited plains, from the Mecca of the Midwest Chicago, then on to the
nadir of the Northwest Seattle, the boys crowed over all the training that they
did, and in Bone's case didn’t have to do.
Damn!!
That is one BIG Mountain !!!
Over the 4 hour flight the boys dickered about important topics, such as
how Bells Porter is just as good as a Guinness Stout, despite being different,
when a wondrous, and humbling sight stuck like Bone's nose out of the cloud
cover,,,, Mount Rainier!!! It was at that moment that Mike and Bone looked
at each other, jaws agape and said in unison, “Damn that’s big!!” Upon arriving
into the SEATAC Airport, the boys high-tailed it to the Mt. Rainer area.
Getting
Geared Up
The 1 1/2 hour drive to the mountain was largely uneventful except for
the fog and Bone’s three conference calls. Upon arriving at RMI, the boys
quickly registered for the climb, and then went to be fitted for their gear. The
gear included 3 types of clothing, which included:
·
Light pants and jacket
·
Medium pants and jacket
·
And heavy pants and jacket
Along with the ski poles, ice axe, sun visors, water, and food, the total
pack weighs 50 pounds, which is why most climbers pant!
The RMI staff also helped the boys by a recommending a wide array of
heavily carbohydrated, freeze-dried snack foods that would give Dr. Adkins an
sugar attack.
Final
Training Preparations: Operation BEER !
Needing a place to stay for the evening, the boys scammed a room from an
overbooked lodge a half a mile east of RMI Headquarters. With that in hand the
boys looked for “lite” diversion for the rest of the evening.
Now the night before heavy physical exertion, many athletes will “carb”
up. Mike and Bone decided to increase their caloric intake through the ingestion
of the delicious golden nectar of the grain. Buying a 12 pack of local
micro-brewed beers the boys headed into the Pinnacles (a series of hills next to
Mt. Rainer) to perform a little hiking before the big day.
Wandering in the Rain Forest our rocket scientists were simply amazed at
the constant drizzle, mist, and lush, green environment. Many of the evergreen
trees were 300–400 hundred feet in the air.
Despite the fragrant, fresh air, there was an ill wind blowing when Bone
was huffing up a storm in a very minor hike at 4,000 feet.
Please!
Don’t smoke on my food !
Talk about bad restaurants,,,, well OK! Close to the hotel the boys found
a “Country” Restaurant/Bar where the blue haze of cigarette smoke, hung over the
salad bar with gross, greasy smears on the Sneeze Guards. In this “pristine”
atmosphere the boys enjoyed the local “special” fish, which looked like a cross
between tuna helper and ground chum.
With this healthful diet, the boys went back to the hotel to rest for the next
day where the boys ran into Michael Hughes, a software salesman that worked with
Bone at General Motors, who was climbing the next day. The stage was set for the
boys “Training Day”.