That evening we left the store after purchasing numerous power bars, a special electrolyte powder that when added to water Dave promised would get me to the top, and hearing the news that eight bears were casing the area so we needed to stow everything in bear boxes. He had trained vigorously to be with her for the ascent. Her husband, not usually a hiker, held her hand tightly. Whitney took on an entirely different meaning after she survived cancer and one year of chemo, just two years earlier. Most memorable, though, was a determined looking 40-year-old woman whose longtime goal of climbing Mt. His eyes took on a similar glaze as Dave's when he spoke about the mountain. Whitney, just had to reach the summit again - for the eighth time.
Among them - a balding but muscular 81-year-old man who, driving past Mt. Most interesting was meeting the other hikers gathered, all on different quests. His jocular tone turned very serious, however, when he spoke about "his mountain." His voice became inflected with such reverence and awe, I felt certain I would achieve my true purpose. His many stories of lightening strikes, bear encounters and sudden storms jaunted merrily along, and his face crinkled with glee as our eyes widened and our jaws dropped. Whitney, Dave's main passion, aside from the mountain, is scaring city folks. A fascinating crossroads of hardcore backpackers, new agey spiritual types and goal driven, city "summit baggers," Whitney Portal Store is a combination of general store, meeting place and pulpit for Dave, the 72-year-old proprietor.Ī quintessential mountain man who happens to hold the record for the number of ascents on Mt. To partially acclimatize, we spent the day before our little stroll at the Whitney Portal Store - 8,000 feet, where the trail begins. Whitney," we headed north 200 miles to the trailhead to attempt the most daunting physical escapade either of us had ever ventured - 22.7 miles, 13,000 feet altitude gain and loss, and because neither of us has the innate sensibility to demure - IN ONE DAY! I enlisted the only person I know who did not think I was completely nuts - my brother Jim - himself an Alpine gene recipient.Īfter six months of training (albeit, none at altitude), and reading "How to Climb Mt. Secretly, I hoped for more than just a great view - I hoped to find God.
Whitney, the highest mountain in the contiguous U.S., I decided to challenge myself to see if I could reach the summit. In essence, they find God on the world's highest peaks.īecause of my genetic predisposition, and I happen to live three hours from Mt. Many hikers are transformed by the experience and describe it in spiritual terms - of reaching into the heavens. The crystalline stillness of the summit somehow imparts an absolute clarity of purpose. While I find the climbers' combination of athletic prowess, physical endurance and pain tolerance astounding, what really intrigues me is that they reach a point, usually toward the top, of almost zen-like oneness with the mountain.
It must be my Austrian heritage, but I have always been fascinated by stories of mountaineering expeditions.
0 kommentar(er)
