It feels like it was just  yesterday that I was on Rainier, but it’s been three months since my 6.5 day Denali Prep Seminar here. I signed up for this summer climb as soon as I returned from the previous one, hoping to have a better shot at summitting in the summer. For those of you who can’t wait, no we weren’t able to summit due to hazardous conditions, but despite that this was one of the most amazing & definitely the most technical climb I’ve been on.

The purpose of this 0th day is to get our gear certified & rented if we need to, as well as to introduce the team members & guides. The plan is to head out to the mountain tomorrow morning by 8 AM.

Our lead guide Craig(CJ) had us introduce ourselves to the group shortly after meeting up. It turns out that about 80% of the team are either software engineers or in the tech industry! I don’t know what it is about climbing that seems to attract us tech people, but this was the case with my last Rainier team as well.

Tomorrow’s going to be a hard push up to Camp Muir at 10000 feet, taking 10 minute breaks once an hour or every 1000 feet. We have quite a bit of ground to cover so our pace can’t be too slow. In contrast, it took us 3 days to get up to Camp Muir in the winter seminar.

After getting our gear prepped, about half of the team decided to grab dinner together at the Copper Creek – the old standby restaurant in Ashford(one of two? restaurants in the town) where we traded mountaineering stories. It’s always fun hanging out with fellow adventurers, as everyone has colorful stories to share about their exciting lives!

Unlike last time, we weren’t able to use the main building’s bunk beds to spend the night as it was in use by the guides. IMG had tents nearby available for $30, but being the high-roller that I am, I opted to sleep in the back of my Subaru Forester. It’s actually surprisingly roomy with the rear seats folded & I was able to get some quality sleep. I can totally see myself doing this again in the future.

Continue to Day 1 – The Climb Begins