March 11, 2008
Climbing with Aron
In preparation for our upcoming mountaineering training in Argentina, Aron Ralston thought it might be a good idea to do a little climbing before flying south.
No Problem. Pack up my gear (its pretty much always packed), get a plane ticket, fly to Denver, drive to Aspen, repack gear with Aron, pack food... Is it weird to have traveling seem more normal than quiet time at home? Less than 24 hours after leaving northern Minnesota, I was snuggled in a tent perched at roughly 11,000. And I was really, really tired.
To his credit, Aron was with patient with my slowness and nerves. I'm just recovering from pneumonia and haven't really been able to work out in over a month and a half. That first short skin up to our camp, nearly did me in. It took all my energy to set up the tent.
Amazingly, by the next morning, I was feeling better. My resting pulse rate had dropped to 62 beats per minute. Soon, we were on the skis and climbing. The day started warm (25 F) and clear but conditions degraded quickly. By the time we reached the Castle Peak summit, the temperature had dropped to single digits and wind gust of nearly 70 mph threatened to blow us off. It wasn't a difficult decision to make a quick turn around and head back down.
I would like to say it was a fun climb down and a casual ski back to camp. Instead, still adjusting to the altitude and recovering from being sick, the ski back down was one of the most physically draining things I have ever done. Again, Aron patiently waited for me as I rested to recover my strength every 100 yards or so. Back in the tent, we laughed at the hard ship, warmed up cold hands and toes and mixed mash potatoes, cous cous and soup all in one hearty serving hoping to replenished our depleted energy reserves as quickly as possible.
The next day I would be back in Denver. The day after, the Scream Agency hosted a Save the Poles fund raising event in Denver at the Chop House. On Friday a presentation at Lafayette Elementary school, a meeting with Sierra Designs and then back home.
Ahh the life... I have to admit, I feel lucky to be able to visit so many amazing places and meet interesting people. Still, its good to be back in northern Minnesota. But with a mountaineering trip to Argentina departing on Sunday, home has become more of a staging area than a base camp.
No Problem. Pack up my gear (its pretty much always packed), get a plane ticket, fly to Denver, drive to Aspen, repack gear with Aron, pack food... Is it weird to have traveling seem more normal than quiet time at home? Less than 24 hours after leaving northern Minnesota, I was snuggled in a tent perched at roughly 11,000. And I was really, really tired.
To his credit, Aron was with patient with my slowness and nerves. I'm just recovering from pneumonia and haven't really been able to work out in over a month and a half. That first short skin up to our camp, nearly did me in. It took all my energy to set up the tent.
Amazingly, by the next morning, I was feeling better. My resting pulse rate had dropped to 62 beats per minute. Soon, we were on the skis and climbing. The day started warm (25 F) and clear but conditions degraded quickly. By the time we reached the Castle Peak summit, the temperature had dropped to single digits and wind gust of nearly 70 mph threatened to blow us off. It wasn't a difficult decision to make a quick turn around and head back down.
I would like to say it was a fun climb down and a casual ski back to camp. Instead, still adjusting to the altitude and recovering from being sick, the ski back down was one of the most physically draining things I have ever done. Again, Aron patiently waited for me as I rested to recover my strength every 100 yards or so. Back in the tent, we laughed at the hard ship, warmed up cold hands and toes and mixed mash potatoes, cous cous and soup all in one hearty serving hoping to replenished our depleted energy reserves as quickly as possible.
The next day I would be back in Denver. The day after, the Scream Agency hosted a Save the Poles fund raising event in Denver at the Chop House. On Friday a presentation at Lafayette Elementary school, a meeting with Sierra Designs and then back home.
Ahh the life... I have to admit, I feel lucky to be able to visit so many amazing places and meet interesting people. Still, its good to be back in northern Minnesota. But with a mountaineering trip to Argentina departing on Sunday, home has become more of a staging area than a base camp.