THANK GOD the Highpointing Record is About to be Broken

Alex is back from camp -- she recently posted a South Hancock trip report.  She will soon post about our Alpine Trail Maintenance training session with the AMC, and next week she will write about whatever hike we decide to do next week.  :)  After that, she's off on vacation with her dad and Sage.  This summer is flying by!

There will soon be a new Facebook Page dedicated solely to the girls' fundraising efforts for Global Fund for Women.  Please "like" the page, spread the word, donate to GFW, and watch over the next few years as the girls hike each of the 48 highest mountains in New Hampshire during every single month of the year (not all within the same calendar year). 

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(Scroll down for the 8/19/2016 edit at the bottom of the page...in an nutshell, yes, Sage could still break the record, but that's not her plan).

A couple days ago, I discovered that the "youngest girl" record for highpointing the lower 48 is about to be broken by a twelve year old named Lucy Westlake .  I believe she's probably heading toward her final mountain, Utah's Kings Peak, right now, as I write this.  I congratulate her ahead of time on her accomplishments!  It is always wonderful to see other young women out there on the trails, doing amazing things.

And -- THANK GOD.  I say that from a completely selfish point of view, because this past month has been messing with my head.  I was happy to read about Lucy because, as some of my friends and my girls' father can tell you, I have been struggling with the financial and ethical implications of my girls going for Gannett, Granite, and Rainier all in the same summer next year. 

You see, the girls and I found ourselves in a strange dilemma after summiting Hood last May.  Without meaning to, Alex (13) and Sage (11) had come close to breaking the record for youngest girls for highpointing the lower 48.  That fact was NOT a blessing...we have never done anything hiking-related or mountaineering-related in order for the girls to break a "youngest" record.  Both Alex and Sage have broken NH "youngest" hiking records over the past four years, but only accidentally -- we hike all the time, so these records were broken as a happenstance.  I've expressed my ambivalence regarding "youngest" records for our family in previous posts.  See The Youngest Whatever and Our Next...(and Last..?) Highpointing Attempt.

I have to interrupt myself here to emphasize that all the remarks that follow are very personal and they pertain to MY FAMILY ONLY.  I am not judging others' parenting decisions and I acknowledge and respect that other families have different opinions and perspectives.

Back to us -- when all that's left is Gannett, Granite, and Rainier, and when tons of people start writing you to ask if you're going to go for it...well, that starts to mess with your head and with your decision-making process.  I'm not proud to say that I brought it up with the girls and introduced that factor into our planning discussions for next summer.  I felt that if we could get all three out of the way in one summer, next summer, then I would not have to deal with another year or two or three of emails/messages asking me if we were going to try to break the record (which is currently set at age 17, assuming Miss Westlake hasn't reached the summit of Kings Peak yet).  We'd just get it done, and then I could relax and the pressure would be off.

However -- my gut told me attempting all three remaining peaks next year just for the sake of trying to break a "youngest" record would be superficial and foolish, because we are not mountaineers -- we are hikers.  There's a difference.  We can hike anything, anywhere, during any season, we can be out there for weeks with full backpacks, and we can be completely self-sufficient.  Mountaineering is a different sport. 

We can't climb a glaciated peak without a guide.  Could we learn how to do that kind of thing on our own, here in the Whites, during our notoriously freezing and crazy winters?  Sure, if we wanted to.  The girls haven't shown any desire to do that, though.  They want to get back out there every week and hike something, and they both itch to do another thru-hike, but they haven't asked to take crevasse-rescue courses or ice-climbing courses or practice with roped travel on a regular basis.  If we DID do technical climbs on a regular basis, if we were used to that kind of thing, and if I thought the girls were ready, then we would go for Rainier, etc. next year, but, for us, that decision would/should be independent of whether or not there was a record to be broken.

I personally feel that, for us, continuing to highpoint simply means continuing a family tradition we started in 2010.  The girls and I started highpointing because I wanted to do something with my children to take their minds off the impending separation between their father and me.  My girls were already hikers, and they loved to camp, so we took off on a six-week road trip the summer of 2010 and highpointed almost everything east of the Rockies.  When we returned, we moved to NH fulltime, away from our Somerville, MA house (that their father kept), and the girls felt invigorated instead of sad.  We've taken a highpointing trip every summer since.  It's always been about the adventure, appreciating the different landscapes, sleeping by the trailheads, etc.  Also, highpointing, up until this year, has never cost much money.  If you buy food at grocery stores and camp along the way, highpointing is actually a great way to have a fairly cheap vacation.

Now, we're almost finished.  Now, we can no longer go unguided.  Now, the feel is very different.  It's still good, but it's different.  And, this year for the first time, this hobby of ours costs a lot of money.  I am not rich.  It costs quite a bit to pay for a guide service for three people, plus airfare, etc.  The guides deserve to be paid and paid well, absolutely.  What I am saying is that our highpointing used to cost almost nothing, and now, it most definitely costs.

So, up until a few days ago, I was trying to figure out that IF we tried to do all three next year, would we be doing that strictly to try to break the record?  Would that be the right motivation for us, ethically speaking?  Does that kind of motivation fit within our values?  Could I even afford to do that next year?  Life would certainly be easier if we waited a couple of years so I could save up some money.  Also, the girls would more easily be able to carry 40 or 50 pound packs (required on Rainier) if they were, say, 17 and 15 instead of 14 and 12.

I had gotten to the point where, if the record-thing was not a factor, I knew I would want us to wait a couple of years.  But then there was the record!  Which, before this year, has never been a factor for consideration, and I did not want it to ever be a factor.  Also, for me, claiming a youngest record if we depended on guides to get to the largest summits and back just wouldn't feel right.  I'd feel like we'd cheated, because we hadn't been self-sufficient.  AGAIN -- this is MY take on it for OUR FAMILY.  I know I'm probably a silly purist.  I know others certainly don't feel that way.  But still, that's how I would feel about our own accomplishments.  I explained a bit about the "cheating" feeling I had on my trip report for Hood. 

In the meantime, messages from people kept coming.  People offering to help, people offering route suggestions for the remaining peaks, etc.  And I appreciate the good intentions, and I appreciate the offers.  But still, it messed with my sense of making sure we were doing this for the right reasons.

A few days ago, I had just written a long, heartfelt, "what is the right thing to do, financially and ethically, for my kids" message to a friend of mine when I did a few google searches and found the news about Lucy Westlake.  THANK GOD THANK GOD THANK GOD.  My immediate feeling was one of great relief.  I felt like a 20-pound burden had been lifted off my shoulders. 

My reaction was telling.  I now know that, even if Miss Westlake for some reason does NOT summit Kings Peak tomorrow (but I am sure she will), we will wait a couple of years before doing Rainier, Gannett, and Granite so I can save up some money and the girls can get used to shouldering 40 or 50 pound packs.  We need to do this for the right reasons, for us, and the record thing should not even enter into it.  That's how I feel, deep down, when it comes to my children.  If the girls want to become the youngest developers of an iPhone app, or the youngest CEOs of a billion-dollar company, or the youngest in the state to score a perfect score on the SAT, then they can go for it with all their hearts.  But mountaineering...climbing...for our family, pushing forward strictly to get a youngest record does not sit well with me.  It doesn't mesh with what I feel is important for my kids.  Again, that's me.  Every parent has to make an honest assessment regarding this kind of thing for herself.

Bottom line -- I do not want "youngest" motivations to ever again even remotely enter into our decision making for any mountaineering or hiking goal we undertake.  I am greatly relieved I can now get that possibility out of my head for planning purposes.  I fear such a motivation might introduce a level of summit fever or subconsciously cloud our judgment when we're out there doing our thing.  For us, I am all for "youngest" records if they happen by accident, while we're doing things we would have done anyway, regardless of records. 

We will finish highpointing the lower 48, but we will likely wait a couple of years before tackling Rainier, Gannett, and Granite so I can save money and so the girls can be a little taller and stronger for those 40 or 50 pound packs.

A sincere congratulations again to Miss Westlake.  She supposedly is going to tackle Denali next year at the age of 13 -- be safe, Lucy.  Learn and have fun.  And congrats on your triathlons and running records -- those are amazing!  I'm guessing we'll see you on an Olympic team in the not-too-distant future.

***Edit (8-19-2016) -- Turns out that if we went for it next year, Sage could still break the record after all.  She'd be 12 years and a few months old, younger than Miss Westlake when she finished her last peak.

To be absolutely fair to my daughter, I sat her down and explained the situation.  I told her that I would support her either way, since I didn't want to prevent her from doing something if she truly wanted to do it.  I'm pretty sure I managed to ask her in a way that did not make her feel pressured in either direction.  Sage's response was that she'd like to wait a couple of years.  That she definitely wants to finish highpointing the lower 48 -- and before her older sister goes off to college -- but that she would enjoy Rainier more if she had more time to get used to carrying 40+ pound packs.  That for her, what was important was that we had a good time, and that the three of us finish together, no matter when that may be (as long as it's before Alex leaves for college).  She really wants to get back to thru-hiking, and if we don't highpoint next year, that means we have more opportunity and time to thru-hike a 250-mile or so trail.  That's what she'd truly like to do next year..thru-hike something...and so we shall.  :)  I'm proud of her for making this decision, which I feel is sound.***

Highpoint: Oregon. Mt. Hood -- 11,245 feet. May 25, 2016

Alex's account of this climb can be found here.

Our first technical peak!

This was very, very different from what we are used to.

I have been hiking weekly with the girls for eight years.  For each and every one of our previous hikes, we have had the luxury of picking and choosing our days; if the forecast called for storms, no worries, we could wait and hike as soon as the skies cleared.  Also, I have been in charge of the girls (though, as the girls have gotten older, they have been more and more in charge of themselves).  We have never before needed or used a guide, we have never before had to rely on anyone but ourselves for the thousand+ peaks all over the country each of the girls have ascended.

It was therefore quite a change for me to completely hand over the reins to someone else.  To put the lives of my children in the hands/rope of a total stranger...well, that doesn't come naturally to a mother, especially one who has repeatedly led her children through the wilderness since 2008.  It was necessary, however, because there is no way I personally could have gotten my children to the summit of Mt. Hood and back.  I don't yet have the mountaineering skills required for this kind of peak.  It would have been suicidal for me to NOT have handed over the control to someone else.  I know this, of course.  YET it was a strange feeling to step back and simply follow.  Necessary -- absolutely, and I am glad Timberline Mountain Guides were willing to have someone take Alex, Sage, and me to the summit.  Our guide knew Hood like the back of his hand, and the most important factor of the hike was getting up and down safely -- so in that respect, it was a total win.  The weather was perfect for our summit day and I am so, so grateful for that too!  Knowing you can't just wait out a storm and go up a different day was so difficult for us -- we are so used to having flexibility with hiking days and spending so much money and traveling so far and NOT having many summit day options in case of bad weather is very, very nerve wracking.  I am so happy the weather was so wonderful for our climb!

Let me back up, however, to our arrival at Timberline Lodge.  The Lodge is right at the base of Hood, and Timberline Mountain Guides occupies an office at the Wy'East Building, which is on the other side of the parking lot from the lodge.  Staying at the lodge is expensive, but we considered this trip a vacation so I didn't mind booking a room.

The exterior of Timberline Lodge was used to represent The Overlook
in Kubrick's film version of Stephen King's The Shining.

Here's the link to the Lodge if you want more information on the building/rooms/reservation process.

Inside the building, on the second floor, these words adorn the giant chimney --

We arrived at the lodge a full day before our training session, so we had an entire morning and afternoon to acclimate.  Hood is only 11,245 feet, but still...we live at 1200 feet...I therefore had us board the ski lift and hang out at the top so we could spend as many hours as possible as high as possible (which was, for us at the top of the ski lift, 7500 feet).

The girls at 7500 feet, the summit of Hood in the background.
The drill is not ours.

Making snowpeople while acclimating.

The next day was Training Day.  This meant meeting our guide for the first time, going through a gear-check, and hitting the nearby slopes for some foot and rope work.

We took a ten-minute walk to a slope nearby the Pacific Crest Trail.  You can see part of the trail in the photo below.

Training consisted of learning various steep-slope walking techniques, with and without ice axes and with and without ropes (but always with crampons).  The weather was less than ideal...we experienced cold, driving rain most of the day.  No worries though, since we New Hampshire White Mountain hikers are used to everything the weather can throw our way.

We also practiced self-arrest techniques.

Around 1 or 2pm, our guide dismissed us for the day and told us to meet him at 2:30am at a specific place to catch the snow cat up to 8500 feet.  Timberline has access to the snowcat, which is nice...unguided climbers have to walk from Timberline Lodge to the 8500 ft mark, which adds 2500 feet of elevation gain and about 2 miles to their day.  The snowcat perk alone could be considered worth the price of having a guide, lol.

Back at the Lodge after training, before removing our gear.

The girls and I never allowed ourselves to get used to the time change from EST.  We had gone to bed at 7pm the previous couple of nights and woken at 5am the following mornings.  Therefore, getting to bed at 6pm the night before summit day felt more or less natural.  We woke at 1:45 am to get the alpine start, but we had gotten almost 8 hours of sleep, so we didn't feel all that tired.

We readied ourselves as quietly as we could in our room at Timberline Lodge (the walls are very thin, so I hope we did not wake our neighbors) and headed out to Wy'East.

Sage getting on her harness while waiting for our guide and the snow cat.

We shared the snow-cat with another group and rode to 8500 feet.  We passed several other climbers who were walking steadfastly with their thumbs sticking out hitch-hiker style.  :)

Once out of the snow cat, we donned crampons and headlamps.  We were already above the clouds, and the stars -- and Mars! -- were out and shining brightly.  Mars was a red pinprick in the sky.  It was all incredibly gorgeous, and both Alex and I tried to take photos but of course they didn't turn out very well.  I am not good with nighttime photography.

We started up the first part of our climb, our guide telling us to stay directly behind him, in a straight line, and to step where he stepped.  Instead of heading straight up the steep slope, which is how our trails are in NH, our guide created switchbacks.  The pace was extremely slow and steady - far, far slower than we are used to, even in high altitude.  The sun came out not long after we finished the first, moderate portion of the climb, and we continued on our way.  Our guide did not want to take many breaks, which was fine with us since we don't take any breaks when hiking in NH and his pace was soooo verrryyy slooowwww, lol.  I should note though that even though our pace was far slower than any other high altitude hike we have ever done, we still finished our entire hike on the early side of what we had planned, so it all worked out. 

Once the sun was out, we were able to take photos here and there.  Sometimes we'd take photos of what was ahead of us, and sometimes we'd turn and take photos of what we'd just climbed.

We reached an area that is known, I think, as the Devil's Kitchen and took a very short break.  We were close to a volcanic vent which continuously let out steam and emitted a lovely sulfur smell.  Our guide explained how we would go around this vent, to the right, even though everyone else was going to the left (he felt his way had the minimal avalanche danger).  Once up a short but sleep stope, we would be on a flat section next to what is known as Crater Rock.

Looking down from what I believe is Devil's Kitchen

Blurry volcanic vent (sorry for the unclear photo)

"Cheese" photo on Devil's Kitchen

Hood's shadow

Heading up after taking another very short rest near Crater Rock

After Crater Rock, we ascended via the Old Chute.  We roped together for this section, using a "short rope."  Once to the top of the chute, we ascended up a very short, but very steep section that required us to climb with our ice ax and become quadrupeds for a bit.  Once at the top of that section, we could see the summit straight ahead.

Note the cornice!  

Sage's crampon was coming off and I told her to stop and fix it.  She made a quick and short adjustment (the guide wanted to keep going to the summit), then onward we went...

Summit!

Views!  That clear mountain in the distance is called Mt. Adams.  Mt. Rainier is to the left of it, fainter and with more snow up top.

After perhaps 20 minutes of lounging (it was warm up top!!  Upper 20s or so...downright balmy compared to what we are used to), Sage solidly fixed her crampon and we headed back down the mountain.

Another group on their way up.

That other group had come up from the east side, which is a more technical route

Once back at the upper part of the chute, we waited for another guide (with a different group of people) to secure a rope.  Instead of just climbing down this part, our guide decided to belay us for extra safety, which we appreciated!  Down we went...we kind of had to go right past and over a team of two women who were coming up -- I apologized to them since it felt like we were crowding them for a few seconds, and then we were past them and at the bottom of the steepest section (the fifty feet or so we had earlier climbed with our ice axes), Alex clipped us in to an anchor and we waited while our guide descended. 

Waiting while the rope is secured.

Walking down the rest of Old Chute was the most difficult part of the day for me.  It wasn't physically difficult, but it was mentally challenging.  We were on a short rope, and our guide had us walking straight down the mountain.  He had us if one of us slipped...and sometimes, one of us would indeed slip...but psychologically, having to walk straight down an extremely steep slope with a deadly cliff at the bottom was unnerving.  I got used to it, though.  I went from going too slowly to going too quickly...our guide went from telling me to hurry up to telling me to slow down.  Eventually, we all got down to the Crater Rock area and relaxed.

Taking a break on the descent.

Looking back to Old Chute

The next part of our descent

Still hanging out by Crater Rock

A clear picture of the volcano doing its thing

Sage took this photo of Mt. Jefferson

Heading down from Crater Rock felt fairly trivial.  I quickly got used to the straight-down-the-steep-slope technique and we walked, unroped, back to where the snow cat had dropped us off earlier.

A delayering break.  Sage is telling us some facts about stars and planets.

We walked past the place where we had been dropped off and continued the one or two easy miles back to the lodge.

It had been a successful summit...none of us felt like it had been strenuous.  Thanks to the snow cat, our elevation gain had been under 3000 feet, which is like hiking an easy-to-moderate 4K in the Whites.  Mileage was only about 5 (?) miles roundtrip..?  The terrain had been new to us, though -- that is where the challenge had been, in learning how to maneuver in that particular terrain.  It was because of that challenge that I am glad we hired a guide.  He kept us safe and got us up and down fairly quickly (in spite of the initial part of the ascent that felt very slow).

We returned our gear, then went back to the lodge to bask in a sumptious post-hike meal.

The next morning, we had a great view of Hood from our window...

...and here's a shot from just outside the lodge.

We got so lucky with weather on this trip!  All week long, right before our summit day, there had been storms storms storms.  Then, on our summit day -- absolutely perfect weather and crystal-blue skies.  I am so grateful for that!

This makes 46 highpoints for us.  We don't yet know if we will continue...we have to discuss some things and see what we feel like doing.  Highpointing has been great fun and we are so grateful for the time we've had doing it.  Not knowing how to navigate the terrain on your own takes some of the joy out of it, though.  It feels like cheating -- you're just following someone -- is it truly highpointing or mountaineering if you haven't planned the hike/climb yourself, learned the skills solidly yourself, etc?  Other people are guided up technical summits all the time and it doesn't bother them, so maybe it SHOULDN'T bother us...or maybe a different guiding experience will leave me feeling differently. 

So this may or may not be the end of our highpointing...time will tell.  I am grateful we had such perfect weather for our summit day, and I am grateful to Timberline Mountain Guides for making sure we got to the summit and back safely.