Climbed Mailbox Peak today. This was not an official conditioner. It was supposed to be an easy weekend climb with Chris F, who got me into this program and who will be my tent-mate on the overnight trips. Chris is a great guy and we get along very well.
We originally had intended to go up the old trail of Mt Si. This is the trail that is used for the first of the OSAT time trials. Chris completed his time trial last week and I am signed up to do mine on April 13. I wanted to get an idea of the trail, since I’ve not been on that trail yet. But when I picked up Chris at our normal meeting place (Starbucks, of course. All of the OSAT climbs begin at a Starbucks), he greeted me with big grin and said “Let’s do Mailbox!” Shoot. I’ve heard stories about Mailbox. None of them good. All saying how hard it is. I let him talk me into it though. I liked his enthusiasm but I didn’t share in any of it.
I had opted to wear my plastics this week. Plastics are the term used for the hard-core mountaineering boots that are super stiff, heavily insulated, and covered with a hard plastic shell. I had picked up a used pair from an OSAT-er who works at REI. These are $329 boots and I got them for $43. After the experience on Teneriffe the weekend before, I wanted to be able to move through the snow and ice easily for this hike, plus I needed to find out if these things would be comfortable enough for Rainier. Boots are always a big debate among the GCC students. We are all wondering what kind of boots to wear on the Rainier climb. I have some very nice leather hiking boots from Keen but they are not mountaineering boots. They get wet and they are not crampon-compatible. And I have these plastic Koflach Degre’s. The main difference is the plastic outer shell, the inner boot for insulation, and the stiff shank. Yeah this sounds like a dirty term but it refers to the flexibility of the boot. Evidently, when you are climbing up ice and snow and using crampons or other traction devices, its best to not have any flex in the boot at all. This allows you to get a better hold with just the toe or edge of your boot and be able to put all your weight on it and not have it roll slightly and drop you off your precarious perch.
Another alternative are hybrid boots – more forgiving than plastics but much stiffer and warmer than the leather hiking boots. Of course, the hybrid mountaineering boots are the most expensive, starting at around $400 and going up from there.
It was a good thing I had the plastics this week because Mailbox is tough. It was as steep as the steepest parts of the Tenerife climb, but for Mailbox, it’s that steep the entire way. Gains 4000ft in about 2 ½ miles. I was able to handle the elevation gain easily enough, even though I was carrying 30 pounds in the pack. This is encouraging. However, near the top of mailbox, there is a VERY steep ascent over a rock field. At least they tell me it’s a rock field but for this climb it was all buried under a few feet of icy snow. No powder this week – just compact snow and ice. It was so hard that it was tough to punch through with the pointed tips of my trekking poles. I had to whack the poles down hard, kick in the micro spikes on my boots to get a purchase, put my weight on that toe, whack in the next pole a few inches up, kick in another purchase point, then put all my weight on that new one, hoping it held and I didn’t go sliding down. This was really steep man. Probably about 50 degrees. At this point, I was only looking down at my boots. I knew if I looked around, I’d get dizzy and freaked out by the slope and lose my balance and go tumbling down. I am not thinking happy thoughts at this point. So I kept stomping in the snow/ice, whacking in the trekking poles, moving upwards. I did glance up a couple times to see where Chris was but he had just gone straight up without stopping. He was waving to me from the top. A nice gesture but I felt like shooting him cause here I was in a life or death situation (or so it felt like at the time) and he was cheerfully waving to me. He told me later that he felt like he couldn’t stop – he had to keep rushing upwards, or else he would fall. We each have different ways of dealing with fear, I suppose.
On the summit of Mailbox Peak is a mailbox. A real mailbox. People sign the outside of it and there is also a registry inside to sign. It’s cute. The views are incredible. Just amazing. I could see the overhanging cornice of Teneriffe across the valley. Chris said it looked like the craggy peak from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”. We could see Mt Baker and Glacier Peak in the distance. It was cold up there. And windy. I was tired and unsure of my footing. When the wind gusted, I felt like it would blow me off. There were people up there eating lunch, sitting in the snow. I sat down to rest a little bit while Chris ripped off the remnants of his Yak Trax traction devices and put them in the mailbox. A sacrifice to the mountain gods. Yak Trax are a cheaper version of the Kahtoola’s and are not worth a dime. They literally fall apart.
Heading down the steep snowfield, Chris was leading. He said he was going to glissade down; I said he may not be able to stop, so he said “okay I won’t”. The next step he took he lost traction and started sliding down anyway. He did stop, got up, and slipped again, and slid again. This kept happening. He lost one of his trekking poles after it snagged on the hillside as he was slipping, so I picked it up for him. Poor guy – he had no traction at all and was slipping all over the place. There were people going up and down this slope using crampons or snowshoes. I was using a plunge step technique, where you stomp down with your heel as you go down the hill. One guy had his ice axe out. I think I’ll pick up some crampons for the next trip.
Those plastic boots that worked so well in the snow started killing me on the descent. After 2 ½ miles, my feet were really hurting. Those boots were heavy. And very uncomfortable. When there’s no flex, going downhill is a rough go of it. I was so happy to get those things off when we finally made it to the car!
I think I may start bringing my lightweight trail runners for the trail ascent and descent, and switch to the plastics for the snow. I’ll rig up a way to lash the plastics to the outside of the pack. This will feel so good on my poor feet! Either that or stick to my nice leather Keens. Those things are very comfy. My only worries for them are staying warm when they get wet. Maybe some fancy water repellent oil rubbed into them will help.
As if it wasn’t obvious by now, I should say that I keep getting scared on these peaks. Truly frightened. It sucks. I don’t know if that will go away. I have very little confidence when on those steep parts, and I hope that changes, because it is NOT fun. When on the steep sections, I am afraid to look anywhere other than the ground at my feet. If I stop and look around, dizziness comes rushing in. It’s too bad because that’s where the best views are. Anyway, I am certain that on Baker and Rainier, it is even steeper, there are no trees to stop your fall, and there is no turning back, and no stopping. You are roped in with two or three other people. Many of the upcoming conditioning hikes will be on progressively steeper terrain. This is good because it will either get me used to this lunacy or it will get me out of it altogether.
We are doing the ice axe field trip to Hyak (a snow park on the other side of Snoqualmie Pass) on April 28. As part of that training, we march up a snowy slope then are tossed downhill on our backs, headfirst or feet first, and then use the ice axe to stop the slide. If I can nail this, maybe I’ll have more confidence.
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| At the top of Mailbox Peak (see the mailbox buried in the snow? It's on the top of a 4 foot post). Incredible view up there but I was sore, wet with sweat, freezing cold, and it was very windy. Notice how I’m leaning to the right, into the wind. |
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Chris F, cruising up Mailbox Peak. This is the beginning of the rock fields, near the top. It got really scary from there. This picture looks like a movie set, doesn’t it?
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