formal commitment

I've been letting it slip here and there, telling my inner circle of people gradually, but I'm going to make a formal announcement now that the clock is ticking closer and closer.

I'm going to attempt to climb Mount Rainier. No, wait, wrong language there the first time. I'm going to do it, goddammit!




I've been training for a while, and when I go to explain to people why I'm getting near a gym (I tend to loathe organized physical activity and have been a vocal denouncer of all athletic pursuits), I explain, wincing for fear of ridicule. It's a big task to bite off, I understand. Not being an athletic type, I've put a lot of thought into it, and as the time and financial commitment of preparing for the climb is taking over my life (six days a week training, many dollars' worth of gear), I realize there is no point in stepping around the topic anymore. And it's liberating, and kind of exciting! I've forked over most of my evenings lately training on the stairmaster, ellipticals, and strength-training machines, hit the trails on the weekends, and purchased pricey mountain-going clothes, and there's no point in going back now...until we hit Paradise, at least.

I was recruited into this scheme by one of my best friends from high school, somehow, this past winter. We have a guide who we trust and has confidence in us, and who'll be breaking us into mountaineering on Mt Adams the weekend of The Fourth of July ( I guess this the most literal interpretation of to "show the ropes"), and then the following weekend we'll attempt to summit Rainier, weather permitting.

God help the weather- it's been so odd, and with the climb just a bit over a month away and a snow advisory at the passes yesterday (June, for god's sakes!), let's hope avalanche, melt, nor precipitation conditions pose any threat to the trek. "Cruel Summer" (Bananarama, Ace of Base) is playing here at Bauhaus (coffeeshop) as I type, and so far it's been true- unseasonably cool the past couple of weeks, minus a couple days and today (which has been pretty blue-skied, but atypical in the forecast). The local news people have given it the dramatic term "June-uary," and I'm hoping we don't have a "Julember" (oh god, someone shoot me, that was horrible and I'm ashamed) on our hands when the big climb comes around.

Not being a big fan of stuff, the diversion of a significant portion my salary to REI and Outdoor and More has been slightly painful, but hopefully it will be worth it in the end. I've made some biggish purchases for this recently- trekking poles, underlayers, soft shell, outer shell, fancy water-repellent pants (yeah, that's right, fancypants), and in my weekend attire of black jeans, black hoodie, and black messenger bag (to my defense, I had some small stripes and red shoes in there), I laughed while the cashier was ringing up my stuff. I asked him if it was a bad idea for me to be in all-black going up the mountain, and he said "sure, if you're not going for high-visibility; you planning on doing something sly you're not letting on about?" Yeah, robbing ice caves of secret treasure. Maybe that will help recoup costs. Then I can publish a comic book based on my adventures.

Wish me luck... until I go up, I live to work, go to the athletic club, and run around The Hill at night. Hey, I'm in better shape than I've ever been. That's kinda fun.

Listening to Aussie band Cut Copy's new In Ghost Colors. Fun and Electro-Rock-Poppy, all upbeat and French techno-ey and a good way to end a weekend.