I have been working this week at the IMG Headquarters in Ashford, WA. So far it has rained every day since I have been back. At work on Monday while I was hammering nails I started to ask myself, "Why did you leave the desert for this?" I remembered soon after that I was getting paid which makes it all worthwhile, but I still wish that I was climbing in the warm, dry desert. But alas, I will be in the bad weather from now until late September. It is good to be back in Ashford though, I really do enjoy it here. It is nice to see friends and co-workers again, and to get some actual work done. And I have accumulated more work since I have been back than I originally expected. On Sunday I will be heading out for a 6 day Denali training seminar. This is the same type of seminar that I was on back in March. So I will be hoping for better weather this time around, and maybe we will actually get to do some real climbing. But the weather does not look too promising right now, so I am preparing myself for the worst, which I am sure will not be any worse than the last trip. And after that we are in full swing for the Rainier season, which means I will be working pretty much non-stop until the end of September.
I just got back from climbing Liberty Ridge. Liberty is one of the 50 classic climbs in North America and definitely deserves its fame. It is typically done in 3 or 4 days, but Austin and I did it in 2 long days. We got back late last night and I was completely exhausted. It took everything I had to just pick my feet up and keep walking. Overall the climb took us 38.5 hours which I was really pleased with. The entire route was challenging and very exposed. You had to be on your game the entire way because one slip would basically mean death, and since it was so steep and exposed no rope was required for most of the way. At the top of the climb is a few nice ice pitches, these were the crux, or hardest part, of the route. I really enjoyed leading the pitches. This was Austin's first time ice climbing and I think he enjoyed it as well. Then to top things off, the whole mountain was covered in clouds when we topped out, so we got to enjoy some brutal weather and complete white out navigation on the way down. But it was a great climb and I am so excited that everything went well and we got down safely. Right now I am relaxing at the office trying to recover because I leave for a guided trip up Mt. Rainier tomorrow. Life sure is busy this time of year, but it is so fun and I love every minute of it, well maybe I did not love getting pummeled by the wind and snow yesterday evening, but it is all okay now.
