A little while into it we came across what was thought to be a bear. It was dark so we couldn't say for sure, but whether it was or it wasn't it scared us all half to death. We turned around and walked away and waited for a while to make sure whatever it was had left. Ben and I were bringing up the rear and all I remember is my brother-in-law turning around and saying, "There's a bear. Bear, bear, bear." While pushing me forward to get out of there. It was terrifying at the time but now I can't help but laugh when I think about that. My brother carried around this branch for a while after that.
A little while after the bear scare, we came across a porcupine. It was thought to be a skunk at first and we weren't about to disturb it.
We had to cross lots of little, slippery creeks/waterfalls. In the dark that can be kind of daunting because you can't really see where it leads or if you'll just fall straight down if you slip.
We also had to cross a lot of snow fields/glaciers. This picture was taken on the way down in total daylight. But.....imagine it in pitch black darkness. You have no idea how far down it goes or what, if anything, is at the bottom. This had to be the scariest part of it all. They were all really slippery and this particular one was really steep. We were trying to cross it very carefully. My little brother slipped and fell down a bit (I won't even try to guess how far). We all thought he meant to. He just knows how to fall with style. He said it was scary. A while later my sister asked, "What do I do if I fall." Boy did she jinx herself. A couple minutes later she fell. It had to have been the scariest thing because I was right behind her. She went down, we all yelled, she yelled. It seemed like she slid forever but she finally stopped. My amazing husband just jumped right down to get her followed by my brother-in-law. (I wish I were a storyteller. This story would be so much better if I could tell it right. Just trust me, it was terrifying - something right out of a movie.) After they got her back up and the rest of us finished crossing it we took a little break. There were a few of us who needed to let out some emotion.
This is where she stopped. We were crossing somewhere up out of the picture and she stopped just above where my brother-in-law is standing. She wasn't available for the picture so her husband stood in for her.
Ben and I with our headlights. They're turned off so you can't see them.
We got all the way to the basin of the summit. (a.k.a. almost to the top) There was a whole LOT of snow we would have to cross to get to the summit. Most of us were emotionally drained at this point and not ready to risk our lives any more than we already had so we stopped and just waited for the sunrise for about an hour and a half. It was really cold and windy so we huddled together next to some trees. We had a couple of sleeping bags we passed around (thanks Jeremy and Terry).
This is the beginning of the sunrise.
The boys
Jeremy, Ben, Koy, Pace, Brandon, Ty
(Terry's the only one who got a half decent nap while we were waiting so he's not pictured :( )
The girls
Cameo, Trina, Me
Cassie, Misti
Ben thought the bushes made for a more comfortable bed than the rocky ground
You be the judge.
Was the sunrise worth it?
I thought it was beautiful.
Behind us was our goal - some day.
On the way down Ben decided to pull out his trash bag and use it as a sled on the last snow we had to cross.
He was so grateful to be done he had to kiss the ground
The end
We're all still smiling after about 9 1/2 hours on the mountain. That has to be a good sign.
I'm just now thinking that I would do it again but only if there were no glaciers to cross. Later in a not-so-cold-and-wet summer.
If you want another person's perspective, check out
my sister's
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Some beauty we got to enjoy
could be a picture out of a creepy, haunted movie
Look how thick that snow is
