1.05.2010

Hike to the Top!!!

With another trip up to Schweitzer in the books, there was yet another assault on the mountain in snowshoes. The last two times the skies were clear and you could see the daunting task ahead of you. This time with the fog rolling in and the snow coming down, you never really knew where the top was and if you were ever going to make it. Just ask my fellow climbers, I thought we were there halfway up. In just the blink of an eye...right?

The group right before we headed out to march our way to the top. This was Greg and Natalie's first attempt at climbing to the top and it was definitely going to be a memorable one. Pretty sure they had no idea what they had agreed to :)


This is the death match up to the face of the mountain. Though it is not near as steep as the rest of the climb, you know what is ahead of you and it is important to pace yourself accordingly. Right now there is some chatting (though only as necessary) and people are still in relatively good moods.


This was our first major rest stop before the big climb. As you can see the fog is pretty thick and if you are me...you think we are near the top, as you can see from my smile...Oh, how wrong was I!!!


Now for the fun part. This was the point where I decided I would take the lead and break in the trail. Note to self...It is way easier to climb if someone else has already made footprints. Next time, I am going to sit back and 'relax' my way up the mountain;)


Even though I am pretty exhausted, I did make it to the top and even though my face muscles were frozen from the 40+ MPH winds, I was able to get a smile and I am pretty sure it stayed until the hot shower back at the condo.

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When we are not trying to push the limits of snowshoeing up the face of the mountain, we do actually enjoy going down too. Here we are all piled in, getting a ride up to the lodge.


The highlight of the trip, was snowboarding (though according to her not as 'cool' as skiing) with Emma. This little 6-year-old is absolutely fearless and one heck of a skier. It was all I could do to keep up with her as she moved throughout the trees. She now gets bored on the groomed stuff and hits the glades as much as she can. SO IMPRESSED!!!


This was a great trip with some great people and I had an absolute blast.

3 comments:

Tiffany said...

Another awesome trip goes down in the books! Can't wait for the next one!

jessithompson said...

Sooo much fun, Keve! One of the highlights for me was seeing Emma "taunt" you with her cute little wave and "Hope you can keep up!" You are so sweet with her and encouraging too. It won't be long before neither of us can keep up with her. Period.

Thanks for coming up, helping with meals, and sharing the adventure. Another one down in the memory books!

Nat said...

Stever,

I love how four of us have told the story of our time at Schweitzer, yet each story is so different! I'm thrilled that I was able to share this experience with you and I'm grateful for your encouragement about skiing.

Thanks so much for including the pic of us in Rog's rig, I look like a pirate on crack, not an eager would-be skier :)

Can't wait to see what else 2010 has in store for us all!