Mount Shasta

Mount Shasta Summit

 

I spent Memorial Day weekend down in Mount Shasta California with my family and my good friend and his wife.  The trip included a successful summit of Mt Shasta, great eating, a little bit of sight seeing, and plenty of relaxation.  

Unfortunately, the trip began pretty rough with a 24hr sickness my wife suffered.  I came home early from work on Wednesday to take care of the kids while she rested.  I came into the house to 3 little girls sitting around a couple cartons of ice cream!  The baby gate to the pantry was torn down and there was a stool in there for someone to reach a high shelf to pull down some bags and coffee filters.  Coffee filters were placed everywhere in the house.  They wreaked havoc elsewhere in the house and I'll stop to keep this brief.  Wow! I regret not taking a few pictures to laugh about when they're older!  I also discovered that we had booked the vacation rental home for Thursday through Monday (booked in early April) and we were planning on leaving on Friday morning!  Not sure how I goofed on the dates, but we ended up leaving at 11pm on Wednesday and drove all night and arrived in town at 7:30am to eat breakfast at the Black Bear Diner in Mount Shasta.  It actually was a pleasant surprise to go on vacation a day early.  My productivity at work wasn't too great anyways with my excitement of the vacation :)  Anyways, we ate a hearty breakfast at the diner and then drove up to Bunny Flats to scope out the trailhead and pickup the climbing fee envelopes.  We drove back down and went to see if the house was ready.  We arrived at the house too soon and went back into town to kill some more time.  Then I noticed a clanging noise under the car.  Discovered that a rear shock was broke!  Fortunately there was a Les Schwab in town and we were able to get it fixed free of charge (warranty repair).

The woes of the beginning of the trip were now OVER.  We checked into the house at 1pm and were amazed.  The description on the Internet didn't do justice to this place.  We had rented a two bedroom fully furnished home with a nice deck looking directly at Mount Shasta.  The house was on a 3 acre farm with goats & chickens and a little creek flowing through it.  The animals kept the kids entertained.  The goats were fun and never seemed to stop eating whatever weeds you stuck through the fence.  We enjoyed all the fresh eggs we could eat.

Thursday was very sunny, but unusually cold and the mountain was the only thing hiding behind some clouds.  The next day the mountain was perfectly clear and Preston and I were very excited to get on the trail.

Here's the details of the climb...

5/25/13:  We left Bunny Flats trailhead at 8 AM (Elev. 6,950ft).  We climbed up to Helen Lake (Elev 10,450ft) and arrived at 11:30am.  Preston and I were fully rested that morning and climbed at 1,000ft/hr which is a pretty good pace.  We setup camp and started boiling snow to refill our water and to cook our Mountain House meals (Chicken and Rice...mmmm).  Considering our fast pace to basecamp and our high energy levels, we considered going for the summit that afternoon and descending all the way to the car by headlamp.

We decided to take a 2hr nap and decide on the summit at that point.  We awoke at 2pm and consulted the ranger and he advised us not to. He said clouds were rolling in and would stay thru the evening. He told us that a  perfect weather window was coming in the late evening thru 11 am the next day.  Sure enough, the clouds came in that afternoon so we just milled around camp until about 6pm.  One of the other parties was descending to base camp that day and discovered a mouse had pooped all over their cooking pots and he was still around under their tent.  After about 10 minutes, we got the mouse to run away from the tent and he met his fate.  We tossed his body down the moraine to discourage other mice from entering camp (haha).  After hearing the ranger talk about "leave no trace" for the 5th time and his passion for packing out poop, we decided it was time to get horizontal and rest up for the summit climb.

5/26/13

We awoke at 1 am to beautiful clear skies and a full moon.  The temp was 20 deg. with no wind.  I had cell service, so I made a video to send to my wife.  Breakfast consisted of a muffin, candy bar, and some Sante Fe spicy trailmix.  My clothing layers were long johns, Mt Hardwear soft shell pants, white Columbia shirt, black first ascent hoodie, Acts 2:38 fleece ;) , REI Shuksan hard shell, Mountain Hardear gloves and a Buff (great product from REI). 

A guy named Greg asked to climb with us because his other climbing partners were sick from the altitude. We agreed and had a moment of prayer before our departure.  We left base camp at 2:15 am. We climbed quickly to 11,800 ft and realized I was missing a glove (DOH!!).  I told the guys to take a quick break while I went to see where I dropped my glove.  I used my GPS to stay on my tracks and ended up descending 450 ft and found my glove.  I huffed it back up and threw my backpack on and we kept climbing.  No break for me due to my carelessness.  We continued to climb up avalanche gulch and stayed to the right of the Heart. Directly above the right side of the heart was a chimney that was currently the main route and recommended by the ranger.  We ascended to the top of the chimney and the little hill to 13,200 ft.  This leg of the journey was the steepest part of the whole climb.  The temps dropped to 10 deg and winds increased to 30 MPH.  I stopped and put on more layers (all of them!).  I had a balaclava on the hoodie, mt hardwear beanie, and covered my face with my buff. Then I put on my Mountain Hardwear parka and took off my helmet because the rockfall danger was gone.  That was the coldest climbing conditions I've been in. I wasn't getting sweaty or too warm climbing in my parka.  The experience of climbing in this cold was very insightful since I always pack these extra layers, but I never have to use them.  I was very comfortable in these layers so I know I could withstand even colder temperatures. 

The steepest part do the climb was over now and we were now at the base of Misery Hill.  Misery Hill is a gentle slope that ascends about 600 ft to the summit plateau.  The long slog and the altitude makes it miserable.  The altitude was starting to get to me as far as my wind. Just walking across the flat plateau was exhausting. The summit was a ~100ft tall rock at the end of a ridge line. The trail continued past the summit and cuts back along the ridge for a gentle climb up to the summit. I arrived at 7am and sounded my joyful "summit time baby!" cheer. I looked down from the summit and watched Preston and Greg approach the summit. We enjoyed the summit taking pictures and I was able to make a few phone calls. I was even able to have a FaceTime call. We began the descent at 8am and arrived back to base camp by 10:20am. The snow was still hard and glissading was not very fun. It was rough on our backsides and gear.

The clouds were rolling in just as predicted.  Many climbers were headed into those clouds.  We were very blessed to have had such a perfect weather window for climbing.  We packed up camp and left about 11am back to the trailhead. Arrived at bunny flats at 1:15pm. From about 8:30am all the way to the trailhead, a steady stream of climbers were ascending the mountain. I would estimate 300 climbers were going up that Saturday morning.  I couldn't have asked for a better climbing experience.  We avoided the crowds and nailed the best weather window during the whole holiday weekend.  Wow!  Thank you Jesus.

We made the quick drive back to the house and showered up before going out to dinner to our traditional Mexican meal.  The rest of the trip consisted of a trip to the annual mushroom festival.  An unusual theme, but really it was just like any other festival but with a few mushroom booths and lawn ornaments.  We had a BBQ Sunday evening and I consumed 2 of the tastiest burgers known to planet Earth.  We finely chopped up a package of bacon and mixed it into the hamburger.  This resulted in fire hazard on the grill, but it put a nice crunch to the outside of the burger trapping in the moisture for a very tasty juicy burger.  Topped it with bacon, and bacon grease fried onion, and the usual lettuce tomato and condiments.  Probably the most unhealthy thing I've consumed, but when you've climbed a 14,000 ft mountain you can get away with eating like that a little bit.

What a trip.  What bummer to return to the real world of alarm clocks, demanding bosses, deadlines, & house chores!

Thanks for reading.

Rainier Summit

On July 24 at 7AM, I reached the climax of big goal in my life.  How big of a goal?  14,409 ft worth of goal to be exact!

How it all started...

When I was a teenager, I worked a job fixing lawn mowers.  My boss signed up to climb Mt Rainier through a fund raising effort.  I think it was the climb for clean air (lung cancer research).  I was inspired to climb that mountain ever since.  Several years past and I was out of college but still had no real plans to climb that mountain.  Being married with three children kept me busy and exercise wasn't much of a priority and I continued to grow out of shape.  Now, most people wouldn't consider me fat, but at 200lbs, I knew I was fat and out of shape.

Then one fine day in May of 2010, a group of my friends went hiking around the North Bend area, a little east off of I-90.  We did a day hike that day and came back a week later to do an overnighter in the same area.  That lit a fire in me as I discovered my new hobby.  I grew up in the woods so I have always been comfortable stomping around in the brush, exploring, and climbing tall trees.  I enjoy myself so much being out in the woods away from the busyness in my life and all the comfortable amenities of my home.  Sleeping on the ground in a tent is something I like to do!  Many summer nights of my youth were spent under the stars in my sleeping bag in my back yard and waking up soaked from the morning dew.

I continued to plan backpacking trips with my friends and invest in the REI company :)  I also began to train with a 55lb backpack 2-3 times/week after work.  Before I knew it, my calves were rock hard and I had shed 30 lbs.  Then one sunny Friday at work in July of 2011, I got the idea to go hike up to Camp Muir on Mt Rainier.  I can't even remember what sparked that.  I made a few phone calls and the next day, three of us went up to Camp Muir for a very memorable experience.  I even made a video of that fun day.  This was my first time being exposed up close to the majesty of the mountains.  I was truly hooked at this point and determined it was time to figure out how to get to the top of this mountain.

For most who want to climb Rainier, a guide service is the way to go.  For me, I didn't see climbing as a one time event, so I pursued formal training so I could do this myself without the need of a guide. Thanks to a coworker, I was introduced to the great climbing class called BOEALPS (Boeing Alpine Society).  This is a club through Boeing for mountaineering.  I enrolled in their Basic Climbing Course (BCC).  The class was a very intense 3 months of my life with lectures every Wednesday evening and an all day outing every Saturday.  Saturday events always started at 7am ready to hike at the trailhead.  Many of the outings were 3 hours away drive time, so you can imagine these were very long days.  I thoroughly enjoyed the class, but I was very happy when it was over as I got a big chunk of my life back.  My wife was even more happy when it was over!  The final climb of my team was on Mt Shuksan.  This mountain is actually more technical than the basic route of Mt Rainier.  It was excellent training for Rainier.

After graduating BOEALPS, I now had all the skills necessary to go climb just about any mountain in Washington, including Rainier.  I did a warmup climb on Mt Baker.  We didn't summit that trip due to weather, but we did get some great exposure to glacier travel and stepping over hidden crevasses!

Now it was time to climb Rainier...

Climbing mountains is a dangerous hobby for sure and it is especially dangerous if you ignore the weather.  I don't care to be macho and climb through stormy weather.  I enjoy the snow and the cold, but those great views are really what I'm after.  I plan to encounter serious weather conditions for every climb, but I hope for great weather.  I tend to carry a rather heavy pack as a result of my conservative approach.  I have extra clothing layers and a couple days worth of extra food to survive quite an ordeal.  Anyways, my first attempt at Rainier ended due to a Summer storm.  We were camped at Muir poised for the summit bid when we awoke at midnight to 60 MPH winds, snow, and temperatures in the teens to low 20s.  I believe that works out to be a -22 wind chill.  I had never experience coldness like that.  I went out to take some video of the storm and a small amount of skin on my face was exposed to the wind.  After I got back inside the shelter, my face hurt in that spot similar to a burn.  Definitely not climbing weather!!  The storm lifted the next day around noon.  We climbed up another 1000 ft for practice and then descended back down to Paradise since our schedule didn't allow us to stay another night.

On the way home, I penciled in another shot at the mountain in 3 weeks (the next available days in our busy schedule).  On July 23rd we pulled out of my driveway at 4am on our way to stand on top of Washington's highest peak.  We reach Paradise and check in with the climbing rangers as we had our reservations all lined up.  By 6:45am we are hiking up to Camp Muir.  The weather that day was forecasted to be mostly cloudy.  Indeed it was, but only to about 8000 feet.  It's such a nice view being on the mountain and looking down on the clouds.  Most people only see that from an airplane, but you can easily (well not exactly easy) see this from the ground too!

Camp Muir looking down on the clouds.

Muir Snowfield, approx 8000ft.

After 5hrs we reach our base camp.  We unpack and climb into our sleeping bags for a much needed nap.  About 2 hrs later we get up and cook dinner.  I enjoyed my freeze dried lasagna and a cup of hot apple cider. 

Climbing on a Monday and getting to Muir by noon has always landed me a spot in the public shelter in the three times I've slept at Muir.  Some people don't care for the shelter as it can get smelly and noisy in there and I totally understand that.  On our previous climb while we waited out the storm, I had a terrible headache that went away as soon as I got outside the hut.  All those camp stoves running inside was making me sick even with the ventilation fans running.  The abundance of flatulence (I contributed a lot myself) didn't help matters either.

Outside the weather was fantastic.  I would guess temperatures were in the upper 40s and not a cloud was above us as far as we could see.  I climbed up to the rock peak next to Muir and snapped a few photos.

Camp Muir

Cowlitz Glacier and Cathedral Gap.

It was now 5pm and it was time to lighten our packs in preparation for the summit bid.  Around 7pm we were finally done dinking around and went to sleep.  The weather was so nice that night that the front door of the shelter was left wide open.  We were not even awoken by any wind.  The loudest sounds that night were folks who should have had their tonsils removed as a child and the folks who had intestinal pressure differentials with the surrounding atmosphere.  It was like some sort of unspoken competition in the hut that night as several climbers competed for the loudest depressurization maneuver.

My alarm goes off at 11:00pm.  I spend the next 30 minutes reading my Bible and quietly praying and thinking about the great event before me.  The culmination of more than a year of careful training and preparation was now about to begin.  At 11:30 my friend Preston and I get out of our sleeping bags and eat our breakfast.  I ate a Costco chocolate muffin, a Poptart, some beef jerky, and some trail mix.  Then we put on our boots, gaiters, crampons, and climbing harnesses.  The weather was so nice that we got ready outside the shelter which kept the noise down for the people still asleep.  At 1am we have a moment of prayer and then begin our climb into the darkness up high.  We were the second climbing team out of Camp Muir that morning.  After reaching Cathedral Gap, I turn around and see a literal train of headlamps behind us.  After climbing the up the kitty litter rock consistency of Catherdral Gap, we were once again back on snow approaching Ingraham Flats.  A few more teams in front of us come into view as their base camp was Ingraham Flats.  Around 11,200 ft we approach our first crevasse that required us to step across about a 2ft gap...no big deal.  We climb a little higher and cross a few more crevasses until the route begins to traverse under the ice fall of the Ingraham Glacier.  The traverse continues until we are on the Disappointment Cleaver.  The Cleaver is a rock ridgeline that separates the Ingraham and Emmons glaciers.  It's a 1500 foot climb of switch backs on mostly rock.  On top of the Cleaver we land back on snow and continue up the glacier.

Above the cleaver we can begin to see the sun peak over the horizon.  The light begins to expose us to terrifying yet absolutely beautiful scenery.  Ice blocks the size of 10 story apartment buildings hanging on the edges of glaciers were nearby.

13,000 feet as the sun rises.

Getting ready to cross a snow bridge over a crevasse.

Our trail switched backed up the mountain next to bottomless crevasses.  Without the roped protection of each other, one slip could be fatal.  At all times we have to remain focused and concentrated on keeping our feet securely on the mountain and be ready to arrest to protect each other in the event of a slip or fall into a hidden crevasse.

The altitude begins to take it's toll on Preston as he becomes very fatigued.  I managed to stay in good condition as I stay well hydrated and fed as I climbed up.  My mind continued to play out the scenario of what I would do if one of us got sick or decided to stop climbing.  Turning around was really not anywhere near the top of my list of possible actions.  Dragging them with the rope, threatening, abandonment were more of my thought processes!  I was definitely fearful of some reason that could threaten our chance at the summit.  At the slightest complaint from Preston, I very forcefully told him to be quiet and commanded him to be positive and that we WERE GOING TO SUMMIT!!!  The human body surely begins to complain during the climb, but it ends up being more of a mental challenge to just focus on the summit and accept the fact you're exhausted and in pain.

At one of our breaks, a climbing guide passes me by the name of Dave Hahn.  Dave has popped up from time to time in the novels I've read on mountaineering.  Now that guy currently with 14 Everest summits was walking past me!  I very casually say, "Hi Dave!"  He says hi and wonders how I know him.  I tell him he's a famous climber and he replies, "Yeah, I tell that to people too!"

We continue to climb as I watch the elevation steadily rise on my GPS altimeter.  Preston keeps asking me how high we are and continually is disappointed in what I tell him as his internal altimeter is climbing at a much higher rate of ascent!  I'm told by other climbers that we will be close when we can begin to see rocks signaling the crater rim.  I see the rocks and now I really start to realize that I'm actually going to summit this mountain.  As I approach the crater rim, I begin to thank God in amazement that I'm actually reaching the top.  The weather is magnificent.  Not a cloud in the sky and not even a breeze worth mentioning.  We descend down into the center of the crater and take off our packs and unclip from the rope.  It's now just a short walk across the crater up to the true summit of Rainier called Columbia Crest.  Shortly below the summit is the register.  It's a notepad inside of an ammunition box.  It was a very proud moment for me to put my name down.  I wait for Preston to put his name down and then we continue the very short hike up to the true summit.  That short distance put us on top in the path of a little bit of cold wind.

Climbers crossing the crater

My name in the summit registry

Preston's turn to sign the register

Down at Camp Muir before our ascent, I prayed a simple prayer that I could have cell service on top of the mountain.  I turned my phone off of airplane mode and forgot about it.  On top of the summit, I hear my phone go off as I received a couple text messages from my wife.  I quickly pull out my phone and call my wife and for a few minutes joyfully describing to her the summit.  That was definitely the icing on the cake, the cherry on top!!  Thank you Jesus!  My wife has endured quite a lot and been very patient with me in this endeavor leading up to this very moment.  It was so precious to be able to spend that moment with her on the phone.

We spend about an hour on top taking pictures and soaking the joy of the summit.  I met up again with Dave Hahn and had my picture taken with him.

Me and Preston

Me and Dave Hahn

Time for the descent...

The descent was something that I underestimated.  It took us 6hrs to go up to the summit from Muir and it took us 4hrs to come back down.  On every trip after I reach the summit, I'm always a bit anxious to get back down to comfort and safety.  This trip was no exception, but we were not able to descend quickly due to the dangerous terrain as well as our fatigued bodies were not up to it.  Neither one of us did a very good job eating and drinking on the way down.  We finally make it back to Muir by noon and had zero desire to continue down to Paradise.  I shoved down some water and cookies and crawl in my sleeping bag.  We both had a 2hr nap and awoke feeling fully recharged.  We melt some more snow to refill our water bottles and cook up some instant mashed potatoes.  By 4pm we are ready and begin the descent down to Paradise.  The glissading wasn't that great, but we did take advantage of it where we could.  I began to think of all the times I've traveled up to Muir and asked the climbers that were coming down if they had summited.  Now I was walking down myself was a great sense of accomplishment.  I looked back at the mountain from time to time realizing I was up there not too long ago and wondering how I did it.

Mt Rainier from 7000 ft.

By 6pm we arrive at Paradise.  Now it was time to return the climbing permit to the ranger station.  On this form you fill out how many people returned from the party and how many summited, the date, etc.  Three weeks prior I had to put a big fat zero for the number summited.  Now it felt pretty good to put down that # 2.  Wish it had been 3 as a good friend of mine couldn't make the trip due to his work schedule.  That just means I have another excuse to go climb so I can help him reach the summit!

I learned a lot of little things from my BOEALPS class.  One thing I learned was that you need to prepare for the trip back home off the mountain.  I never gave that much thought in the past.  I learned that you pack comfortable clothes to change into and have some good drinks stashed in the car to help you recover and prevent cramping.  Then the next thing BOEALPS taught that I had already learned quite well is to EAT!!  Normally we stop somewhere on the way home (usually Mexican food) but this time we went all the way back home and waited for our wives to join us on this celebratory dinner.

Now it's time to organize all the pictures and video I took of the trip.  I had such a great time working towards this goal.  Climbing for me is definitely not over, but has just began.  I now have the confidence and skill to continue to climb other peaks.  Washington is full of many mountains that people are not very familiar with.  I have got a lot of exploring to do!  Thanks for reading.

~Aaron

https://picasaweb.google.com/aaronmercado/RainierSummit

Mountaineering Books

If you plan to be serious about mountaineering, you will need to read a few books.  There are many classic mountaineering adventure stories out there and I am slowly making my way through them.  Here's a few listed along with a few comments.  



Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer:  This is a relatively recent book on a fatal Mt Everest expedition.  Certainly a great read with a very gripping story.




Minus 148, by Art Davidson.  This book is about a small expedition that set out to be the first to Summit Mt Mckinley (Denali) in the winter.  These guys were nuts!!  The bottom of the windchill chart they were familiar with was minus 148 degrees F.  They knew it had to be that or worse with the -40 degree 100 MPH winds they felt!  I thourougly enjoyed this book.


Addicted to Danger, by Jim Wickwire.  I stumbled across this book in a thrift store.  It's even an autographed copy!  I picked it up before a flight to California and I couldn't put it down until I was back in Seattle!  This a memoir of Jim Wickwire who is a retired Seattle Attorney and Mountaineer.  Jim has climbed with many of the famous American mountaineers like the Whittakers.  Jim will take you on a whole bunch of his life's adventures in the mountains as he flirted in the face death.  Your emotions will be touched as he describes tragic events where his fellow climbers died beside him.  The title is a true depiction of Jim Wickwire.



Annapurna, by Maurice Herzog.  This an older book about the first French expedition to summit Annapurna in the Himalayas.  The book was originally written in French and was translated into English.  The book starts off a little slow and I struggled to get engaged at first.  I kept reading it since I knew it was  a classic mountaineering book (Jim Wickwire mentions it as a book he read in his youth that inspired him to climb).  The slow start of the book actually reflects the actual adventure of Annapurna.  It is a very long approach to get to Annapurna and much of the book details the trip leading up to the base of the mountain. The book gets a little gruesome at the end as the climbers extremities are amputated by the expedition Dr Oudot...


Freedom of the Hills, by the Mountaineers.  This is the book that every camper, climber, mountaineer, etc needs to read.  This is essentially a mountaineering textbook covering everything you need to know from crevasse rescue down to how many calories you need to consume from carbs, fats, proteins...


In all the adventure books I've read so far, I end up climbing up these mountains in my imagination just as you would do with whatever book you're reading.  I think there is a lot of value in preparing mentally for the climb.  Police and Military training focus heavily on mental preparation.  Think up the situations that you may face and imagine how you would overcome the situation and what gear would you need to survive.  Frequently up in the mountains we need to be able to improvise when things are not going well.  Here's are some simple examples and some things I should have done...
It was fast approaching dark so I hastily pitched my tent on some lousy uneven ground.  All night I was sliding off my sleeping pad and I hardly slept.  Next to me was all my gear.  Why didn't I just stuff my gear under one side of the sleeping pad to make me level or provide a barrier?  One time I woke up to a frozen tent (about 5 degrees) and my boots were frozen stiff.  Why didn't I put them in the bottom of my sleeping bag?  Trust me, that mistake won't happen again.  I still remember the frozen toes thawing out in the bathtub.  Or, what if I dropped my gloves up high on the mountain and they slide off a cliff?  Will my hands freeze?  How about pulling out a pair of socks to put over my hands?  In distress and high altitude, the mental capacity shrinks, so one needs to have some background knowledge to lean on.  Hopefully as I read these novels, I can learn from the other climbers and tuck away this info for a timely need up on the slopes.  Thankfully, I serve a God who will make the difference for me when I fail to be prepared.

Camp Muir

Well, the Mercado Mountaineer had a great little adventure up to Camp Muir on Mt Rainier in Late October.  I've been up to Muir in the summer and the terrain is completely different in October.  The Muir snowfield in the summer is littered with soft snow and thousands of boot tracks.  Not so in October.  The snow is perfectly flat and hard.  My crampons barely sunk into the hard icy snow.  Ok, now let me backup a little bit...

After coming down from Mt Adams on Labor Day weekend, I was getting cabin fever down at 500 ft.  I needed to get back up to 10,000 ft where there is peace and solitude on the mountain.  I find the mountains to be such a wonderful place.  Of course the mountain has no feelings about who decides to climb her slopes, so proper gear and preparation are key to making the mountain a wonderful place.  Otherwise, the conditions can ruin your experience and even claim your life.  I can now say navigating  through a white-out for over an hour was not too scary while trusting in my GPS and compass.

My experiences on the mountain are so wonderful that I have a great desire to share these experiences with those who I am close too.  I took a good friend up in June.  He will never forget that experience.  I decided to take my brother-in-law up to Muir on this October trip.

After checking the mountain weather forecast, I realized crampons were going to be required.  The forecast called for 10-15 degrees and 15-20 Mph winds (-9 wind chill).  Looking back, I realized it was a little ballsy to take up my brother who has no mountaineering experience as well as subjecting him to the dicey weather conditions at 10,000 feet in late October.  At about the 9000 ft level I stopped to turn around to check on my bro.  I began to walk back a little to see where he was at.  My crampon dug in unexpectedly and I went down on my knees.  Before I knew it, I was sliding down out of control with no ice axe in my hands, just trekking poles.  I was able to arrest by dragging my feet.  I was fortunate to have this fall on a less steep section of the trail.  I was headed for a very steep section littered with sharp rocks that would have caused major if not fatal bodily harm!  I consider this scare of great value since it put some much needed fear into me.  Immediately my fears went to my brother because of his inexperience.  He was fine and I stressed to him to just take slow methodical steps up to the top.  I had an ice axe, but I decided not to use it since my brother did not have one and he wouldn't of been able to make much use of it if I gave it to him.  Due to my little scare, our time spent up at Camp Muir was a little rushed as I was uneasy about the downward trip ahead of us.  It was 3:30 and Sunset was at 6pm.  Consequently, I forgot to get some good photos of us together at the top.  We did have a much needed warm meal that we cooked inside the public shelter.  We each ate a mountain house meal and drank a cup of hot cider.

In the 45 minutes we spent at the top, the snow picked up as well as a little bit of wind.  With my GPS in hand, we walked into the white abyss and blindly traveled back down.  The whiteout lasted about an hour.  I stopped every few minutes to unzip my coat and pull out the cozy GPS in my chest pocket to check our heading.  By the way, I highly reccomend the Garmin 62ST handheld GPS.  I was able to turn in on when we left our car and keep it on until we returned 9 hours later with still 75% battery charge.  The tracks it records was key to my peace of mind while walking down the mountain in the whiteout.

In the dark, about 7pm, we made it back to the car and thanked God for a safe trip to Muir.

I am going to take away a few lessons learned from climbing on Rainier this time of year:

• Wear a helmet on that steep and hard icy stuff!
• Ditch the trekking poles when you get to the Muir snowfield.  Pull out the ice axe.
• Roping up together would be a good idea too.
• Always bring the crampons.  (we would have NEVER made it up that terrain without them)
• Always have a GPS and compass with you (which is one of the 10 essentials)

It was a great trip and the little bit of adversity and fear I experienced is something I will cherish and it will be a strength to me on future climbs.

Thanks for reading.
~Aaron

Flag Pole Raising

As a proud American citizen, I decided to put up a flag pole in front of my house.  So, my journey for purchasing something usually begins at Craigslist and a search engine called AdRavage (www.adravage.com).  AdRavage has helped me locate a number of great deals ranging from my garbage disposal to my engine lathe.  You simply setup a account and create a search criteria.  AdRavage will notify you via email or text message when something appears on craigslist matching your search criteria.  You can have AdRavage look as often as every 5 minutes or once/day.  Anyways, I found a guy selling old street lamp poles.  I borrowed a friends car trailer and bought it.  I'm not quite sure if I was legal or not hauling a 28 foot flag pole down the interstate, but I made it home without seeing the blue lights.

Being an engineer can be costly.  I tend to follow the motto, "When in doubt, make it stout."  So this flag pole is no exception.  It is anchored to the ground with 2400 lbs of concrete and attached with 3/4'' J-bolts.  In reality it is probably anchored appropriately if it was to be installed by the city as a light pole.  The over-kill part is that I'm making a flag pole out of a 310lb piece of steel.  Most poles are fiberglass, PVC, and the really heavy duty poles are aluminum. 

Prior to getting the pole, I was doing business with a local company for my job.  I liked their work and I hired them to sand blast and paint my flag pole.  I went with a green to match my home and shop and also it is a common color for street poles now in many cities.

Now most people would just use a rope and pulley and tie a few knots to attach the flag.  Not me, I felt the need to use stainless steel cable pulled to 50lbs of tension between two pulleys.  I was really considering doing the internal cable method by routing the cable up through the center of the pole and using a counterweight outside of the pole, but I quickly realized the cost would be much higher and my lack of time killed the idea.  I even thought of using a motorized pulley system to raise and lower the flag.

I love food and I tend to use it to lure people to my home to get man power.  Putting up this heavy pole required some heavy lifting equipment or a surplus of muscles.  The muscles route was easier and cheaper to do.  After two tries, the pole made it into position to be bolted down.  Nobody died.

The historic event in the Mercado family was captured on film and after some editing with my iMovie11 software, the video can be viewed here:  

~Mercado Engineering

Introduction

My name is Aaron Mercado and I have decided to give blogging a try.  I've been an internet user since I was a small boy and for the most part, I've never contributed to the World Wide Web.  I've always used the internet in a one-way, read-only fashion.  Perhaps something I post may be of use to someone and for no other reason, I will benefit by putting my thoughts and ideas down in electronic format.  I've benefited from the wealth of knowledge on the web probably thousands of times so I would like to give back in some minuscule way.

I'm an engineer by trade and I try to be a spiritual man following after Christ.  I envision this blog to be mainly about Engineering and some religious & family topics.

I find the need in my life to express to someone or something the stuff that goes on inside my brain.  I frequently share my thoughts with my wife, but she can only understand and take so much of the nerdy stuff I tell her about.

Here I go...