![shasta,](https://snowbrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/DSC09316-7-pichi.jpg)
Report from June 17th, 2020, and written by Andrew Fish from surfisswell.com. Images by author unless stated
Shortly before my river trip in Mendo, a friend and one of my ski inspirations named Kerstin planted the seed in my head to climb/ski this peak, one of the most iconic and highest in California. ย Itโs a mountain Iโve always wanted to climb, but Kerstin made it feel possible. ย So, en route to the river, I ended up bringing my skiย gear with me. ย My hope was to raft, then make this iconic climb with Kerstin and her husband while I was up North but unfortunately, we werenโt able to line it up. ย Still, I couldnโt get this peak out of my head. ย I was determined to climb it while there was still a window.
I wasnโt sure who would be up for such an adventure, butย James Barkmanย immediately came to mind. ย I met James several years ago at Descend on Bend, a gathering of VW van owners thatย takesย place each year in the Oregon wilderness. ย I only looselyย knew James but we had recently been touch about sailboats. ย Candidly, I was pretty nervousย to reach out to James, fully intimidated by his online persona and the pure badassery of his recentย 30,000-mile trip climbing massive peaks (i.e. Denali) from Alaska to Patagonia on a dirt bike.
Sure enough, James and two of his buddies were down and we started looking at dates, routes, weather, conditions, etc. ย The entire trip was planned exclusively via text (not one phone call was exchanged), and we agreed that Wednesday was the day. ย When I left Ventura at 4 am on Tuesday, I honestly thought there was a 50% chance that James and his buddies werenโt going to show up. ย I didnโt care. ย I was determined. ย And I had faith that one way or another, this trip would come together.
After 9hrs in the van, I saw the mountain in the distance. ย Holy shit, it looked massive. ย I thought to myself, โno way in hell can I get to the top of thatโ. ย With butterflies in my stomach, I continued onward and pulled up to the trailhead. ย I chatted with some other folks which eased my fears slightly and soon later, James, Jack, and Matt showed up. ย We prepped our gear and agreed on a 4 am alarm for a 430am start. ย I hardly slept a wink.
We started off on foot at 430am. ย It was pitch black. ย Headlamps on. ย Fuck. ย I was 20 steps in and already huffing and puffing. This was not good. ย What did I get myself into? ย I already felt defeated. ย My pack was so heavy with all kinds of gear; extra layers, 3L of water, food for the day, first aid kit, batteries, ice axe, crampons, snow shovel, probe, helmet, goggles, and more. ย Plus, being on foot meant that we had our ski boots mounted to our skis, and strapped to our packs. ย So, take an already heavy pack, and throw skis and boots on it.. not light.
The sun started to rise and I eventually found my flow. ย It felt good to finally reach snow. ย We stashed our shoes and switched from walking to skiing uphill with skins. ย As we gained elevation, the snow was not softening as hoped. ย It was icy, getting steeper, and more challenging. ย We discussed turning around several times but ultimately agreed to take it section by section and sure enough, the snow quality/conditions improved.
About 2/3 of the way in, skinning was no longer an option. ย It was too steep and icy so we transitioned again, throwing our skis on our packs and switching to crampons and ice axes. ย By this point, it was slow-moving. ย And steep. ย One step at a time, maybe 5, then a rest and several deep breaths. ย I wish I had taken more pics but I was too tired, in pain, and a small mistake or loose footing had consequences. ย Sitting here now, I wish I had snapped every moment.
By the time we hit the summit, I was absolutely spent. ย Every part of my body hurt. ย My head was pounding. ย And the idea of skiing down wasnโt even appealing. ย However, I pulled myself together to complete 100 consecutive days of meditation, signed the summit log, and prepped for the descent.
Overall, it was an absolute suffer-fest. ย 11 miles and 7,000 vertical feet. ย It took 14 hours to complete. ย It was painful. ย And I recall thinking, โwhy am I even here?โ. ย That being said, this mission represents so much more than a summit, the highest peak Iโve ever climbed, and my longest consecutive stretch of daily meditation.
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