Island Peak - 219 Days to Departure - Lake Serene

Winter brings a whole new level of peacefulness to the mountains. It keeps the crowds away and those who are prepared to venture into the outdoors and break through a deep layer of fresh powder can enjoy solitude even along otherwise popular and overcrowded routes.

Lake Serene is one of the destinations where in the summer one has to arrive early, before the parking lot fills up, and then fight his way up among hundreds of others just to be met by barking dogs and screaming kids. Nothing serene about it.



In the winter it is a different experience. We arrived at the trailhead around 9-ish and we were the first ones to lay tracks in the fresh snow. Later another group caught up to us and they were the only people we encountered the whole way up.

The fresh snow under our boots reminded me of my childhood. It was almost always snowing hard in Czech Republic from November all the way to February or March and the sweet sound of snow crunching under our feet brought back so many happy memories.



It wasn't until we reached the more open areas higher along the trail when we decided to put snowshoes on. They made the remaining part of the trip much easier as we found a significant amount of snow there. The lake was hidden under a white blanket and the serenity of the area was disturbed only by occasional avalanche sliding of the cliffy face of Mt. Index.

What a great day at Lake Serene!



Sunday February 26, 2012
RT: 7.9 miles
Elevation gain: 2600 ft
Time: 8 hours

Island Peak - 231 Days to Departure - Ouch Ouch Ouch

Not all preparations for trip are as much fun as training hikes. Traveler has to deal with hours in front of computer screen, stretching his/hers eyes to find the best deal on air fare and accommodation, and research on what immunization is needed to improve chances for the trip to be successful.

I hate needles, so comparing the list of recommended vaccines with my immunization record nearly made me freak.... Hep A, Hep B, Tetanus, Typhoid, maybe influenza.... that did not sound like much fun at all. And indeed my arms hurt badly 3 days afterwards.

Perhaps next time I need to drink few shots before getting shots.

Island Peak - 233 Days to Departure - End of the Lazy Days

Even though I hiked during weekends, my weekday workout routine seemed to suffer from a streak of laziness during last couple of weeks, and often I found myself heading down to watch TV or play on the computer instead of a planned workout.

I could feel my cardio was not on the top of the game during my last hike so I knew I had to kick my butt back in the gym.... and I had a really good comeback - completing 5K in less than 30 minutes. Pretty cool!

Island Peak - 236 Days to Departure - The Trip of Changes

With the weekend approaching a discussion sparked as of where to go play in the snow this time. Several destinations competed for out vote, and in the end Middle Chiwaukum with good elevation gain and superb views won unanimously. But the closer to the weekend we got, the more obvious it became that the nature wouldn't treat us with clear blue sky, afterall we are in Washington State, and 2 weekends with good weather during winter is usually only wishful thinking.

We still could climb Chiwaukum but everybody agreed it would make more sense to postpone it for a sunny day when the long journey to the top will be rewarded with views. And there came the first change. The new destination was chosen - Sparkplug Mountain via Surprise Lake, where majority of the trail leads through a snowy forest that is fun to navigate through no matter whether it's sunny or not.



Then, on Saturday morning as we drove to the trailhead, the rain picked up and grew stronger, and it was raining rather heavily at Scenic where we were supposed to start our adventure. It did not take us long to agree on another change, and off we were headed over Steven's Pass to check what is the weather doing there. What a surprise it was to be welcomed by sunshine and mostly blue sky.

The clouds came later as we made our way up Smithbrook Road towards Lake Valhalla and mount McCausland, bringing snow showers, and when we arrived to the lake there was not much more than a hazy view of Lichtenberg, a mountain rising above the lake, available to us. McCausland was completely engulfed in clouds, and for a brief moment we considered another change - climb Lichtenberg instead - but then we proceeded in Mccausland's direction.... and just when we arrived to the summit, the sun broke through the clouds, and even opened some views down in the valley. Perfect timing.



Our lunchbreak with sun and nearly no wind was most enjoyable. We sipped on tea and shared chocolate, and then another change was suggested.... since we are already here, why wouldn't we attempt Lichtenberg also? It was a mere though at first but less then an hour after it originated we found ourselves in the uphill direction again, plowing through deep snow, making slow but steady progress towards the summit.



It was hopeful that we could actually bag two peaks during the trip, but then, less than 100 feet from the summit, a narrow corniced ridge banished our hopes. Still it was a good climb, finished by a fun glissade from the top, and leaving us with a reason to come back in the future.

Date: Saturday 2/11/2012
RT: 10.7 miles
Elevation gain: 3953 feet
Time: 9 hours

Island Peak - 264 Days to Departure - Mt. Teneriffe

In the summertime when you climb nearly 4000 ft and you find yourself atop a mountain with all the views hiding in clouds, it can be a little disappointing. In the winter it is a different game altogether. The light snowflakes gently falling from the overcast sky, blanketing everything with fresh powder that then transforms the trail into a winter wonderland and crunches under one's feet, that can be a fully satisfying experience on its own.

There was a light dusting of snow on the trail when we arrived to Mt. Teneriffe trailhead around 9:00 a.m. Strapping snowshoes on our backpacks, we headed up. With the first part being an easy walk up the road, nearly flat and with good traction, we arrived to the intersection with Kamikaze Route in no time. As planned we took the more challenging (= more rewarding) route and continued on yet another old logging road.



With the distance we covered already, we started to wonder about the nearly 4000 feet of elevation gain this train promised. And the further we walked on the beautifully snow dusted yet only very gently rising road, the more obvious it was that there is a real challenge awaiting us ahead.

We arrived at our second intersection. A sign posted here directed us to Kamikaze Falls. Finally we left the road and started gaining elevation. Just as expected the gain was rather serious and it continued all the way to the summit.

About a mile after leaving the road we passed semi frozen Kamikaze Falls and while taking photographs, we witnessed a large piece of the ice tearing from its base, and with a crushing thump plummeting down the face of the waterfall. From a safe distance it was a impressive thing to watch.



The trail got more snow cover with elevation we gained and in around 3000 feet the conditions were good. The trail was covered with a layer of fresh gripping powder, as we proceeded up the ridge towards the summit... and then, all of a sudden, our ice axes slipped through the fresh layer to an abrupt stop. It was about 800 feet below the summit where an icy crust hiding below the layer of fresh snow provided us with an extra challenge.

It was slow going from there. Parts of the trail were OK, part, even with microspikes rather slippery. Exercising extreme caution, and taking few slips, we safely made it to the very cold summit with no views where we spent whopping 5 minutes, and headed back down.



After the initial 800 feet of descend, things went pretty well. There was about 3 inches of very fresh snow on the trail making it look completely different that when we were huffing and puffing our way up earlier that day, and the amount of new snow kept consistent all the way back to the trailhead with plenty more coming down.

Seems like the winter is finally here this year!

RT: 6.8 miles
Elevation Gain: 3,860 feet

Island Peak - 272 Days to Departure - Arrowhead Mt.

The best gym is the one that is not enclosed in 4 walls, it's the one where a line of treadmills is replaced by a path along a bubbly creek and where instead of going from nowhere to nowhere on stair climber, after few mile of a workout one arrives at a vista with beautiful views.



The best training for a climbing expedition is to go out and hike, and scramble, and have fun while doing so.



Arrowhead Mountain offered both a good workout and an amazing day outside playing in the snow. We worked first, climbing steeply though a forest, and then, when we arrived at the ridge, the fun part started. Still uphill but now in a winter wonderland surrounded by frosted trees we made our way up in the fresh powdery snow.



The sun peeked at us for a brief moment and then soft snowflakes brought back the nice atmosphere of a winter day.

The summit was calm, with just an occasional breeze skimming by. We enjoyed a cup of a hot beverage and the partly clouded views before heading down.



Plunge-stepping in fresh snow and taking a slightly different, more scrambly, route made the descent nearly as interesting as the ascend, and was surely just as good of a workout.

Island Peak - 278 Days to Departure - New Year Day

After the forecast threatened with rain, the first day of the year turned out to be a gorgeous day here in Seattle.

And with the blue sky and sunshine out there it would be shame to stay at home, so today we opted for a walk and stair training.

The little over 500 stairs of Galer Street Staircase definitely warmed us up!

Island Peak - 287 Days to Departure

Back to hard work - half hour on treadmill alternating between fast running with incline 2 and slower walk/run with incline 15.

Island Peak - 288 Days to Departure

Capturing moments and creating memories is an essential part of any adventure so today we took off to the pre-Christmas city to practice night photography.

Island Peak - 289 Days to Departure

After a long weekend of sweet laziness – yeah pub hopping does not count as exercise, and nor does ascending mountains in gondola or chilling in hot tub – it’s back to training.

It is always tough to bite through the initial resistance, the urge to procrastinate just a day longer, when your body is still in a vacation mood but the treadmill won in the end and off I went for another intensity session – 15 minutes at speed 6.5 for warm up, then 4 minutes of 20 on 10 off intervals at speed 9 and after that 2 minutes of 15 on 15 off intervals at speed 11.

Pretty decent kick back into the training mode.

Island Peak - 294 Days to Departure

One positive thing about the treadmill is that it has a small TV attached to it so that I can watch the news while running for which I would not have time otherwise.

10 minutes warm up at 6.5 speed followed by 5 minutes of interval training at 9.0 speed. My legs could definitely feel that.

Shorter but intense training day – one day down, 293 to go...

Island Peak - 295 Days to Departure

Rest day - after Vesper Peak attempt, two 5k runs and another day of running in between, it was nice to take one. And considering that Feathered Friends store held a presentation by David Gottlieb and Chad Kellogg featuring their ascend of Pangbuk Ri, 6716m, never before climbed peak in Nepal, the rest day could not come timed any better.

What can be more inspiring for hard training than a great story and a slide show full of amazing photos!

Island Peak - 296 Days to Departure

I never liked running, especially running in circles - imagine school yard tracks - or running from nowhere to nowhere like on a treadmill. As a matter of fact I dislike running so much, I would often pretend I was being sick to avoid the compulsory 1 mile run we have to undergo twice a year while in elementary school.

Running; however proofed to be the the most effective way for me to deal with high altitude. I remember clearly my first hike to Camp Muir in 2008 when after reaching the elevation of 9000 ft the air seemed to disappear and I had to work extremely hard to make any progress. And I remember just as clearly how much different my experience was during my second hike to Muir, or the climb of Mt. Adams - after I implemented little bit of running and interval training in my workouts.

With our upcoming Nepal trip in mind, I knew I will have to find way to embrace this dreadful activity. I started with short, 10-15 minutes sessions of jogging, and slowly increased the time and speed over the last few weeks. Then at the very end of last week, I tried something I'd never thought I would have the slightest desire to ever do - running little longer distance - and I finished my 1st 5k run. And Just two days later, I did it again with a time of 30 minutes 45 sec.

Note: I still can't say I like running, but for the sake of training I can definitely tolerate it.

Island Peak 2012

Ever since I remember I had a photo of Mt. Everest sitting by my bed and every night I would fall asleep imagining that one day I will fly to Asia to see it on my own eyes. I carried that dream in my heart for years, and kept it alive through times when for various reasons such adventure seemed beyond the bounds of all possibility.

Then year 2011 came and as the calendar pages rotated toward the second half of the year, the door opened for me to start considering a trek to the Everest Base Camp more seriously than ever before.

Embracing the newly born opportunity I dove into the bottomless world of internet and with a help of Google navigated through it until I had the most useful pieces of information on hand. I always liked this part of a trip planning, the initial research, during which a tiny piece of information can mean a huge turn in the original plan.

And that’s what happened when I curiously clicked on a link “Climbing Expeditions below 7000 m” on one of the trekking agency web sites. Among many other options featured there, Everest Base Camp trek combined with Island Peak climb immediately caught my eye. Unlike the other also amazingly sounding choices, this one claimed to be accomplishable in only 22 days (conditions permitting) which I could see fitting into my vacation schedule.

I e-mailed Dave to let him know that my ambitions shifted from a relatively simple trek to an actual climb that would bring us above 20,000 ft. He eagerly accepted the challenge and it did not take long to get things rolling.

So now here we are, 297 days away from our departure, ready to train hard to make our Island Peak 2012 Expedition a success and a lot of fun.