From regional director Josh: Today finds the group whitewater kayaking, which is the first of three days of our whitewater kayaking clinic. Two days ago, I rejoined the group to begin our summit attempt of Mt. Adams. Our climb of Mt. Adams is one of my favorite things we do with students. It’s stunningly beautiful, physically challenging, and it can be a life-changing experience. It often produces sentiments like the one expressed by one of our students Ties: “I can’t believe that I’m doing this right now.”
The day before yesterday, we separated into three groups and began our climb up to our respective base camps. Each group hiked up a few miles to set up camp and learn how to walk on snow and use ice axes and crampons. We put our students through a “snow school” during which we practice using these new tools. After that, we called it an early night as we wake up in the wee hours of the morning to begin our summit attempt.
Waking up and climbing that early is a unique experience. When we woke up the sky was clear, and we began hiking in full view of the stars. I have climbed Mt. Adams many times, and I really enjoy watching our students push themselves. Although not everyone made it, I watched every single student push themselves to their appropriate limit. We battled some wind and cold, but I never heard anyone complain.
I know I can speak for the rest of the instructors when I say that I am extremely proud of this group and what they accomplished on the mountain. Thanks for sending us awesome kids!