We’re back, and as many of you already know we successfully reached the summit of Guadalupe Peak. The trip was highly successful. We achieved all of our objectives and learned a lot in the process. Extremely high winds, sub-freezing temperatures, and bad road coffee were just some of the challenges we faced along the way.
We’re processing photos, video, and writing the trip report now. We’ll be adding new content throughout the week. We’ll even have some reviews of some of the gear we took with us.
We’d like to thank all of you who are following us at this early stage, contributing your own stories, offering climbing tips, and generally cheering us on. Sharing our first summit experience with so many friends, family, and climbers is not something we’ll ever forget.
This has been a very cool week for TeamNSC and we haven’t even officially kicked things off yet. We’re still in a sort of soft-launch mode with a lot of site content yet to come. The highlights so far (warning: overuse of the word awesome to follow):
- Winning a $40 Sun and Ski Sports gift certificate – That’s pretty exciting when you’re broke!
- Helene Barrette submitted the first entry in our “We Never Stop” series and it’s awesome.
- Helene Barrette submitted a second, even more awesome, entry about her first steps as a mountaineer.
- Cool tweeps started following us on Twitter.
- Mountaineer Alan Arnette surprised us with yet another “We Never Stop” entry – a totally awesome one at that. We hope this luck follows us to the mountains.
- This shout out from the tweeps and Sun and Ski Sports was pretty cool. We are not worthy but our contributors most definitely are.
So what’s next? Here’s the basic plan for the next couple of weeks.
Early next week we leave for Guadalupe Peak. We’ll spend two days on the mountain, including one night at over 7,000 feet. We’ll probably summit more than once and spend time at the high camp shooting photos and video. If we can get a signal (we think we can) you’ll know because we’ll post updates to Twitter.
We’re packing quite a bit a gear and large packs for this trip. Yes, we could travel much lighter but this trip is essentially a training hike for us and we want to spend some time at the high camp. We’re still getting into shape so the extra workout is a good thing.
Once we return (“if” we return as our friends are fond of saying) we’ll edit our video and make it available via our YouTube channel and Flickr, post our photos to Flickr, and work some of the content into the web site. We’ll also write up a detailed trip report. Once that’s complete we just have to roll out our bios and a kick ass climber interview that we’ve been working on (sorry, you have to wait – it’s worth it) and the site will be officially launched.
What then?
We have a couple of organizations that we’d like to support as our climbing skills progress and we’ll be starting those conversations in November. We might have something in place by launch but that will likely take a bit longer. The charitable component of this project is important to us and we want to get it right.
You’ll see regular updates as we continue to train. The site will feature a lot of fitness related content as we move forward. We also have our eyes on some mountaineering and climbing classes. You can expect extensive coverage of these events. We have a lot to learn but we’ll move forward as fast as our bodies and bank accounts allow.
Before the year is out we’ll be moving into the planning phase of our next climb and we’ll want you to join us. We don’t know exactly how that will work but we’re working on it. As soon as that plan solidifies we’ll announce it here. Remember, it’s never to early to start training.
Guadalupe Peak is Texas’ highpoint and a natural choice for us as we put our initial training to the test and prepare for higher, more difficult, peaks.
On a clear day, the view from the “Top of Texas” (8,749 feet, or 2,667 meters) is outstanding. The trail is very steep, but is well established. Some areas are exposed to cliff edges. It is rated strenuous, with 3,000 feet of elevation gain. The round trip distance is 8.4 miles, and generally takes 6-8 hours. Avoid the peak hike during high winds and thunderstorms.
The hike up is relatively safe but reaching the summit of Guadalupe Peak does present some risk:
The Guadalupe Mountain area is one of the windiest places in the nation. Winds in excess of 100 mph have been recorded and high winds are common year round. Bring your Wal-Mart tent at your own risk.
Mountain Lions and rattlesnakes are located in this area. Read all the precautions and warnings at the ranger station. Despite their presence, I haven’t seen any snakes (although I only go in winter and they are probably hybernating) nor lions in 7 trips to the Guadalupes other than some lion tracks in the snow. Dawn is the most likely time for a lion encounter.
Snakes aren’t a concern, ditto for mountain lions really, but weather is. November is typically fairly mild in that part of Texas but it is entirely possible to catch a strong cold front that time of year. Still, life-threatening temperatures are unlikely (we will be prepared for colder than expected temps) but wind could be a problem. When isn’t weather a problem on mountains?
We plan to spend two days on the mountain, spending one night at the high camp at 7,700 feet. That will allow us to summit before dawn and capture the sunrise if weather permits. On a good day the view is incredible. Check out these amazing photos of Guadalupe Peak on Flickr for proof.
We’re live now but this site is really still under construction. Things will really kick into high gear with our official launch in mid to late November. That is when videos will hit Never Stop Climbing YouTube channel, when we’ll get really active on Twitter, and when this blog will start being updated daily.
You’ll also be able to find us on FriendFeed, buy official Team NSC gear on Cafepress, and hopefully get involved in supporting important causes that we care about.
We will also be sharing ways that you can get involved in Team NSC as a community member, supporter, partner, or sponsor. Never Stop Climbing is about reaching seemingly impossible goals no matter what they are. We hope to inspire others to create and achive impossible goals of their own.
Can two very out of shape guys get into shape, learn how to climb, and tackle some of the world’s highest mountains? You are about to find out.
We’re just getting started here. Much work remains. Team and website creation is progressing well. Planning for our first summit, Guadalupe Peak (8,749 feet – 2,667 metres), in November is pretty much complete. Mt. Rainer will probably follow in the spring of 2009. More entry level climbs will be scheduled in 2009 and if all goes well 2010 will be extremely interesting.
Training and diet plans are in full swing and have been for some months now. Excess weight is falling off. We’re racking up dozens of miles and hundreds of flights of stairs per week. Complete transformation is a long process but it is happening.
We’re going to be detailing every step of our preparation for these climbs and the expeditions that follow on this site.
