Never Stop Climbing
Adventures of a Novice Mountaineer

SummitPost is nice starting point for research and routes – not to mention some amazing photos of the mountain.

Life has been challenging since our return to Houston in late April. The economic nosedive created significant challenges at work for both of us and I was hit hard by flu. We’re hanging in there though. Jermaine has moved on to a new job and I’m training hard again after a longer than expected recovery period.

Our trip to Belford was a fantastic, if difficult, learning experience. You can learn a lot from falling face first in deep snow every 30 seconds for hours on end. So, the plan now is to take those lessons and return to Belford-Oxford in early October when the weather is admittedly somewhat unpredictable but likely less challenging than the conditions we faced in April.

Details are still being worked out. Jermaine might not be able to make it but Alan Arnette and Robert LeClair are apparently ready to go. The goal now is to finalize the plans by September 1. Stay tuned for updates.

Update:
We’ve moved the date up a couple of weeks so I will be heading to Colorado in September. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Robert will be able to join us.

We leave in two days so final preparations are underway. I spent part of the afternoon test packing my backpack to make sure that it would hold everything we’ll need to establish our camp in Missouri Gulch. So far, so good. Here’s what’s in (or on) the pack in this photo:

Sleeping bag
Foam sleeping pad
Inflatable sleeping pad
Jetboil stove
2 heavy base layers – tops and bottoms
1 Fleece pullover
2 expedition weight wool socks
2 pairs of liner socks
Black Diamond Mercury Mitts
REI Switchback gloves
Lightweight gloves
Glacier glasses
Goggles
First aid kit
Assorted personal hygiene gear
2 Nalgene bottles – 1 insulated
1 10L MSR Dromedary bag
Crampons
Balaclava
Buff head wrap
Ice Axe
Knife, lighter, firesteel, compass, other basic survival gear
Map
Down jacket
DSLR camera
Headlamp
Small flashlight
6 freeze dried meals
4 packets of tuna
5 packets of oatmeal
7 packets of energy chews
6 packets of cytomax powder
2 packets of instant potatoes
10 tea bags
5 instant coffee packets
12 Clif bars
6 powdered soup packets
1 thermos

You can see more detailed information on my gear here. Thankfully, most of this will only be on my back day one. Once we establish camp I’ll be packing a much lighter load.