Mountaineering- My Newest Adventure

I stood on top of Mt. Larkins on Monday morning. This 2,300m peak with a shark-fin-type summit ridge overlooking both Mt. Aspiring and Fiordland National Parks and the beautiful Lake Wakitipu brought me to tears. 

I did this. 

I got myself to this point. I set this new goal for myself and I was doing it. I was summiting mountains. 

Mountaineering is the art of climbing mountains over any and all terrain including rock, snow, and ice. It combines hiking, climbing, abseiling, scrambling, navigating and using ice tools. Being a lover of climbing, connecting deeply with nature in the mountains, and challenging myself in massive ways, this sport enticed my adventurous heart. And it’s hooked me.

I created a 30 in 30 list of thirty different things I want to do in my thirtieth lap around the sun and at the absolute top of my list was mountaineering. To be able to check it off the list, the route had to require crampons, ice axes, and ropes. Within my first week of being 30, I’ve now gone on three different mountaineering missions and I can officially say it has encapsulated my soul. 

I have been a rock climber for almost ten years now and mountaineering is igniting that same spark I felt those many years ago on my first climb on real rock in the beautiful North Carolina mountains. There is almost no other feeling that could be compared to standing on top of a summit that took you multiple days to reach, traveling through heat, crumbling rock ledges and slopes, ice, snow, and exposed ridge lines. You did this. You challenged yourself and persevered. You earned the right to stand on top of that mountain and bask in its indescribable beauty. 

She challenged you and you overcame. 

Mountaineering is not only a physical challenge. It pushes you mentally as well. While I haven’t conquered any incredibly massive missions yet, even the smaller ones push the boundaries of your mental and physical comfort zones. 

The mountains, while indescribably captivating, are an unforgiving environment. Mother Nature is strong and powerful, moody and unpredictable. If unprepared, you don’t stand much of a chance against her. 

And maybe that’s the draw. Maybe it’s the ability to overcome anything the mountains can throw at you and end up on that summit, conquering the hardships is why we are drawn to them in the first place. 

Anything that deserves a mountaineering grade isn’t just a casual walk up a hill. Every route requires detailed planning, studying topographic maps, figuring out necessary gear, packing for any and all possible weather conditions, finding climbing partners you trust, and being both mentally and physically fit, to name a few. Most larger missions are multi-day endeavors, requiring overnight gear and plenty enough food and water. And on top of overnight gear, you also need all of your climbing gear, typically including harness, helmet, crampons, ice axe, rope, mountaineering boots, protection hardware, belay/rappel device, and personal anchor systems. Mountain weather can also change in an instant, changing from blistering hot sun to thunderstorms to sleeping frozen on a sheet of snow. You must be able to adapt, overcome, and move efficiently.

This sport is not for the faint of heart. A peak that I did a few weeks ago brought me to tears multiple times…and not the good kind of tears. The initial river crossing that I did alone at 5:00AM was terrifying, the hour and a half hike to the base of the mountain through a cow farm wasn’t fun, the steep uphill through thick bushes wasn’t enjoyable, the traversing across loose shale rock was scary and really challenging, losing my water bottle off the side of a cliff was heartbreaking, and the false summit that I stood on after eight and a half hours of hiking was basically a slap in the face… I did not have a good time climbing Mt. Alta. But that’s all part of it; the good, the bad, the beautiful, the hard, the captivating, the tears, the pain, the joy, the fulfillment…everything.

Mountaineering is a delicate balance of bringing enough gear to keep you safe in the mountains, but being sure to not bring any more than necessary and carrying too much weight, which will slow you down and can ultimately make your trip more unsafe. You have to know your limits and be prepared for any and all things that can go wrong, truly honing in on your adaptability, emergency response, and ability to problem solve when things inevitably do not go as planned. 

My heart feels incredibly drawn to these captivating peaks and ridge lines. I want to push myself in every way possible to stand on these summits. I want to conquer these mountain tops and hopefully find a bit of my soul along the way. 

I love that my heart has found a new sense of fulfillment in the mountains and I’m excited to see what adventures continue to unfold. “It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves”

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