Jul 05 2007
Attempt to Summit Mt. Baker
I didn’t summit: I turned around just 1400 feet below the summit because I didn’t think I was able to keep up with the rest of the group.
I have been training hard to go with a group of MBA students to summit Baker and Rainier. It is very disappointing now that I failed. It is even harder to write this entry down.
There can be many excuses. Afterall, Mt. Baker, at 10,800 feet, is not that higher than Camp Muir where I have been to at least four times now. At the point where I turned back, I wasn’t particularly tired. Although I was slow but I was able to recover fairly quickly after short stops. The wind was strong but it was not as much as what I encountered on Mt. Adams, nor was it very cold. I just didn’t feel comfortable and was not sure how my body would react in the wind.
I guess this trip ends my mountaineering attempt: my body just is not built for the cold and wind. It is fortunate that I still have plenty of places to go and I enjoy them just as much. But admitting defeat is never easy whatever mitigating factors there are.
Along I-405, there is only a short stretch of road where you can see both peaks (back and forth). And I happen to drive on that stretch every day.