We Made It!

Unbelievable three days! Never been so worn out. Stace and I both made it up and down safely but we are both exhausted. Started the summit day at 1am with 3000 ft of roped in climbing to the summit followed by a 9000 foot descent. Think I may lose a couple toenails and my legs are shot but God showed up and got us through. Many thanks to all who prayed for and supported us. Took some incredible photos and have some great stories that I am looking forward to sharing but right now can only update on the phone without pictures and I am fading in and out of sleep as I type. Check back on the blog in a couple days. Look forward to seeing many of you when we return to Cape on Sunday. Tonight it's on to Branson to pick up the kids from Kanakuk. Thanks again to all!

Descent from Hood

Had quite a bit of trouble formatting last night's entry, that along with fatigue led me to cut the session short. Have a few more photos from the descent below. The descent was actually quiet interesting because the temperature rose quite rapidly causing the snow to soften considerably and the wind also picked up quite a bit. (about 50mph at times)

A cocky Stacy and a relieved John safely down just below the dangerous portion of the summit.

Beautiful sunrise for our descent

Stacy feeling good and glad to be heading down.

Halfway down in front of Illumination Rock

John with guide, also named John, as weather turns bad. Couldn't have asked for a better leader for our trip.

Stacy no longer as happy as winds pick up to about 50mph

Mood improves as cloud lifts and winds die down. At this point we were able to switch from hiking boots to skis and the descent was much more fun.

Stacy heading for home and the hot tub.

Looking back up at the impressive storm we had just come through, totally obscuring the mountain above.

John enjoying a "post-hike" dip in the timberline lodge pool with Mt Hood in the background.

The swim marked the end of a fantastic day. Highlight was the dramatic turnaround of the weather on top. We went from total white out with a forced turnaround to clear skies with a summit in about 15 minutes. Many thanks to my buddies in small group, Jimmy, Mike, Greg, Chris and Greg, for their prayers that turned the tide for us. As we were sitting on the Hogsback, waiting for the weather to clear, they were back in Cape at "My Daddy's Cheesecake" at our usual Thursday morning meeting. I sent them a text for them to pray for a break in the clouds and the next thing you know it was a go. As my friend Jerry Stone wrote in his comment, "If the Lord takes you to it, He'll get you through it."

Hood Summitted!

Sorry for the delayed post! Big storm at the lodge and all the internet access was lost. Fantastic and dramatic day on the mountain with many moments of doubt but in the end we were able to summit! Experienced sun, rain, snow, whiteouts, mushy snow and rock slides to make for an unforgettable day. Started at 2:30am and made summit at 6:30 in a complete whiteout. Have added several photos of the climb. Today we are in Portland doing laundry and resting up for the Rainier climb on Monday.

2am departure makes for a dark and cold start to the day




Trying to catch a glimpse of the summit













Starting to lighten up as we approach the ridge know as the "Hogsback"



















Several climbers gather at the Hogsback as the guides decide whether or not to press on.


John standing atop the Hogsback. Very cloudy and windy. Texted my buddies at this point who were meeting for small group and asked them to pray for clearing as our guide was telling us we couldn't go up due to poor visibility. We told him whatever he thought but wanted to wait a few more minutes.
Same spot 15 minutes later. Unbelievable how quickly the clouds broke. Guide decided to press on at this point up the steep chute in the middle of the photo. Toughest part of the climb by far.






Photo from the summit. Clouds moved back in as we reached the top. No view but thrilled to make it.

Heading Out -1:30 Departure!

Wish us luck! Pray for no rain!

Tonite is the Night!

Safe arrival for John in Seattle on Monday night. Stace's flight got cancelled due to weather so John spent yesterday exploring Seattle by foot. Highlight of the day was Pike's Place Market, a large open air market packed with fresh fish, produce flowers and artwork. Very interesting place, John put together a picnic made up of smoked salmon, Rainier cherries, smoked cheese, fresh bread, chocolate chip cookies and a bottle of Washingtom state wine. Picked Stace up at the airport and we had the picnic on the beach.

After the picnic and a nice nap, headed south to Mt. Hood and on the way caught our first glimpse of Mt. Rainier. Both mountains looked dramatically bigger in real life than in photos. Stayed last night at the base of Mt Hood at the Timberline Lodge, a beautiful, rustic national park lodge built in 1937. Great view of Mt Hood out the window. Spent today with our guide learning rope, ice axe and crampon skills. Lots of fun and not nearly as difficult as we expected.

Tight quarters in the old lodge and lots of equipment make for crowded conditions! Had dinner at 3:30 and spent the next couple of hours packing up for the 1:30am departure. Hoping to get in a good nap prior to leaving. Strange timeframe but much easier and safer climbing conditions early in the morning. Hoping to be back to the lodge in time for lunch. Forecast is calling for a chance of rain or snow so could be an exciting night. Our guide has been up the mountain 62 time with no injuries so we are feeling pretty good. Pray for good weather! Hope to report a successful summit tomorrow afternoon!

Mountain Top Experience

Day two was another great day for John in Colorado! Had planned for a favorite hike nearby but when I drove over found that trail was not yet open for the season. Tried two other spots but they were also still closed. By then it was lunchtime and I sat there alone a bit frustrated that my well laid out plans for the morning were falling apart and to top it off it was starting to rain.

After praying a bit during lunch for some direction on afternoon activities, I decided to head over to Frontier Ranch, one of Young Life's camps in Buena Vista, Colorado, about 100 miles away. At the time I thought it was what is known as "work week," the week before camp begins where volunteer high school and college kids from around the country come to spruce up the camp before campers arrive. Turns out it was the last day of the first week of camp so that when I arrived the camp was buzzing with activity with kids and counselors running around all over the place.

Kept telling myself that I needed to get in a bit of a workout so I decided to climb up the mountain that overlooks the camp. Each camp week, all the kids from the entire camp go up the mountain together and plant a cross to kind of end the week on a high point. Turned out to be the high point of the trip for me as well. Wish the pictures could capture the moment better, but sitting there surrounded by crosses put there by kids that I could hear running around far below, laughing and having the time of their lives really put things into perspective. Was touching to see all the names and verses carved in the wood and the bandanas left behind and tied to the crosses by campers who had come before me. God didn't need me to climb that mountain to get my legs in shape, God wanted me up there to remind me why I was here. It's not about Stacy and me climbing a mountain, it's about giving more kids the opportunity to come to Young Life camp and experience God's love for themselves.

I walked down that mountain on a high that I didn't think could be topped. I stepped into the dining hall looking for a familiar face, and there I see my good buddy Steve Pickard. Steve was my Young Life leader in high school and was kind of my spiritual mentor. He came over and gave me a big hug and we had a great dinner and evening together. Turned out he had come over from Wichita to surprise his daughter Ashley, who is working at the camp, for her twentieth birthday. We all went to club together and then Steve gave me a big pep talk for the upcoming climb. He recently climbed to the base camp at Mt Everest and he happened to have his album from the trip along with him. We went through the album together and had a great time catching up.

God couldn't have planned a better day for me and I left camp that night charged up for what lies ahead.

The Day is Finally Here

Left Springfield, Missouri early this morning and flew to Denver to begin the journey. My wonderful wife graciously allowed me to come out three days early to try to acclimate prior to beginning our climb. In the past I have had some troubles with altitude sickness (dizziness, nausea, disorientation, etc) so thought it would be best for me to come out a bit early to hopefully reduce the chance of troubles down the road.

Had a wonderful day exploring some of the country's most spectacular sights; Rocky Mountain National Park, Long's Peak, Estes Park, Grand Lake. Many beautiful sights today and thankfully no episodes of altitude sickness. Hung out above 12,000 feet for several hours with no problems. Saw three elk and two moose and got pulled over by a park ranger for speeding. Luckily he just gave me a warning and didn't spoil what was otherwise a great day.

The photo below was taken by a sixty-something year old man named Brent from Fort Worth that I met on the trail in Rocky Mountain National Park. He was with his wife and I had taken their picture before he took mine. He saw that I had on a Young Life, Frontier Ranch t-shirt and asked me if I was involved with the ministry. I told him briefly the story about our climb and he smiled. He got a little teary and told his wife and me that he had met Christ at summer camp at Frontier Ranch in 1961 when he was in high school and thanked me for our involvement in the ministry and told me to keep up the good work.

Had to smile as they walked away and thanked God for the message of encouragement he sent down to me. Brent was a great reminder to me of why we are out here. Stace and I are excited to begin our journey and are so thankful to all of you out there that have offered prayers and donations to the ministry. It's my hope that through your support there will be more "Brents" in this world that come to know Christ through the ministry of Young Life.