A day for uncomfortable shoes

This morning, July 9th, I went snowboarding at Mount Hood. We woke up at 5:30, hit the road at 6:30 and were on the slopes by 8:00. I worked on my carves, spins and 180s. Motoshi rented a snowboard from a man with a foot for a hand. We snowboarded until 1:00 when the snow had become so slushy we had to swim down.

Mount Hood is an angry-looking mountain. The words “snaggle-toothed” and “old man” come to mind. He gave me a steamy red blister on the back of my heel. From Mount Hood you can see Mount Jefferson and the Three Sisters, which all top out over 10,000 feet. I don’t know if they all want to give me blisters too, but I’m willing to give them a chance.

This evening I went rock climbing at Pete’s Pile with Sara and Ryan. Ryan lead climbed and set up four routes, and we climbed until the sun disappeared behind the saddle of Mount Hood. Ryan works as a mountaineering guide in the Cascades area, so we talked abou how I was to become a pure-blood mountain man. All three of us hail from the Midwest, so we all know anything is possible.

My goal is to summit Mount Adams by September. I will need crampons, trekking poles and guns. And a sixer of Grainbelt.