The Shakedown Cruise

He carried a weathered gray French Sacs Millet rucksack, so well-worn that it already looked vintage. I was an astute observer of gear and would try to uncover what stories they might represent or reveal. The rucksack spoke to me of many days in the mountains and also of expertise. His battered blue MSR Eagle ice axe reinforced that impression. While those observations appeared as a convincing visual resume, the perception of alpine expertise was complete conjecture on my part, as that had yet to be proven. The condition of his rucksack and ice axe were somehow reassuring.

We headed up the Snow Lake trail from the Alpental parking lot and passed into a truly alpine environment. A brilliant sunny day spoke of possibilities. We left the hiking trail and, after passing Source Lake, encountered snow.

Nicolai pulled his ice axe from his pack, and I did the same. He began ascending the steep snow slope, kicking steps and plunging the spike into the snow. I watched and, a bit unsure of myself quickly called out.

“Hey, how do you use this thing?”

The cat was now out of the bag. I didn’t know shit about travel on snow or ice.

Nicolai didn’t give me the business about it or laugh in my face. Like a patient mentor, he explained the rudiments of ice axe use for glacier travel, demonstrating the techniques. I picked it up quickly, relieved that my little bit of instruction had gone so well, and we continued towards the base of the granite spire known as The Tooth.

Nearly there, we ascended the basin under the east face of The Tooth to the second notch, south of the South Face. Climbing through the notch, we descended to the north and back up to Pineapple Pass, the notch between the South Face and the other pinnacle to its south. Although circuitous, the approach now over, we roped up and began our ascent directly up the South Face to a broad ledge about 50 feet below the summit. We traversed on the narrow ledge, the Catwalk, and then scrambled to the summit.

The route was only three pitches long, and we swung leads, Nicolai taking the first and the last. I lead the middle pitch. Yes! The South Face route, though short, had clean solid colorful lichen-encrusted rock and a moderate technical difficulty making the climb easily doable, the structure of the exposed ledge adding to the thrill.

The summit was notable in that it was spacious and although, slightly sloping and quite irregular, relatively flat, flat enough to lay down, which is exactly what Nicolai did. As he reclined, he opened his shirt to expose his bare chest to soak up the warmth of the sun and then quickly lapsed into a mid-day nap. What a guy, so cool, I thought. Colorful climbing gear, carelessly strewn on the summit, Nicolai napping, just the two of us as we had seen no one all day. I slowly turned all the way around, scanning and marveling at the views of nearby Chair Peak and so many others, innumerable snowcapped peaks shining bright across the skyline. The day was still, without wind, and time seemed to stop.

I paused and mused to myself that this sure beat the hell out of another day at the office. Now, working at NBBJ, another big architectural firm, larger and a big step up from Maloney, I was not liking the tedium of drafting architectural working drawings. Though I did not know it, this climb would be another pivotal moment, an unconscious decision point, that would lead to my breaking away and leaping into the unknown.

The climb, relatively straightforward, athletic, and satisfying, led to a descent that proved to be big fun as well. We rappelled back down the climbing route, taking it slowly, savoring both the place and the process, and were soon back on snow, the softer mushy snow of the hot afternoon. I was elated. The day had been perfect, and in a real sense, I had been spoiled. Not all alpine rock climbs would be of this quality and rarely conducted on such a fine day.

This is an excerpt from ‘The Shakedown Cruise,’ an adventure story from my recently released memoir, Banquet of the Infinite, which is now available as an eBook on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.