Trip Report from Big City Mountaineers’ Summit for Someone up the Grand Teton
Positive Tracker and Youth Ambassador Board member Kate Dumanian recently returned from Wyoming where she participated in a Summit for Someone Climb to raise money for Big City Mountaineers. Although Kate’s climbing group, led by Jackson Hole Mountain Guides, was unable to summit due to weather and ice, she reports that the trip was a huge success – and she came away with renewed respect for Mother Nature, plus an appreciation for the power of a common cause. Kate took a few minutes from her internship at Stanford University’s Design Thinking School to talk to former olympic ski-racer and Positive Tracks wordsmith, Edie Thys Morgan, about the experience.
ETM: First off, congratulations are in order! You surpassed your goal and raised $6450 for Big City Mountaineers. Other than doubling that impressive total, how did Positive Tracks help you?
KD: The Good Sweat blog post on me was a HUGE help! I included a print out of it in each fundraising letter I sent out, and shared it on Facebook. Getting to know Liz Gray and having her support was one of the best parts of this experience. Her energy made me want to spread BCM to Dartmouth, and also continue to be a part of Positive Tracks after my climb.
ETM: In a word, how was the trip?
KD: Awesome!
ETM: And in more words?
KD: It was so much fun. There were 12 of us and four guides. I couldn’t have asked for better people to do this with. I hung out quite a bit with Milo and Bo (featured in A Grand Idea), who were really funny and energetic. Their dads, Dennis and Garth, were hilarious, and I also really hit it off with my tent-mate Kathy, a photographer from Idaho. I found her so inspirational. It was a wide-ranging group of all kinds, and they were phenomenal!
ETM: Were you nervous about the climb?
KD: I was already in Wyoming hiking with my younger brother in Alaska Basin and Death Canyon. We kept looking up at the Grand and it was intimidating.
ETM: Tell us how it all went down.
KD: On Thursday afternoon, we checked in with the guides and shopped. On Friday, we all met at the trailhead for the 6-hour (7 miles and 4,200 vertical foot) trek to base camp which is at 11,000 feet. It starts easy, then really climbs, and ends with a calf-burning ascent up a mound of loose rock. We got there at around 5:30pm and paired into tents. After dinner, we hung out in the tent and Dennis Lewon, editor-in-chief of Backpacker Magazine, told stories of past trips. He’s a great storyteller!
Saturday morning it started snowing, so we stayed in camp practicing knots and belaying, and getting used to our “approach shoes” which are a cross between rock climbing and hiking shoes. Later, the weather got better and we climbed 4 pitches, rappelling down the top one. Then it started pouring and the temp dropped.
The plan for the next day was to get up at 2:30am to start for the summit. But at 1:15am, we all woke up to hail, sleet and snow, which fell off our tents in sheets. We went back to sleep and got going at 4am. The guides told us it would be icy, but we were going for it. We made it to a fixed rope that we followed up to a saddle, and from there, headed up a steep, cold, windy ridge. All of us were well-dressed in layers, but the trail was slick with running and freezing water. When we rounded a corner, there was an inch of ice on the trail. At that point, groups—even some off-duty guides—passed us heading down.
ETM: So nobody was going to the summit?
KD: No. Basically, the mountain shut down. It was a pretty clear decision. When Mother Nature gives you snow and ice, there’s not much you can do.
ETM: How was the trip down?
KD: Slow! There was a lot of butt-scootching, and not much friction – even with the approach shoes. Back at the saddle, the sun came out a bit and we got a little warm, so we took some pictures, though we never saw the summit of The Grand through the clouds. When we got down to where we had stashed the stuff we didn’t need for the summit, Bo, Milo, Steve and I ran up a snowfield and slid down. It was super fun. From there we hiked all the way out. Lower down, it turned into a gorgeous day. But it was a long day on no sleep!
ETM: How was the mood of everyone when it was over?
KD: People were bummed we didn’t summit, but I was surprised at how positive everyone was. Dennis put it well when he told us, “It’s okay to be disappointed, and you have every right to be. But remember – no matter what – that you did a great thing for a great cause, and nothing can take that away!”
ETM: You’ve spent a lot of time in the mountains. How did it rate?
KD: It was one of the harder experiences I’ve had. But I was pleasantly surprised by the challenge – and to be with so many people who were also excited about taking it on. The guides were awesome, and I learned a lot from them. It was a great experience in ways I didn’t see coming, and a great reminder that mountaineering isn’t all about the summit.
ETM: What else did you learn?
KD: Mother Nature will do whatever she’s going to do! We are guests in natural areas, and when you invade that space, you have to read what it’s doing.
ETM: What’s next?
KD: I’m excited to get back to Dartmouth and hike in the White Mountains. I’m taking Spring Term off, so my brothers and I are planning on doing a big hiking trip all together.
ETM: Do you want go back and get The Grand?
KD: Definitely!