The real importance of mountain climbing is found in what the mountains ask of those who climb and what they give in return. The same could be said of CrossFit, as the beauty of our gym is found in what it asks of us and what it gives in return. For the last couple years my wife, Lindsey, and I have climbed a mountain every summer beginning with the South Teton in 2009 and the Grand Teton last year, which are located in Grand Teton National Park, just south of Yellowstone National Park. Last year we witnessed the rescue of 16 climbers off the Grand Teton. As we were hiking to base camp a lightning storm hit the mountain, one climber lost his life, and 16 others were rescued in what was the largest rescue effort of climbers in National Park history.
Mt. Whitney from a distance
We reached the summit if the Grand Teton (13,770ft) the next day, unaware of the full story and the fact that the helicopter we observed flying above us, as we were climbing to the summit, was searching for the body of twenty-one year old Brandon Oldenkamp, who fell 2000 feet to his death during the storm. It was a bittersweet experience as we returned to Jackson Hole the following day to learn more of the tragedy. The latest Sports Illustrated has an article titled “Countdown to Tragedy” telling the full story of the events that took place a year ago. The story ends with words from Brandon’s father: “Oldenkamp was devoted to God, and his family says his faith, and theirs, has helped them earn a measure of peace. “I still weep sometimes,” his father, Bob Oldenkamp, says. “We weren’t ready for him to go…. But I do know that in those mountains Brandon saw the best the Creator has ever made. And, in a heartbeat, he got to see Him who made it.”
In the mountains I’ve found you do experience the best the Creator has made, and when you go it calls forth adventure, challenge, and risk. Risks are unavoidable in life, whether it’s climbing a mountain, entering into marriage, stepping into a new career, starting a business, joining CrossFit, or hopping on an airplane or getting behind the wheel of a car we all take risks on many different levels. They can be the greatest experiences of life or the most tragic depending on how far we step out of what’s comfortable and safe. There are good risks and bad risks, and the climbers that got caught on the Grand that day took a bad risk by continuing to climb as the weather forecast that morning and the sky both warned of a potential storm. Knowing the risks and making smart decisions on the mountain can be the difference between a successful climb and disaster.
Todd
A few of the risks you face are: adverse weather, rugged terrain, exposure, rock fall, dehydration, hypothermia, altitude sickness, equipment failure, physical exhaustion, and difficult route finding all of which can lead to serious injury or death. But, in return the mountains give breathtaking views, they test you beyond your mental and physical limits, they provide an opportunity to come fully present and alive to your surroundings, they force a laser like focus, and they grant the opportunity to reach the summit where in a moment you experience an overwhelming feeling of awe and accomplishment. For us the mountains awaken something in our soul, they are magnificent, inspiring, dangerous, and they call us to explore the treasures that can only be found as one climbs. To reach the summit requires dedication, hard work, training, experience, discipline, and desire. Sounds a lot like CrossFit – if we want to climb to a summit of elite fitness it will require the same.
Lindsey
After attending an open house this past December and participating in a few introductory WOD’s, we joined CrossFit in January. From the start we loved it from the variation of daily workouts, to the coaching, to the community created by its members, coaches and owners, and the philosophy of training and fitness CrossFit embodies. We drank the kool-aid pretty quick and bumped our 3-day a week membership to unlimited, and we haven’t looked back. We also signed up for the thirty day Paleo Challenge the gym offered in January. We were blown away by the results; I (Todd) lost 14 pounds and 6.4 % body fat in 30 days! I (Lindsey) had less physical transformation happen than my husband as I was focusing more on building muscle than losing weight. However, I could tell a difference in all aspects of my fitness because of Paleo and the variations of the workouts. With Kelli Cramer’s help as our Paleo team coach and our primary coach for the WOD’s we were able to attend we experienced drastic change in our overall fitness and health. We couldn’t believe how much better we felt and how much stronger we were becoming in such a short amount of time. Our training consisted of CrossFit 4-6 times a week, after a strict Paleo for 30 days we followed by a Paleo diet 75% of the time, a little running, and weekly rock climbing trips to the Red River Gorge for a period of six months to get ready for our climb. Our training began and we asked our friends and family to vote on six possible mountains to climb and the winner was Mt. Whitney, which stands at 14,496 feet making it the highest peak in the lower 48 United States. We eventually landed a permit to climb, but were only able to get a 24 hour day-use permit meaning we would have to climb the mountain in 24 hours, when most teams take 2-3 days. Knowing the physical challenge that lay ahead provided fuel to push ourselves, but CrossFit has a great way of naturally making that happen.
Mt. Whitney held serious challenges, as the hike to the start of the rock climbing was over 5 miles with an elevation gain of over 5,000 feet. For comparison the average ski area in Colorado has an elevation gain of 2-3000 feet. To reach the summit of Mt. Whitney meant travelling a total of 6 miles and gaining 6,200 feet in elevation, not to mention coming back down. The majority of people who climb Mt. Whitney take the Main Trail, which is an 11 mile trail of Class 1 hiking, some take the Class 3 route called the Mountaineers Route, which goes up a steep gully, and even less climb the technical Class 5 routes on the East Face. There are two technical routes called the East Face and the East Buttress both involving 5.7 rated traditional climbing. Traditional (trad) climbing simply means the lead climber places gear in cracks and rock features as they climb for protection from a fall until you reach an area suitable to belay your partner below, then your belay partner comes up and removes the protection, anchors in at the belay station, and the lead climber starts up the next pitch. Because of various factors like limited time of daylight, possibilities of afternoon thunderstorms, snow melt and rock fall increasing with warmer temperatures you have what’s’ called an “alpine start”, meaning you leave very early in the morning to start your ascent. On Mt. Whitney we woke up at midnight and were on the trail around 2:00 am, turns out we could have started earlier. The hike to the base of Mt. Whitney was very challenging as we gained over 5000 feet, the route finding was difficult at times, along with the exposure and being guided only by the light of your headlamp until sunrise. The snow pack in the Sierra’s was at record levels, which required us on the approach to climb over several steep chutes of snow with ice axes. We finally made it to the base of the climb around 10:00 am which was a few hours later than we hoped.
Todd and Lindsey on the trail on the way to their climb
Now the rock climbing began, which consisted of 11-12 pitches totaling approximately 1200 vertical feet. Each of the pitches was an average of 150 feet. Technically, it was the most challenging climb we’ve been on in terms of exposure, length of pitches, the route finding, and the approach. Not to mention the challenge of climbing with backpacks, which had ice axes, crampons, 2-3 liters of water, food, and our extra gear stowed inside. The rock climbing itself was spectacular, and we just climbed, and climbed, and climbed. It was physically and mentally exhausting. But, our CrossFit training was paying off. My biggest concern with CrossFit training was whether we’d have the endurance to hike and climb for such a sustained period of time, with the CrossFit workout’s being intense but short in duration. My concern was unfounded as the endurance was there; the CrossFit training was perfect preparation. As we climbed and it got later and later I tried to speed things up, but when we started climbing the ninth pitch in the dark, I was starting to get worried. I knew by this time we’d be spending the night on the mountain, but my goal was to make it to the summit even if it was dark, because I knew there was a rock shelter where we could stay if bad weather rolled in during the night. The last thing we wanted was to spend the night on the side of the mountain exposed as our chances of altitude sickness, dehydration, and hypothermia all increased by spending the night. We climbed pitch 9 and 10 in the dark with our headlights. By the time we finished the 10th pitch it was completely dark, we were exhausted, and we were unable to locate the final pitch to the summit. I was still thinking we have to make it to the summit when Lindsey calmly said she thought we should stop here and rest then wait till morning when we could see again to continue climbing. It was the right decision, so we anchored in, put on all the clothes we had, and spent the night at 14,450 feet.
As much as I (Lindsey) wanted to make it to the summit that night, I have learned through months of working out at CrossFit and training over the years to listen to my body and respond seriously to the need of rest, recovery, and when it has had enough. I knew that the safest option as I was belaying my husband and he was relying on my focus and “catch” if something happened, was to literally stop and begin again in a few hours; whether or not we actually slept, we needed to let our bodies pause. It certainly seemed less appealing, but there was peace in my heart about spending a night with my husband curled up and anchored in to on a ledge on the side of the mountain, but I knew it was the next page on this adventure.
Mt. Whitney
It was the worst night of sleep we’ve ever had, we could never really fall asleep, it was 30 degrees, we wrapped ourselves in emergency blankets I had in a first aid kit, and we shivered through the night. But, we did see some of the most amazing shooting stars as the stars were indescribable. We spent a long, cold, sleeplessness night about as high as you could in the lower 48. There’s saying among mountaineers: “In mountain climbing life is brought down to the basics: if you are warm, regular, healthy, not thirsty or hungry, then you are not on a mountain”. After a long night and another sunrise, the sun warmed us up quickly and we attempted to locate the final pitch. Again we had trouble finding the now elusive final pitch, but I came to an off-width crack about 40 feet from the ledge we spent the night and it seemed like the right route, but it looked really hard. We got a surprise gift and knew it was the right way to go. (FYI: Ask us what we found that led us to climb this final pitch – it’s a whole other story). It turns out it was the hardest move of the climb, a 5.9 off-width which we had to take our backpacks off to climb, and then crawl through a small tunnel, and after thirty more feet of climbing we were standing on the summit of Mt. Whitney. All the training, perseverance, and hard work took us to the Summit. The breathtaking view, the sense of accomplishment, and the joy of having persevered are too sweet for words. While it may have been the most challenging experience of my (Lindsey’s) life thus far, I am convinced that all transformational and memorable experiences take time and often require us to push through the obstacles and challenges that we least expect. We soaked in the summit and then descended the 11 miles via the main trail.
At the Summit of Mt. Whitney
The CrossFit community without a doubt helped us reach the summit, and we are so grateful for the ways CrossFit and a Paleo lifestyle has transformed our mental and physical fitness to levels beyond anything we’ve ever experienced. We want to thank everyone at CrossFit for the amazing training, the incredible coaching, and the community for creating such a rare and special environment of transformation. Thanks for asking something of us and giving us so much in return! Let’s climb on…
Todd and Lindsey Burris
CFM, along with many other affiliates around the globe, will be hosting the Garage Games’ newest series, the World Wide Wod. This event will take place between October 7th and the 21st, with 3 wods spread out over those days.
