My Grand Adventure

Twenty minutes. That's how long I stood on top of The Grand Teton, a summit I'd been thinking and dreaming (ok, I admit - obsessing) about for 7 months. It was everything I'd hoped it would be yet it was also so much more than I ever imagined. And then we climbed back down to base camp and hiked off the mountain. Then I got on a plane. Then I was back home. Then I was back at work, in an office with no windows. It can be hard after any vacation to reenter your regular daily l

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I woke up at 2am in a tent at 11,000 feet. There had been a storm during the night. Thunder boomed through the mountains and lightning brightened the inside of the tent enough so I could see the startled look on my tent-mate's face. There had been deep moments of doubt as I lay sleepless, thinking about what lay ahead - the climb to the summit of the Grand Teton. Maybe this storm will prevent us from being able to climb, I thought. Maybe we won't be able to go and then it'll

For six months I've been thinking about this day. I've been planning and training and generally obsessing over it. And now it's here. It's finally here. In a few hours I'll be standing at the foot of the Grand Teton with a bunch of guys I've never met before, throwing on my pack, and heading up 4,000 feet to camp. This is what I've been waiting for with anxiety and hope. And now it's time to see if all that work was enough. Did I train enough? Did I pack the right gear? Wil