Let children walk with Nature, let them see the beautiful blendings and communions of death and life, their joyous inseparable unity, as taught in woods and meadows, plains and mountains and streams of our blessed star, and they will learn that death is stingless indeed, and as beautiful as life.

It began simply as a pipedream; a wonderful pact between two friends: to hike to the summit of Mt. Rainier. But as with all grand plans, pipedreams and pacts, there is always the human element to contend with: conflicting schedules. Despite my friend Chuck's inability to join me, I carried on with our plan. In July 2005, I had the most extraordinary opportunity to not only explore Mt. Rainier National Park but also to experience one of the most phenomenal moments in my life: an actual summit of Mt. Rainier.

It must be said that the Mountain was very gracious to me and my Summit Team A as we scaled its rocky and snowy banks. And a tremendous amount of credit must go to the very competent training and guiding of Rainier Mountaineering, Inc and its staff. A special thanks to our guides Casey, Scott and Viktor for their support. Should you be planning a summit trip of Mt. Rainier, I would strongly encourage you to consider the services and assistance of RMI. Nowhere else can a novice climber stand among legends and sages of the climbing community and reach for the heavens than at the RMI BaseCamp. For more information, quick click on the About RMI link above.

And should you be interested in visiting the trails of Mt. Rainier National Park or attempting an actual summit of The Mountain, feel free to view the enclosed photos and download the following information within this website. To you, I wish you "good luck," but more importantly, "good hiking/climbing!"

Post Note: It remains my intention to attempt a second summit of Mt. Rainier; this time with my friend in tow... to Camp Muir and beyond!