Tomorrow marks one month until we venture up Mt. Hood. Training has been going well. Two Saturdays ago Jon, Michelle, Benjamin, and our friend Kyle went up to Mt. Spokane to practice some self-arrest. This involved snow, ice axes, and sliding down the mountain.
Michelle and Kyle spent time sliding down on our backs with our feet first, our bellies with our head first, and on our back with our head first. The latter proved to be the most difficult. Jon instructed on how to stop ourselves using the ice ax. He was holding Benjamin in a front pack, so Jon didn't partake in the sliding, plus he has experience doing it. The idea behind this practice was in case we were to slip or lose our footing on Mt. Hood and needed to stop ourselves. We also practiced some walking up techniques. Most people probably think it's not too hard to walk up, but there is some techniques involved so you get a good foothold and don't strain your muscles too hard all while maintaining control.
The highlight of the training was glissading. This is basically sliding down the snow on your bottom and using an ice ax to control your speed and ultimately stop. This technique is more of a fun way to go down the mountain as well as a time saver.
After the Mt. Spokane training we feel better prepared to climb Mt. Hood. We are looking forward to this exciting adventure which we will start in 1 month and about 3 1/2 hours from now. We are continuing to run and hike for our training.
For more information on climbing Mt. Hood, check out Summit Post.
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