HOW IT ALL GOT STARTED

Hello and thanks for visiting my climbing blog!

My name is Scott and I live in Atlanta, GA. I always had an interest in climbing mountains, but never really knew how to get started. In January of 2005, the company I was working for decided to open an office in Memphis and I volunteered to move and help get things kicked off. When I arrived in Memphis I only knew one person, whom I met a few years prior at a wedding, so I gave him a call. He agreed to meet me that evening, but couldn't stay out late because "...he was heading to Africa the next day." Upon meeting him that night, I learned he was leaving the next morning to try his hand at climbing Kilimanjaro.

The next morning, I was talking to my mother and telling her about the conversation from the previous night. During this conversation she asked me if I realized my Uncle Steve had been a climber for years. "No," I responded. She gave me his phone number and the following weekend I made a call to a relative I hadn't spoken to in years. Little did I know how much that call would change my life!

In the 6 years since, I've been to Africa (Tanzania & Kenya), Russia (Moscow & Mineral'Nye Vody), Mexico, Georgia (The country, not the state), and South America (Chile & Argentina), summitted Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt. Elbrus, and Mt. Rainier, made two attempts at Cerro Aconcagua, an attempt at Ixta, made quick stops in London and Quito, Ecuador, met an endless number of extraordinary people, and developed a new relationship with my uncle.

The blog entries, pictures, and details below are my attempt to share my adventures with the rest of my friends and family. I hope you enjoy!

Friday, July 23, 2010

Dinner, Bags, Sat Phone, and Sleep

Good evening,

Well, its 11am Pacific time and this will be the last posting for today. All my bags and gear arrived without a hitch, so thats always a big relief. I headed up to Kirkland, WA this evening to grab a bite to eat with a friend, or my "Last Supper" as I like to call it (See pic), and watched the almost no-no by John Lackey and then the subsequent meltdown. At least my burger was good!

The plane ride was uneventful and the views of Mt Hood and Rainier were fantastic! There were a lot of low clouds around the mountain, so once we descended you could no longer see the summit. Otherwise though, it was a perfect day in Seattle.

Regarding the satellite phone, it works pretty good. The pocket PC on the other hand, well, lets just say Windows can lock up anywhere. The software has completely locked up on the handheld device, so I need to call tech support tomorrow. Even if I cant get things straightened out, I can at least call the dispatches into Jess and she can post them since the phone works fine.

Ok, been up for 20 hours and need some rest. Ill be leaving here at 5:30am Pacific for the 2 hour drive down to Rainier and we begin crevasse rescue and avalanche safety class at 8am. It will probably be relatively quiet tomorrow until late evening, but Ill try to send some short messages from my cell assuming I have coverage.

Onward and upward,
Z
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)