Mt. Hunter

The Smileys climbed Mt. Hunter in Alaska this Spring. This another one of their “50 Classic Climbs of North America.” The (partial) story of their climb is here. I liked this quote:

“On the other side of the rabbit ears was a 300 foot rappel down steep rock and snow. At the fixed anchor Janelle broke down. Rappelling was a huge mental commitment to the route, a point of no return, and she was scared.

My ambition exceeded my fears at that point. I told her that I did not want to turn around because of an unforeseen danger. I wanted to go as long as it was ‘safe’. She made me promise that I would turn around if we encountered a section that was too dangerous to be worth it. I said I would. She looked at me saying nothing. I repeated myself with a little more gentleness. She was back on board, so we threw the ends of the rope down the wall.”

The video shows the deep snow, big crevasses, mixed rock and ice, huge cornices and even how hard the rappels are coming down.  “The hardest climb I’ve done,” he says.

West Ridge of Mount Hunter, AK from Mark Smiley on Vimeo.