it’s official

I received confirmation from Rainier Mountain Guides (RMI) today that I have a spot on their May 6th 2009 Denali expedition.    I’m pretty pumped about this!    Since I started climbing, Denali has been a goal for me and I’m very excited to get the opportunity to climb it next May.

Also, as the mountain gods must have been smiling on me today, I received my new 8000m parka in the mail today. This tang-colored beast is about as warm as you can get.  Which will be necessary when I’m shivering like a naked child in -50 degree temps at 17k ft camp next May.  Although I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to climb to the rooftop of North America I know that more than once during the climb I will say to myself, “this is just stupid.”
Some facts about Denali:

Aliases – Mt McKinley, Denali, the “High One”

Elev – 20,320ft; 6,189m