The Rockstars climb with a true Aussie legend!

The Perfect Sunday.

Well how can I possibly explain to you how good Sunday was for both Dave and myself.

First let me explain the title of this post……A good friend of mine Peter Gash happen to mention to me that he knew Michael Groom, for those of you who are interested in mountaineering his name will be known to you through books and TV interviews not to mention the famous book by Jon Krakauer – Into Thin Air……  however if you don’t know who Michael is then hang onto your hats and discover a living legend…..take a look at this short video and be prepared to be inspired…..

I’m sure you will all agree it’s not often you have a chance to spend time with guys like Michael so when the chance came up for Me, Dave and honorary Rockstar Pete to climb Mt Barney with Michael we jumped at it.

This photo shows the top half of the 1359 mtr peak and the route shown   by the black line is Logan’s Ridge the line that we climbed on Sunday.

I know what your thinking……did I pee my pants?…..the short answer is yes….many times.

All I can say is thank god that we had an expert guide with us otherwise you may have all seen us on the nightly news being air lifted off the rock face by the rescue chopper.

We used no ropes so it was free climbing all the way and it was awesome to watch someone with the skills like Mike glide up the rock face while we crashed through the scrub and hung on for dear life for the 3hrs and 45 minutes it took us to summit.

Either way we all made it up then it became very clear that we were only half way done…..As our mentor Ed Viesturs aways says “Getting to the top is optional…..Getting down in mandatory” so the decent began…..this is where I stopped peeing my pants and started to poo my pants!…..bloody scarey at times and sliding down on my butt became the norm for the next couple of hours.

A tremendous day all round with perfect weather and awesome company and a fantastic boost to our mental fitness going into the Rainier climb although keep this little fact in the back of your mind…..Mt Barney stands at 4459 feet and Mt Rainer tops out at 14.411 feet a difference of a mere 10.000 feet.

I want to take the opportunity to Thank Pete Gash owner of the wonderful Lady Elliot Island (Check it out its an amazing place) http://www.ladyelliot.com.au for joining us on the climb and a huge thanks to Michael Groom http://www.michaelgroom.com for the amazing experience, guidance and tips for Rainier…..its a memory we will always treasure and a great story to tell our kids.

Photo’s from the climb will be posted shortly so keep an eye out for them…..

Cheers from Mike & Dave