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Expedition Hopeful Cure 2 - Mt. Rainier - 14,411' Washington, climb for Tinnitus research and eventual cure - July 13 - 15, 2007. Tinnitus effects at least 50 million Americans just in the USA alone, and many are not able to work, sleep, or carry on normal lives! Despite the research being conducted by the American Tinnitus Association in Portland, Oregon, still relatively little is known about this severely disabling health problem, and worse yet, THERE IS NO CURE!!! On July 29-30, 2000 I attempted to climb Mt. Rainier to raise funds for continued research for Tinnitus and made it to about 12,000'! Despite not climbing to the summit, raised about $89,000.00 which was entirely donated to American Tinnitus Association. It was a great accomplishment to generate all the funding for this worthy cause, yet I still felt a sense of personal disappointment in not having made it all the way to the summit! As a personal goal, I intend to SUMMIT this year, do lots of training and fundraising to achieve my dream of reaching the summit and most importantly, through this climb, helping make it possible for ATA to continue all research efforts for an eventual CURE!!! Following are some interesting historical facts and figures about Mt. Rainier: Mt. Rainier is a stratovolcano in Pierce County, Washington, located 54 miles southeast of Seattle, Washington. A stratovolcano is a tall, conical volcano comprised of may layers of volcanic ash. Stratovolcanos are steep in profile and are, for the most part, active! It is the highest peak in the Cascade Range, with a topographical summit of 14,411 feet (4,392 m). The mountain and the surrounding area comprise Mt. Rainier National Park. With 26 major glaciers, Mt. Rainier is the most heavily glaciated peak in the lower 48 states at 35 square miles of snow and glaciers. Heat from the volcano keep areas of the crater rim on its summit cone mostly free of snow and ice. The geothermal heat has also caused the formation of glacier caves in the twin summit craters. Climbing on Mt. Rainier is difficult. It includes climbing on the largest glaciers in the U.S. south of Alaska. Most climbers require two to three days to reach the summit. Climbing teams require experience in glacier travel, self-rescue, and wilderness travel. I have had previous glacier travel experience when climbing on Rainier with crampons and ice axe in 2000, and will be doing more of this same training and climbing with a good friend, Katy Thach, and our climbing guide from IMG , Jeff Ward. It will take us 3 days to climb 9000 feet which equates to approximately 8 miles to reach the summit! This climb starts at approximately 5000 feet, unlike the fourteeners here in Colorado where you start at 7000 - 8000 feet! About 8000 - 13,000 people attempt the climb each year, about 90% via routes from Camp Muir on the southwest flank. THIS IS THE ROUTE WE WILL BE TAKING. Most of the rest ascend Emmons Glacier via Camp Schurman on the northeast. About half of the attempts are successful, with weather and conditioning being the most common reasons for failure. About three mountaineering deaths each year occur due to rock and ice fall, avalanche, falls, and hypothermia associated with severe weather. Another personal goal is to TRAIN HARDER AND SMARTER AND NOT BE ONE OF THESE STATISTICS! MY CURRENT TRAINING SCHEDULE:Monday - run 2-3 miles in AM with my canine buddy, Jack, who is a tremendous athlete and hard act to follow! Actually DO Yoga for about an hour or more, rather than Teach! Tuesday - run 2-3 miles in AM with Jack. Teach a 1 1/2 hour Yoga class at Apex in the evening. Wednesday - gradually plan to increase running mileage by 1/2 mile every week until the climb and will increase to 2-3 days a week of more mileage 3-4 months prior to climb. Thursday - run with Jack again (trying to keep up with him is a WORKOUT in itself!) Workout for 20-30 min. on elliptical machine and teach Yoga again at Apex in evening. Friday - teach another Yoga class at Broomfield Recreation Center in AM, the run with Jack if there's any energy left(in me, not him...) Saturday - cross country ski or snowshoe in backcountry for hours on end with Katy, LOVING EVERY MINUTE! Sunday - EVEN GOD RESTED ON THIS DAY!!! Also plan on climbing thirteeners and fourteeners starting in April right on up to the climb!  
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