Rainier Update

Oops! Has it really been four months since my last post…?

At least it was for good reason. Rainier training got busy, and I kept up with it, pushing through strong until the very end - not cutting a single corner of that plan I love and hate so much.

Surprisingly, after wrapping up week 22 - out of 24 total in the regimen - and transitioning into the slow-down period before the mountain, I felt the oddest sense of calm. It wasn’t because I was confident in any particular outcome. In 2024, I finished those last few weeks feeling completely frenzied, so this level of calm came as a shock.

There were urges to squeeze in more 16-hour training weeks out of sheer panic, as though doing so could somehow change prevent another failure on the mountain, but I resisted. I knew that nothing I did during weeks 23 or 24 could change what had (or hadn’t) happened in the 22 weeks prior.

Of course, once we arrived in Washington, my nerves went full throttle. Still, I had a couple of calmer weeks before the storm.

Anyways, I could go on yapping, so I’ll pause it here. Without further ado….

I’m an IT gal these days, but I’m no self-proclaimed video whiz. I simply bought a GoPro in 2024 and figured I ought to assemble hours of training and mountain footage into something usable. Despite its casual presentation, this video represents the better part of the last three years of my life, all condensed into five minutes. Blood, sweat, and tears went into every step of the process.

There’s plenty to recap and share in more detail, but for now, I’m going to close my laptop and take a nap because I’m sick at the moment. I’ve also spent way too much time on this video over the last 72 hours.

In a K2S Instagram post two weeks ago, I said I would share the outcome of the Rainier trip in a week’s time so I could prioritize celebrating with the people who truly supported me throughout this journey. In reality, I had celebrated with everyone within five days of that post. I just got nitpicky about the video editing.

Thank you to everyone who played a role in bringing this dream to life. I didn’t summit, but it still feels like the dream came true.

I’ve said it once, but I’ll keep saying it until I sound delusional: I could not be happier.

I’m also already planning my 2027 or 2028 Rainier trip, but those two statements are not mutually exclusive.

Many more posts to come soon.

Kim