Pride Cometh Before the Fall

Mt. Borah

I am up late tonight because I can't sleep. I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve, but instead of the "visions of sugar plums" I keep having visions of me sliding 6 thousand feet to my death. Tomorrow Scott and I are going to be hiking Mt. Borah - the highest point in Idaho.

Just a little geology lesson to those of you that might not know much about Idaho (thank you Wikipedia:

"The normal route involves ascending 5,262 vertical feet (1604 m) from the trailhead to the summit in just over 3.5 miles (5.6 km). This route on the southwest ridge is a strenuous hike for the most part until one reaches an arête just before the main summit crest. This point is known as Chickenout Ridge as many people will abort the attempt once they see the hazards up close. In the cooler seasons this dangerous crossing involves a traverse over snow, with steeply slanting slopes on either side. An ice axe is strongly recommended for this section."

Chicken Out Ridge

HOLY FREAKING CRAP - WHAT AM I DOING??

You could ask me why I agreed to do this, but I would have no answer for you. And now my pride has gotten in the way. I have told too many people and acted way tougher than I really am to not go. And there is no way I am going to give my brother in law, Mikey, one more reason to say "You are the weakest link, good-bye!".

So I am asking a favor of anyone and everyone that reads this... PRAY FOR ME. I am thinking that once I am there I will either pee my pants at the attempt and then have a good reason to turn back, or I will actually do it and feel awesome about myself and know that if I can climb a mountain, I can totally deal with a screaming kid in Albertsons while I am trying to figure out if I have the right coupons.... I guess that's another adventure though.

So, the next post you see here will either be of my very own pictures of this terribly awesome mountain, or my wet pants and broken pride....