Mountaineering
Men's Journal featured a story recently about climbing Mt. Rainier in Washington. The author of the story had never climbed a mountain before attempting a guided climb with Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. He successfully completed a 3-day climb that involved crossing deep crevices, height induced oxygen deprivation, physical exhaustion and cold weather. I would like to chalk this up on my list of "things I'd like to do before I die." I think completing such an adventure would leave me with a euphoric sense of accomplishment. RMI claims that you do not need previous mountain climbing experience to summit Mt. Rainier, but that you should be "in the best shape of your life." The mountain is approximately 14, 500 ft. high. The cost for a guided expedition with RMI was less than $1000. Reasonable price, in my opinion. I can't remember what the rate was of attempted climbers that fail, but I think it was around 50%, maybe even more. It would not be easy.
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