First Month in India

 The longer that I wait to write on here, the harder it is to write as more and more crazy things happen and I know the post will get longer and loooongerrrr. So here we are! Hoped to write before now but it hasn't happened and there's no time like the present, I suppose. 

Please feel free to reach out if you have any specific questions because I will just give a pretty brief overview of my time thus far! Hopefully I can make writing more of a habit and get a little more in depth with it. 

So I arrived in Delhi on November 3rd after flying from Istanbul, from Chicago, from Seattle, and getting a ride from my dad to the Sea-Tac airport from Scappoose, OR on the morning of November 1st. It was a long haul and I arrived in Delhi the next next day without a bag. As a rule, I never check my bag because I don't like to deal with lost luggage. I was convinced otherwise and decided to check a bag for the first time, and what do you know? It didn't arrive at my destination.

Saying bye to my papa

Getting off the plane into the little hallway I thought to myself, who in the world is allowed to be smoking in here? Turns out nobody was smoking, the air quality is just that bad in Delhi. The estimates vary but most sources say the air quality in Delhi is like smoking 30-50 cigarettes a day. Shocking.

 So I go through customs easily to stand at the baggage carousel until every bag has been removed and my Big Agnes pack is nowhere to be seen. Davis is waiting outside but I have no way to let him know where I am or how I'm doing, so I go through the process, being passed around to different employees with different form for me to fill out and eventually I'm sent out of the airport with a sheet of paper and my little carry-on backpack. 

Davis is easy to spot though with his yellow shirt and beaming smile (he's also at least 6 inches taller than everyone around). My worries melted away when we were able to hug in real life after nearly 3 months. We left the airport, called about my bag several times, and spent the day relaxing, eating and blabbing away. The next couple days we spent exploring Delhi but it's hard to say if I've been to a city that I disliked more than Delhi. It is just so overcrowded which has led to extreme poverty and pretty gross conditions. We wore masks when we were outside, to try to limit the number of cigarettes that we were involuntarily smoking. We ran some errands like getting me a motorcycle helmet and a SIM card (although it would be a few weeks till the SIM worked in my phone). We walked to the river which was an adventure of running across roads and trying not to get hit, only to find a very polluted Yamuna river. But already I was finding that the food was splendid! 

Davis needed to make it back to Srinagar (Uttarakhand) for a conference on environmental aerosols (not a huge connection to his project), so we hustled one morning to get to Meerut to get his motorcycle and then we had ourselves a good ol' 7 hour motorcycle journey to Srinagar. I have to give Davis so much credit here. The driving in India is insane, crazier than anywhere else I've been in the world, and he drives like a pro. He bobs and weaves in traffic, he honks his horn just as much as any other vehicle, and he maneuvers around landslides with ease. We spent about half our drive on city roads and highways and the other half on mountainous roads. There was never a shortage of things to see! Whether it be the scooters with four people on them, the road signs with humorous spelling errors, the beautiful rivers and trees, or the landslides that bring a two lane road down to a half of a lane with traffic attempting to go in both directions. 

Over the next few days in Srinagar, Davis gave a presentation at the aerosols conference, and I was able to do some exploring around town. Five days after I arrived, my bag came! To give Turkish Airlines credit, it came much quicker than I was expecting, especially given the distance from Delhi, and everything was in my bag just as I had packed it!

 Unfortunately, that same day, my stomach started to give me trouble. We thought it might be a case of Delhi belly, but as the days passed, I started to develop a fever. The fever got worse and one day Davis came into our somewhat warm room to find me under the covers of the bed wearing my long sleeve, my down vest, and my puffy, so we headed to the hospital. I had a blood test done in a somewhat dingy room. My thought was maaaybe we're much too clean in the states and this guy wiping his hands on his jeans, not putting on gloves, and having the needle open on the desk for at least a minute before jabbing it in my arm, is totally totally fine. It turned out to be that way. Tests came back negative for the few things they tested for and said I had an infection so they gave me a weeks worth of antibiotics and sent me on my way. 

Headed to the blood lab

The best part is that we had scheduled for me to have a root canal in Meerut in a few days time. The antibiotics started helping pretty quickly and we were able to make the 7 hour journey back to Meerut to have my consultation 5 days after the hospital and my root canal the day after that. The dentist office was a sight to see, about the size of a broom closest with a small waiting area in front and one dentist chair behind a sliding glass door. 

Maybe I was a little nervous but Davis's friend had recommended this dentist so we knew he would be good. And he was! Very kind and competent. I had to go back three days in a row, first for the consultation, then for the procedure itself, and then for the cap fitting. After the fitting, they had to send away for the cap so we had to come back 5 days after that! (Apparently in the US this isn't a thing, and the cap creation process only take a couple hours, but hey, we're in India after all.) It was a heckuva time, but worth it for the price. In the US, you'll pay around $1,000 and I think all in all I paid $140 or so.

Sugarcane!

Yes, we tried paneer and paratha pizza from Domino's

Gettin loaded up

After the three days at the dentist, we went to Dehradun to go to Navdanya, a biodiversity farm started by Dr. Vandana Shiva and her colleagues. On the way, we stopped at a pretty cool waterfall and also the Robber's Cave! It ended up being pretty toustisty but the cave went really far in, so the further you went, the fewer people there were. Did I mention there was ankle to shin deep water throughout most of the cave system? It definitely exceeded our expectations! It was awesome! Although we had to wear flip flops, and as habitual Chacos and Tevas wearers, the flip flop flossing our toes was not the neatest experience, in fact, Davis ended up with a pretty good size cut in between his toes from the flippin' flip flops!

We attended a 3-day course called Gandhi and Globalization at Navdanya. The farm was beautiful and the food was wonderful. The lectures were thought-provoking and a couple of them were given by Vandana Shiva herself. The farm was definitely a peaceful place to spend a few days. 

The day we left the farm was Thanksgiving. We drove from Dehradun up to Mussoorie and Landour, where the school where Davis has Hindi lessons is located. That evening, we watched Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving, which I had never seen, (Davis apparently has never made popcorn that isn't in a microwave and he didn't cover the pot on the stove so naturally, you can imagine what happened next and gave us a great laugh) and we had a Friendsgiving dinner with a couple that had been at Navdanya when we were there. The Green Vegetarian is probably the greatest food in Mussoorie. The mixed veg, mushroom curry and dal makhani are exceptional, all slopped up with some roti make for a very happy Ashley. But it's true that I have been finding that I absolutely love all the Indian food that we've been eating, and the price doesn't hurt either! 

On the 26th, it was back to Meerut for my cap. We drove 9 hours round trip for an appointment that took 20 minutes. By hour 7 we were pretty over the journey but still pushed on to get back up to Landour. My pelvis started to really hurt after being on the bike that long.

Dentist office

But we did it, we made it, and we spent the next day walking alllll over Mussoorie. In the morning we walked to Lal Tibba, which is a great viewpoint where you can see some colossal Himalayan peaks displayed before you. Then we went down the big hill from Landour to Mussoorie, to Mall Road (the main shopping area) and all the way back around on Camel's Back. The views were exceptional, as was the sunny but slightly chilly weather. After the day we'd had previously, our bodies thanked us but were still a bit cramped from the journey but our spirits rivaled that of the sunshine itself. In the evening we walked all the way back up the hill to complete our day! 

Lal Tibba

The sunsets here are pretty outstanding! Have you heard of the winterline? If not, you should take a second to check it out, it's only visible in a few places on earth, and we're at one of them! It's a cool reddish glow that gives the appearance of a horizon far off in the distance and it stays for awhile after the sun has set. It's a beautiful sight to behold! Sometimes we go on evening walks to look at it.

Davis has class at the Landour language school for five hours a day as part of his Fulbright, so during that time I've had the opportunity to explore this beautiful area, as well as continue to get some work done for Beacon Guidebooks.

 I'd have to say this is probably my favorite area that we have spent time at so far. At about 7,500ft of elevation, I feel more at home! It's cooler here, there are fewer people, and more trees! All things that I count as a plus. Several of the trees or garbage cans have fun little sayings on them like "I'd rather wake up in the middle of nowhere than in any city on earth" and "It feels good to be lost in the right direction".

Although I did get a fever again and get to explore yet another hospital, I just took a couple paracetamol and have been totally fine since. So I guess it was a one off?

Yesterday, on December 4, we had ourselves a big day! We hiked to George Everest's house and peak, drove to Cloud's End and hiked to Benog Tibba and after a very late lunch, went to Lambi Dehar mines that are allegedly very haunted. Haunted or not, it is a very eery and sad location where as many as 50,000 people died due to terrible mining conditions in the 1990's. We went at dusk which is supposed to be the creepiest, but the group of teenage boys blasting Hindi rap and laughing loudly, kind of killed that vibe.

 

So far, India has thrown me for a loop with all the sickness and lost bag and such, but those moments pale in comparison to the beautiful smiles and sunsets that can be found here too. 

P.S- I had to include these amazing photos that show just how well Davis's height fits in here in India :D 

Ducks through doorways 

Too tall to stand in the "kitchen"

Smashmouth Allstars Summit Hood

Our party of three arrived at Timberline Lodge in Patrick’s van on the evening of May 30, 2022. The Hood crew consisted of myself, my friend Patrick from Portland, and my friend Denver from Denver. It was dark with only the glow of a few lodge lights, and the anticipation was palpable. By the time we got our bags packed with food and supplies and had a look around, we had about three hours to sleep before the big day began. At 9pm, trying to sleep, the three of us ended up singing loudly every word to Smash Mouth’s jam “Allstar”. With that out of our system, we again attempted to sleep, but rest just wasn’t coming very easily to my anxious brain. 

Around midnight, Denver woke up and started getting prepped. By 12:30am, we were all out of bed, headlamps on, grabbing a quick pop tart or other bite to eat and making the final adjustments to our packs before setting off. About 1am on May 31, we started walking up the snowy mountain with several other groups by the light of our headlamps.

12:30am and ready to go!

We looked up, but couldn't see the stars, the moon, or anything else for that matter; there was a thick blanket of clouds resting between us and the upper atmosphere. Shortly thereafter, the sky started shooting icy tears in our direction and our packs and jackets were quickly covered with a frozen coating; but still we trudged along. After over 2,500ft of vertical gain in just a few miles, we reached the upper lift, the Palmer lift, situated at 8,540ft. We had hopes of going inside to avoid the elements for a while, and much to our surprise, the door was already open.

When we got inside, we found another group of climbers who were also taking shelter from the stormy conditions outside. The lift room was large, cold, and damp, it was lit only by the few headlamps that remained on on their dimmest setting. Determined to wait out the weather, we got onto a lift chair and huddled together. Each group that made their way up the mountain stopped to seek solace in the Palmer lift where they too got onto lift chairs and attempted to cuddle their way to warmth.

Lift chillin' (literally)

The ambiance in the Palmer lift that morning felt very post-apocalyptic. Each group that entered, looking and feeling ragged from the conditions outside, huddled together with hushed voices and headlamps. I wiggled my toes for the whole two hours we sat there, afraid of how cold they might get if I stopped. After those first two hours had passed, I got up to pee but I really wanted to avoid going outside if possible so I meandered around inside the building, hoping there might be a toilet for the liftees who tended the lift in the winter. 

I found groups of people huddled in corners, feeling colder and colder as I roamed around, and then I found the control room. The heated control room. As soon as I stepped inside, relief washed over my already- thawing body. There were about five people inside, and no lights were on, that was definitely by design. They put their fingers to their lips, motioning me to be quiet. I ran out to grab the boys. They were as excited as I was and I quickly fell into a warm, dreamy slumber. An hour later, after repeatedly checking the weather forecast and watching many groups descend back to the lodge, we defeatedly did the same. Descending inside a ping pong ball due to the extreme white out conditions, was certainly disappointing. It took about an hour to get back to the van, and around 8am we slept again.

Admitting defeat

I woke up at 10am to a frustrated Denver. He started talking about how now the whole mountain was visible, the incredible bluebird sky outside and the people he could see skiing on the mountain. I got up and looked, and to my amazement, found that he was spot on. I hesitantly asked if we should try again, reascend those 2,500+ft and make a bid for the summit. We talked it over for a few minutes and decided we’d kick ourselves if we didn’t try. So we woke up Patrick and explained our plan for a second attempt. He looked at us groggily and rather stupefied for a few minutes, but eventually found himself just as excited as we were.

By 11am, we were on route for a second attempt at the summit of Mt. Hood. We were elated, so overcome with joy at what marvelous luck we were having, from ping pong ball to bluebird in two hours, that we didn’t even care that we were ascending the same trail we had just gone up 10 hours earlier. We knew the weather might change again, but we were prepared to have to turn around once more, at least we would have given the mountain everything we had.

When we got back to the Palmer lift, we stopped inside to refuel and rehydrate. One of my favorite things to bring on a difficult hike these days is an electrolyte packet. I shared mine with Patrick and after our little rest, we set off, refreshed and ready for the summit bid. 

Patrick, the eternal caboose bringing up the rear

Cheesin' all day long

Conditions were so fantastic it was hard to believe that it was the same day as the miserable morning we had had. The sky was beautifully blue, temperatures were mild, and wind was low. The three musketeers kept trudging along in the snow, one foot at a time, sometimes singing songs like Smashmouth’s “Allstar” from the previous evening, and Ciara’s “1, 2 Step”. After gaining elevation for a while, we started to smell something pungently terrible, and that was our first sign of the progress that we were making. Although the smell was rancid, it was also our first scent of accomplishment. The Devil’s Kitchen, full of volcanic rock and sulfuric gasses, is the first milestone on the upper mountain. So as bad as it smelled, it lifted my spirits just that much more (if that was even possible). We donned crampons, helmets and ice axes, preparing for the mountain ahead.

We knew the next milestone was the Hogsback and as we rounded the next hill and saw it come into view, we were all shocked by the steepness of the spine. First you descend a little bit, and then you start climbing. An open bowl on both sides, the middle has a sharp spine, apparently similar to a hog’s back, that you must ascend in order to make your way to the Pearly Gates. We ascended slowly, it was quite possibly the steepest snow slope that any of us had climbed in our early mountaineering careers. The upper mountain is a sight to behold. With spires of snow-covered rock rising hundreds of feet into the air, with the iconic Hogsback cutting right through the middle of the open bowl, and the hot fumes wafting from the open volcanic pits. 

Hogsback!

Once up, we made a short traverse, and then ascended an even steeper, but shorter section that required our crampon front points to be engaged as well as our ice ax. This was very methodical and somewhat similar to ice climbing. Drive your ax in, move your crampons up a step, kick in, move your ax up again and lather, rinse, repeat. It’s very fluid, essentially your crampons make their own stairs, and I felt pretty comfortable ascending, but I voiced my slight hesitation for descending that section. Luckily, we had brought a short rope and harnesses, so we would just belay down it for extra protection and rope practice.

The next section was the Pearly Gates, named as such because of the tall, chiseled, icy walls that tower on both sides of you as you ascend the narrow passage. Since we had made our start much later than anticipated, and the sun was warming the ice, we were cautious of rock and ice fall, but luckily didn't have to experience any of that.

Once past the Pearly Gates, the terrain opened up again and after a short jaunt, we found ourselves on top of Oregon, at the summit of Mount Hood.

(quite possibly one of the coolest photos of me ever taken)

The three of us all grew up in Oregon and had been looking at that peak our whole lives; we couldn’t have been more thrilled to be standing on its summit.

summit selfieeeee!!

Due to the nature of mountaineering, being the only sport where you celebrate halfway through, the greatest danger was still ahead and although we were ecstatic to be at the summit, it wasn’t time to let our guards down just yet. The majority of mountaineering accidents occur on the descent so we knew we had a while until we could really celebrate our success. 

After breathing in that summit air and marveling at the fluffy, white, cauliflower clouds and green landscape far below us, we began to make our descent. We descended back through the Pearly Gates, and made our way back to the steep slope. Denver and I talked through the best way to descend here so we made a snow anchor utilizing two ice axes and Denver belayed Patrick down the slope. After unburying my ax, I went next. It felt so simple on a rope, and it probably would have been executed seamlessly without protection, but it definitely didn't hurt anything to have that extra safety net. 

At the end of the rope, I dug into a really solid arrest, in hopes that if Denver fell, I would be a strong enough anchor to catch his fall. After he descended about halfway, I took in slack and tied it off in a bite on a carabiner so that there would be less force in the system if he did take a tumble. Luckily, he did not, and we all made it down off the slope, I would say without a hitch, but I did use a munter hitch to tie him off. 

We descended the Hogsback nearly as slowly as we had ascended, being careful with our footing. Along that ridge we stopped many times to marvel at where we were, where we had been, and the miraculous views that surrounded us in every direction; the steep, sharp, snowy ridges behind us and the softer, lower mountain slopes below. We again held our breath as we passed the Devil’s Kitchen; certainly whatever he was cooking had not gotten any better in the time since we had passed. 

After the smell had faded, we ditched the crampons and hightailed it on our butts, glissading down that mountain as much as we could. As it was well into the afternoon now, the snow was quite soft and made glissading difficult so mostly we boot-skied in the slush down the mountain. The sun was setting which made a brilliant backdrop on our descent. We had anticipated a sunrise, but since that hadn’t happened, we were perfectly content with a sunset. 

We must have gotten back down to Timberline around 8pm. We spoke with one man who congratulated us and told us that basically everyone else who had gone up that day had left disappointed when the weather was just not improving. Sleeping in the van after our first attempt was our saving grace; it allowed the weather enough time to change, proving that sometimes the early bird just doesn’t get the worm, but as Patrick would later say, “the second mouse got the cheese.”

The three of us couldn’t believe all that had transpired that day. Was it really just that morning that we were stuck huddled together on a lift chair while the world outside the door was one giant whiteout storm? I don’t know how the weather did a complete 180, but I will take it. According to Strava, we gained over 9,000ft of elevation that day. Elation and exhaustion ensued and we left the mountain in a sleepy state of awe. 

Smashmouth Allstars Summit Hood

Gettin' Ready!

 Alrightttt well, I finished my master's degree in May, obtaining my masters in environmental management (MEM) and now in a mostly post-covid world, I find myself needing to get international again. 

I spent the summer finishing the 14ers in Colorado. I had a goal to finish all 58 of them in two years. Although I didn't quite reach this goal, I was close! One peak, Mt. Lindsey is private and closed to the public, so that brought my total down to 57 and due to the monsoons this summer, I was forced to delay a few peaks and ended up finishing the 57 Colorado 14ers in 2 years and 12 days.. BOOO! Everyone keeps telling me that's close enough and I can just say "Two years", but that feels wrong to me, so there's the truth. Two years and 12 days. Thanks to everyone who joined me on a peak!

Completing the Maroon Bells traverse with Denver and Davis

the sweetest mountain goats

Late night climb of Mt. Massive to camp on the summit

G&T's on G&T!

Guide's Route Mt. Crested Butte

Pyramid summit!

Holy Cross summit- my 14er finisher!!

September 1 marked my 5th lifeversary. Meaning its been 5 years since I got hit by a semi truck and almost died. For my lifeversary this year, I decided to hike three 13ers, one of which was Unicorn Peak and I took my unicorn onesie to the summit for some great photos. That weekend I also hiked the Rio Grande Pyramid which was exceptional as well! So very happy and grateful for my medical team that literally saved my life. 

I was working for RMBL (Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory) for the summer, which is who I did my masters project with. 

Speakeasy RMBL partayy

Tree coring at work

Come early September I set off west, picking up my brother Hunter in Salt Lake City and then heading to Kings Peak (Utah's highpoint) and then Borah (Idaho's highpoint). We lucked out and got some very unexpected snow and inclement weather on both peaks but we achieved both summits making them my 22nd and 23rd state highpoint and Hunter's first and second. Being as we are both born in Idaho, it felt very special that we could summit that peak together. 

Being home in Oregon, it has been great to see the family! My dad got married and I've had a lot of time with the niece and nephews!

matching sibling tats <3

My brother Blake and I just climbed Mt. St. Helens and since the weather has been so warm, I now have hopes of attempting Adams and Jefferson before the month is through. 

Fire and Ice swords on Mt. St. Helens

During the summer, one of my peak buddies and I got real close and started dating, and then he left for India to do his MEM project. So now, I find myself prepping for a trip to India. Learning Hindi and getting stoked, with a flight booked for November 1. That's the reason I'm starting a travel blog again. For anyone who wants to keep up with me, here you go! I'll try to post on it pretty regularly.

Davis and I on the summit of Eolus :)