Goat Mountain, (West Summit), North Cascades
Summer 2000

Cary, Dan, Kevin, and I climbed Goat Mountain from the Hannegan Pass side back in 2000 (?).
Cary's dad, Dave, was with us for part of the way. Dave joined me 11 years later for a Baker climb.


This was a fun day. Mostly I recall meeting a scared young man at the summit. He was stricken with vertigo, terrified and sort of frozen to the summit, unable to get the courage up to stand up and start back down.
This seemed kind of funny to us, but we helped him get the nerve together and work his way back down.
Well, I think maybe Kevin did that. Kev's good like that. I wasn't much help.
I remember jumping, running, and sliding back down in wild abandon. Totally fearless and tireless.
I especially recall a wild run down a snow slope that ended in a big jump, where I must have cleared at least 25 feet horizontally and 10 feet vertically, and then landed on more snow, rolled (ice axe in hand), and kept running.
I was an animal! Man-o-man, 26 years old. I want that springyness back.
Good times.