#HighFivesAthlete Megan Wemmer is taking large leaps and bounds in her goal of reaching her remote cabin!
Words by Megan
Our trip to Crested Butte to ski with the ASC this March was pretty awesome for us, it helped me and Jeff nail down the last piece we needed to get back up to our cabin in winter/snow conditions. We worked with one of their interns, Al, who had a lot of rope experience to help with with the last technical hurdle to getting to the cabin. There are going to be points in the trek where the path is too steep to ski up (it is at the limit of what skins can hold for Jeff alone). We had already purchased rope, ascenders, pulley, webbing, carabiners, etc., we just needed some advice on how to put it all together to make some solid anchors so Jeff could set up a counterweight system (he skis up, sets an anchor, grabs the rope attached to me, and skis down while I push/pull up to the anchor point). So now we have the ski and gear all set up for our backcountry trek. We made a couple of day trips to the area earlier this winter, but snowpack has not been great (there were 4 portages, where Jeff had to carry my ski and I had to walk), so unfortunately we are going to have to wait until next winter to make our return trip.
I just wanted to say thanks for what you do, because of High Fives I can hike over the trail between snow patches with just hiking poles! The training sessions at the PEAK have been paying off, my balance and endurance are improving and there is even talk of downgrading braces again! And the scholarship to participate in the Ladies Session got us the rope/anchoring skills we need to complete the trek to our cabin. Plus it was a ton of fun skiing and making new friends. I felt really solid with my turns in a sit ski at the end of the week AND I got to try skiing STANDING! I am starting with the slider since my balance isn’t great, but I could start making some turns and with some hard work and practice, I might be able to get to 4-tracking which would be HUGE for me, so thanks for doing what you do!
“Jeff skis up, sets an anchor, grabs the rope attached to me, and skis down while I push/pull up to the anchor point!” – #highfivesathlete @megwem is prepping to get back to her remote cabin!
