August 14-16, 2009

Mt Rainier Adventure!

The Climb for Captives Team at Camp Muir (10,080 ft) - Base Camp

The Team

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Ben Wicks ..................................................................... Scott Sustad

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Robby Hipp .................................................................. Josh Hebert

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Jarret Mylander............................................................. John Jung

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Jeremy Vallerand ........................................................ Paul Hassell

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Kjel Larsen ................................................................... Brian Moats

The Story

"We're doing what we do—climb mountains—so [International Justice Mission] can do what they do—free slaves."

SEATTLE, USA—Mt Rainier base camp—It’s 11:57pm.  The 12am alarm is about to sound.  Our 10-man Climb for Captives team will rise, and the 14-hour summit attack will commence from Camp Muir (10,080ft) to Rainier’s glaciated 14,410ft crater rim.

MUMBAI, INDIA—At this same hour on the other side of the planet, 18 child sex-slaves struggle to make it through another waking nightmare.  Among them in the notorious red-light district are a staggering number of the world's 27 million slaves.

“Slaves?”

“Yes—I did say slaves.”  “And yes—it is 2009.”

There are more slaves today than ever in human history.  Children purchased or stolen from rural families under the lie of a "better life" are taken to the city and forced into ruthless prostitution.

The Mountain

On Mt. Rainier—the largest glaciated peak in the continental U.S.—each breath is stolen by oxygen-thirsty air. Fingers tingle—then stop tingling—as numbness sets in.  Cheeks are pricked by needles of ice carried down the mountain in 50mph gusts.  Leg muscles fatigue and threaten to quit.  Mind overcomes body.  And I’m among 9 others who are crazy enough to love this too.  It’s what we do—climb mountains.  And we climb with the 18 in mind.

Out of some friends’ love for climbing and the desire to make a difference, Climb for Captives was born.  For this crew of Seattle-based climbers, it just makes sense.  You have to understand, in Seattle, “the mountain” is visible from everywhere.  Besides, there are only an elite few who can look across the skyline and casually remark, “Yeah, I’ve climbed it.”  Conquer this beast and give voice to the otherwise unheard cries of child slaves.  Does it get any better?

12am—I burst with uncanny enthusiasm (read: uncalled-for enthusiasm) at this hour, “It’s midnight; let’s go climb a mountain!”  It’s clearly my first time on Rainier.  The veterans on the team are a bit less zealous.  They are more aware than I of the grueling grind that lay before us.

We’re glad to awake though, after five long hours of, well… attempting to sleep. Another climber was rumbling our 1921 bunk slats in the John Muir climbers hut with his earthquake snore.  Our seismograph recorded him at a 4.5 on the Richter-scale.

12:45am—We’re roped together, and we’re off.  There’s a sliver of moon, bright starlit sky, and a moderate 23 degrees.  We’ll climb through the night via headlamp to avoid the dangers of rock-fall and collapsing snow bridges—issues that arise the minute the melting sun rises.  Kicking steps up the mountain’s barren white landscape, we leap hundred-foot-deep, open-mouthed crevasses in the dark and plunge crampons securely into crunchy ice like serrated teeth.  It doesn’t get more exhilarating than this!

My love of wilderness adventure was fostered in the Smoky Mountains from an early age.  I found my calling here—celebrating light with a camera—while strolling among her quiet, rhododendron-covered, moss-blanketed terrain.

Just three years ago, on a six-week trek through Alaska, I fell in love with climbing the high mountains—snow, ice, and lots of cold.  (You may recall my November ’06 article in the Knoxville News Sentinel about this Alaskan adventure).  In fact, en route to Alaska, it was through a window in Seattle's airport terminal that Mt Rainier first hooked me.  I knew I’d be back.

In June this summer, following a day of climbing in Wyoming’s Grand Tetons, I receive a phone call.  It’s my friend Jeremy Vallerand from Seattle.  He explains the Climb for Captives vision and invites me to join the team.  I hang up after easily stating, “I’m in.”  My Rainier dream would soon be fulfilled.  On August 14th this year—my birthday—I would stand atop Mt Rainier.

Setting the Captives Free

Our Seattle-based team of abolitionist climbers, called Climb for Captives, partners with International Justice Mission. Together, we seek to raise $40,000 so that IJM can carry out a raid to rescue 18 children from a prostitution ring in Mumbai, India.

Our goal, like climbing Mt. Rainier, is ambitious. However, when countering a crime as atrocious as sex-for-profit, we must be ambitious.  Edmund Burke states, “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”

IJM holistically tackles the human-trafficking issue.  Our project will not only result in the rescue of 18 children from modern-day slavery; it will see to their placement in aftercare where crushed spirits might be brought to life.

IJM seeks to uproot the problem at its source.  In collaboration with Mumbai law enforcement and the local justice system, IJM will see to the arrest and imprisonment of these children’s estimated 34 perpetrators.  In this way, through each project, IJM facilitates the strengthening of the local justice system.

As for the ten of us; we're climbers, not lawyers. We don't know how to holistically tackle the issue of human trafficking; IJM does. IJM does not climb mountains. The Climb for Captives vision is simple; we're doing what we do—climb mountains—so they can do what they do—free slaves.  Will you join us?

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All text and images copyright Paul F. Hassell