UleiRetreats.com

The Party

The four who made the climb:

Fred, Beth, Denise, and Geno.

The beginning of the climb.

Is that Fred in the red hat having second thoughts?

They made it to the top:

Denise, Beth, Fred and Geno.

All that's left is the descent!

Safe and sound(?)

Written by Geno (on the right, next to his brother Fred):

It is good to be home. I am playing, editing Half Dome pictures. It was
the most emotional, gratifying, physical (makes 8 Molokai Channel crossings
seem like kindergarten), exhausting, rewarding, frightening, family
bonding, exciting thing that I hope I NEVER do again!!!!

Our total time was 15 hours round trip.  We started at dark with
flashlights, and finished in the dark with flashlights.  My route ended up
being about 19 miles.  Total elevation gain, start to finish was 4,800 ft.,
top of Half Dome is 8,860 ft.  I was told that the elevation gain we
achieved is the same as Honokahau Harbor to the top of Kaloko, only 4 miles
less overall distance.  That means, the grade of our hike was steeper!!!

My legs feel great!!!  The Las Vegas buffets were a necessity!!!!

Mission Accomplished!

Good news from Geno today: four went up the mountain, and four came down. He's got photos, and every adjective and adverb that you could think of to describe a harrowing, yet exhilarating adventure.

We'll give him some time to come down from the high....

Half Dome, Whole Heart.

My friend Armand Singer, the notorious 91-year-old-freedom-seeking-world-traveller, is shown here with Half Dome (Yosemite National Park) in the background. As this was being taken, 'Ulei Retreats instructor, Geno Ortiz, was hiking up and around the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in preparation for his Half Dome climb.

Tomorrow, Geno and his brother Fred, along with other family members, will scale Half Dome in honor of brother Steve Ortiz, who passed away last year. It was Steve's wish to have his ashes scattered in the park where he and his brothers spent many of their summers.

We'll hear how Geno's training paid off, after the big climb.