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Cascade Trifecta completed in Record 28 Hours


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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

 

Cascade Trifecta Completed in Record 28 Hours

 

Back-to-back climbs of Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Hood, dubbed the Cascade Trifecta, were accomplished in a record 28 hours and 1 minute by two endurance athletes from Boulder, Colorado. Buzz Burrell, 53, and Peter Bakwin, 43, departed the Paradise parking lot at Mt. Rainier at 2:42 AM, June 9th, and arrived at the Timberline Lodge parking lot at Mt. Hood at 6:43 AM, June 10th, after climbing the standard routes of Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Hood, and driving by car between each of the three volcanoes. Mt. Rainier (14,411 ft.), Mt. Adams (12,281 ft.) and Mt. Hood (11,249 ft.) are the three highest volcanoes in the Oregon/Washington Cascade range. Accomplishing the feat required Burrell and Bakwin to traverse 42,000 vertical feet of elevation change (21,000 feet of ascending) over 36 miles.

 

A link-up of Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Hood in a single effort has never before been documented. The effort by Burrell and Bakwin is a newly established mountaineering speed record. Adverse weather and snow conditions on Rainier and Adams slowed the climbers considerably from their planned schedule. In one instance, Burrell fell into a crevasse on Mt Rainier upon the collapse of a snow bridge. Burrell was able to extract himself from the crevasse while belayed by Bakwin. Both climbers were well-equipped and are skilled mountaineers.

 

“We had hoped to go under 24 hours,” said Bakwin, “but we know that would be very hard, and conditions were not optimal, especially on Rainier where we had to move slowly to stay safe.” He added, “The trip was especially rewarding for me, since I had never set foot on any of these beautiful mountains before.”

 

The Cascade Trifecta was documented and verified by Uncage the Soul Productions, a video and photography production company based in Portland, Oregon. The Uncage the Soul team consisted of 11 videographers and photographers staged in advance of the climbers on each of the three peaks. The team verified departure and summit times, took over 700 photographs, 8 hours of video footage, and assisted the climbers with route finding, but offered no additional climbing or transportation support.

 

John Waller, organizer of the Uncage the Soul Productions documentary team, was not only impressed with their athletic accomplishment, but the attitude with which the climbers approached the Trifecta. “Even though they had this goal of doing the Trifecta as fast as they could, you never got the impression that this was their top priority. It was to have fun, and enjoy the experience. These two things would not be compromised for the sake of shaving off a couple of minutes from their overall time. They were very interactive and social with our team, stopping frequently to talk, snap photos, and express their appreciation for our efforts.”

 

Additional information about the Cascade Trifecta, including video, photographs, and a detailed written description are available from Uncage the Soul Productions.

 

Contact Information:

John Waller, Uncage the Soul Productions

Tele: 503-970-9357

Email: jq_waller@mac.com

URL: www.uncagethesoul.com

 

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A link-up of Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Hood in a single effort has never before been documented.

 

WTF? this effort has been done before. Maybe not documented. Why all the interest all of a sudden about speed climbing and patting each other on the back. I remember people climbing rainier, hood and adams at one push. I dont remember the times, they could have even been quicker, but not being posers, they did not need to brag about the time. rolleyes.gif

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Yeah, I've heard rumors too of Cascade volcano binge climbing. I don't believe this is the first link up ever.

However, the verbage was correct in saying a linkup has never been doucumented. But I'm sure with a bit of digging, we could gfind a handful of people who have done it.

28 hours though, very nice!

I'm surious on the individual times.

I wonder what's going through Fido's mind right now....

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What is up with all the speed ascents?! tongue.gif

 

What kind of burden do all these people carry in their souls that they need to race through life, punishing themselves along the way. I feel for them. yellaf.gif

 

I just do not feel the need for speed. My demons are much more re- mushsmile.gif laxed

 

bigdrink.gif

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You mean like $2000 from fido?

 

No. But I'm sure they didn't hire a video production outfit to document their feat just so their kids could see a cool video.

 

I'm guessing these guys aren't overly happy about being remotely associated with fido - with his offer of using their documentation crew for a chad challenge. But then maybe they're one big happy family... who knows - or really cares.

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Wow, this has to be one of the lamest chestbeats I have seen. Three climbs back-to-back with driving between them? I'm gonna do a bunch of climbs in a row and call that the something-or-other megafecta!

 

Seriously, this is nothing compared to some of the other strange peak-bagging "acomplishments" that are thrown around here in CO.

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Thanks Lowell for posting that. It really puts this whole thing into perspective. I am still amazed about your recounting of those two guys, back in the twenties, that skied from one side of the Cascades to the other carrying one 25 pound pack each! That is an accomplishment. thumbs_up.gif

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I bet I could climb those mountains in less than 28 hours. I don't mean it would be easy, I'd have to spend an hour or two on the stairmaster a day to get ready, but I think I could do it. I could be ready by August. Anybody want to partner up with me? Would August be a good time for this?

 

We could show those Colorado boys who is boss.

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