Training for Mount Rainier: Blake’s Two-Attempt Journey to the Summit — Part 1 | HikeStrong | Ep. 28

In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, I sit down with Blake to walk through the beginning of his Mount Rainier journey — why the mountain became a goal, how his first training cycle unfolded, and what happened during his initial summit attempt.We talk through the early training data, the challenges that showed up both in preparation and on the mountain, and how travel fatigue, limited sleep, hydration mistakes, and respiratory symptoms factored into the climb and ultimately led him to turn around just below 13,000 feet on summit day.This episode focuses on the learning phase of training for Mount Rainier — what the first set of numbers revealed, where expectations didn’t match reality, and why a rebuild became necessary. Part 1 sets the foundation for the changes that follow, before Blake returns to Mount Rainier and successfully reaches the summit in Part 2.HikeStrong mobile App: https://hikestrongapp.com/Check out the audio podcast version on all platforms:https://hikestrongpodcast.buzzsprout.comLIKE & SUBSCRIBE for new videos:https://www.youtube.com/@HikeStrongPodcast