Mountain Climbing with Megan McVeigh
Read below to learn more about Megan McVeigh's mountain climbing adventures, interviewed by contributor, Aria Norcross.
Pixel Journal: What is your sport? Describe it!
Megan McVeigh: My sport is mountain climbing, and, as the name entails, it simply means climbing mountains! In order to climb mountains you need to be in good physical shape (you hike up thousands of vertical feet, usually with a large pack on) and an adventurous spirit. You also have to willing to suffer, haha.
PJ: How often do you get to mountain climb?
MM: I’d love to go more, but a couple times a year i get to do a big mountain. I do lots of conditioning hikes throughout the rest of the year though.
PJ: When did you first start climbing mountains?
MM: I first started when I was about ten years old when my dad and i did a small mountain near Lake Tahoe. I’ve been hiking pretty much my whole life, though.
PJ: When did you really fall in love with it?
MM: I fell in love with it when my dad and I did our first big mountain, Mt Adams. I was such an amazing adventure and I loved the feeling I got from summiting that mountain. I’m able to see that mountain from where I live, and I would (and still do) love looking at it and knowing I had been to the top.
PJ: What makes you truly love the sport?
MM: After you’ve been working so hard climbing and you finally reach the summit, you feel so amazing. While going up, you can’t help but feeling like you’re never going to be able to make it, but you just keep putting one foot in front of the other and all then sudden you’re getting closer. Also, you get into this trance while climbing for so long, and it is a very interesting feeling. But I don’t climb for just the summit--I also just love being outside and being myself in nature. I feel so free and peaceful when climbing.
PJ: How many mountains have you climbed and which ones?
MM: I’ve climbed Mt Adams (twice), Mt. St. Helens (twice), Mt. Hood (twice), South Sister, and a couple other small ones in the Lake Tahoe area. So probably about 7 different ones in total.
PJ: Do you travel much to mountain climb?
MM: The mountains are usually about 2-4 hours away.
PJ: Mountain climbing sounds like a very intense sport, what are the biggest challenges you encounter and what makes it worth it all?
MM: Climbing a mountain is very physically demanding, so basically all of my workouts, in my mind, are training for climbing. Another aspect is the danger of mountaineering, because something can easily go wrong on the mountain which can create obstacles. This danger is part of what drives me, however, because it pushes teaches me how to stay calm under pressure and how to function while scared. What makes it all worth it is the sport itself--I just love being outside and having amazing adentures in the outdoors.
PJ: How does mountain climbing affect your lifestyle?
MM: In order to keep in shape for climbing, I like to work out a lot. It is also a good motivator for intense workouts, because I am always working towards something. I also try to always eat well so that my body is in its best shape possible.
PJ: Does mountain climbing affect other aspects of your life?
MM: It also affects my life in a way that makes me try to always live in the moment, because there is a possibility that I could die or get seriously injured climbing, so I try to make the most out of my life right now. Knowing that I could lose everything makes me appreciate what I have. (sorry if this was too sad hah)
PJ: Do you have any specific rock climbing idols or inspirations?
MM: Honestly, not really. I read climbing magazines and read some books about people, but there is not one person who inspires me. I guess I inspire myself haha.
PJ: How do you manage schoolwork with mountain climbing?
MM: I would like to be able to go to the mountains more, but unfortunately schoolwork does interfere with that. On weekends when I am going on a trip I have to work ahead to get all my work done. I think I am doing a pretty good job managing it, but as I said I would love to go more.
PJ: How do you plan to continue with mountain climbing looking into the future?
MM: As I get older, I think that it will become easier to do mountain climbing. This is because I won’t be as tied down with school and I might be able to take longer stretches of time to go climbing. Also, I usually go climbing with my dad, but since he works it is difficult for him to do lot of trips. In the future I will probably meet more climbers, and with them I’ll be able to go more often. I recently joined a mountain climbing club in Portland, called the Post 58, and through that I hope to be able to do more climbs.
PJ: Do you have any fun/interesting mountain climbing stories to share?
MM: Lots. One of my more scarier stories is from when I was climbing Mt. Hood. It was the day after my birthday, May 7th, and my dad and I decided, kind of impromptu-ly, to do Hood. We had done it once before, but with a guide, so neither of us really though that we were going to summit. We started up at 1am on the 7th, and just kept going up and up. Then, when we were about 1000 vertical feet from the summit--at the part where it starts to get more dangerous--a hugh creavsse (a hold in a glacier) opened up about 5 feet away from me! I was so scared, and actually for a split second I really thought that I might die, because I thought that I was going to fall in and be buried. But luckily, all was good and we ended up summitting the mountain! It was a very eventful birthday present haha.
PJ: When not mountain climbing, how do you enjoy spending your time?
MM: I love cooking, baking (and I’m a vegan, so all vegan food), reading, exercising, camping (pretty much anything outdoor-sy), talking with friends, and making stuffed animals. In the future, I want to find a way to help animals that people don’t usually care about much.