Why climb and why Rainier??

I'm new to the blog world, so here goes nothing.

Why climb a mountain?  And why Mount Rainier?  These questions have been posed to me several times by several people.  And frankly, I've got several answers.  

Why climb?  One of my main answers is adventure, but it's not like any of my previous adventures which in my opinion pale in comparison to a summit attempt of Rainier.  I have zero mountaineering experience.  Am I concerned?  A little.  Am I excited?  To say yes would be an understatement.  One other reason is the challenge of it.  I'll be 35 years old in October, more than a decade removed from my playing days.  Since college, however, I've done a couple minimarathons and have remained fairly active.  But this is no 2-hour run, not a nice little dayhike, nor an ordinary overnight backpacking trip in the Smoky Mountains.  I figure I'll be pushing the limits of both my strength and my endurance more than I ever have.  There are more reasons, and more on that in a following post.

Why Rainier?  I first read about Rainier in Backpacker Magazine about 5 years ago.  It stands 14,410 ft above sea level and is the most glaciated peak in the lower 48.  In my humble and novice opinion, it will provide a taste of mountaineering without having specific mountaineering training/experience.  Contrary to popular belief, I am not an idiot, so I have hired Rainier Mountaineering Inc. (RMI) as my guide service.  The planned route is considered a non-technical route but does employ the use of crampons, an ice axe, harness, etc.  Upon reading a bit, Rainier is used heavily as a training ground for Denali and even Everest.  Before you get too impressed, keep in mind there are several routes to the summit, and we're taking the easiest.  Mount Whitney in California is ~80 feet higher than Rainier, but from what I hear you can summit Whitney in shorts, a t-shirt, and a your favorite hiking shoes.  Not quite the mountain experience I'm looking for, but Whitney would be a good bucket-lister.

There's much more to share.  Stay tuned.

-J. Ott