How to prepare for a neuroanatomy exam

This is the 4th of July weekend prior to the dreaded neuroanatomy common exam. We are at the top of a very challenging two-pitch climb up the famous Castle Rock in Leavenworth, Washington. I am with my husband, Seth, and our good friend, Leo Kesting. They are both neurologists. Have you ever climbed (or done anything else) with two neurologists??? :)


Now you have to understand the nature of Leo. It was MEGA hot that day. By the time we got off of Castle Rock, the rock was literally burning our hands. So Leo had the great idea of swimming in the river afterwards. We found a great rock that we could jump off of, and even in 100 degree heat, I was shivering for about an hour afterwards. It felt good.


Then Leo suggested that we go have a beer and a burger and then CLIMB AGAIN!!! THAT is LEO. So we went down to Leavenworth to Gustav's and had beers and burgers, and then headed back up to Icicle Canyon to Mountaineers' Dome, and climbed until we ran out of light. We found the only resturant still open that night, a WONDERFUL Italian place for dinner.

It was a full day, to say the least. I was trashed. Leo absolutely, without a doubt, kicks my butt. :D

Ski Mountaineering Ruth Mountain 2006

For some, the balance is skewed more than it is for others...




This was an insane trip. First, our friend Leo said not to worry about bringing hiking boots for the approach, becuase it wasn't too far to where we would throw the skis and skins on. HA! Yea, right... It was SIX MILES EACH WAY IN SKI BOOTS!!!! That was before a very long and very difficult skin up.

The weather was great at first, but as we were approaching the fin (the only big rock in the field of white), an electrical storm came out of nowhere. It was extremely scary. Seth's ice axe started humming very loudly and we were totally exposed in the middle of the mountain. We hauled a*# up to the fin and stayed about 20 feet away from it. I ditched all of my gear and hoped for the best. Then it started hailing marbel sized hail. It hurt like hell. As soon as it stopped, we grabbed the ice axes and made the summit quickly. There was another party on top and they were all very freaked out. They had their hair standing totally on end and were anxious to get out of there. So were we...
We had the BEST ski down ever. But we went too far and ended up hiking (yes, in ski boots) back up to the trail. It was very difficult with about a 40 pound pack, in ski boots, and already exhaused. When we finally got back to the parking lot, we carpooled back down the mountain to our car. In that hour, my body had completely siffened up, and I seriously didn't think I could get out of the car. :)
BUT, that was nothing that a margarita and a huge burrito couldn't fix. The drive back to Gig Harbor was as painful as I can ever remember in terms of fighting sleep.











OH, YEA!!! The mountains in the background are Shuksan and Baker. Baker was actually originally named Shuksan by the Indians, but it was changed by the "explorers." No matter, Shuksan is, in my opinion, far more magnificent.

Extra Curricular Activities

Ski Mountaineering on Mt. Adams 2006



The importance of maintaining balance in medical school cannot be overemphasized.

These pictures are of a trip my husband and I took to Mt. Adams in South Washington during the spring of my MS-1 year. You can see other volcanos, such as Mt. Hood and Mt. Rainier, in the background of several pictures. You can distinguish the two, becuase Mt. Rainier has a braod, flat top, and Mt. Hood is much more conincal.





This camp is at 8,900 feet. We skinned up there and set up camp about 8:30pm the night before. Everything froze, so we were putting on crampons and planned on hiking to the summit and skiing down once some of the ice softened up.


The only thing I didn't like about this trip was that all of the ski gear was very heavy. For one overnight, we had about 65 pound packs. The summit pack wasn't bad, but we still had to ski down very difficult terrain and difficult snow conditions with a heavy pack. I had never done that before and I was challenged by it.


Also, there was a 3.5 mile hike each way to the beginning of the snow field. Man, that pack was more than half my body weight! UGH...









GREAT TRIP!!!