LA PLATA, Md. – Back in August 2022, Joseph Facchina, a former attorney who practiced Construction Law, summited Mt. Rainier for the first time. He soloed Rainier for a second time on June 25, 2023. A week later, he soloed Mt. Hood, which is located in Oregon, on July 4, 2023 (his second solo summit of Hood) and on July 14 he soloed Mt. Saint Helen’s. Now, the Charles County native is looking to summit Mt. Hood for a third time on April 24, 2024, just like he promised way back in 2022.
Facchina began his mountaineering aspirations in 2019 with a solo climb of Hood. He didn’t summit the mountain until 2020 when he climbed with his cousin. This summit sparked Facchina’s desire to continue to challenge himself.
For him to solely focus on this journey, he had to give up his law practice. He sold what he had, and set out to live in the mountains. The amount of mental and physical training required for these climbs makes having any type of life outside of the craft pretty difficult.
“I don’t have much of a personal life to speak of. I work at least five days a week and train seven days a week. Same routine almost every day. No parties, no social gatherings, no drinking. Just work hard in the day, lift and train smart at night,” Facchina told The BayNet.
“Physically…it’s a lifetime of training. From wrestling practice to two-a-day football practices in August, martial arts, and working in a lumber mill; this all contributed to my physical ability. Plus, lots of hiking with a 60 lbs pack daily, lifting, and some bag work. The physical aspect is easy, but the real training is mental; Specifically, you have to ‘Commit to the Climb’. This means that you are going, and you’re going to give it 100%. Retreat is not an option. Failure is not an option. Once you mentally ‘Commit to the Climb,’ there are only three outcomes: 1. Victory, 2. Death, or 3. You’re going to reach your physical breaking point/sheer exhaustion. This is quite a lot to take on and weighs on you in the days preceding the climb. If you want the ultimate, you have to be willing to pay the ultimate price.”
When asked how his training is going for his upcoming Mt. Hood climb, Facchina stated that everything was going great.
“Although each mountain is different, the training remains the same,” said Facchina.
When asked if his confidence has grown overtime with each climb, Facchina’s answer was “no and yes.”
“You’re never more confident than when you are ignorant,” said Facchina. “The more time I spend in the mountains, the more I learn about the hazards and the more you realize there are many factors outside of your control. So, although I am more confident in my abilities in the mountains, I am less confident about to environmental factors. It’s so unpredictable up there. You can do everything right and still die. I have a few methods I employ to keep the mountain gods and weather goddesses on my side. It’s working so far.”
Facchina has many motivations as to why he continues to push himself and climb, but his biggest motivation is his dad, who helps him maintain this lifestyle.
“My dad helps me out so much, the way that I climb and push myself in the mountains to try and achieve as much as I do, it’s really in honor of my dad,” explained Facchina.
All around, Facchina’s family is very supportive of him and is proud of all of his accomplishments.
In terms of his future goals for this climbing season, Facchina is preparing to leave for the mountains on April 7. He is looking to get at least one summit of Mt. Hood and relocate to Mt. Rainier on May 1. From there he will look for some harder routes to once again tackle the mountain such as the Ingram Direct and the Emmons Glacier route. Facchina is also looking to summit either Mt. Adams and/or Mt. Baker in late June to mid-July. He plans to also climb Mt. Saint Helen’s in the last week of July.
In honor of his hometown, Facchina carries the Charles County flag in his pack for every climb.
“Charles County is my home, it’s what made me into the person I am today…so I wanted Charles County to get some of the praise and blame,” said Facchina.
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