Mt. Rainier Trip Report:




Unfortunately no cell phone service at all on or around the mountain, so we could not send any messages to the blog. Back home after a very memorable experience on Rainier. We had perfect weather, beautiful sunny days and clear nights with a big moon. After getting a bit of a late start friday, we set up a low camp at ~9k ft, on a rocky shelf with magnificent views of Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, and Mt. St. Helens. Everybody was feeling pretty good, save for some sore backs (me), hips and one very sore ankle that Eric K. was fighting through. He had sprained it recently and was just going to see how it felt day-to-day. I'm not sure if Eric's buddy Jeff even broke a sweat or was breathing heavy on the climb up.

Sat morning we broke camp and hoofed it another 1000 ft. up to Camp Muir at 10,080 ft, and took a rest break. This is the usual base camp area for many teams, as well as the base for the guided services like RMI. Eric K had done yeoman's work getting to this point on a weakened ankle, but it wasn't prudent to go any further on it. From here the slopes got steeper with loose rock and scree, and coming down it would have been impossible without strong ankles. So he made the wise decision to head back down, and Jeff, who sumitted Rainier once before, decided to accompany him to the bottom so they could spend some time in Seattle.

From here, Eric Tirnauer, Joe and I roped up, strapped on the crampons and went another 1k ft., across the Cowlitz Galcier, over the steep rock and scree of Cathedral Gap and up to Ingraham Flats to set up a high camp at ~11k ft. After the long stop at Muir, we were lucky to nab the last tent site without having to dig one out. At this point, it was all about preparing for the summit bid - melting snow for drinking water, eating, sorting our gear, packing up our packs for the summit, and finally laying down about 6:00 pm to get some rest.

The plan was to wake up at midnight and be climbing by 12:30 or so to stay ahead of all the RMI groups starting from Camp Muir. Ah, the best laid plans....Faintly I hear footsteps on the trail of climbers moving past our camp and jolt upright. Shit, it's 1:30! We couldn't hear the alarm, my wrist buried in my sleeping bag, and when I realized what time it was, I rousted Big E. At this point, there was a brief discussion amongst the 3 of us on whether we wanted to go for it or not, with two "for" climbing and one "against". As is normal, the very short night, and lack of sleep was creating some doubt and apprehension. The "against" was prodded to at least give it a try and see how the energy level felt after eating and drinking and getting moving. So it was up and out of the tent, dressed, harnesses on, boots, gaitors, crampons, helmet, headlamp, ice axe, and ready to go. The packs were barely noticeable with nothing but our down jackets, balaclava, over-mittens, and extra water...maybe 15-20 lbs compared to the 50+ we carried up to that point.

The climb to the summit was extremely challenging, both physically and mentally. Fortunately, we had near-perfect climbing conditions - not too cold, not too warm...clear skies, bright moon, no wind. The first objective was to gain the 'Disappointment Cleaver", aptly named for the many who turn back from there. Its' steep, mixed rock/scree and snow, make it very intimidating. We took our first, well-earned 5-minute break at the top of the Cleaver at ~12k ft., on a flat, rocky ledge, and were treated to a beautiful sunrise from this awesome vantage point. We were all feeling pretty good at this point, and decided to make the push for the summit. This was a long, 3 hour slog up numerous switchbacks with some pretty steep sections at times. By this time, the sun was up and it was clear, so we had great views , and could see the terrain in front of us easily. The "trail" up the glacier was usually about 1 -2 feet wide, with occasional obstacles, but for the most part it was straight-forward climbing, one foot in front of the other, rest-step, plant the ice axe, breath, repeat.

We made the crater rim right around 8:00 am, through a little notch in the snow bank they call the "gate". We sat down in the crater for a couple mins, took off our packs, and walked 10-15 mins across the crater and up to "Columbia Crest", the true summit at 14, 410 feet, the second highest in the lower 48. I felt all sorts of emotions - ecstatic, grateful, lucky, tired, relieved, and proud probably sum it up best. I thought it was very cool to have been able to do that with one of my best friends (who had never climbed before), and a really funny, great guy who had alot of experience and agreed to lead us on the mountain. Eric Tirnauer was not only a great climbing leader and motivator, he was also a lot of fun.

Coming down we had to take it a little slow, as the snow was getting soft and slushy as the sun heated it up. We had 9 miles and 9000 vertical feet to descend. We made it to Ingraham Flats around 11:45 am, leaving the summit around 9. We packed up our camp, shouldered our heavy packs, roped up again, crossed over Cathedral Gap and down the scree slope, stopping next at Camp Muir for a brief rest before the long hike down the Muir Snowfield to the Paradise Visitor Center. On the snowfield we were able to glissade a number of times, getting up some good speed as we slid down the steeper sections on our butts, controlling our speed with our poles or ice axe. It never got old. Finally hit the parking lot ~6:00 pm, but Big E had been there since 5ish waiting for us, since he was able to descend alot faster than we. Funny how gravity works that way.

This was a truly special alpine adventure, and would highly recommend this climb to anyone who hasn't done it. Mt. Rainier is an extraordinary national park and absolutely beautiful glaciated volcano that provides the feel of a true mountaineering experience.


P.S. Good luck to the Climb For Hope 2.3 team on Mt. Adams, which we could clearly see the entire time. Also looks like a fantastic mountain. Climb on!