Trip report by: Bill DeYoung
In February I committed myself to an August 21 summit attempt at Mt Rainier. Some of that preparation experience is described in other CoolTrails reports. (Mt Adams, Mt St Helens, Mt Si, Camp Muir) The short answer is, "Yes, I made the summit."
Photo 1: Taking a break on the Muir Snowfield. Nisqually Glaicer and Gibraltar Rock in background.
After an inauspiciously late arrival at the Rainier Mountaineering Inc (RMI) guide shack at Paradise we got our gear checked and met the guides. We had trained as a group with the Downtown Seattle YMCA. There were 20 Y members and three independant guys--23 climbers and 6 guides.
Photo 2: Sunrise lights the ice seracs above Disappointment Cleaver.
I would strongly recommend that anyone with minimal experience with glacier climbing dig up the $500 for a guided climb or go with a very experienced group. RMI is very directive--I've heard the words drill sgt and others used to describe them--but their objective is to get 20-plus inexperienced and often under-conditioned people safely up and down (the summit doesn't count unless you get down) and they are very good at it. If you've done much climbing, they'll make you a little crazy.
The other thing that's essential is physical preparation. I recommend high intensity interval type activity that pushes your cardio and aerobic limits. Add some strength training. Find out where your "bottom" really is.
The hike to Camp Muir (5,400 to 10,000) is punctuated with 3 rest stops and instructions. Once at Camp Muir we stashed packs, selected a sleeping slot on one of 4 6x12 shelves (6 to a shelf) and ate. The guides demonstrated the climbing harnesses and helmets, assigned teams and told us to expect a wake up call between 11pm and 2am. It came at 12:30.
Photo 3: Climbers on the Nisqually Glacier, from Muir Snowfield.
"Eat, dress like this, pack this way and be on the Cowlitz Glacier with your rope leader in 1 hr." Like I said, they're directive. The summit climb (10,000 - 14,410) is also broken up by 3 stops. The first leg is across the Cowlitz Glacier and up Cathedral Gap, a steep scree slope that breaks up the Cathedral Rock ridge below Gibralter Rock. Then up along the other side of Cathedral Rocks to Ingraham Flats, a flat place on the Ingraham Glacier that's another high camp staging area for summit climbs. At this point two people who'd been pretty sick through the night said, "Enough."
The guides dug them in and left them in sleeping bags to wait. From here we headed up the Ingraham Glacier and through the Ingraham Ice Fall--a place where the glacier comes over a cliff and breaks up into big chunks--kind of a stop-action waterfall. You just trust that the action stays stopped as you go through it.
Photo 4: Crossing a crevasse on a ladder bridge on the Ingraham Glacier. Cathedral Rock and Cadaver Gap in the background.
Crossed two crevasses on aluminum ladders with 2x6's lashed onto them and headed up the Disappointment Cleaver--a steep rock outcropping that separates the Ingraham from the Emmons Glacier. This is a steep switchbacking trail on loose rock up a nearly vertical face in heavy boots and crampons in the dark. The hardest part of the climb.
At the top we took a break and watched the sun rise. Those of us with breath left gasped at the size and beauty of the seracs and crevasses that lay ahead of us. This late in the season, most crevasses are open, snow bridges gone or too risky to cross and the route is lengthened as it threads through and around, rather than up and over.
From here on, it's pretty much a long slog through the snow. A few steep places and always the possiblity that a slip or stumble could put you into a crevasse, but for the most part it's genetics, conditioning, and will battling altitude from here to the summit.
Photo 5: Fresh August snow on boulders in the summit crater. Warm air melts snow away from steam vents.
The scale of the summit area is overwhelming. It's truly vast. There is no peak, no one place you can look all around you and see beyond the mountain. The summit crater is the size of the Kingdome and covers only a fraction of the top of the mountain. There had been fresh snow the week before, and the crater rocks were covered with soft white mounds. I walked away from the group to take a photo and plunged up to my hip in soft snow. Three of us were willing to take the 20 minute trip over to the high side of the crater rim to sign the register and see what's on the other side, but confusion and hesitation got the better of us and our moment passed. The guides regrouped us and we headed down. I didn't see the other side of the mountain--I will go back.
Photo 6: Climbing party descends from the summit. Little Tahoma is the dark pyramid at lower right.
The trip down was less pushed, as we were on schedule and would clear the Disappointment Cleaver and Ice Fall before the danger hour when the temperature rose and rocks began breaking loose. We were allowed to slow down and take pictures--it was a clear day and every step and every direction presented stunning and fascinating things to look at. For a gawker like myself it's a dangerous situation. Walking in a narrow trough on a steep glacier with a crevasse 50 feet downslope with clumsy boots and crampons takes all your concentration--looking around while walking is disastrous. However, we made it down without mishap, had burgers at The Scale in Elbe and I was in bed by ten.
Footnote: The most experienced guy in our group stopped at Disappointment Cleaver with altitude exhaustion. He wanted to make a second try and I was more than willing to go back, so we made a second trip Labor Day weekend. This time was not a guided climb. We spent a lot more energy carrying tent, food, stove, ropes, ice pickets, carabiners, etc and setting up camp on the glacier. No one brought us water or heated water for us or told us what, when and where to do and go. We made our own decisions and took our own risks.
Everyone there was leaving much earlier (9:30 - 11) because continued warm weather had increased the danger of rockfall and it was necessary to be down much earlier than two weeks before.
We followed the RMI group which was slow and frustrating, but added an element of saftey. Altitude won again. My partner nearly collapsed from exhaustion and we had to stop at the top of Disappointment Cleaver. We watched the sunrise and headed back. Once down a few hundred feet his strength and energy returned completely. Fitness and ability aren't guarantees above 10,000'. We were lucky, he's strong and determined and could have pushed to a point of real collapse which would have left us in a very bad place. We took our time on the way down and had the opportunity to really look at things. In two weeks, it was clear the route had continued to deteriorate. I'll go back.
P.S., Ascending Mt. Rainier is something people need to consider carefully before doing. I've taken it a little lightly because it was pretty easy for me, but my experience the second trip brought home how easy it is to get into trouble and how hard it can be to get out.
Note: This is backcountry wilderness travel. Any trail can become very dangerous in winter conditions. You are responsible for informing yourself of the hazards and taking the necessary precautions. Please read Terms of Use.