June 13, 2016

With all the posting we do about Rainier climbs, we don’t always provide a blow-by-blow for every trip. Luckily, I got the chance to jump on a trip myself last weekend. We ended up with beautiful (read: warm) weather, way more photos than anyone should take in a three-day period, and now a detailed report of our trip.

Our climbers showed up to their half day on June 2^nd right on time with all of their gear. Needless to say, we were off to a great start. After everyone got their gear all sorted out and knew how to use it and pack it away, everyone (or at least most of us) went to sleep early to prepare for the climb.

Our second day was where the fun really began. We gathered together bright and early, introduced ourselves, and took a group photo.  After our photo, we drove off to Paradise, where we unloaded our van, laced up our boots, and made one final stop to a flush toilet. Then we headed uphill! Because it’s relatively early in the season, very little of the trail is melted out, so we walked on snow the entire first day. But just because it was snowy, doesn’t mean it was cold. In fact, our trip up the Muir snowfield was hot and sweaty, even with thin clothing and sun protection. Luckily, we moved fairly quickly into camp and we got to spend a couple hours relaxing before dinner. Our dinner was excellently prepared (credit to guides Betsy Dain-Owens and Dan Zokaites), and we all agreed that all burritos should have snap peas in them to provide additional texture.

The next morning, after another lovely meal of pancakes and bacon, we had a mellow few hours of training at Muir. The group learned cramponing techniques, self-arresting, and how to travel together on a rope, all invaluable skills for the upper mountain. I have to say, it looked pretty nice to slide around in the slushy snow on such a hot day. Once everyone had honed their skills, we roped up and headed through Cathedral gap and onto Ingraham flats, a short journey. At camp, we moved into our tents and discussed our upcoming summit day. We ate an early dinner, which was again excellent (Betsy is just really good at cooking!) and went to sleep. “Sleep” is used loosely here, as it was broad daylight for about four of the seven hours before we had to wake up again at midnight.

Summit morning is my personal favorite part of every climb. It’s certainly not fun to wake up in the middle of the night, crawl out of your warm sleeping bag and walk for several hours in the cold and dark, but it’s what carries you to your ultimate goal. Beyond that, a group that suffers together stays together! Summit day is where you really get to bond with your fellow climbers, even if it’s through commiseration.

On our summit morning, we woke up at midnight, ate a little breakfast, drank some coffee (mercifully), packed up and headed uphill. It happened to be about as warm as it gets on a Rainier summit day, although that’s not saying much. After about an hour and a half of walking, we made it to the top of the Disappointment Cleaver, which was only about a third rock (because it’s early in the season and it hasn’t quite melted out). A few turned back but the rest of us continued on towards the summit. Because two of our guides, Dan Zokaites and Eric Schafer, had done some route work the day before, our path was nicely shoveled out and smooth. At around seven in the morning, we arrived on the crater rim, tired but thrilled to be there!

Three of us walked across the crater to the summit register, where we signed for our group, and then walked up to Columbia Crest, which is technically the highest point on the mountain (although anywhere on the crater rim is officially the summit). Once we had taken a few pictures, we started walking back down. Descending, in my mind, can be the worst part of climbing, particularly if you have my knees. It does, however, go pretty quick, so we made it to the top of the cleaver and down to Ingraham flats in a relatively short stretch of time.

At the flats, we made a quick stop to pack up our gear, get some water, and put on some sunscreen.  The trip to Muir, where we had a longer break, went quickly even though it was roasting hot outside. After we’d disposed of our blue bags (yum) we started back down the snowfield. The conditions on the snowfield were perfect if you like boot-skiing and glissading: just perfect slushy snow all the way back down to the parking lot. Hot days do have their upsides!

Even though we had a great climb, it was nice to make it back to the parking lot and back to HQ. In celebration of our summits, we received summit certificates and signed IMG’s 2016 summit board. That’s a perfectly good way to celebrate an accomplishment like climbing Mt. Rainier, but my personal favorite post-climb treat is trading in my wet mountaineering boots for some flip flops. Ultimately, the satisfaction of a successful climb comes from the actual act of putting in hard work, not whether or not you reached the summit. Fighting through the cold, tiredness, and type 2 fun is both the accomplishment and the reward, along with the satisfaction of looking up at a mountain and knowing that you were there.

Angie Diana
IMG Intern

June 10, 2016

Mt. Rainier is the iconic peak of the Pacific Northwest with Liberty Ridge being the most classic alpine route on the mountain. It’s a route that’s on the bucket list of any true alpine climber. To climb this route requires all the stars to align.  The weather must be stable and the snow conditions must be just right.  If just one of these pieces is out of place the route may not go… and that’s just what happened on our most recent attempt at Liberty Ridge.

On our climb earlier this week we were put to a decision pretty early on in the program. We camped at St. Elmo’s pass on day one and read that the forecast called for 70 mph winds out of the SW during our scheduled summit day.  Fellow guide Luke Reilly and I discussed our options, came up with a plan, talked it over with the office who confirmed it with the National Park. We opted to completely change our trip objective and focus on climbing Little Tahoma.

Off to Little Tahoma we went.  From St. Elmo’s we went up the Winthrop Glacier to Camp Schurman, had some coffee, then headed across the massive Emmons Glacier.  Gaining the north shoulder of Little Tahoma consisted of 1000 feet of 45 degree snow climbing to our camp on the Whitman Glacier.  The next morning the weather was holding strong which gave us a nice window to climb Little Tahoma, Washington’s 3rd highest peak.  Little T, as we call it, has a beautiful summit ridge.  It’s a classic alpine ridge, offering the best view possible of Mt. Rainier’s East side.  The summit pinnacle is large enough for only three people to stand shoulder to shoulder.

Once back at high camp we decided to continue our adventure with an east side traverse.  Up and over the Whitman col to the lower Ingraham glacier was a sporty (but fun) section of our program.  The winter snow pack had melted so much that simply walking over the col was not possible.  A 50 meter repel was required to get the team down to the glacier.  Across the Ingraham and over to the Cowlitz glacier we climbed.  The team was strong and the weather was still holding at lower elevations.

Wandering down the Cowlitz glacier was exciting.  One of our climbers looked right at me and said, “It looks like an impossible puzzle!” Luke and I simply continued connecting the dots and finding a route.  Yes it involved down climbing a rushing waterfall, climbing thru massive icefall debris, and a few intense crevasse crossings.  But we put the “impossible puzzle” together and arrived at our intended camp at 7600 feet on the Paradise glacier.  Our last day put us at the trailhead at about 11am. It was off to the Copper Creek for lunch then we waited for our shoes. Yes our shoes. We had left a trailhead vehicle at White River with our shoes inside. Our back-up plan was put in play. The descending Emmons Team brought our van back and with it our shoes.

Four days, seven glaciers (Winthrop, Emmons, Frying Pan, Whitman, Ingraham, Cowlitz, Paradise), and a Little Tahoma summit! The Mt. Rainier Lib Ridge East Side Variation Traverse may never be repeated, on purpose.  I can’t thank Luke Reilly and the rest of the team enough for an unforgettable experience.   From a guide’s perspective this was an absolute blast!

Austin Shannon

May 31, 2016

The Rainier summits keep on coming! This morning’s team lead by Erica Engle had 10 on top at around 7 am. Reports are that the weather is beautiful with a cloudless sky. Happy climbing!

Some of the summit team (photo credits Erica Engle)

Angie

May 26, 2016

The Rainier season is certainly off to a great start! Yesterday’s team led by guide Dallas Glass returned from the mountain with smiles on their faces, with 10 people on top. Report is that the weather above 8,000 feet is sunny and gorgeous, so if you’re in Seattle right now, don’t let the overcast weather deceive you! Maybe just head up into the mountains if you’re looking for a little sunshine…