On the heels of last summer's adventure to Kilimanjaro, Dad wanted to summit something else. So he signed up for an excursion to the top of the second tallest peak in the continental U.S.
Though slightly shorter than Mt. Whitney (14,500 feet), the summit of Rainier is not easier... it is a long slog, with significant total elevation gain, AND the technical aspect with crampons on ice along with steeper ascents made it a challenge for sure. And that wind.... howling! Ice chips in the face at 50 mph. Ouch!
Day 1--- Drive from Seattle to Paradise (Mt. Rainier National Park lodge) at 5,000 feet. Then hike up 5,000 feet in 5 miles to Muir Camp (10,100 feet) in 6 hours... exposed all the way with gorgeous, but draining, sunny weather.
Though it was glorious, the sun reflecting off of the snow was hard. By the way, 98% snow travel with 30-pound packs.
We slept well that night after the Park Service helicopter finished carrying out the barrels of human waste.
Day 2 --- Ice axe and crampon practice in the morning, and some snow/glacier travel for 1.5 hours in the afternoon to "High Camp" on the Ingraham Glacier at 11,200 feet.
We rested from 2pm until 4pm when we had "dinner." At 6pm, we went to bed.. and from 8-11pm I actually slept. At 11:30pm we were up and our ascent began at 12:30am, in the dark. Roped together, with crampons on and ice axes in hand, we journeyed through the dark and howling wind (30 mph sustained, 50 mph gusts?) ever upwards.
Breaks were short and mechanical: put on layers, sit on pack, drink water, eat a snack, wait four minutes, huddle from wind, try to stay warm, slide backpack out from underneath, take off layer and stuff it in pack, put pack on, go.
The one time I peed I'm not sure where it even went... mostly on my pants probably. The wind made it nearly impossible and the layers and the harness made access to this function almost non-existent.
Day 3 --- We make it to the summit after sunrise, approximately 5:45am. It was gorgeous to watch the light, the dawn, the brilliant morning Eastern fire, the great mystery, the start of the day while we were 80% done with the ascent.
We summitted, followed the usual routine in the crater which was more protected, and un-roped to make it to the "official" summit.
Our Sherpa guide, Lakpa, turned four of us back about 5 feet from the very top because the wind was coming over very fast. It was difficult to stand. In the end, he did right and we never summitted.... but I don't care about technicalities... we were there! It was a hell of a journey.
Then the way down: Starting at 6:30am- Walking down ice with crampons, leaping over crevasses (that we now saw in the light!) gliassading, plunge-stepping, walking, trying to protect the knees and back. We made it to High Camp, then to Muir Camp (took off crampons & packed ice axe) and finally back down to Paradise around 2:30pm. Eight hours later we had descended 9000 feet from the summit back to our starting point.
We got in the van and headed back to Seattle via Whittaker's Lodge. After a small bite to eat and a rest, we got into the van and I promptly fell asleep in the back bench, face pressed into a seat belt buckle. I awoke as we pulled into the city and laugh at how I don't remember a thing from the drive home. Tired, indeed!
That's the story. Ohh... the last and most important piece: I borrowed gear from Jimmy. Thanks!!!! He lent me a pair of mountaineering boots that his best friend's grandpa had worn to summit Rainier. He held a record for the oldest guy to do it. At 86, he got to the same summit in those boots. At 31, I am lucky to have been walking in his shoes... Speaking of which, it is time for me to write a thank you note to that man!
View of Mount Adams to the south
Mt Hood (also south) meant it was clear enough to see straight into Oregon... further south we could see (though it doesn't show up in this picture) Mt. Jefferson! That is far into eastern Oregon, near Bend! WOW!
To the southwest, Mt. St. Helens... you can see the crater that blew!
From Dad's camera:
Looking North you can see Mt. Baker, Mt. Shuksan, and Glacier Peak
Hiking as night turns into day, using headlamps
Looking down on High Camp on Ingraham Glacier. If I'd have known or seen what we were camping and hiking on, I might not have done it!
Some trail on the way down. Very little dirt on this expedition for us... but there were some nice flowers about to bloom as we approached the end. Only at this point, as we descended below 6500 feet, was there any cloud cover. And at this point it was nice to have some relief from three-days of sun and exposure.
Done blogging for now :)
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