Mt. Rainer

“Getting psyched about this trip, it's making work really hard this week...

A friend of mine and I are heading up to Rainer this weekend, and climbing early next week.

Got the gear, got the guide group, Any last second advice for a mountaineering newbie?”

“I hope you are in good shape, but its too late to do much about it now. It will be one of the hardest tasks you have ever experienced.”

“Work's getting hard here, too. I advise you to take me with you. Pleeeaase! :-)”

“I am doing similarly August 3rd & 4th, going up the White River side. Which route are you taking, bongofreek?

I think Idaho Bob hit the nail on the head. I'm glad I've now got a few peaks under my belt before I take on Rainier (and I'm not sure that's gonna help all that much.)

Advice would be to take the things on the list your guide sent you and be sure you stay hydrated.”

“My advice, don't fall.
Of course a gecko never falls, we just become involuntarily unattached!”

“Be careful.

I was dayhiking around there a few weeks ago and saw the rangers airlifting a guy down on a stretcher.

Oh, and don't play with bee-bee guns. You'll shoot your eye out.”

“take lots of film...take more than you think you will ever need! you will appreciate it later.

Good luck! Know your limits. With all the talk about alt. sickness, pay attention to your general health and hydration.”

“replace camera batteries. Have anti balling devices for your crampons. Spare flashlight bulb, and batteries. Practice ascending a rope with a prussik knot and slings. Practice self arrests. Practice being on a stairmaster for 8 hours at a time.”

“Been climbing/hiking around the bay area with about 60 pounds in my pack, so i am feeling ok about my conditioning (though, of course, I guess you can't over train for something like this). Altitude sickness and weather are major concerns, but since they are out of my control for the most part (hydration and preparation aside) I guess I'll just have to deal.

Perspective is key--although I am really pumped for the trip, I know I need to keep summit fever to a minimum--thanks for all of the reminders of that.

Idaho Bob--thanks for the practical check list.”

“You gonna pack yer dump out?”

“Its a good idea to put on your crampons, so you know the harnesses are adjusted right, and so you'll have better luck putting them on when half asleep and in the dark. Also, adjust your headlamp strap to fit on your helmet, so that's ready to go. Check that your hat for warmth fits under your helmet. A tight fitting hat made of fleece works well for this.

Good luck! Let us know how it works out.”

“Idaho Bob had a good tip--better practice putting that stuff on a few times so you know if it's on right in the dark on summit day.

Take food you think you'll REALLY want to eat, because you may have no appetite even though you need the energy and nutrition.”

“Last time I was up there (notice I didn't say last time I climbed it) I trained with 75 pounds on a streadmill set at its maximum include. I figured I was "overtraining", to compensate for the altitude. On the mountain, my pack to Camp Muir at 10,000 was 75 pounds. Ouch!

My climbing partners were a husband and wife team, and the wife only weighs about 105 pounds, so she can only carry xx pounds as a load. So her hubby and I got a pretty heavy share of the goods. At camp Muir I was so tired I didn't feel like eating anything that night. We rested the next day, and I perked up a little, but we all got altitude sickness the next day 1000 feet short of the summit. I didn't have antiballing plates on my crampons, and on the way down they would jam up with soft snow at every step. My battery on my camera also died, so I didn't get many photos, and none on the climb. The water in the tube on my water bladder also froze solid, so the bladder didn't work.

The guides with the guided parties said they hadn't seen crampons like mine in decades. I didn't even bring my old crampons, they were my newer set. Crampons like my old ones were in display cases at the lodge, as mountaineering history.

You need to be equipped for cold and wind.

Good luck!”

“I've been reading a few of the accident reports filed by the climbing rangers over the past couple years, and they give you an idea of the kinds of stuff that can happen on Rainier. Pretty sobering stuff. One guy was having a problem similar to yours, Idaho Bob...he was trying to dislodge snow that had balled up on his crampons, slipped, and knocked a guy on his rope team downhill from him into a crevasse.”

“I've attempted it 5 times, been on the top twice, and everytime I drive up to the Paradise lodge, I say "Holy S**t, that mountain is huge!" It is one BIG, IMPOSING son of a gun!”

“I read Bruce Barcott's "measure of a mountain" (or something like that) this winter...the details of accidents from one year alone were pretty scary stuff.

But then again, I guess that's what makes trips like this one exciting.”

“From my experience, the difference between summiting and not summiting Rainier is:
1) force yourself to eat...take foods which you can eat even if feeling nauseous
2) hydration, hydration, hydration
3) conditioning...and nothing conditions you better than climbing the mountain...if you fail, go back down, rest, and try it again in a couple days *wink* The first time it's hell, the second time a breeze!
4)get some decent sleep on the mountain ...it might be impossible, but it can mean a big difference.

Good Luck!”

“Hey folks-


Thanks for all the advice and support. Glad to say that on Wednesday August 1st I made it to the summit of Mt. Rainer.

It was a hell of an experience, and I was pretty lucky (perfect weather, no altitude issues, hungry as hell as I climbed, good strength throughout). A more detailed trip report to follow...”

“Very, very cool.”

“IT'S SPELLED RAINIER!!!”

“See 'Altitude Sickness' threads.”

“Congratulations Bongo!

Gonna try my first 14r next week at Shasta so I'll need all the inspiration I can get.”

“Wow, good for you!”

“Thanks Kleetn, that spelling thing was bothering me too!

Weren't you headed up Rainier this past weekend? The weather here in Portland was actually quite good, but I think I saw that you guys up north were under a band of showers. How'd it go?”

“Welcome back. Mt. Rainier is great isn't it. I hope you took some pics. You were very lucky with the weather. I still remember how luck I felt to get good weather there when I first visited Rainier 4 yrs ago.”

“doh! how long can I claim altitude sickness as an excuse for my bad spelling? :)

rockbuck--we stopped at shasta on the way back home--I think it's pretty high up on my list of future climbs--looks like very little snow until you get close to the summit. a guy who climbed RAINIER with me did shasta about 10 days prior and said it was awesome.

LH--got lots of pictures...it was amazing up there.

Idaho Bob and Kleetn--thanks for all of the advice...especially the "learn to put on your crampons with your eyes closed."”

“Yo, Rockbuck,

I climbed Mt. Shasta on Memorial Day weekend. I went with Shasta Mountain Guides. Though the weather was great, only four of us ten clients made it to the summit. It's not an easy climb. We climbed on snow. I've heard it's even harder this time of year because you have to climb on volcanic ash. Have fun and good luck!”

“Alpine, I just posted a report -- see 'Blown off the mountain'”

“Bongo, C-man, I was up in Shasta/McCloud this weekend also (annual golf trip) and there was very little snow in Avy Gulch and even less on the Clear Creek ridge I hoped to climb. My buddy says next week is the best for him because of family so we'll give it a go and probably do Avy. Next year I hope to have my act together a bit more and get up there in the spring.

The wind up there looked real bad Saturday with lots of cloud cover in the morning. I gotta believe anybody up there that wasn't at or near the summit by sunup didn't make the top. But, what do I know, this will be my first attempt at anthing over 10.”

“Kleety, Weren't you at Rainier on Aug. 1?

Musta been on the other side of the Mountain.”

“I was there August 2 & 3. The 2nd was a gorgeous day but the conditions went to heck that night.”

“Sorry for the delay...just readjusting to real life...so here's the trip report:

Monday, July 30
I took part in the mountaineering school that the guide service I went up the mountain with (RMI) requires before they take you up. It was really good to learn the most basic of skills--particularly the "rest Step" and pressure breathing (both of which I think contributed to this seasider getting above 14,000 feet). It was also heartening to see the other folks I was going up with--pretty much regular joes and janes, nobody looked like a super hero--so that added a bit of confidence.

After a big dinner, a quick last minute check of gear and packing up of the pack, I went to bed ready to climb.

Tuesday, July 31
We set out from Paradise (5500 feet) around 10:30am. Being in a pack train of climbers isn't usually my idea of a good time--but I was willing to deal to get the advantage of learning from some pretty experienced guides. Dave Hahn (2 Everest summits, 185 Rainier summits, was on the expedition that found Mallory's body) was our senior guide. The rest of the guides varied in experience, but all had been up the mountain dozens of times at the very least.

Climbing the snow field was very different than any sort of hiking I had done back east. A bit slushy and a bit slow, but it was a beautiful day--so I just enjoyed the view.

We got to Camp Muir around 3pm. Set up camp, had our summit meeting, packed up our gear, ate dinner, and was in my sleeping bag by 7pm. it was a gorgeous afternoon and things boded well for the next day.

Wednesday, August 1

Got a 12:30am wake up call. I didn't sleep much--mainly too excited and too many folks crammed into the hut that RMI puts us up in (yeah, I know, it sucks that I didn't get to sleep in a tent, but then again, I didn't have to carry the tent either). Put on the crampons and grabbed the ice axe for the first real glacier experience of my life.

We couldn't have asked for better weather. At Camp Muir it was probably 40 degrees with 0 wind. Took off across the Cowlitz glacier at about 1:30am, climbed through Cathedral Gap and had our first rest break on the Ingraham Glacier.

From there we did the next 1 1/2 hours through Disappointment Cleaver at a pretty quick pace. My buddy had to stop at the second rest break--he was really feeling the altitude. I was feeling better with every foot I climbed--hungry and thirsty all the way to the top, which I guess is pretty rare.

Sunrise hit us around 6, right in time for the 2nd break above Disappointment Cleaver. It was pretty magical.

The wind picked up from there, but the rest of the climb to the top was pretty much just a grind. I hunkered down and focused on pressure breathing and rest-stepping.

We got to the south east part of the summit cone around 8:30am--still windy and sunny. I dropped my pack and walked across the crater to the "true summit" on the other side. It was pretty cool to reach the top--and pretty humbling to sign my name next to a guy who had been there 200 times already.

Coming down was a lot warmer--but in many ways a lot harder than going up. I guess the combination of exertion and altitude made it a bit harder to focus.

The only exciting part of the return trip was a near death experience in "the bowling alley"--a dangerous section of the mountain at the bottom of disappointment cleaver. One of my rope teammates almost got hit with a fist sized rock from above. needless to say we really rushed out of there.

Getting down from base camp wasn't too eventful either--wth the exception of the last mile, which I did in the inner boots--the plastic outer boots having mangeled my shins pretty bad.

All in all a great first mountaineering trip. I was very lucky weather wise and altitude wise...”

“Thanks for the report, bongofreek. Congratulations on making it to the top!!!

RMI had no problem with you descending with just your inner boots on? You must not have been renting their equipment!

I read the warning signs (posted in the outhouse on a Dri-Erase whiteboard) about not hanging out too long near the "bowling alley". It warned that sometimes there's waits of up to 30 minutes to get through there. You don't want to get half-way across and have to stop and wait for the group ahead.

I'm glad you got the weather you did. It's like that now here, too!”

“Great report Bongo!”

“Congrats, Bongofreak. That mountain is awesome, and different every time you climb it. I moved to Washington when I got out of college in California in 1972, and Rainier was my first stop. I had all my worldly possessions in my car as I headed up to Camp Muir solo. I hooked with another solo hiker at Muir, and the next day we zoomed up to the top on a beautiful day.

The next year I met my old climbing buddy from Yosemite at Paradise, and we headed up for a repeat of the easy trip I had the previous year. The weather was bad, but we were young, strong, and dumb. It was terribly windy, with driving snow and ice particles. We got to within 200 feet of the summit and turned back because we couldn't see anything. With all my Sierra Nevada fair weather mountaineering experience and youthful bravado, I was wearing jeans, which got wet in the driven snow and froze into solid tubes, and which also ripped all the hair off my legs, ouch! At camp Muir, visibility was zero, because you couldn't open your eyes from the wind driven ice pieces. The guides strung out a 150 foot climbing rope, and everyone grabbed on to the rope and closed their eyes unless they had goggles, which I didn't. All I did was hang onto the rope and stumble along with my eyes closed, and a few hours later we were at Paradise. That was a learning experience for a 22 old.”

“Cool!!!”

“Mountaineering sounds like too much work. I will stick to the woods.

Good Report.”

“Kleetn- the funny thing was it was a guide from RMI that suggested that I ditch the outer boots. He didn't seemed too concerned about wear and tear...

the bowling alley was pretty hairy--we weren't too stacked up on the way back down, but we did wait for the other rope team we were travelling with to make it through before we ran through there. It's not a place I'd picnic in, that's for sure.

Idaho Bob-- I think i am still realizing just how lucky I got with this trip. I remember one of the guides commenting that he had never seen such a nice night as the one we set out for the top in...I am sure that I'll probably never get such an easy climb to the top again, thank goodness it happened on my first trip.”

“Awesome, I can't wait to move to Washington. I'm pumped to climb some peaks!”

“We had most of our peaks removed this week. Now, Oregon and Idaho have some damn fine peaks!”

“Idaho is a dry nasty sandpile. I'd move to Washington if I were you. Phil mounted some photos of the Mt. Hood climb behind my photo on the main photo page. They are not very good scans, but you can see the route a bit. The photo with the "traffic Jam" was a section of the route where all parties funnel through it, and some climbers are coming down, and some are going up. When we got up there it was pretty much cleared out. This is a fun climb, a walk in the park compared to Rainier.”

“you need a permit and reservation to move to Washington. There is like a 6 or 7 year waiting list already...try Oregon.lol”