It was wet. It was gloomy. It was the end of a month-long rainless high pressure system and it was the beginning of our four day trip up Mount Rainier. The forecasters were using terms like "unseasonably strong front" to describe what was heading our way. Rangers would laugh when we asked about a weather report. I half jokingly suggested everyone pack a paperback for the long tent sitting session that was about to ensue. Sure enough, the most recent Economist was safely Ziplocked deep in my pack.
Undeterred, Monday we headed in from Whitewater Campground at 4400'. The sun greeted us that first day as we hiked along the flood damaged White River trail. We broke out of the trees at Glacier Basin and found the wild flowers in full effect on the meadows and moraines as we made our way into the alpine.
Roping up, we ascended the small Inter Glacier and climbed to 8600' where a small, flat, protected hollow was chosen to be our first camp. The clouds slowly moved in that evening, but we didn't see any precip or wind to speak of. Our plan was to spend a night here then a night at 9800' before our summit attempt. This plan is nice in that it is unhurried and gives plenty of acclimatization.
Tuesday dawned with some clouds, but they only lended a nice alpine atmosphere. It was our short, restful day. We only had to pack up camp and ascend 12oo' to Emmons Flats. In no time we were passing a busy Camp Shurman at 9640' and checking in with the climbing rangers. A few more minutes and we were alone again at 9800' on the Emmons Glacier. It was a bit of work to dig our tent platforms on the glacier, but worth it for some solitude on what can be a busy mountain.
No sooner had we gotten our tents pitched and securely guyed that the winds picked up. We had a lovely mix of snow, rain and freezing rain. Snug in our tents we had some hot drinks and dinner. From the forecast it sounded like this could be our weather for the next 24 hours. We could only hope that maybe we would have a weather window Thursday morning that would let us go from camp to summit to car in one epic push.
I woke at midnight to check conditions. The tent shook loudly as gusty winds came down the mountain. Outside I was surprised to find a starry sky with clouds only below in the valley. But the wind was very cold, and it wouldn't be light for hours. Rather than force into the arctic air, we slept a few more hours to let the warming sun catch up with us. Soon after leaving camp our headlamps were off and we had a little sun to warm our minds if not our fingers.
Forty-six hundred feet and many crevasses later we were all on top of Rainier. We had climbed the largest glacier in the lower 48! More importantly, we had a safe and smooth descent back to camp. We enjoyed a hot meal and great night's sleep then hiked out the next day as the clouds began to build on the summit again.
Great job Kim, Lili and Tom!!!!
Last week Stephen Perry came out west, yet again, for some North Cascades climbing. We chose the Fisher Chimneys on Mt Shuksan. This is a true alpine climb with some great snow climbing and glacier travel as well as rock climbing to gain the summit. Above, Stephen on the approach, with hulking mass of Shuksan above him, just before we saw a bear!
Stephen rock climbing on the SE Ridge of the summit period.
It was a great trip! Look for more North Cascades trips from TMG in 2009!
