Team Cinco Hombres ("5 guys" for you non-Spanish speaking folk) had an outstanding expedition on Mt. Rainier. We are all safe at home. Well, not all of us are home yet...Ben flew from Seattle to Montana and Jeff flew from Seattle to Michigan, both for extended vacations. So, I'll say we are all safe off The Mountain. We had a most memorable trip; one of team bonding, thrill, exhaustion, beauty, exploration and success! We have captured many photos and videos of our experience and I will share them in this story-telling blog. Videos are difficult to attach to this blog so I will eventually post them on Youtube (stay tuned for that announcement).
Saturday July 5th 2014:
We gathered at Denver International Airport (DIA) at 6:30 am.
Here we are unloading and organizing gear at DIA. We had to use an extra gear bag for our group gear to meet Frontier's baggage requirements.
On time flight to Seattle 7:48 am, Yeah!
Billy boarding the plane.
Jeff and I boarding. Ben and Derrill had the plush up front seats.
Our first view of Mt. Rainier, it's summit hiding in the cloud cap.
Upon landing in Seattle, we collected our gear, stashed it at our close by hotel (Days Inn Suites- which I gave a 2 star rating. It needs updates and work. I don't recommend it.) and ate breakfast at Dave's Dinner (also a 2 star rating) before jumping on the train (The Link) and heading into downtown Seatlle. We had entertainment on The Link with a couple's very open display of affection. It was actually pretty disgusting. Never-the-less we found humor in it among ourselves. After getting to the West Lake station, we started our walking tour of Seattle which included REI, Feathered Friends, the Seattle Center, Alpine Ascensts International, Pike Place and the waterfront piers. It was approximately 8 miles of walking in all. On the way to AAI we found this guy passed out near the Seattle Center fountain. We joked that this is how we would feel after our climb. Billy did check on the poor guy to make sure he was still breathing, which he was.
Here is AAI's headquarters in Lower Queen Anne. It was great to talk to some of the guides, give our sympathetic thoughts on the recent tragedies and support the Sherpa Fund. The prayer flags I bought would be raised above us on the trip- draped in our mini-van, hung in our rooms, over our tents and back packs.
Sherpa tribute at AAI
So the walking was tiring, therefore we took the monorail from the Seattle Center to Pine St. Then continued our walkabout. I became overly exhausted and had to sit down often. By the time we visited many outdoor stores and shoes stores to find Ben a pair of Crocks or sandals, I felt sick. I couldn't enjoy Pike Place and almost puked on the Gum Wall. I was regretting that I ran Red Rock's stairs the day before.
Finally, we made it to the pier and sat down for dinner at The Fisherman's. Resting a while and getting food in me made me feel much better. We hit The Link back to the hotel where I blogged before getting a great night's sleep.
Sunday July 6th 2014:
The next morning Jeff, Ben and Derrill were out early and returned with our mini-van. We literally crammed our gear in it and barely had enough room for us to sit.
Billy's anal packing is on display. He would be our gear organizing and packing official.
Ben snaps a distinct selfie...and wait...is Jeff already falling asleep at the wheel? He has been know to do this time to time.
Derrill started out sitting in the way back with the gear.
Our happy and crazy team. We stopped at REI near Seatac to get our remaining food and fuel.
A view of The Mountain near Eatonville. We are getting closer!
We pulled in to the town of Elbe for a pee break (though we were not able to find a public rest room- had to hold tight for a little longer) and to buy some Rainier Cherries at a roadside stand...Delicious! I even bought some on our way out to bring home. We pulled into Ashford and Whittaker Base Camp around 2:30 pm. I was quick to hit the bathroom and check in. We unpacked the van into our two separate rooms (#s 20 and 21) before making our way into Mt. Rainier National Park.
The infamous Whittaker Bunkhouse and Base Camp complex.
Many choices to make at the Base Camp.
The Park entrance.
The Mountain peeking over the road and trees. The forest was thick and dark from the entrance.
The run out from the Nisqually Glacier- looking up to The Mountain.
Looking down from The Mountain. We learned that if a major flood occurred on Rainier it could carry water and rocks 130 miles away from The Mountain. Yikes!
Ah, there She is from a vantage point in The Park. Our climbing route is on the right side of the picture.
Here is the Climbing Ranger's house at Paradise.
We pulled into the very crowded Paradise parking lot around 4 pm. We had to park down the road a bit. We went to register our team with the Climbing Ranger, however found that their office closed at 3 pm. We would have to register tomorrow.
The historic Paradise Lodge. In the winter, snow depths reach the top of the roof!
Inside the Lodge. There was a pianist playing live music.
Great mountain furniture
We watched a movie in the Visitor Center about The Park and The Mountian. After browsing around and checking out the sites we headed back to Ashford.
We watched a movie in the Visitor Center about The Park and The Mountian. After browsing around and checking out the sites we headed back to Ashford.
Ordering a pizza pie apiece in the train car on the eve of our climb in Elbe.
Waiting for our pizzas and calibrating our watch computers. Ok, it must be said that Jeff (who is sitting by himself behind Billy) disappears every now and then and has been entitled the "ever unpresent one."
With our bellies full and content, we wrapped up the remaining pizza for the trail tomorrow and went back to The Bunkhouse for our final gear check and pack up. We held it in Derril and Ben's room # 20 since they had plenty of space and a nice balcony.
Pray Flags hung to give us good fortune.
Wow, do we have a lot of gear. One item at a time we check off the list and put it in our packs. With heavy packs, our gear is now ready to be hauled up The Mountain. All but Jeff soaked in the outdoor hot tub before retiring to bed at 11 pm.
Monday July 7th:
It is climbing day! Billy and I woke up at 6 am, Jeff had already disappeared. We dressed and headed down to the cafe for breakfast. Jeff, Derrill and Ben were already there.
Meandering Jeff checking out a picture of Rainier on the way into the cafe. I ordered a breakfast bagel, yum!
We arrived at the Paradise parking lot and unloaded our gear in front of the trail head.
Soon other guiding companies began unloading next to us. International Mountain Guides rolled up on us. They were nice enough to snap pictures of our team.
It's time to put on my plastic boots.
We headed into the Climbing Ranger's House, signed all of our climbing passes and registered our team. We also obtained our blue bags to deposit any solid human waste in that may occur on the mountain. Camp Muir, however, has outhouses for use. After registering with the Ranger we took a team photo at the trailhead before donning our packs and setting foot on the beginning of the long trek to Camp Muir. We started at 9:51 am. Our itinerary with the park service read like this:
Monday- Ingraham Flats
Tuesday- Ingraham Flats
Wednesday- Camp Muir
Thursday- Climb out
Here we go in single file.
On the Skyline Trail. We would be on snow most of the way to Muir.
The pace was slow with 65-70lbs packs.
Our first rest break with The Mountain directly in our face and towering 7,000 ft above us.
We could here popping sounds of rock fall on the Nisqually Ice Fall and see dust rising in the air. Rock fall was very active.
Looking back at the Tatoosh Range. What a clear and perfect day. It was warm on The Snowfield with no escape from the sun.
Ben putting on his new Buff. Light colored clothing was very helpful. We all applied sun screen often (every break). I used 100 spf. and 50 spf lip balm.
Here we are on our second break, getting nutrients in our bodies and getting the packs off our backs. We took a break every hour to hour and a half. By now we played leap frog with the guided team from International Mountain Guides (IMG).
Here I am showing Billy the route up the Muir Snowfield. Having a bandanna under my hat was crucial to protecting my neck from frying. I just wish it had been white in color.
The IMG group just leaped us.
Billy taking a strong lead after the break. The slog up The Muir Snowfield was long. We took a total of four breaks, each for 20-30 minutes long. On our last break near Anvil Rock we rested next to another large team who we found out were from Denver and the Colorado Mountain Club (CMC). They were camping at Muir then moving up to The Flats tomorrow. Little did we know, we would be with them on most of our climb.
We made it to Muir! It took us about 7 hours. It was later in the day than we had expected to arrive. The sun and the weight of our packs wiped us out. Rock fall on the way to The Flats this late in the day was a significant danger. We decided hiking up to The Flats was out, so our itinerary changed to establishing camp at Muir. I checked out the public shelter, which had 2-3 open platform beds. None of us decided to utilize them. We checked in with the climbing ranger, Scottie, and he was fine with us setting up tents at Muir. This turned out to be a great decision. We unanimously decided that we would stay at Muir and climb from here tomorrow night. We found tent spaces at the far end of the camp away from the mass of people and close to the Cowlitz Glacier. Across from us was a team of three (2 gals and 1 guy). They sounded European. They were starting their summit climb tonight. The group from Colorado CMC set up their camp closer to the buildings.
Scottie had mentioned they were having an animal problem with foxes getting into food. The rangers provided 5 gallon buckets with screw top lids for us to store food. We never did see any foxes. We did see some marmots and birds. The buckets made for good chairs to sit on.
Our base camp at Muir- my tent, Derrill's tent and Billy's single person tent with the Cowlitz Glacier behind us. Jeff bunked with me and Ben with Derrill. It didn't take long to unpack and set up our tents.
Our kitchen separated my tent from Derrill and Ben. Ben is melting snow. Our stoves performed well, though mine had some quirks getting the pot to disconnect from the stove. We ended up boiling liter after liter of melted snow. We ended up going through an 8 oz. fuel canister a day.
I'm milling around in camp in summer attire. What a complete difference from last year's experience of full on winter gale!
Moon in the notch
We all ate a hearty dinner of Mountain House freeze-dried meals and hydrated fiercely. I had a surprise dessert of chocolate Oreo truffles made by Josh's (my former employee) wife, Camille. She had spelled Mt. Rainier, a letter at a time, on each truffle- thanks for the good wishes Camille! Scottie made rounds after dinner to each camp group to give an update on weather, conditions and confirm our itinerary. He and the other climbing ranger (there are always two stationed at Muir) were heading up to the summit tomorrow morning. The sunset began with an almost full moon popping out. We put on our warm clothes as the temperature quickly dropped.
Mt. Rainier's massive size produces a pyramid shadow over the Eastern Valley at sunset.
Our team gathered at the entrance of Muir to enjoy the scenic sunset and to get communication out to the rest of the world.
Billy and Jeff debating the world's problems.
Derrill- "I know my phone will work here!"
Ben sitting on the "communication rock." This was the only consistent place to get cell phone service at Muir. The table behind him was one of the only places to get shade during the day by sitting under it. Last year the table was almost covered by snow.
A panoramic photo looking across the Muir Snowfield to the South. You could see (left to right) Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood (it didn't show up in this picture) and Mt. St. Helens.
Mt. Adams close up.
Mt St. Helens close up. You can see the North crater that blasted open in May 1980
Pretty colors...
The moon was very bright.
Billy's tent under Cathedral Rocks and Gap. We crawled into bed around 10 pm.
Moon over Muir.
Tuesday July 8th:
Ah, a day of rest. This was our day to relax and recover. I woke up around 7:30 am. The sun was already blazing making the inside of the tent an oven. We made breakfast, Mountain House ham and eggs for me. It was quite good. I've come to realize just about any food tastes better in the mountains (minus seafood for me).
Resting in my tent.
I was so warm that I would walk in the snow with my bare feet to cool off. I even did a belly slide out the front door of my tent in only shorts. That felt great!
Selfie with Gibralter Rock and Cadaver Gap behind me.
This is the route across the upper Cowlitz Glacier just before Cathedral Gap. You can see three climbers ascending. There was a lot of rock fall along this route. We watched and listened to it from camp. The Gap was melted out and full of loose rock and dirt. It was a pain to climb on it with crampons.
Billy, Jeff and I decided to practice skills on the steep snow just to the East of the public shelter. It was hot! It may not have been the best idea on our rest day. We roped up and practiced switch backing and self arresting. I didn't bring gloves (stupid me) and the snow was abrasive to my hands. After to arrests I quit. Also, on the second arrest, I took a snow bump to the groin and almost lost my cookies! We trounced back to camp in the slushy snow and I took a nap, feeling over heated.
After a short rest period, Derrill, Ben, Jeff and I hung out in the shade of the Rainier Mountaineering Inc (RMI) hut (or Gombu as AAI called it). We watched a group make their way up the last part of The Snowfield to Muir. They included to gals in their 20's, a teenager, a 7 year old, 12 year old, and 2 guys in their 50's. They moved up to The Flats after a short rest break. We found out they were from Vail and the 2 gals were nannying for the kids. What a trip for them. The 12 year old is 2 CO 14ers short of doing them all twice. That made me feel small. We would run into this group again on our summit climb.
We started dinner around 3:30 pm and melted snow for drinking water for our summit climb tonight. The goal was to be in bed by 4:30 pm and wake at 10 pm. Scottie made rounds again. He and the other ranger left at 5:15 am and summited at 7:30 am! That was fast. They were back to camp shortly after 9 am. The European team left at 11:30 pm and returned to camp at 11:30 am. Scottie reiterated that a late day climb would be dangerous with rock fall and ice fall. He stated that if we had not summited before 9 am then to turn around. Billy had our rope laid out and ready to clip into. We all put our crampons on our boots and had our packs ready to go.
I actually got into the tent at 5 pm. It was hard to sleep because it was hot in the tent. I had to lie with my arms and legs on the floor of my tent off my sleeping mat to cool off on the snow. I may have gotten 45 minutes of true sleep before my alarm went off at 10 pm.
I turned over in my sleeping bag to find Jeff up and fiddling with his headlamp. He had just bought if for this trip and he had somehow locked it up so it wouldn't illuminate. CRISIS! I got dressed quickly. Jeff headed to the RMI guides to see if they could help with his headlamp. The lead guide for RMI, Mike Haugen, gave him a headlamp to borrow. Ben, Derrill and Billy were all up too. Ben had water boiling. We ate breakfast, I had oatmeal and tea. Other teams were waking in their tents and the guides were preparing food for their clients. We wanted to get a head start before the other groups, especially the guided ones. We did not want to get into a log jam with them on the mountain.
We departed camp at 11:30 pm. I had Derrill and Ben in the lead. I led our rope team with Billy in the middle and Jeff on the end. We were the first lights on the route.
The train of headlamps glowing on the Cowlitz Glacier below us with the bright moon. We were positioned on the ridge of Cathedral Gap.
We moved fast across the upper Cowlitz without incident. Cathedral Gap was loose and dirty. The temperature was warm and I was down to my base layer top as we started toward the Ingraham Glacier.
Wednesday July 9th:
It was after midnight and here was a slight breeze. Scrambling on rock and dirt with crampons on was not enjoyable. We made it to The Flats in one hour and five minutes (last year we did it in 1:20 with AAI). There were some crevasse cracks close to the route before The Flats. The IMG team we leap frogged on the first day were stirring at their high camp on The Flats, getting ready to head for the summit. We continued on the relatively level terrain up the Ingraham until we made a right around a pretty big crevasse. We had heard of the ladder crossing and now had encountered it. It was about 6 feet long and had a 2x8 wood plank on it. It was daunting to cross in the dark. The crevasse that it spanned was deep and black. There were no hand ropes for balance so it was one careful step after another. We all got across fine. We were now at the base of Disappointment Cleaver. The headlamps that started behind us were closing in. The darkness that was outside of my 10 ft headlamp beam left the imagination to run wild of big exposure to cliffs and crevasses (this was true). The fixed ropes were recently reset on the initial ascent of The Cleaver. They were solid when I tugged on them. I'm a wimp when it comes to heights so I used the rope as a hand hold. I know, you are probably wondering how can I be afraid of heights when I climb mountains. Well, I do it partially to over come my fear I guess. Once we turned the corner of the entrance ramp on The Cleaver, the climbing became very steep. We were on a mix of snow and loose rock/dirt. It was tough climbing and route finding. Derrill was still in the lead and navigating for us. We had shortened up our rope distance considerably. Other climbing teams began catching up to us and a few eventually passed us. We finally reached the top of The Cleaver where we were able to take a break and get food and water. Sitting on a rock, I was shaking and feeling terrible. I think it was a combination of dehydration, lack of nutrients, being chilled and having fear of the exposure and heights. I kept thinking how difficult it would be coming back down in the daylight seeing all the shear drops and cliffs . I felt I would be scared out of my boots! I made the smart move of pulling my Mountain Hardware down parka out and putting it on for warmth. There was a consistent breeze that was chilly. I drank almost a liter of water and stuffed food in my mouth- a peanut butter, chocolate chip and raisin tortilla, a mojo cliff bar and some honey stingers. I began to feel a little better and lively after 10 minutes. Many of the guided groups were parked here to break as well. We were at about 12,300 ft.
Some of the guided teams started on before us. Our team cued up in the climbing line and I took the lead of our rope team. The climbing remained steep and from here to the top was on snow. I had thought the grade would mellow out, but that was not true. The route turned on steep switch backs. Our team really dialed in the transition of stepping over the rope to change directions on these switch backs. We had really good communication, I thought. At one switch back we got jammed up with a team ahead of us. It was an independent team whose leader was a know climber from Switzerland. The rest of his team wasn't so seasoned at all. They were instructed to lengthen their rope intervals and the last guy on the rope, the one in front of me, uncoiled his rope into a mess all knotted up. He attempted to untangle it and only made it worse. He even set his ice ax on the snow without it being attached to his harness- a BIG no, no. The ax could have easily slide down the mountain. They were told to attach their ax directly to the rope. Again, not the smartest thing to do. Your ax should be attached to your harness on a separate leash. So, I yelled at this guy to control his ax. I also helped him straighten out his rope when his leader came down to help and was very frustrated with his team. This put our team at a stand still for more than 20 minutes. We were getting chilled. Finally we started moving.
Around 4 am the Eastern sky started to lighten in a predawn fashion. Time seemed to fly by. It didn't seem like the night was very long. Our climbing remained steep. On one traverse the uphill snow bank was waist high and it was easier to sink your ax pick in than the shaft.
Wednesday July 9th:
It was after midnight and here was a slight breeze. Scrambling on rock and dirt with crampons on was not enjoyable. We made it to The Flats in one hour and five minutes (last year we did it in 1:20 with AAI). There were some crevasse cracks close to the route before The Flats. The IMG team we leap frogged on the first day were stirring at their high camp on The Flats, getting ready to head for the summit. We continued on the relatively level terrain up the Ingraham until we made a right around a pretty big crevasse. We had heard of the ladder crossing and now had encountered it. It was about 6 feet long and had a 2x8 wood plank on it. It was daunting to cross in the dark. The crevasse that it spanned was deep and black. There were no hand ropes for balance so it was one careful step after another. We all got across fine. We were now at the base of Disappointment Cleaver. The headlamps that started behind us were closing in. The darkness that was outside of my 10 ft headlamp beam left the imagination to run wild of big exposure to cliffs and crevasses (this was true). The fixed ropes were recently reset on the initial ascent of The Cleaver. They were solid when I tugged on them. I'm a wimp when it comes to heights so I used the rope as a hand hold. I know, you are probably wondering how can I be afraid of heights when I climb mountains. Well, I do it partially to over come my fear I guess. Once we turned the corner of the entrance ramp on The Cleaver, the climbing became very steep. We were on a mix of snow and loose rock/dirt. It was tough climbing and route finding. Derrill was still in the lead and navigating for us. We had shortened up our rope distance considerably. Other climbing teams began catching up to us and a few eventually passed us. We finally reached the top of The Cleaver where we were able to take a break and get food and water. Sitting on a rock, I was shaking and feeling terrible. I think it was a combination of dehydration, lack of nutrients, being chilled and having fear of the exposure and heights. I kept thinking how difficult it would be coming back down in the daylight seeing all the shear drops and cliffs . I felt I would be scared out of my boots! I made the smart move of pulling my Mountain Hardware down parka out and putting it on for warmth. There was a consistent breeze that was chilly. I drank almost a liter of water and stuffed food in my mouth- a peanut butter, chocolate chip and raisin tortilla, a mojo cliff bar and some honey stingers. I began to feel a little better and lively after 10 minutes. Many of the guided groups were parked here to break as well. We were at about 12,300 ft.
Some of the guided teams started on before us. Our team cued up in the climbing line and I took the lead of our rope team. The climbing remained steep and from here to the top was on snow. I had thought the grade would mellow out, but that was not true. The route turned on steep switch backs. Our team really dialed in the transition of stepping over the rope to change directions on these switch backs. We had really good communication, I thought. At one switch back we got jammed up with a team ahead of us. It was an independent team whose leader was a know climber from Switzerland. The rest of his team wasn't so seasoned at all. They were instructed to lengthen their rope intervals and the last guy on the rope, the one in front of me, uncoiled his rope into a mess all knotted up. He attempted to untangle it and only made it worse. He even set his ice ax on the snow without it being attached to his harness- a BIG no, no. The ax could have easily slide down the mountain. They were told to attach their ax directly to the rope. Again, not the smartest thing to do. Your ax should be attached to your harness on a separate leash. So, I yelled at this guy to control his ax. I also helped him straighten out his rope when his leader came down to help and was very frustrated with his team. This put our team at a stand still for more than 20 minutes. We were getting chilled. Finally we started moving.
Around 4 am the Eastern sky started to lighten in a predawn fashion. Time seemed to fly by. It didn't seem like the night was very long. Our climbing remained steep. On one traverse the uphill snow bank was waist high and it was easier to sink your ax pick in than the shaft.
Sunrise on the upper slopes. Little Tahoma Peak is behind us.
At about 13,000 ft we marched over a small snow bridge crossing then came to a crevasse opening that we jumped over. It was another scary moment. This crevasse was 4 ft wide on the surface and pretty deep. Below it's surface it expanded underneath us. The three of us made the jump with ease. Derrill and Ben navigated around it, instead of jumping it. I worried that the snow may be weak under foot around it, but both made it with out incident. We finally reached "High Break" at 13,500 ft. It must have been shortly after 5 am. There were benches built in the snow for us to rest on. I still felt bad, though not as bad as on The Cleaver. It was time again to hydrate and fuel up. It is amazing how food and water can make you feel better. I drank anther liter leaving me with only half a liter- not good. I should have brought 3+ liters.
The sunrise was now in full view, though I didn't feel good enough to pay close attention. I did manage to get my phone out to snap some pictures.
Jeff taking in food at High Break with the sun ball rising.
Derrill adjusting gear. Mt. Adams in the backdrop.
Billy and Jeff. At least one of us felt good enough to smile.
Water is good!
After substantial rest, we geared up and started moving on the last stretch to the summit. We had just under 1,000 ft to go up. Derrill and Ben took the lead. There were many teams now ahead of us, including the CMC guys and the Vail group.
There goes the 12 year old from Vail.
Billy taking step by step high on the mountain.
I finally got my rest step rhythm down...step, pause, breath...step, pause, breath. I was getting pretty exhausted. I think the pace we had set from the start was a little fast and wore on me. It was necessary though to get through the rock fall areas, we just kept it up on the rest of the lower route.
The route now took a long traverse to the head of the Nisqually Glacier. You could look down and see Camp Muir almost 4,000 feet below. We hit one more switch back before turning on the final stroll to the summit crater.
We stepped into the summit crater at 6:45 am. It was so peaceful- No wind and it was warming up to the 30's. We walked past other teams and found a place to drop our packs and sit down. Once you are in the crater there are no dangers, so you can unclip from the rope and take off your climbing gear. We chose to leave crampons and helmets on. I put on sunscreen and lip balm immediately. I got more food in me and drank the last of my water. Luckily, Jeff and Billy had some reserve water that I tapped into on the way down. The true summit, Columbia Crest, was still a quarter mile and 200 ft in elevation away. I contemplated for a moment to not make the final push, but that was out of the question. Ben turned to me and said he needed to make use of his blue bag for sometime on the climb. I agreed I needed to do the same. We hiked to the North side of the crater. I wanted to get near the rocks, but the steam vents made the area unstable as Ben pointed out. So we made do (or poo, pun intended) out on the open crater. I at least I found a shallow dugout privy.
A panorama shot of the crater.
Getting unroped and putting on my down parka again.
Derrill taking gear off.
Billy eating next to one of the CMC guys.
The Southeast side of the crater.
Ben, Billy and I started the final walk to the summit. Jeff and Derrill were behind. You can choose two ways of getting to the summit: take the direct snow up (which we did) or head slightly North and find a dirt trail. You should know by now we do not like to hike on dirt and prefer snow.
YEAH! We all summited together at 7:15 am!! What a gorgeous morning.
Our successful team posing.
We spent some more time relishing our accomplishment and the beauty around us. Most of the other teams and guided groups had left the crater. Including us, the three Colorado teams virtually had the top to ourselves. It was nice to be on our own schedule and not have to be told to move on by a guide. It was, however, warming up and we didn't want to incur more hazards than necessary on the way down. Remember we were only half way through our climb and the descent is statistically when most accidents happen. We returned to our packs, drank some more water- thanks Billy and Jeff- roped up and were on our way down by 8 am. Initially I was cautious with my steps as my fear of heights gripped me tight. That soon changed as I became comfortable. We made faster time down. The snow was getting very soft . I had to tap my crampons every few step to release the ball of snow that would accumulate on them.
Derrill had the lead again rounding on the first switch back from the top. Stepping over the rope going down on the switch backs was more difficult to do then when we were ascending.
Passing under the Nisqually Bergschrund.
The CMC group departed shortly before us and we kept close to them the entire way down the upper mountain. The Vail group was behind us.
We reached High Break and took a rest. Ben was over heating and about to cut his pants off. It took him a while to change out clothing and I was eager to get moving. I yelled up to Ben, "Are you ready?:" He gave me a growling response NO! Soon enough we were on our way. The Vail group had stopped right in front of us at High Break. They didn't position themselves well and we had to step over their rope to get around them. One of a few times their climbing etiquette was subpar.
We reached the crevasse jump which was more thrilling on the way down. You had to make sure to stop your landing or you would tumble down the mountain. Derrill and Ben decided again to navigate around it. Derrill made it around fine. Ben was negotiating it and got his rope caught on the snow causing him to fall. Luckily he didn't fall in the crevasse and stopped himself quickly from sliding down the slope. His pucker factor went up ten fold!! Our rope team jumped it again without difficulty (you'll be able to watch on my video). The rest of the down climb went well. There was some excitement crossing the small snow bridge again. At around 12,800 feet we tuned on a switch back and were standing next to a serac the size of a huge van. Derrill and Ben were standing below it resting. I yelled down to them to keep moving as they were right in it's possible path if it toppled over. It looked like it could go any minute. We all moved fast down to the top of the cleaver where we took a short rest. The CMC team was also resting here. The Vail team was still above us.
Entering on to The Cleaver we kept the same order. The view of the Emmons Glacier to our Northeast, Little Tahoma and the Ingraham Glacier to our Southeast were breathtaking. I did not have the fear boiling inside me as I thought I would while ascending. I was actually very comfortable now. See, doing something you are scared of can help you get over it. The down climb on The Cleaver was slow and careful. There were many areas of loose rocks that could easily be kicked down on other climbers below and the snow was getting so soft you would post hole or slide. The route finding also got tougher when we hit the rocky spine. We actually had to retrace our steps and climb back up to find a more reasonable was down. The CMC guys were taking their time which slowed us up. Also, the Vail group was on our tail, which made us worrried about rocks raining down on us. We decided to let the Vailers catch up and pass us. They seemed somewhat careless in their travel. The kids made mistakes catching the rope on snow and rocks and slipping/falling a lot. All of this made us uncomfortable. We witnessed the CMC guys kick rocks down the slope, yelling "ROCK!" You could see the climbers below look up.
Here is a view from The Cleaver down onto the Ingraham Glacier. You can see the trail wind around the crevasses (to the right and top of the glacier). The Flats are in the center of the picture.
The descent on The Cleaver was my favorite part of the climb. It was fun scrambling. Much different than my anxiety going up it in the dark. We rounded off the nose (and yes I still used the fixed line as a hand hold) and approached the Ingraham. I had to wait for the CMC group to get out in front of us as this area was seeing a lot of active rock fall. Derrill and Ben had passed the CMC guys and gotten a good lead on them. Just after the CMC team cleared the rock fall area three rocks tumbled down across the trail. I was able to capture it on video. I led our team fast through this area. We were now in the safer zone as we approached the ladder crossing. Snow had collapsed into the crevasse below the ladder to plug up part of the opening. We all crossed with ease.
Billy and I safely across the ladder. Jeff starts his walk.
Cruising down the Ingraham approaching The Flats camp.
Close up of Little Tahoma.
We were fast down the Ingraham and stopped near the camp to shed more layers. It was blazing hot. The snow was like mashed potatoes. We made the Cathedral Gap ridge in no time and began our lovely dirt and loose rock descent; did I mention yet that we enjoy hiking on dirt/rock with crampons on...UHG! At the base of The Gap we had to move fast through one more sketchy rock fall zone...no problem. About a quarter of the way across The Cowlitz we were slowed by another group in front of us. I was tempted to pass, but Billy made a good point that it would only make a few seconds difference and we should enjoy the mountain. We stumbled, literally tripped on my crampon strap three times, into camp. It was 12:21 pm on Wednesday.
We undid all our gear and crashed. We needed to start melting snow for drinking water. I got back into shorts and short sleeves. I cooked lunch, Mountain House Strogganoff, ate beef jerky and the three remaining truffles. It was hot and not pleasant eating hot food and drinking hot water. I stood barefooted in the snow to cool down and numb my aching feet. After a bit I walked over to the Camp Muir table and "communication rock". I had some shade and made a call home and to my parents letting them know of our success and safe passage back to camp. They were excited for us and relieved at the same time. We began to pack up and disassemble our camp. None of us were looking forward to carrying heavy packs down to Paradise. As we loaded the final items a team of three parked at our camp and were planning to be it's next inhabitants. They were from NYC (two originally from Poland).
Selfie at Muir just before our departure.
We put on our packs, YIKES! The packs felt just as heavy as the first day. That wasn't supposed to be, since I ate ten pounds of food and had less water on board. Anyways, we trudged over to the Camp Muir entrance, took a final gaze around before heading down the vast Muir Snowfield. Good byes are never fun, especially this one.
We left Camp Muir at 3 pm. The snow was very soft. Each heel plunging step had a two foot slide to it. It felt like skiing down the hill in boots. I took off fast (down hill is in my wheelhouse). Soon I was pretty far out in front of the rest of the team. We all attempted glissading early on and managed to get a few hundred yards. I slowed down a little and Billy caught up to me. We hung together the rest of the way down. There were a couple of steeper sections lower on The Snowfield that had glissade chutes which resembled water slide chutes. These were a blast to slide down- fast! Billy and I waited here for the rest of the team to catch up and enjoy it together. You get thrown around a bit with the pack on. You also get soaked, which felt great as it cooled us off. The sun was so intense.
We estimated we were able to glissade at least 1,500 feet of descent. I found my plunge step to be efficient and just as fast as glissading. Plus, getting upout of the snow with a heavy pack on is tough. For the first two thirds of the way down my pack felt comfortable. The last third, my neck and shoulders were sore. Billy and I pulled away in front of the group again, crossed pebble creek and were down off The Snowfield and back on the Skyline Trail. We hadn't encountered many people on The Snowfield. We did run into a few day hikers on the Skyline. They all inquired about our climb. There were two guys heading up that didn't look in the best shape. They anticipated arriving at Camp Muir at Midnight. That was probably right if not later. We passed a photographer. She turned out to be helpful as my avalanche probe fell off my pack and she found it and returned it to me down the trail, THANKS!
Billy and I made treeline. We were close to being done. We ran into two gals in their early 20's who were absolutely thrilled to meet mountain climbers who had made it to the top. They posed for pictures with Billy and I as if we were celebrities. We now had less than a half a mile to go. Jeff wasn't too far behind. Ben and Derrill were further behind. Derrill was slowed by shin bang and Ben by a nasty heel blister that had been open- OUCH! Billy and I made the final steps down the snow. There were many people playing in the snow a few hundred yards from the parking lot. They gazed at us with astonishing expressions. We descended the stairs and were in the parking lot. We took off our packs immediately. It was 5:21 pm. We made it down in less than two and a half hours. That was a faster pace than last year.
Jeff coming off the final steps of the trail.
Derrill and Ben finishing.
It felt good to be down and sad to be done. What an outstanding climb and time on The Mountain. I only drank a liter of water while hiking down. I strobbled (a new word for stroll/hobble) over to the visitor center and filled up my bottle. I downed a liter and a half quickly. Jeff went and got the van while I checked us out at the Ranger House (which was closed for the day). We visited The Lodge once more, got some food and drink (root beer was the theme). We packed the van and headed back to Ashford and The Bunkhouse. Derrill had phoned The Bunkhouse on Tuesday from Muir to reserve room #20 for all of us.
Getting out of the van was stiffening. We all limped and strobbled. After checking in we unpacked the van and laid out our wet gear to dry. We had an amazing dinner at the Base Camp Gill (which is right on the property). I had a double patty Swiss n Mushroom burger. Delicious! We all relaxed and chowed. The weather was stellar with a nice gentle breeze. We hit the hot tub, except for the ever unpresent one. We retired to bed by 10:41 pm. We had been up for 24 hours and 41 minutes!!
Thursday July 10th:
I awoke after a sound night of sleep to find myself and, a still sleeping, Billy in our room #20. There were only 4 beds so I bunked on the couch next to the french doors and balcony. The night had been cool with a nice breeze. We kept the doors and windows open until Billy shut them at 4 am. I love cold weather sleeping!
I got up quietly, dressed and headed down to the cafe. I grabbed a bagel and a mocha. I found Ben and sat outside on the porch in the morning sun with him. After some chatting, I started to write a blog entry. It was so relaxing and peaceful here in the mountains. Surprisingly, I was not sore, just a little stiff which wore off shortly. The morning and day was mellow. We cleaned our gear, did laundry at the local laundry mat and reorganized.. I purchased some memorable clothing at The Whittaker Mountaineering store for my family. We had lunch at the Base Camp Grill which again did not disappoint me. Delicious!
A cool totem-like mountaineering sculpture at The Bunkhouse.
A great quote on the back of the sculpture.
A final team picture at the Whittaker Base Camp.
We packed up the van and left Ashford by 2:30 pm. Of course we had to stop in Elbe to buy more Rainier Cherries. Our drive back to Seattle was uneventful. Gaining distance from Rainier was heart wrenching for me. I took in every view I could get of that mountain on the drive.
We headed to Seatac to drop Jeff off at a Motel 6. He would catch an early flight out on Friday. The rest of us agreed to head out toward the Olympic Peninsula and find a place to camp near the water. We decide to head South around the Sound instead of heading into the traffic ridden downtown of Seattle. This excursion was very scenic. We ended up in the town of Poulsbo. Ben had been craving Italian food and was talking about it for days. We found a restaurant on Google and when we got there it had gone out of business. A second Google search brought us to Campana's Italtian Restaurant. Oh Mama Mia were we in for a treat! This restaurant was very authentic Italian and is a family establishment of 42 years. The recipes were 4th generation. The staff was awesome. Our server was Carla, the granddaughter Nana (the original owner). Carla was sassy and delightful. She stuffed us with 6 baskets of fresh and warm garlic bread sticks. The food was to die for. Carla also gave us good local beta on where to camp. Thanks Carla!
We camped at Kitsap Memorial State Park which sits on the Hood Canal of Pudget Sound. We were across the water from the Olympic Peninsula. We had a great view of the Olympic Range.
Sunset over the Olympics
A closer view
Ben and Billy ran out to get firewood and smores material. Meanwhile Derrill and I set up tents.
We have fire...
...and a celebratory bomber of good beer!
Friday July 11th:
The next morning I rose around 7 am. I strolled (notice: no strobble) down to the shore to collect shells, check out the sea life and morning view. So tranquil.
I found a crab, dungenous?
After breakfast of left over oatmeal we broke down camp and planned to head to Bainbridge Island. But, before that we drove across the bridge over Hood Canal to The Peninsula. There!..I have been on The Olympic Peninsula. The drive to Bainbridge was a very pretty drive in the forest. We did a side trip into a community on the Sound of thick forested plots with beautiful houses before parking in downtown Bainbridge. We grabbed brunch at a waterside restaurant before putting our van on the ferry to Seattle.
One of our last views of Rainier from the ferry.
Returning to downtown Seattle via Bainbridge Ferry.
Ben and Derrill dropped Billy and I off at the airport with all our gear at 3 pm. They returned the van downtown and took the train back to Seatac. Our plane was delayed. We later found out that it was struck by lightning taking off from DIA and had to be diverted to Salt Lake City. Our new plane would not take off until 12:55 am PST (our original flight was as 7:48 pm). We had a few beers/drinks at the airport. Luckily, I put my air mattress in my carry-on at the last minute. Thank goodness! I pulled that puppy out, inflated it and laid down to get about 2 hours of zzz's.
Saturday July 12th:
Our flight was bumpy and uneventful. I was bummed I wouldn't get a glimpse of Rainier again from the air. We landed in Denver at 4:20 am. I got little sleep on the plane- up almost 24 hours again in the same week! Thanks to my dad for picking Billy and I up so early at DIA. Let the recovery of rest begin...
Thank you Mt. Rainier for a successful and safe climb in perfect conditions. Your beauty is forever memorable to me. Until we meet again...
Stats on our climb:
Monday July 7th- Paradise to Camp Muir
4.3 miles
4,833 ft gain
7:01 hours one way
Tuesday-Wednesday July 8-9th- Summit day and descent to Paradise
4.8 miles ascent Muir-Summit
9.10 miles descent from Summit to Paradise
13.9 miles for the entire day Muir-Summit-Paradise
4,806 ft gain Muir-Summit
9,639 ft loss Summit-Paradise
12:50 hours round trip Muir-Summit-Muir
15:11 hours Muir-Summit-Paradise
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