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2011 Mt. Rainier Summit Climb

Tucker Trotter, Justin Wood, Garrett Ochs, Bill Spillar and I left June 17^th, 2011 for Seattle to climb Mt. Rainier.  Arriving in Seattle, we drove to Ashford, WA and stayed our first night at the Nisqually Inn.  We had a good dinner and a few beers at the Highlander Restaurant and then went to bed.  The next morning, we entered the park and drove to Paradise, the highest point that you can drive up the mountain.  It is the trailhead for climbing the mountain.  It was a cloudy and drizzly day, but we headed out anyway to test our mountain fitness.  We climbed about 1,200’ of elevation at a quick pace and descended strong, but got very wet in the process.  Driving back to Ashford, we checked into the Whittaker Bunkhouse for the next two nights.

On Saturday, we met our guides Leon Davis and Solveig Garhart, for our orientation meeting.  They presented a video slide show and overview of what was to come.  We discussed our gear, packing, climbing techniques and other information necessary to make the summit.  My good friends, Shelly and Jackson Ritenour, who I climbed Kilimanjaro in 2007 arrived and we had dinner together back at the Highlander.  We were on the 5-day climb, and they the 4-day.  Fortunately, we were scheduled to summit on the same day. 

Sunday, we all meet at 8 am at basecamp to begin our mountain climbing and rescue skills.  Driving back to Paradise and then climbing 400’ up the mountain, we spent the afternoon learning self-arrest, rope, rescue, and other climbing skills.  It was also an opportunity for our guides to test and judge our fitness levels.  Everyone arrived in very fit condition, so we had no issues and the guides were confident in our abilities.  After we got back, we headed to the Copper Creek Restaurant for our last real meal before starting the climb.

Monday, we all again met at basecamp at 8 am.  This time fully packed and dressed to climb.  We headed back to Paradise, hefted our packs and began the climb.  Climbing in hour-long (1,000’) pitches, we headed for our first destination at Camp Muir.  Starting at 5,400’, we had 4,680’ to climb which we accomplished taking four breaks in-route.  It was sunny, warm, and the snow conditions were slushy making it more difficult.  I did not wear enough sunscreen a mistake I would feel for the remainder of the climb. 

Arriving at Camp Muir, we made camp in tents that enabled us to avoid the catacomb like hut.  Thankfully, we only had to put up with wind noise and not a dozen other people in close proximity.  The first night, all of us rested well.

Tuesday, we got up around 6:30 am, ate breakfast and then headed up to Ingraham Flats for a day of additional training and acclimatization.    Once again, we climbed up about a 1,000’ giving our guides more time to access our climbing fitness.  Leon and Solveig, continued up the mountain to work on the trail making it safer to pass through a exposed area that traversed below a rock wall.  Mike worked with the group as we set up anchors and belays practicing crevasse rescue skills.  Once Leon and Solveig returned, we made a quick descent back to Camp Muir.  By then, the snow had become very slushy making it difficult to get good footing and taking a lot of energy.

By now, our appetites were beginning to wane making it difficult to eat our entire dinner packages.  Not wanting to carry it down, we had to force eat all of our food.  At 6 pm, it was time to climb into our tents and get as much rest as possible before midnight when we would wake to begin the summit climb. 

Wednesday, just past midnight, Leon woke us to begin the climb.  All of us were ready.  We got dressed, put on our boots, gaiters, and crampons and had a quick meal of oatmeal, nuts, and dried fruit.  One quick cup of coffee and we were roped up and began the climb.  Leon led off with me in second position, Garrett, and Justin behind.  From Camp Muir, we retraced our steps traversing across the Cowlitz Glacier, up the Cathedral Gap, and back to our first break at Ingraham Flats.  The first pitch went well, although Mark who was part of our group, wasn’t feeling well and decided to go back down.  Solveig returned with him to Muir.  Matt roped in with us and Anna joined Tucker’s team.

Our next pitch was the longest and steepest.  Taking over an hour and a half, we traversed across a narrow path above dangerous crevasses.  It required us to short rope and anchor to fixed ropes.  Then we climbed a nearly vertical pitch up Disappointment Cleaver having to stop often because of the long line of climbers ahead of us.  While it was frustrating having to start and stop so often, it did slow the pace making it easier to keep our breath.  Once we were in a safe place, we took our second break.  At this point, while the air was getting thinner, I felt the greatest struggle was behind us and the summit was within reach.

As we left on our third pitch, we got our first glimpse of the coming sunrise.  We were climbing above the intersections of the Emmons and Ingraham Glaciers.  The terrain was still steep, but by now we had reached the more rounded top levels of the mountain.  We were making broad switchbacks as we ascended up the mountain.  It was becoming increasingly windy at this point.  Leon was keeping a steady pace, but a couple of times I was almost blown off balance enough to lose my rhythm.  Not wanting to ever pull on the rope attached to Leon, I worked hard to keep the pace.  As we approached our last break, Brent the lead guide of the other RMI team used his shovel to cut ledges into the steep slope so we could all have a ledge to sit safely on.  The odd part was, the snow that he was shoveling was coming down the mountain onto us very fast.  I wasn’t sure how smart it was, but it ended up being no big deal and having a place to sit when we arrived made it worth it. 

Leon led our team in front of Brent’s as we left for our 4^th and last pitch before the summit.  I was glad, because I felt we were climbing stronger.  Now above, 13,000’ it was getting colder and windier.  The wind was blowing 30 to 45 mph by now.  Ice crystals were peppering my face and getting into my eyes, but it wasn’t too bad.  We were witnessing one of the most glorious sunrises I’ve ever witnessed.  I was able to snap a couple of pictures of our team climbing in the early light.  I was beginning to feel the altitude and was now breathing pretty hard.  Focusing on climbing efficiently and pressure breathing kept me in good shape and staying with the pace as we approached the summit.  Looking up at the summit, the wind was blowing very hard and at the crest of the caldera.  I could see flurries of snow and ice whipping over the edge.  I thought that we would go over the edge of the caldera and descend into the crater.  For some reason, Leon pulled us up just a few feet short of the caldera rim.  He and the other guides felt it wasn’t safe to go to the edge.  He confirmed that we had reached the summit and we felt OK with his decision.  Because of the windy conditions, we only spent a few minutes on the summit.  I only had time to snap a few pictures, grab a quick drink, and then head back down.  It was very cold and we all left our down parkas on for the first pitch of the descent.

Our team did a great job of descending back down to Camp Muir.  The snow conditions made for good footing and with the exception of a couple of slips, we all made it down quickly and strong.  Once back at Camp Muir, we rested, packed up our remaining gear, ate lunch, and then made the long haul back to Paradise.  Coming down the Muir Snowfield in mushy conditions, it was hard work plowing our way down the mountain.  Tucker and Garrett set a fast pace, while I maintained a steady, but slower pace down.  Taking every advantage to glissade (sliding down on your butt), we were able to slide down about 1,000’ of the descent using pre-grooved snow slides.  All in all, we all made it down, a bit sore, but in good shape.

Once we got back to basecamp, we assembled for beer and pizza while Leon, Solveig, and Mike presented our summit diplomas and we all shared our acknowledgements for a successful climb.

Via satellite phone on Fri: We're three hrs from Camp 3. I'm feeling very strong & lungs are doing great. Should be set to summit Tuesday morning.

Picture courtesy of www Aconcaguanow com

Click the picture to see what it looks like right now from the live webcam.