Bill & Erich's Mountain Adventure!

It's taken a while to finally get this posted - but Erich & I really did make it to the top of Rainier. I was waiting to see if any more of our group posted more photos on another website but I think I have all I'm going to get. In the meantime, I lost some of my photos as I switched to a new computer. I'll make do with what I've got.

Our adventure started on July 3rd when we drove to Ashford on the west side of Rainier National Park to pick up our rental gear and have our orientation. Our guides checked our gear to make sure we had what we needed and, hopefully, nothing that we didn't need. Too bad they didn't check my food supply. More on that later. The next day (my birthday!), we spent the day in climbing school. We hiked a half hour or so above Paradise. We learned how quickly the weather can turn on you. There were times when we couldn't see 50 feet in any direction! We practiced self-arrests with ice axes, walking up & down steep slopes, and climbing with crampons. A fun day! Erich & I camped at Cougar Rock Campground these first two nights.


On Saturday, we departed from Paradise in the rain! We were in & out of our rain gear a couple times, trying to stay relatively dry (it didn't work very well). Here's Erich on one of our breaks on the hike up to Camp Muir. I always carry too much food! I even dumped a 1-lb summer sausage in the trash before we left Pardise - after I picked up Erich's pack & could tell his was lighter than mine. I had trouble with my legs cramping and was the last to reach Camp Muir. I was pretty sure the guides thought there was no chance I would make it to the summit. I wasn't sure I would make it either. I was so glad we chose to do the 5-day program; it meant we were NOT heading up to the summit that night! We had all the next day (Sunday) to rest up at Camp Muir (10,030'). We had great accomodations for our two nights there - a 'hut' with room for 18 climbers plus 6 guides. One end of the room had 3 layers of plywood with pads, 5 people on each level, 2 people on a platform above the door way, and room for one against the wall in between. The guides had a separate room with bunks. Great view from the front porch! That's the Muir Snowfield right below the hut. Down the right side of the hut, there in the back, is the outhouse - two "restrooms", and bring your own toilet paper.


That first night at Camp Muir was pretty interesting. We were tired and wet when we got there. They brought us hot water right away (they have another shelter, above and to the left, where they heat water) to prepare hot drinks and meals. Next trip, Erich gets to pick the dinners; he didn't like my freeze-dried sweet and sour pork or chicken polynesian. We were in our sleeping bags by about 7 PM. A 4-day program group came up with us - their head guide came in about 11 PM for a wake-up call. Hot water was brought in for them as they got dressed & ready to leave for the summit by 12:30 AM. I decided to make a bathroom run, then stood outside in the starlight watching them rope up and then cross the Cowlitz Glacier with headlamps on. It was pretty neat to see the rope teams crossing the glacier and heading up over Cathedral Gap in the dark - and knowing our turn would come the next night. This daytime photo shows the route across the glacier - when the huts are full at Camp Muir, many climbers camp on the glacier. Climbing up & down Cathedral Gap is interesting enough because it's loose rock and scree, but it's even more interesting with crampons on.


We had a free day on Sunday; six of the nine climbers in our group (including Erich) went with two guides for a day hike to the Flats, just over the Gap on the Ingraham Glacier. I stayed at camp with two others to rest. We scrambled up Muir Peak for a great view of the glaciers. The group that left early Sunday morning had a slow climb, but they made it to the summit. When they arrived back at Camp Muir, they had about an hour to grab the rest of their gear & head back down to Paradise. I was pretty anxious all day wondering if I would be able to make it. Sunday evening, our group & the group that just arrived met together for a talk by one of the guides. Among other things, he told us we needed to assess our condition at our first rest stop at Ingraham Flats and especially at our second stop, at the base of Disappointment Cleaver. No turning back after that! More butterflies.


I didn't sleep at all as we waited for our 11 PM "wake up". I gulped down some hot oatmeal and drank a full bottle of Gatorade as I got geared up. After getting crampons on, we roped up on the glacier and headed out in the darkness. Erich & I were roped up with Darrin & our guide, Josh. Some of the photos here were taken on other climbs - there's no stopping for photos on most sections of the climb, particularly on the way up. The guides are all business when it comes to getting up & down the mountain quickly! It's hard to tell what you are exposed to in the dark - one of the guys commented on the way down that he liked it better in the dark - he couldn't see how scary it was! Here's how we looked in the dark - that's Little Tahoma below. As we climbed Disappointment Cleaver, we were treated to an awesome sunrise!


I have to say - when we reached our first rest stop at Ingraham Flats, I felt pretty good. And again, at the base of the Cleaver, I still felt good. Hindsight is always 20-20. Knowing how much you have in your tank is like knowing how much you have in your gas tank with no gas gauge! You don't know you're empty until you are! The rest stops (Ingraham Flats, base of the Cleaver, top of the Cleaver, and High Break) were a lot of fun. Climbing was strenuous - and maybe only required 1-2 layers of clothing but, as soon as we stopped, we quickly pulled out our down parkas to stay warm for that 15-minute break. The breaks at the top of the Cleaver and at High Break were a bit unnerving - very steep - the guides used shovels to scoop out places for us to sit! At the end of the break, we quickly removed our parkas (that was a cold shock!), stuffed them in our packs & got started again. Here's the view from High Break to the summit. Just right of center, almost at the top, you can see small specks - those are climbers! You can see them more easily if you click on the photo to see the larger view.


I was surprised at how much energy I had (or thought I had) when I arrived at the summit - 14, 411'! After leaving Camp Muir at 12:30 AM, we reached the summit at about 6 AM. It was beginning to get quite windy as we reached the summit. We got a couple of ladies to take a picture of Erich & me - two happy mountaineers! The guides didn't let us spend a lot of time up there - had enough time to eat a snack, take pictures & start back, after going through the routine of donning & removing the parkas. Going down would prove to be a different adventure altogether!


Going down was more scary! It was daylight - we could see how steep it was! And the wind was strong enough to knock us off balance at times. We skipped the rest stop at High Break and didn't stop until we reached the top of the Cleaver. Just before we stopped, I fell in the snow; my legs just gave down all of a sudden. I ate Gu at that stop and the next to help give me enough fuel to get me down. At the final stop on Ingraham Flats, I used Gatorade Gel Blasts. It all worked! That, and the prayers I said as I came down.


Here's a series of photos showing the way down.























Darrin, Erich, me and Josh on our way down near the top of Disappointment Cleaver








Looking down on Little Tahoma











Ingraham Glacier and the Flats - 2 rope teams in the distance.













The traverse at the base of the Cleaver - it definitely looks better in the dark!










The view back to Disappointment Cleaver from Ingraham Flats - you can see most of the route in the snow on the Cleaver if you click on the photo for the BIG picture




Camp Muir never looked better! We were only given about an hour after arriving back to camp to get the rest of our gear together before heading down to Paradise. By that time, I had next to no energy left in my legs. It was a good thing most of our trip down was on the snowfield; I basically "goose-stepped" my way down the mountain because my leg muscles wouldn't support my weight when I bent my knees! The last part of the hike was the worst - part of the trail had thawed out so we had to use it - and it
was like going down stairs. You can't do that stiff-legged! I leaned on my trekking poles a lot!




We were back to Paradise in the early afternoon for our shuttle ride back to Ashford. At Raineer Mountaineering headquarters, we had a last get-together for certificates and goodbyes. What an experience!


What will I do different for the next time? I'll weigh less and be in better shape. I'll carry less food (will probably buy RMI's package meal deal - they provide what you need and nothing more) and I'll take more GU and electrolytes for the climb and the return to Paradise. I'll wear my own leather boots - those plastic mountaineering boots were hard on the shins! When do we get to do it again?