What a fun amazing adventure this has been. The entire experience was everything I'd hoped it would be! I won't go over every detail, but try and give you general overview.
We spent the night at the Paradise overnight parking lot, under a beautiful full moon, in the trusty Westfalia Adventure Mobile. It treated us well, and we were nice and snug in our cozy sleeping bags.
Rainier beer has been a fun symbol of our entire training regiment. At one point I was training with 50 lbs of Rainier cans in my backpack, so it's been fun to celebrate with a cold one at various points of the journey (my favorite had to be the keg of Rainier at Camp Muir...time to party!) This trip was no different.
Rainier in August is very different than other times of the year. There is lots of green and life in the lower section... wild flowers, grasses, etc. Many of the things we never see in other months as we glide over them on our boards. The other thing to note is how much snow has melted, and exposed rock there is. And the number of tourist is almost mind numbing... so many that they have to shuttle them up to Paradise due to the parking lot full to capacity... one of the guides said there are two million visitors each year! Anyway, it's easy to see why so many people are interested to partake in this beautiful place.
We had signed up with the RMI guide service in Ashford, and had a total of nine strong people in our group attempting the summit. A quick note regarding Lou Whittaker's various businesses in Ashford... they are run very well, do a great job of taking care of their clients, and I would recommend them to anyone wanting a guided trip to the summit.
We did a full day of physical training before heading to the summit, learning various things to make our trip more safe and organized, and allowing us to be better prepared to deal what the mountain can present on this kind of adventure. The next day, we headed to Paradise and left for Camp Muir around 9:30am.
There were two teams of nine that RMI was leading. Our team of nine was a great group of guys... along with Reid and I, there was a group of five younger guys who had signed up together and a pair of hunter dudes from Washington. It was an easy going group, and we were both psyched to be roped up with any one of them as we climbed together.
The weather was beautiful almost the entire trip. As you will see most of our photos of the trip are in the sun.
Above the thin cloud layer, in the Muir snow field.
We arrived at Muir around 2:30pm, after a long, slow hike, which helped to ensure that the group would start the next summit phase feeling strong.
The time at Camp Muir was somewhat odd. We chilled for a while in the sun, hydrating, fueling up, and relaxing.
But then we were instructed to get our gear organized, and be settled in for sleep at 5pm. I've never before slept in a bunkhouse with 20 stinky, farting, burping, snoring strangers... let alone at 5pm! It was kind of an odd experience. Our "wake up" call was at midnight, to get up and get ready to summit... as it turned out, most people, myself included, did not sleep a wink and just lay listening to all the noises that a room full of 20 anxious people can make. Thus, we got up, in the dark and prepared for our 14 hour journey ahead of us.
The first part of the climb is interesting because it's in the dark. Even though there was a beautiful full moon, you have to be so focused on what is directly three feet in front of you that it's difficult to take in the environment that surrounds. As we were about 2/3 of the way up, the sun started to rise.
Sadly, it was at this time that a lenticular cloud began to form at the summit. The winds picked up, and as we approached the summit, we were in windy, wintery conditions. As we hit the summit, gone was the sun and blue sky, as the mountain top was transformed into a freezing, somewhat uninviting environment. At that point, we were the only team at the top, and though it was very challenging for some, eight of our nine made it to the top.
Regardless of the changing conditions, it did not change the feelings of accomplishment. Reid and I had committed to getting to the top of this great mountain, and did what it took to get there. We weren't going to let a few clouds and wind dampen our spirits.
One of the guides shared that mountain climbing is one of the few sports where you celebrate at half time. Climbing to the top is only half the experience. Climbing down safely is the other side of the coin. And as enjoyable as the ascent was, the descent was by far my favorite part of the climb.
Once we had descended from the summit, and were back underneath the cloud formation, the amazing world that had been hidden in darkness was now illuminated in sunlight. The following is one of my favorite photos of the trip... hiking through this weird, space-like environment like no other I've experienced before.
The other thing that was hard to capture by photo is the magnitude of the crevasses and glacial structures. It was awesome to experience first hand.
For example, the following ice structure is about 200 feet tall.
One item that freaked many people out was walking over ladders placed across crevasses along the route.
I took a photo down inside the crevasse, but it doesn't quite have the same effect as standing over it.
Here are some miscellaneous photos of our descent.
In the end, the climb was a super experience and another satisfying adventure... other than the cloud coverage at the summit, we had great weather, good conditions, and I was both mentally and physically ready for the challenge.
Thanks to all those that supported our efforts and offered encouragement... it felt so good to know we had a bunch of people rooting for us! Reid and I have shared some great memories, and reaching the summit of Rainier is another epic one to add to the list!
