by MoapaPk » Sat Aug 28, 2010 12:10 am
View the source and find out!
<tr>
<th scope="col" width="624"><img src="http://c0278592.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/original/637156.jpg" id="Image1" onmouseover="MM_swapImage('Image1','','http://c0278592.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/original/637157.jpg',1)" onmouseout="MM_swapImgRestore()" height="455" width="624"></th>
<td scope="col" align="left" valign="top" width="308"><div align="left">
<p>The Liberty Ridge is perhaps the best “full-on” mountaineering objective in the US, outside of Alaska. Although relatively free of objective dangers, the route is difficult to access, requires commitment, and is very exposed to weather.</p>
<p>Mt Rainier is a tiny, isolated high altitude island, straddling the border of an ocean and a continent. It is subject to raging storms, unimaginable snowfalls, ripping winds, and weird fogs. Although much of this weather is predictable from several days out, some of it is not. For this reason, being fit on the Liberty Ridge or, for that matter, any difficult route on Mt. Rainier cannot be overstated; the ability to outrun an incoming whiteout or to preemptively carry extra food and fuel in unstable weather means having a well trained set of pipes and the legs to get you quickly to safety. As compiled by the National Park Service Search and Rescue Reports, weather is the single greatest cause of accidents on Mt. Rainier, especially on the Liberty Ridge.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, a full range of mountaineering skills are required. In addition to the changeable weather, crevasse fields, grinding steepness, hard ice, deep snow, and altitude means that experience climbers will be enjoyably surprised and intermediate climbers will be thoroughly tested. This is no place for beginners not roped to an expert!.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p class="style1">MouseOver the image for topo...</p>
</div></td>
</tr>