Hey Folks,

I'm trying to plan a climb of Rainier via the main Disappointment Cleaver route for next year and I'd like to get a general sense of when the best time to climb is with the two main factors being weather stability and route condition in respect to crevasse danger.

Since there will only be two of us I'd like to minimize the danger of a crevasse fall, yet I don't want to go so early in the season as to greatly increase the chances of very foul weather.

Thanks.

My opinion is early to mid July (but after July 4th) is the best nexus of stable weather and good glaicer conditions.

I don't want to encourage anything other than total self reliance, however, this is the most popular route and is heavily guided. Wands, fixed ropes, fixed ladders over crevasses, and fixed pickets all adorn this route to keep it open for guided parties as late into the season as possible. This makes it somewhat safer for a two man party.

Having climbed the DC several times including late season ascents in September and November, I feel that rock and serac fall on this route are bigger problems than hidden crevasses. I think the statistics bear this out; many more fatatities have been due to rock fall and serac fall on the DC than crevasse falls. This is not that crevasse falls are unlikely or trivial, just that rock and serac fall are more likely on the DC than say the Emmons Glacier.

In case you have not seen this, here is a primer I wrote on climbing the big R: http://www.summitpost.org/article/50722 ... nier-.html

If you have any questions feel free to PM me. I'm happy to answer if I can.

EB

Thanks for the response and your link is very informative!

why does that link tell people go to light - like 30 lbs... then list 50lbs worth of equipment?

What is your experience level with glacial travel? I ask this so that maybe I can help you with specfic information.

billisfree wrote:why does that link tell people go to light - like 30 lbs... then list 50lbs worth of equipment?

That list weighs no more than 30 - 35 pounds. One must make intelligent choices when sellecting each piece of gear with an eye for low weight.

Look at my pack I am carrying on that page, it was taken mid september - at the chilly end of the season. I have everything on the list in my pack. Does it look like it weighs 50 pounds? It is a 45 liter pack.

FWIW, my pack was even smaller than that...

Even on the tourist route there is always a cluster of some big crevasses near the top.

Crossing them can be sketchy for a party of two, depending on conditions.

Well... maybe I over-reacted.

I suppose it depends on what you WEAR (or carry in your hands) and what you PACK. On a warm day, most of stuff goes into your pack.

I weighed each individual item and totalled them up. I climbed with a 32 lb pack... and thought it was MURDER.

If I add all that other stuff mentioned in the link, my pack weight goes up to approx 44 lbs.

Of course it, helps if I can share this extra equipment (e.g. tent, rope) with climbing partners.

I remember sitting down for a drink while climbing with my friend Colin Haley. He looked over at me and said "EB, you have a sticker on your water bottle." "So" I replied. "But
EB, stickers weigh."

To get your pack down to a fighting weight you have to make careful choices about every piece you bring and also realize when it is appropriate to take the very lightest gear and when it is worth it to bring a heavier piece of gear.

For sure a MH Trango 2 tent at 9+ pounds will likely survive anything Rainier can throw at it, but if you have a good weather forecast and are willing to bail if things go south you can save 7.5 pounds by taking a Black Diamond Betalight floorless shelter. In the summer you can save weight by using a cartridge stove. Pocket Rocket, 8 oz fuel, and 1 liter aluminum pot weighs about a pound. You only need one extra pair of socks if you dry the wet ones on your stomach as you sleep each night. An 8mm , 30 meter 'Rando' rope is appropriate for the standard routes and weighs a little over 3 pounds. Fully storm proof shells have become ridiculously light. My Montbell weighs 10 ozs and has pit zips, adustable hood, etc. Use light weight water bottles, I substitue one bottle for a Platypus bladder saving a couple of ozs. Fully functional ice axes can be found that weigh less than 16 oz (Grivel Air Tech Racing for example). a 3/4 length Evazotte sleeping pad can weigh as little as 9 oz. It is all about making smart choices and trade offs to save weight.

I can agree with that last post.

I'm beginning to realize... the heaviest things to carry is WATER. Carry as little as you can get away with... 16 oz at beginning. Many foods have water in them.

A stove for melting snow is a real weight saver.

Back to the OP, this is a day trip-12, maybe 14 hours. Your pack weight should not be an issue. If its over 30 pounds, your doing it wrong. Also, you can eliminate some weather concerns in June/July by leaving at 10 pm to midnight from camp Muir, summit early and get down before the sun softens the upper mountain.

mattski wrote:u should no how to do a cravase pull up use a reverso. id be more worried about the actual cilmb like the steep m7 routes after that lol. u ever heard of the double iceaxe crav jump lol just use your fairy gun like on that climbing movie. Pull a big gun out ofyour bag and shoot a snarg out of it with a rope on it and when that pulls out just up pull your shoot thats in your bag with the pull cord thats in your jacket pocket

!!??!! My head hurts.

I wood like 2 advoc8 4 the use of real werdz and punctu8ion!

Brian Jenkins wrote:I wood like 2 advoc8 4 the use of real werdz and punctu8ion!

That looks entirely too natural to be off the cuff