I'm heading out to climb the Kautz later this week. Anyone been on the route lately? The climbing blog hasn't been updated since 6/2 and there hasn't been too much activity on Cascade Climbers lately. Two questions:

1. Is flotation still necessary? (I doubt it, but I know it's been snowy. I really don't want to have to pack the snowshoes.)
2. Is there running water at either camp? (Again, I doubt it, but it would be nice to know if there is. We're planning on camping in the two standard spots.)

Thanks.

Let us know how it goes. I may be heading up the Kautz in a couple weeks.

I second that. I might be attempting the route the second week of July.

I’m also planning to do it between 11-13 of July.

JonW wrote:I'm heading out to climb the Kautz later this week. Anyone been on the route lately? The climbing blog hasn't been updated since 6/2 and there hasn't been too much activity on Cascade Climbers lately. Two questions:

1. Is flotation still necessary? (I doubt it, but I know it's been snowy. I really don't want to have to pack the snowshoes.)
2. Is there running water at either camp? (Again, I doubt it, but it would be nice to know if there is. We're planning on camping in the two standard spots.)

Thanks.

I was on this route several times some time ago, one of them around this time of year. In my recollection, that year did not have as much snow as this, though we did get hit by a major snowstorm while on the mountain. In regards to your first question, we did not use snowshoes, nor do I recall wanting them, even during and after the storm. As far as running water, I definitely do not recall there being any at any of the places we camped. Plan on melting snow. One last point: some of the lower portions of this route, especially the traverse from the top of Wilson Gully to the base of the Turtle Snowfield, can still be very avalanche-prone this time of year. I would not do the Kautz if there has been any significant new snowfall in the last few days, or if it looks like there is any in the forecast.

Good luck!

We wound up not climbing the Kautz. We climbed Gib Ledges instead. The ranger informed us the chute was entire snow and and snowshoes might be useful crossing the Nisqually. Though the blog hasn't been updated in quite some time, the Paradise climbing ranger had a lot of information. I called prior to leaving and was able to get a full route description.

I was on the route in July several years back and there was running water at both camps. With filtration, you can really limit the amount of fuel you carry.

JonW wrote:I was on the route in July several years back and there was running water at both camps. With filtration, you can really limit the amount of fuel you carry.

Well, it's been quite a while since I was there, so it's definitely possible that I forgot. Also could be that things are different in June than they are in July. In any case, congrats on the climb - Gib ledges are an excellent choice for the current conditions.

It appears that we dodged a bullet by picking Gib Ledges. We would have crossing the Nisqually Saturday afternoon on our way down. Looks like the approach for the Kautz won't be via Paradise until things settle down.

http://mountrainierclimbing.blogspot.com/

Wow...dodged the bullet indeed! One of my experiences on the Kautz involved dodging icefall from the huge seracs above Camp Hazard, so I'm already kind of biased in regards to that whole part of the mountain, but I never thought of the Nisqually crossing as particularly dangerous...this is really something else! So much for the idea of early season being objectively safe...