SummitPost.org

I am not climbing for another month but saw the summit temp on Thursday is 17 with 60 mph winds. I assume this means a no go for climbers. They don't really try to summit in that do they?

Not ideal for sure but depending on the route some people would still go up (assuming blue skies). We summited earlier this month on a beautiful sunny day but the summit was about 5F with 50mph gusts. It was miserable up top but most of the route (Emmons) was fairly sheltered from the wind until the last 1,000 feet or so. For us it was our last day for a shot at the summit and we figured we go until we felt the wind poised a problem and made it to the top. Just never know up there!

Never second-guess Rainier. There's no such thing as Rainier weather now, just gotta be prepared for the worst, and hope for the best.

August and September are good months to detour around crevasses. However, every year is different. Put your game on ..

Thanks for your posts.
What is the best place to check for weather? I'm checking:
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.ph ... tType=text

We are climbing in two weeks.

I always like using NOAA.gov. Don't expect to know exactly what it'll do up there. Our forecast was immaculate and the rangers said "You'll have the best 3 days of weather" the day we started. We were forced into Schurman instead of the Flats due to a total blizzard/whiteout and spent all of day 2 waiting out snow/wind/heavy fog.

CONSIGLIEREG8R wrote:I am not climbing for another month but saw the summit temp on Thursday is 17 with 60 mph winds. I assume this means a no go for climbers. They don't really try to summit in that do they?

If you are climbing in a guided party you will very likely make a summit attempt if the weather is just cold and windy. The guides know full well that nobody will likely be summitting, but if they don't try the clients will feel disappointed. Climbing in below freezing temps and high winds quickly saps the will to keep climbing. The clients will feel sufficiently drubbed into wanting to turn around and will hopefully feel like the guides did everything they could to make the summit.

If the guides say it is good to go, I am on it.
It has been over 100 about 15-20 days this month. Humidity has been off the charts. Give me some freezer.