Rainier with minimal glacier travel
Posted: Tue May 14, 2013 6:02 pm
Hello all,
Rainier has been on my to-do list for a while and every summer I think about trying to climb it. What has stopped me every year is that:
1) I don't have enough experience with glaciers to make an attempt without someone else who has a better idea of what they're doing
2) I don't have any friends with that experience (in spite of all the other wonderful things here, northern Idaho is short on glaciers)
3) I'm a poor college student who can't really afford to hire a guide.
I was talking with someone about it recently and they pointed out that there actually are routes on Rainier that don't require much glacier travel. Success Cleaver is the one I've been looking at. The page says there are two. Does anyone know what the other is?
I'm thinking about making an attempt by the Success Cleaver route with a friend, but I'd like some input from people who know the route/mountain better than I do first. My friend and I are both experienced climbers on rock/snow and I've climbed several higher mountains in Ecuador. The only part I'm unsure about is the last half mile before the summit where the route crosses the glacial cap. Is anyone here familiar enough with the route to offer any advice? If we go it would be early in the season, probably by the middle of June.
Thanks
Rainier has been on my to-do list for a while and every summer I think about trying to climb it. What has stopped me every year is that:
1) I don't have enough experience with glaciers to make an attempt without someone else who has a better idea of what they're doing
2) I don't have any friends with that experience (in spite of all the other wonderful things here, northern Idaho is short on glaciers)
3) I'm a poor college student who can't really afford to hire a guide.
I was talking with someone about it recently and they pointed out that there actually are routes on Rainier that don't require much glacier travel. Success Cleaver is the one I've been looking at. The page says there are two. Does anyone know what the other is?
I'm thinking about making an attempt by the Success Cleaver route with a friend, but I'd like some input from people who know the route/mountain better than I do first. My friend and I are both experienced climbers on rock/snow and I've climbed several higher mountains in Ecuador. The only part I'm unsure about is the last half mile before the summit where the route crosses the glacial cap. Is anyone here familiar enough with the route to offer any advice? If we go it would be early in the season, probably by the middle of June.
Thanks