Rainier summit.. in the afternoon?!

Rainier fever and the 9 months of training

I figured I would try to hike Mt Rainier with a reputable guide service. About 9 months ahead of time, I booked a late July climb with Alpine Ascents rather than RMI because it would be a bit more leisurely, 2 and a half days instead of 2. I had 9 months to prepare for Rainier and I was not going to take it lightly!. I organize for a very large hiking group here in the NYC area, my friend and co-organizer Rich put together a series of brutal 3-5 lap hikes with 40-65lb packs up Mt Beacon. It was sheer torture, but it sure as heck got us in shape for Rainier.

Late July approaches and the night before

I flew out to Portland OR and did a little mini-road trip with my mom to visit the popular touristy mountain sites in Oregon to get me mentally ready for Rainier. I did no training whatsoever for the days leading up to Rainier. July 22 I flew up to Seattle where I met with my fellow Rainier climbers and guides. I quickly bonded with Dave, a lawyer from Atlanta who had done five of the Seven Summits and had written a book about his experiences. The rest of my group was a fearsomely in-shape bunch of guys in their 30s. I managed to stuff everything into my pack including my big puffy sleeping bag. I was debating whether to bring my big minus 40 Mountain Hardwear puffy jacket. Head guide Pat thought I could leave it behind; Sherpa Lakpa suggested I bring it...I took it with me (no doubting a Sherpa!)

Day 1: Hike to Camp Muir

The next morning, we met early at AAI's Seattle office, loaded the van and raced off to Ashford. We got to Paradise around 10:30ish and started hiking around 11am. I looked ridiculous in my baby blue long underwear, wide-brimmed hat and mountaineering boots. It was a gorgeous day, sunscreen absolutely 100% required! We started hiking in corn-snow conditions.

We started slowly, but hiked at a steady pace, passing numerous day-trippers who obviously didn't pace themselves too well. We saw a lot of skiers on their way up and on their way down. Being a skier, I took careful note! We made several (blessed) stops to rest, drink and soak in the stupendous scenery. Behind us we could see not three, but four volcanoes! St Helens with it's blasted-out crater, Adams-Rainier's little brother, beautiful Hood and even Mt Jefferson way to the south.

We hiked for maybe 5 hours and made it to Camp Muir. At Camp Muir, we had plenty of time to relax, chat and enjoy the delicious food prepared for us by the AAI guides/gourmet chefs. The sanitary facilities at Camp Muir leave something to be desired however! Every time I walked into the latrine, I almost cried due to the foul smell! We went to bed quite early as we would wake up at 5 am the next day. Yes folks 5 AM.. not midnight like most Rainier guided trips he he. The guides gave us a choice that afternoon: we could summit Rainier in the afternoon to see a Rainier sunset!

Day 2: Camp Muir to Ingraham Flats

I didn't sleep at all that night, preoccupied with worries whether I could make the summit.. would I feel alright? Did I have it in me? sigh.

We woke up at 5am to a delicious pancake breakfast cooked by our guides/gourmet chefs. At least I was eating decently, not the slop you buy at mountaineering stores-and yes, there was coffee too.. very important! After breakfast we assembled for a bit of snow school. The guides taught us how to walk in crampons and how to use our ice axes. I had a leash for my ice axe, but I wouldn't tie it around my hand, rather to my harness so I could easily switch hands.

Our plan was then to hike up to Ingraham flats, about a 45 minute roped hike and then go to the summit about 2pm. We roped in teams of three: guide plus two climbers. The hike up to Ingraham flats was fairly easy and uneventful, but I could definitely sense that we entered the "dangerous zone". As we're approaching our tents on Ingraham Flats, I ran into my friend Brian, who had just summited Rainier that morning and was headed down (it was his third attempt and this time he made it! definitely auspicious!!)

...and on to the summit

We got to Ingraham Flats at about 11am and unloaded most of the stuff from our packs, set up our sleeping bags and briefly relaxed. I thought I could take a little nap, since we were going to head for the summit at 2pm. At 12pm, the guides instructed us to get dressed-we were heading for the summit early due to incoming bad weather. Indeed, the sky had turned from robin's-egg-blue to a milky white and the winds were picking up. I was the last person on my rope team consisting of Sherpa Lakpa, who had summitted Everest 14 times (he had tried K2 as well but mumbled something about avalanches) and Dave, the five-of-seven summitteer. Thankfully I was the least experienced person on my team: I felt that if I did slip or something, Mr. Everest and Mr. Seven Summits would know what to do. We proceeded across a tiny crevasse (as in 2 inches across) to disappointment cleaver, which was mostly snow covered at this time of year.

The sky had clouded over significantly and a thick fog had rolled in, so our visibility was maybe 20 feet. Maybe that's a good thing as I was not able to see how wickedly steep it was. We climbed 1300 feet from our tents to above the Cleaver and stopped for a quick water break. I barely had time to put my puffy jacket on, not to mention take photos! The guides urged us to drink and eat a little something. We followed the little orange wands as the trail zig-zagged its way up the mountain. At this point we were shrouded in fog-you could barely discern the person in front of you. We pressed on, now starting to feel rushed as we were really racing weather. We stopped once more for maybe 5 minutes before we were off. Sherpa Lakpa urged us to speed up as we needed to make the summit by 5pm. At this point we were well within the 13.5k feet mark and I felt really tired.. I really wasn't sure I could make it. But lo and behold, we saw rocks! Earlier the guides told us when we saw rocks, that would be the crater rim. Just about 4:50pm, we made it!! The winds were howling, the visibility was nil but we were all jubilant! I couldn't believe it-I made it up Rainier.

The Descent

We spent maybe 15 minutes at the summit, just enough time to put on our puffy jackets, take a few pictures, eat, drink and we were off again. Sherpa Lakpa was in front, Dave in the middle and me in the back. Because the trail zig-zagged, I felt like my teammates were yanking me-I had to shout for them to slow down a little. After a few hundred feet or so, I anticipated their rope pulling better and the whole process went a lot more smoothly.

I had very little time to look around me-for one thing there was nothing much to see besides fog and snow and the occasional crevasse. The only thoughts swirling in my mind were "hot apple cider" (we had some down in our tents at Ingraham Flats) and "pizza" (that would have to wait till we got off the mountain).

We made it back to the top of the cleaver fairly quickly and at this point reversed the order on the rope: now I was in the lead, Dave in the middle and Sherpa Lakpa in the back. I had to negotiate the trail down the Cleaver, which had somewhat thawed out
by now: there was a few rocky spots. I went down carefully, but at a fairly good pace, making sure the rope behind me was just the right tension. We would our way down the Cleaver and at the bottom switched places again-Sherpa Lakpa commended my rope leading skills here.. nice to get some kudos from someone so experienced. We made it back to our tents at 7pm, jubilant and tired. I indulged in a big steaming mug of hot apple cider. Dinner was a quiet affair as we were all too tired to savor our pasta-al dente. We fell asleep early as a storm raged above us. We were indeed lucky with the weather!

The next morning, we woke up early, packed up and hiked down to our food tent at Camp Muir and had a proper breakfast. The weather had worsened considerably now, as even the bottom portion of the mountain was engulfed in pea-soup thick fog. The descent was uneventful. We made it back to Paradise sometime around lunch-time. I was tired, but not wasted. Having done Rainier, I am faced with the (ominous) possibility of having to do Denali, as this was part of my US state high pointing goal. Even my friend Dave, the five-of-seven summitteer wasn't going to do Denali. Maybe I'll stop at 49. We'll see. I need to climb many peaks before I attempt Denali.

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