Wednesday, August 5, 2009 (Camp Muir and Ingraham Flats)
I got up at midnight and the guide services only offered us water to descend. No one had gotten much sleep because of the wind and busy minds. Being tired only made it more difficult to make a clear decision. Some wanted to call the trip (mostly the older members of the group) while others wanted to go for it (mostly the younger). There was also conversation about sending half of the group up with the other half's quota of water or letting Michael go back down to Paradise and get more fuel while we did some more training. Then we could shoot for the summit the next day if the weather held.While we discussed the pros and cons of our options it became obvious that we were in no position to climb. So, with John's encouragement, I called the climb. Michael was very persuasive though and said "If we do this we will regret it" - we had all put too much time and effort into this trip to dismiss it completely.
So, after a little prayer, it became clear that the right thing to do was to let Michael get more fuel while the rest of us would rope up and go to Ingraham Flats. Along the way we could do some more training, watch the weather and, at the very least, get another third of the way to the summit. If the weather turned we would call the trip, but if not we would go for a Thursday ascent as originally planned. This way we would all get some very much needed sleep, Jim would get a full rest day and a chance to summit, Michael would get his chance to pitch in and not live with regrets, and we would have another fun and safe day on the mountain doing things right.
We went back to bed and all slept fairly well till 6:00 a.m. About half the teams that left at midnight had returned because the winds in Ingraham Flats and Disappointment Cleaver were very high. Other teams continued on and summited but with wind gusts around 60 to 70 mph.
Michael headed down for fuel about 8:00 a.m. while John, Aaron, Nadya, and I headed for Ingraham Flats. Jim, Ryan, and Ray stayed behind to rest. We had a great time but the wind and dust through Cathedral gap was pretty bad. We got to the Flats around 11:00 a.m. and were met by a number of teams that had summited and were on their way down. One of these was an Italian couple who had run out of water on the summit and were desperate for a drink. It was a reminder of what it would have been like for us if we'd have tried to go up at midnight.
We got back to camp around 1:00 p.m. and by this time the weather was really pretty nice and we'd had a good outing. This gave us plenty of time to rest and continue to watch the weather for a summit attempt tomorrow.
Michael made it back to Camp Muir around 4:00 p.m. with my white gas stove, fuel, a pot, extra canisters for the Jet Boils, earplugs, and, of all things, watermelon. Michael truly was the hero of this adventure.
We brewed water, had a great dinner, and got to bed on time. The weather was not deteriorating, but getting better. God was blessing us in a big way and our spirits were much more positive than a few hours before. Another key to climbing this mountain - positive mental attitude.
This picture was taken by Aaron Hanson of my tent at sunrise on Wednesday morning. It was hard to tell if we could apply the proverb "red skies in the morning, sailors take warning" or whether the red sunrise was because of all the fires in the region.
Nadya, John, Aaron, and myself getting ready to head to Ingraham Flats for our off-day training trip.
John in the rocks of Cathedral Gap.
Myself and Nadya at Ingraham flats with the Ingraham Icefall behind us. Disappointment Cleaver is the rock ridge to our left.
Eating M&M's, studying the icefall, and considering the cloud cap and what it might mean for tomorrow's weather.
Nadya was an endless source of smiles and such a pleasure to have on this trip.
The lower Ingraham Icefall with tents on the Flats and Disappointment Cleaver behind.
Back from our Ingraham Flats outing, we did some more rope work at Camp
Muir. We set everything out so all we had to do at midnight was clip in.
Enjoying the watermelon that Michael brought back after his return to Camp Muir. Michael made incredible time descending the 5,000 feet back to Paradise, driving to the Cougar Rock campground to get fuel and goodies, and then climbing back up. I think in all it took him about 5 1/2 hours of which 2 or 3 were spent driving and dealing with the parking and traffic at the Visitors Center.
The gang at Camp Muir. Everyone was in much better spirits than the night before. The weather was better,
we had a chance to do more training, and everyone was much more rested for a midnight summit attempt. We were now in good shape for a successful and safe climb.
Thursday, August 6, 2009 (Summit Day)
Midnight, calm, no wind, full moon, everyone fairly rested. Two packets of oatmeal, a cup of coffee, packs loaded, ropes clipped in and we're on the trail at 1:30 a.m.Walking across the Cowlitz glacier to Cathedral Gap Jim was moving too slowly because his legs were giving out on him. John, Aaron, Nadya, and Michael continue on to Ingraham Flats where they wait for Ryan, Ray, and myself after we unclip Jim and redo the ropes.
We catch up with John's team around 3:00 a.m. at Ingraham Flats and rest a bit. I take over the lead and head up and across the lower portions of the Ingraham Icefall to Disappointment Cleaver. There are a lot of big crevasses, a couple to jump, and a handline along a steep traverse of ice that bridges the moat over to the Cleaver.
The route finding on the Cleaver is somewhat challenging with the spider web of trails. Thankfully there are a number of strategically placed wands that lead to the south slope and snowfields I'd seen others on from far below the day before. It's fairly exposed and no one can slip here. We make it to the top of the Cleaver around 5:30 a.m.
To get up on to the upper Emmons glacier we again have to cross and jump a couple of crevasses. There is also a fairly exposed 100 foot section with a handline in place. From here we swing far to the north, end running big crevasses using the circuitous route as a kind of natural traverse of switchbacks to the summit. Along the way there are more narrow ice bridges to cross and crevasses to jump. We summit at 7:30 a.m.
We spend an hour and a half on the summit taking pictures, feeling the warm rocks and steam near the summit fumaroles, signing the register, and walking the crater rim. We left the summit at 9:00 a.m. and headed back down the long switchbacks that weave through the crevasses of the upper Emmons glacier back to Disappointment Cleaver. By this time it was warming up nicely and the snow held up fairly well as we negotiated the numerous technical sections.
With the advantage of daylight and a top down view of the Cleaver, Michael (who was now in the lead) found a different route down the top of the Cleaver instead of along the south slope and snowfields we had ascended in the morning. It was a safer route but all on dirt and rock so we took our crampons off through this section. We made it back across the Ingraham Glacier through Cathedral Gap and across the Cowlitz glacier to Camp Muir by about 1:30 p.m. We began to pack up and head down the Muir snowfield back to Paradise. Jim had already headed down and we talked to him frequently on the radio. He ended up hanging around Paradise for a couple of hours visiting, in Jim's typical gregarious way, with whoever would stop and talk.
We got back to Paradise around 4:30 p.m. in a very thick and cold fog that was coming up from the valley. Another storm was approaching and we had been very blessed with a perfect day between two very windy days (note: a week later I called the climbing rangers and learned that on Friday, the 7th, a storm did come in and on Saturday it dumped up to two feet on the summit).
It was so good to be met by Lisa and the kids when we got to Paradise. What a great and awesome climb with an incredible group of people that really got along well. We headed back to the campground for a great spaghetti dinner, conversation, sponge bath (there are no showers in the Cougar Rock campground), and sleep.
Up at midnight and getting ready to head for the summit on a perfectly windless night.
Nadya with another one of her endless smiles. Note the full moon; another gift for tonight's climb.
Michael and Nadya at sunrise on the Emmons Glacier above Disappointment Cleaver.
Aaron and Nadya with the sun brightening the eastern skies and clouds far below us.
John and Aaron with Goat Island Mountain and the Sunrise Visitors Center on the northwest side of the mountain far below us.
John making his way up the upper sections of the mountain.
Near the top.
Mount Adams in the distance.
The crater rim. Once you make it to the crater from the Muir side you have to cross to the other side to get to the true summit. Rainier's crater is approximately 1/2 mile across.
All of us on top of Mount Rainier (14,410 feet) on a beautiful August day.
My fifth climb of Mount Rainier.
John and Aaron.
Myself and my good friend Ryan Bledsoe.
Michael and Nadya very happy to be here.
This is a panorama of the entire summit rim. Click this image to bring up a larger image and then enlarge the view in your Web browser and scroll around for a detailed view of the crater rim. As you will see, there were a number of other teams taking advantage of the great climbing conditions.