Group Members: Joe Flannery, Dave Slavensky, Chris Wright, Aaron Smith and Allen Light
Mt. Rainier is by far the most coveted summit in all the Cascade Range. It towers at 14,410 feet. It carries 35 square miles of ice and has the largest glacier system in the United States outside of Alaska. More than ten thousand climbers a year now attempt the mountain, with a success rate of about 50 percent. More than six thousand climbers attempt by the Disappointment Cleaver route each year.
We started our journey Thursday 7/20/06 p.m. leaving Bend, OR at 7:30 p.m. We arrived at Paradise, WA six and half hours later (2 a.m.). We car camped in Dave’s Westy. We awoke at 6:30 a.m. 7/21 and met at the rangers’ station in the Jackson Visitor Center at 7 a.m. The normal station at Paradise was closed for construction. After registering and taking that last minute pit stop, we hit the trail at 8:15 a.m. We ascended from Paradise (5,420 feet) to Camp Muir (10,080 feet) in 4 ˝ hours. We set our tents up on the snowfield next to the Cowlitz Glacier. We took it easy the rest of the day and enjoyed the warm weather and sun. Later that day we learned the guides (RMI) start at mid night. We planned our departure from camp at 4:30 a.m. as recommended by the rangers.
We awoke 7/22 at 3:30 a.m. We were out of camp at 4:45 a.m. We started by crossing the Cowlitz Glacier to Cathedral Rocks. Then we moved onto the Ingraham Glacier. We had breath-taking views of Little Tahoma at sunrise. We then headed around and up the Disappointment Cleaver. At 13,000 feet we hit the guides and their clients descending. For 30 minutes we let them pass around us. We then had to negotiate an unstable snow bridge. The guides (RMI) set a fixed line just across it for us to clip in. (Thanks RMI) From there our ascent to the summit was uneventful. After reaching the summit and registering in the log, we checked out one of the snow caves/steam vents. This is where we had our lunch. It was really nice until we discovered used blue bags left behind. It took us 6 hours to reach the summit from Camp Muir with the 30-minute wait. It took us 3 hours to descend back to Camp Muir and 1-˝ hours to descend from Camp Muir to Paradise.
At Paradise we enjoyed the showers, which unfortunately close at 7 p.m. Then we drove to Elbe, WA. There we had burgers and shakes prior to hitting the road. From there we stopped prior to getting to Portland and spent the night. Sunday 7/23/06, we returned to Bend, OR. We all had a great trip. There were no major incidents. We all made it up and down with good weather and spirits. I hope you enjoy our pictures.
