Mt Rainier & Adams July 2009

“climbhi..

go ahead and sign up... we can worry about details later..

Glad to have you on board..

'32oz”

“Hell yeah ! Sign up!”

“WAHOO!!! Got the last spot according to Tai at IMG (Why so pro guides never have names like John, Michael or Robert?)

Going to fax my forms into them now. Very psyched. More later.”

“I'm risking it, but I need to wait a while before I lay down the chips for this trip... hope I can still get a slot...”

“There is an article on Rainier in this month's issue of Backpacker... Just keep getting more and more pumped!!!!!!!!

'32oz”

“I haven't seen everything, but Rainier is the most amazing thing I've seen.”

“http://www.summitpost.org/view_object.php?object_id=51623&context_id=150189

Man I wish I could have gotten a shot like this..

THAT is one sick feeling doing that in the dark with 35-40 mph winds..

'32oz
last edited: 12/02/08 9:04:30 AM”

“My camera quit working when it got sand in it at Goat Rocks before I got to Rainier. All my pictures I bummed from someone else. Great memories though. It was a gorgeous day.”

“Dudes,
I'm gonna do an early bail on this climb, and instead do Hood or Shasta, since those options are c h e a p, and I can climb my own climb.”

“How bout meeting us for Mt Adams ??”

“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF5CpcWlNf8

go about 5:30 into the video, turn up the volume and watch.... man if this don't get you stoked......!!!!!!!!

'32oz”

“Very cool! I wanna go back!”

“I just got off of the phone with Crazypace. As we all know the economy is in the crapper and it affecting us all in one way or another..

Long story short... he and I are both still doing Rainier, but we are now trying to gauge the interest in Mount Adams. Obviously, the more people going the lower the cost per person for car rental etc.. Since I don't plan on getting out to Seattle again anytime soon, I would like to do as much as possible while I'm there, but if the cost starts outweighing the benefit, we may rethink the itinary..

When the plans first came out there was a lot of talk about some TT women getting together while he and I were on Rainier, and then we would meet up afterwards for Adams and then possibly St Helen's..

Is anybody else still in for either of these trips... We need to book airline flights and need to figure out when to plan on returning to the east coast..

Thanks a bunch for your repsonse..

'32oz”

“The only definite for Adams was myself, and with the proposed changes in itineraries/schedule CP related to me there is no sense in my trying to coordinate plans.

As I've already committed to the social gathering hike, it is looking like I'll still be sort of in the area but not local enough to you two to combine resources.

We'll share pics and stories when everyone gets home. :)”

“Are you still a go? and if so, when are you planning coming back east?

'32oz”

“Would it make it easier on everyone if we just moved the mountain to you?”

“Now what would the fun of that be...

Actually CP and I just are trying to figure out who is going to be where.. IN the beginning there was more talk about doing Adam's. That seems to have dwindled..

As far as St Helen's, I may be doing that alone... (or least with a bunch of other tourists)..

'32oz”

“Be glad you're not up there now:

"Another front crossed the Olympics and Cascades on Monday
night and Tuesday morning. Some strong winds following
the front are getting recorded by NWAC mountain top
weather stations Tuesday morning with gusts in the 50-70
mph range such as at Alpental, Crystal and White Pass.
Gusts to over 120 mph are getting recorded at Camp Muir."”

“I'm going up there in May. Maybe I should rent an avalanche beacon...”

“Or a parasail. That'll get you up top in a hurry.”

“Bad news guys...Just got word I'm being laid off soon...so....I'll have to cancel. Hopefully I'll have a new job by then, but there won't be any vacation available.

Hate to do this...getting psyched and in good shape at the gym and hiking with 50 lb. pack.

I just wrote IMG. I hope they might refund my deposit if they fill my spot.

If you guys want to borrow it, Ive got a DVD of training for Mt. Rainier. Not very useful - well know what to do but it can be fun.

I'll be watching your posts and photos as they come in. Climb Safe.”

“I'm sorry to hear about the job.. Hopefully you can land an even better one and you can include a climb ranier clause...

The economy has really put the screws to this whole trip as well as the TT Women Gone Wild in Washington Trip that was to correspond with it..

Is anyone besides CP and Myself planning on being in WA?

'32oz”

“I am!”

“LOL... We will have to get together for drinks after we get back down... Bring the squirrel!!!

'32oz”

“Heard from 32 oz. They made it to Camp Muir yesterday. It's the hottest ever in WA. It got up to 100 degrees. (But it's a dry heat).

They are really psyched. Today they will climb higher, camp on the snow again and then tomorrow will be a 16 hour day. They will summit and then climb all the way down.”

“Glad to hear the plan is going well.

HM, if you need a ride to or from the airport here in Richmond, let me know. I can help.”

“Thanks CD. I really appreciate that.

I think I've got it covered but I'm not sure yet.

HM”

“wooohoo! excellent!”

“Just heard from 32 oz. They made it to the top!!!”

“wow, that is awesome. wish I could've been there.”

“Yay!! Congrats guys!”

“awesome!

i will be interested in hearing about the guide service. i have considered using them.”

“That sucks! I'm not there!”

“just talked to crazypace. He and 32oz summited MT. Adams today. They did it as a dayhike. started hiking at 4am and summited around noon and got back down at 4pm. This was after a one day rest from climbing Rainier.”

“Congratulations guys. I can't wait to see the pictures.”

“Great that they made it to the top, congratulations.”

“Great news on all accounts!

Great job, guys!”

“awesome!”

“Well done guys. Congrats!”

“What a trip. The weather was hot, but clear. We both took alot of pic's. Hope to post them tomorrow. I'll write a full trip report then. There is too much to tell.”

“Can't wait for the trip report and pics. Congrats you guys!”

“Weren't there supposed to be a bunch of women drinking heavily on this trip?”

“Still 'stuck' in WA... Highmainteance and I are hiking through Rainier Park.. Tried to bag Pinnacle Peak today but weather started turning nasty....

Heading to Glacier Saturday... Trip is going awesome... The Adams climb was a b&tch, but other then that everything is going well...

400 pictures so far...

Hope you all are doing well...

'32oz”

“You gonna finish this TR, or what?”

“I was an hour into it yesterday an my freakin computer locked up... I will have it done today.. gotta start all over...

'32oz”

“OK here it is... Its probably too long, I probably get a little melladramatic, and I will probably end up on Stovie's 'look at what I did' list, so I apologize up front... It really was an amazing experience being up on that mountain..


Tuesday – Crazy Pace and I arrived in Seattle and did what any respectable back packer would do – NO not drink a beer – we hit REI.. After stocking up there we proceeded down the street to.. well ok drink some good beer at a German Restaurant, before heading down to IMG (International Mountain Guide Headquarters). The weather was hot.. Wednesday the temps would be amongst the highest recorded in the area, and the temp in the tents hit 106.

Wednesday – we had a gear check at 2:00, and then CP and I headed down to RMI headquarters for some food beer and to order our sandwiches for the next day.
Thursday - Day 1 of the climb. We met at 8:30 for the 27 mile drive to Paradise. I don’t know how the rest of the team was feeling but I had a lot of nervous excitement. We arrived at Paradise and at about 9:30 thirteen of us left for Camp Muir. There were 4 guides, 8 clients and George Dunn. George is part owner of IMG and is well known throughout the mountaineering community. George was going to hike up to Muir with us. It was like having Joe Montana come and QB a Peewee game. It was pretty freakin cool.
The climb to Muir is 4000 ft over about 4.5 miles. The first couple miles are well maintained for the park visitors, then you hit the Muir snowfield. We would hike for an hour, take a break and then hike again. We hit Camp Muir at 2:30. The weather was gorgeous and the views were awesome. You really don’t get an idea of how huge Rainier is until you are on it…

We rested for a little, had dinner and then turned in. I was up by 4:00 the next day.. I went out and say people already heading up to Muir from Paradise. We were told that they would wake us at 6:30, but by 6:15 we were all ready to go.. Who could sleep?

Friday - The morning consisted of self arrest, glacier travel, and rope travel training. It was a little more intense then what I had been through at Mt Hood. Unlike Hood though, it seemed like the whole team was pretty capable. By 12:00 we were on our waty to the high camp on Ingraham Glacier. To get there, we had to traverse the Cowlitz Glacier and cross through the Gap at Cathedral Rocks. From this point on crampons were required. Unlike Wednesday it now felt like we were actually climbing a mountain.

It was fairly easy going until we hit Cathedral Rocks. Here the skree made it a little more difficult, especially for the ones who weren’t accustomed to it. We made it through and by 1:30 we were at camp. Elevation 11,400. Higher then I had ever been before…

We ate and were told to relax and try to get some rest and sleep.. Yeah right… Pictures cant do the sites justice… The crevasses, the cleavers, everything is just huge up there. Since it is late in the climbing season the crevasses had really opened up. Ladders had been removed, fixed rope had been added, and the route to the summit had to be lengthened to get around the expanding crevasses.

I didn’t sleep at all. The gravitational wind came pouring down the mountain, and sporadically during the night you could hear rocks falling from Gibraltar Rock just a few hundred yards from us.

Saturday – Summit day we were awaken at about 12:00 am (this may be wrong, it may have been a little later) I was already up having not slept a wink…. We joked down some cereal and coffee and set off at about 1:30… A crevasse had opened up between us and the top of disappointment cleaver, so we originally headed straight up the mountain, then veered 90 degrees to the right after getting past the crevasses. We hit disappointment cleaver and began what was probably the hardest part of the hike. Climbing the spree, rock, loose stone, and boulders would have been hard enough… Doing it at 2:00 am, roped up, with crampons on made it a challenge. Shouts of ‘Rock! Rock!’ rang out as loose rocks and stones were inadvertently sent tumbling down the cleaver towards climbers below. The only thing that you could see was what was right in front of you, and the little lighted dots of the climbers above and below.. It was freakin awesome…

By 3:30 we had reached the top of Disappointment Cleaver; elevation about 12,400. 3 hours and 2,000 ft to go. The wind had now picked up, and you could feel it getting colder. I through my pack down put on my parka and tried to press myself into my pack as much as I could to escape the mind. CP was developing a headache, and the altitude was now taking away my appetite. Not being able to even force food down, I squeezed a syrupy Hammer Gel into my mouth and washed it down with electrolytes.

15 minutes later we were on our way again… Although I wouldn’t know it on the ascent the next 1000 ft were probably the coolest, and the most dangerous. Again, you could barely see anything except what was right in front of you (and this might have been a good thing). We hit the fixed ropes and slowly worked our way around a ledge. I had over heard some climbers earlier and realized that we were about to hit a section were we were heading away from the summit to avoid a crevasse that had widened. At about 5:15 we took our last break. I was now nauseous, mostly from the altitude, and partly due to the excitement. CP’s head was hurting.. Once again no food, but gel and electrolytes again. As we sat at high break, the sun came up.. I wish I could say that I got pictures. I didn’t.. The camera remained in its case and I just sat there in awe… I could tell where we had been by the lights of the climbers below us.

After 15 minutes we started off. I forgot to mention that the 12 of us were in 4 teams of 3. CP and I were on a team, and since he is the stronger climber I was 2nd on the rope with him behind me. We were the 3rd team to start off. We were no 1000 ft from the summit, and about 45 minutes from what I had been dreaming about since last summer. !5 minutes into the push we stopped. A woman on the first rope was having problems. A decision was made that we would go around them. There are two parts of this trip that I will remember forever, and the first of them was about to happen. The sun was now almost up, so we didn’t need headlights. As I looked up the mountain I could see the first two teams, strung out. 25 feet of rope between each climber. It was like a scene from a documentary, or a photo… It sounds stupid, but at that point I really felt like part of an expedition. It was feeling…

At about 6:15 we hit the summit. And proceeded down into the crater. For some reason it wasn’t what I expected… We dropped our packs and celebrated.. The CP and myself headed over to the register and Columbia Crest. I was nauseous as crap and the wind was blowing like hell, but we had made it…

I can’t even tell you how long we were up there, but it seemed like only 5 minutes. Then it was time to head down… By now I was really sick. I fell once; actually more just a slip into a bank, but down we went. CP had the distinction of leading the team down. I had the ‘honor’ of keeping the rope out of his feet.
I mentioned that there were two parts of the climb that I would never forget. The second happened when we got back to the fixed ropes. All the way down I started realizing that the small crevasses and snow bridges that we had either jumped or walked across now seemed huge in the light. The seemingly small drops weren’t so small… The gradual slope of the mountain wasn’t so gradual. The same thing had happened on Hood, but with Rainier it was magnified. Anyway, we finally hit the fixed ropes again..

I can only describe it like this. Stand up and put your feet together. The ledge was probably a little bit wider than the width of your feet..(we had mountaineering boots on, so its hard to judge.. it may have been twice as wide).. Look down at your left foot, and imagine nothing for 100 or so ft. (Again, its hard to judge, this is the number CP and are are using.. it may have been more, it may have been a little less, but either way the landing wouldn’t have been pretty).. On your right is a 3 foot snow wall with a rope. Using this and your axe you shuffle across the ledge… It was a little surreal… At the end of the rope is a 3 ft jump across the crevasse that you have just climbed past. It was hard to believe that we had done this in the dark…
We arrived back at Paradise at 3:00… 8 ecstatic climbers and their guides. Adrenaline still flowing.. George Dunn was there to greet us and award us certificates. We then took pictures and said our goodbye, the other 6 hikers heading home, CP and I myself getting prepared for MT Adams.
It is unfortunate that I couldn’t have taken more pictures but I would have probably been shot on the spot had I whipped out a camera while we were hiking. What I can say is that while making the summit was awesome, the sights and sounds while on the mountain were absolutely incredible.”

“amazing stuff. thanks for posting this, 32 oz. i hope to do something like this soon and your experience was an inspirational encouragement.”

“Trip Report – MT Adams August 3rd 2009..

After saying good bye to the other 6 MT Rainier Climbers, Crazy Pace and I started planning for our MT Adams summit attempt. I say attempt, because deep down inside I think we both had doubts as to whether or not we would actually be able to pull it off. To add to our uncertainty, when we had asked George Dunn for information about MT Adams, he suggested that we wait until we saw how we felt after we got off of Rainier before we even thought about trying MT Adams. I’m not sure whether we took that as a warning or as a challenge, but regardless, at about 6:00PM on August 1st, we started getting organized for our next climb.

We were going to do the less technical south spur route. This normally includes climbing the first 3000 ft to the Lunch Counter the first day, camping over night, then climbing the remaining 3200ft on day two, descending back to the Lunch Counter, picking up the tent and going back down. That is probably the more common way: being boneheads, we decided to do the whole thing at once. 12+ miles, 6200+ ft in elevation gain. On top of that, once we got down, we would have a 4.5 hour drive to Seattle to pick up High Maintenance at the Seatac airport.

On Aug 2nd we drove down to Trout Lake, approx 20 miles from MT Adams. We went to the Ranger Station, got our permits and grabbed a bite to eat. We then did a dry run drive to the parking lot to see exactly where it was. The 20 miles took 50 minutes as the road to the trail head was pretty rugged.

We checked into a motel and made final gear preparations. Having talked to our IMG guides we decided to go with much the same gear and clothing that we had used to do Rainier. The only thing we didn’t carry was our ice axe. Since we didn’t have sleeping bags etc I was able to get all of my gear into my Granite Gear Latitude Vapor . It was the first time that I got to use it, and it worked great.

The alarm went off at 1:30 and by 3:30 we were at the trail head. We had well marked trail for the first two hours, and the hike was going well. Then at about 5:30 we missed a turn and wound up off trail. After wandering around for 45 minutes I was able to tell where the trail was, if only because there were other hikers now there. I climbed up the face of a skree slope and intercepted the trail. CP had gotten ahead of me, but I caught up when he stopped to change to Mountaineering boots and crampons. I stayed in my hiking shoes a while longer. Looking to the south I could see MT Hood, the mountain that had started this insanity last July. It was pretty cool knowing that once again I would soon be higher than that summit.

We now hit intervals of snow/ice patches and skree zones. Looking around we could see climbers with all different kinds of gear and clothing. Some were as ‘geared up’ as we were. Others were in sneakers and shorts. I’m not sure whose sanity I questioned more. As we got higher t started getting cooler, and while I was glad for the layers of clothing I still questioned the sanity of carrying so much crap.

Finally, we hit the false summit, and what a shock.. 900 more feet of a steep skree slope. The wind had now picked up, and we were both tried as crap.. but we could see the finish line. We took out another layer from our pack, stashed the backs by a boulder and headed for the summit. As we ascended, the wind intensified, and we were happy for the extra layer.

Reaching the top we headed toward the hut, and then over to the high point. As we were there a ‘professional’ photographer was there and he obliged us by taking a few pictures. We were able to see MT Rainier in the distance and we were one again reminded of the excitement of 2 days prior.
At about 1:00(?) we started our decent. At one point we got a little off track and had to scramble to pick up the route again, but thanks to what must have been a 2000ft glissade, we arrived back at the car at 4:15… I let out a yell when we got to the parking lot, happy at what we had accomplished, and a bit relieved that it was all over. We then headed back to Trout Lake to grab a bite to eat, before starting our drive back north to Seattle. Another official Bonehead Trip completed.

While not as technically demanding or ‘dangerous’ as Rainier, this hike was actually more tiring, due to the length and one day elevation gain. I still question the sanity of some the hikers I saw, who were attempting to climb to 12,276 ft with-out rain gear or extra clothing.”

“Awesome write-ups! Sounds like a blast. I wouldn't be surprised if the tennisshoe and short crowd were PCT thru-hikers. I've encountered kids like that on the summit of Shasta.”

“I question the sanity of people who try to sleep at the lunch counter. I'll take the longer hike on a good night's sleep any time.

I dreamed of climbing Rainier & Adams since I was 10 yrs old living in the Yakima valley. Summiting Rainier was a feeling not unlike when my children were born (does that make me really shallow?).

I shoulda gone with you. Thanks for posting the report.”