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Last week some friends and I had the opportunity to experience two polar opposite sides of massive Mt. Rainier. Not, as it turned out, by our intended plan of climbing up one side and descending the other, but in two separate climbs, punctuated by soft motel beds and liberal doses of Ibuprofen. We were blessed by 5 days of good weather, the first such string in a long time in the Cascades this year.
On June 12 – 14 John (NY), Henry (Chicago) and I (Albany, NY) set out to climb Ptarmigan Ridge and descend the Disappointment Cleaver route. We knew beforehand that high snow levels on the lower mountain would present a huge obstacle to our “up and over” plan. But we had already bought our plane tickets. And what else were we going to do with six days of vacation? Visit the Seattle Space Needle? When the forecast called for three good weather days, we decided to take our shot. After spotting a car on the south side of the mountain at Paradise, we drove 100+ miles to Mowich Lake Rd. on the northwest side. Driving as far as a rented Jeep would take us on the snow covered dirt road, we shouldered our packs just below Paul Peak trailhead and began the 4 ½ mile road hike to Mowich Lake.
Travel on snowshoes (yikes! – 12 pounds worth) was reasonable to Mowich Lake (elev. 4900 ft), which we found buried under 10 feet of snow. In normal years, Mowich Lake, with its stunning view of the upper mountain, is open to visitors by July 4th. This year it may not open until August.
The next 3 or 4 miles felt just like home in the Adirondacks - that is if your idea of “home” is writhing around in waist deep, wet snow, and periodically falling into deep tree wells. We could find no sign of trail markers, which undoubtedly stood unperceived beneath our feet. We crawled slowly by compass and map through cliffy terrain, finally camping at 5200 feet just below Spray Park.
The next morning better snow conditions made for reasonable progress in the beautiful alpine zone. We ascended a few thousand feet in the bright sunshine, and roped-up before heading out on the trackless and crevasse-free Russell Glacier. The heat of the day softened the snow, and we slowed, breaking trail up the glacier and lower Ptarmigan Ridge. After 11 hours of scenic but exhausting toil, we dug a bivy platform on the ridge at 10,200 ft.
The steep route up to Liberty Cap (a sub-summit) looked to be in perfect condition. But, unfortunately, we were not. When the alarm watch sounded at 2 a.m., we were too exhausted to commit to a one-day push up and over the summit, and then down to Camp Muir. We reluctantly followed our tracks down the mountain the next day, re-fighting every inch of the bushwhack "war of the tree wells" before reaching Mowich Lake. At one point, John surprised a big black bear snoozing in a tree well. He ran down the road and up an embankment. (The bear, not John.)
We found a late-night motel in Enumclaw (pronounced E –numb –claw) and crashed hard. The following morning (Sun.), we each consumed 1,200+ delicious calories at the Kettle Inn, while discussing what to do with our next three days. Visiting the Seattle Space Needle was now under serious consideration. But our first order of business involved driving back to Paradise and (sheepishly) retrieving the car we had spotted there Wednesday night.
After returning to Paradise, we were thrilled to learn the forecast had improved and good weather would continue through Monday and into Tuesday. While Henry opted to fly home early, John and I flew into action and planned a “consolation” climb of the Disappointment Cleaver route, which neither of us had ever done.
We hiked up to Camp Muir early Monday morning in bright sunshine and dug out a tent platform at the historic campground. Just as the tent was erected, a NPS ranger in a flight suit told us to move so our tent would not be destroyed by the “chopper wash.” Apparently, a series of helicopter flights was scheduled that afternoon to ferry supplies up to the 10,000 ft. camp. This was a different world from Ptarmigan Ridge.
We napped as best we could and started preparing in earnest for the climb at about 10 p.m. It was clear, very cold and windy when we departed Camp Muir at midnight. We were first on the route but soon saw a beautiful string of headlamps stretched across the Cowlitz Glacier as we climbed above Cathedral Gap. We kept our position in front by passing a guided group camped at Ingraham Flats. The guide was peeved. Being first in line is important because there are few safe places to pass on the narrow cleaver and it is too cold to stand around waiting for slower groups. The guide apparently saw the gray hairs of my moustache and reasonably thought, “Yea, right, grandpa!” But we were sure we could move faster and charged ahead, assuring him we would step aside if necessary.
We motored up the cleaver. It was too cold to take rest stops. At the top of the cleaver (12,250) wind gusts were forcing us to keep our heads down and lean into our axes to maintain balance. Higher up on the glacier a ground blizzard brought us to a halt at about 13K. I got into a bivy sack and John hunkered down in his parka to wait about 20 minutes for sunrise and better visibility. The guided group passed us and we briefly debated whether to head up or down. The wind was really howling and we decided to descend, a choice soon followed by the guided group. Back at Muir at 7:30 a.m., we napped for 2 hours and then headed down to Paradise in a white-out on the Muir snowfield.
I’ve been to the summit before and so was not disappointed. Neither was John. This was his first time on Rainier and he certainly got a full big mountain experience. Rainier is an amazing place. Right now my legs are still sore. Yet, I already want to go back.
A few photos:
Mowich Lake trailhead (John on left, Henry on right)
Above the trees in Spray Park
Roping up on the Russell Glacier
The climbing route (rising ascent from right)
Our bivy spot on Ptarmigan Ridge
Chopper at Camp Muir
Mt. Adams sunset
Climbers on Ingraham Glacier
Little Tahoma
Muir Snowfield
On June 12 – 14 John (NY), Henry (Chicago) and I (Albany, NY) set out to climb Ptarmigan Ridge and descend the Disappointment Cleaver route. We knew beforehand that high snow levels on the lower mountain would present a huge obstacle to our “up and over” plan. But we had already bought our plane tickets. And what else were we going to do with six days of vacation? Visit the Seattle Space Needle? When the forecast called for three good weather days, we decided to take our shot. After spotting a car on the south side of the mountain at Paradise, we drove 100+ miles to Mowich Lake Rd. on the northwest side. Driving as far as a rented Jeep would take us on the snow covered dirt road, we shouldered our packs just below Paul Peak trailhead and began the 4 ½ mile road hike to Mowich Lake.
Travel on snowshoes (yikes! – 12 pounds worth) was reasonable to Mowich Lake (elev. 4900 ft), which we found buried under 10 feet of snow. In normal years, Mowich Lake, with its stunning view of the upper mountain, is open to visitors by July 4th. This year it may not open until August.
The next 3 or 4 miles felt just like home in the Adirondacks - that is if your idea of “home” is writhing around in waist deep, wet snow, and periodically falling into deep tree wells. We could find no sign of trail markers, which undoubtedly stood unperceived beneath our feet. We crawled slowly by compass and map through cliffy terrain, finally camping at 5200 feet just below Spray Park.
The next morning better snow conditions made for reasonable progress in the beautiful alpine zone. We ascended a few thousand feet in the bright sunshine, and roped-up before heading out on the trackless and crevasse-free Russell Glacier. The heat of the day softened the snow, and we slowed, breaking trail up the glacier and lower Ptarmigan Ridge. After 11 hours of scenic but exhausting toil, we dug a bivy platform on the ridge at 10,200 ft.
The steep route up to Liberty Cap (a sub-summit) looked to be in perfect condition. But, unfortunately, we were not. When the alarm watch sounded at 2 a.m., we were too exhausted to commit to a one-day push up and over the summit, and then down to Camp Muir. We reluctantly followed our tracks down the mountain the next day, re-fighting every inch of the bushwhack "war of the tree wells" before reaching Mowich Lake. At one point, John surprised a big black bear snoozing in a tree well. He ran down the road and up an embankment. (The bear, not John.)
We found a late-night motel in Enumclaw (pronounced E –numb –claw) and crashed hard. The following morning (Sun.), we each consumed 1,200+ delicious calories at the Kettle Inn, while discussing what to do with our next three days. Visiting the Seattle Space Needle was now under serious consideration. But our first order of business involved driving back to Paradise and (sheepishly) retrieving the car we had spotted there Wednesday night.
After returning to Paradise, we were thrilled to learn the forecast had improved and good weather would continue through Monday and into Tuesday. While Henry opted to fly home early, John and I flew into action and planned a “consolation” climb of the Disappointment Cleaver route, which neither of us had ever done.
We hiked up to Camp Muir early Monday morning in bright sunshine and dug out a tent platform at the historic campground. Just as the tent was erected, a NPS ranger in a flight suit told us to move so our tent would not be destroyed by the “chopper wash.” Apparently, a series of helicopter flights was scheduled that afternoon to ferry supplies up to the 10,000 ft. camp. This was a different world from Ptarmigan Ridge.
We napped as best we could and started preparing in earnest for the climb at about 10 p.m. It was clear, very cold and windy when we departed Camp Muir at midnight. We were first on the route but soon saw a beautiful string of headlamps stretched across the Cowlitz Glacier as we climbed above Cathedral Gap. We kept our position in front by passing a guided group camped at Ingraham Flats. The guide was peeved. Being first in line is important because there are few safe places to pass on the narrow cleaver and it is too cold to stand around waiting for slower groups. The guide apparently saw the gray hairs of my moustache and reasonably thought, “Yea, right, grandpa!” But we were sure we could move faster and charged ahead, assuring him we would step aside if necessary.
We motored up the cleaver. It was too cold to take rest stops. At the top of the cleaver (12,250) wind gusts were forcing us to keep our heads down and lean into our axes to maintain balance. Higher up on the glacier a ground blizzard brought us to a halt at about 13K. I got into a bivy sack and John hunkered down in his parka to wait about 20 minutes for sunrise and better visibility. The guided group passed us and we briefly debated whether to head up or down. The wind was really howling and we decided to descend, a choice soon followed by the guided group. Back at Muir at 7:30 a.m., we napped for 2 hours and then headed down to Paradise in a white-out on the Muir snowfield.
I’ve been to the summit before and so was not disappointed. Neither was John. This was his first time on Rainier and he certainly got a full big mountain experience. Rainier is an amazing place. Right now my legs are still sore. Yet, I already want to go back.
A few photos:
Mowich Lake trailhead (John on left, Henry on right)
Above the trees in Spray Park
Roping up on the Russell Glacier
The climbing route (rising ascent from right)
Our bivy spot on Ptarmigan Ridge
Chopper at Camp Muir
Mt. Adams sunset
Climbers on Ingraham Glacier
Little Tahoma
Muir Snowfield
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