Mt Rainier 2011

[zoriloco]

Thinking in joining the good people of RMI (from what i have heard) in a 4 day climb up Mt Rainier this upcoming year. But my questions is what would be the best month for me and my wife to go and why do you think its the best month to go?

Thanks!

[climbing_rob]

Been there 3 out of the last 4 years, summitted via. the Emmons route. Always the first weekend in July, always excellent weather. Others I know have gone in mid June with lousy weather and have failed.

So my point: Early July seems to have significantly better weather than mid June, at least with my limited experience, and the snow still seems to be in great shape. I wouldn't go late July or later because of deteriorating snow conditions.

[Dave B]

While I have not climbed Rainier I used to live in the PNW and I can concur with Robs statement above.

It seems like every year, without fail the weather is 100% unpredictable until July 4th. After that it's all sunshine!

[martynda]

I was there in early June (2nd weekend) this year and we had perfect weather. Something to keep in mind is that snow bridges melt out and more crevasses open up later in the season, which may complicate route finding. Although if you're going guided, I don't think this is something you need to be concerned with.

Another non-insignificant factor is that I've heard the toilets at the high camps get progressively nastier as the season goes on.

[mt_turtle]

I would sign up fast. I signed up for July 18th and there was only one spot left. Most of July and early August are gone.

[Neil]

I agree, in part, with Climbing Rob. I summited via Emmons this year on August 12 and the weather was nothing short of perfect (at least by Rainier's standards). Sure there was a breeze on summit day, but the skies were blue the entire trip and the freezing level drifted well above 14,000 ft for a few days. However, I have a different opinion about the snow conditions. I'd say they are different in August, but not necessarily worse -- depends on what you're looking for or trying to avoid. As noted, we climbed Emmons on Aug 12 and the snow still set up very well for cramponing in the early morning hours. We were back at Camp Schurman by 11:30 and the snow was still manageable -- actually the soft snow made the descent rather nice. I think the biggest difference that late in the season was more open crevasses. Most of the snow bridges are either unstable or melted out by August. However, I enjoyed that part of the trip -- you just have to be prepared for more navigational challenges around crevasses and perhaps a few tricky moves around (or over!) the openings. If you are comfortable with these challanges, I think early-mid August is still a nice time to climb, at least the Emmons route.

[CO Native]

I've only done it once in August and had great weather and great snow on the way up, but crevasses were a big hazard on the way down as they were opening up all over the place. Trip report here.

We talked to Craig Van Hoy on the route though (he's done Rainier over 300 times) and he said the same thing that's been said in this thread already. 4th of July is like opening day for the good weather on Rainier.

[zoriloco]

Thanks a ton guys. We'll start looking into it right away then. Im pretty excited about it

BTW what a great trip report. Thanks for sharing.

[Pale Rider]

Climbed in 2 years ago with Alpine Ascents in early Aug. No one had summited 5 days prior to our summit bid. It rained and was about 42 degrees all the way from Paradise to Camp Muir. Took the first step up to Camp Muir and we cleared the cloud level to bright sun. Ended up climbing to the summit the next day. Leaving high camp at around 1pm. Summited around 6:00 pm.

Yes had to cross numerous crevasses on the way up.

[EatinHardtack]

I summited Rainier on July 2. Weather was perfect with bluebird skies my entire trip. I went with RMI also, great group of guides on my trip. Have fun!

[ascent+descent=fun]

I have climbed rainier way too many times to be proud of. My opinions: May has a very direct route but weather could be sour and avalanche conditions are a concern. June: see may, but weather slowly improves and route generally stays direct (literally, on the ingraham direct rather than the DC). july can still be quite direct and weather generally improves, but this is peak season and im sure trips are sold out. august can get a bit nasty and you might see ladders, a longer route but generally nice weather. september is kinda rough.
If you are feeling spunky go with the kautz route, much more fun. the emmons in kinda long but less crowded. liberty ridge is superb, but much more involved.

[skiingyeti]

I agree with others... 4th of July is the first day of good weather in the Northwest... the best weekend statistically is the last weekend of July. It is nice through September typically, but the later you go, the more the crevasses open up. I've done the Disappointment Cleaver route in September and I'll never do that again. Also did the Emmons route on July 10. That was perfect in my mind. Good weather and very few crevasses. I'm planning on doing the Emmons route again this summer in late July.

Good Luck!