| Report Type | Full |
| Peak(s) |
Mount Rainier - 14410 |
| Date Posted | 07/28/2008 |
| Modified | 01/07/2009 |
| Date Climbed | 07/15/2008 |
| Author | skier25 |
| Mt. Rainier via the Emmons Glacier |
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Peak: Mount Rainier - 14,410 feet Route: Emmons Glacier Standard Maps & Info: http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/150291/mount-rainier.html At this point in my life, most of the climbing I have done has been limited strictly to the mountains of Colorado. Until a few weeks ago, I had never seen a real glacier before up close, or a real volcano on an intimate level (besides the big one in Yellowstone). Pictures are tiny windows to the world, and it's hard sometimes to grasp the full scale of nature's scenery from them. The sight of the Maroon Bells towering over Maroon Lake, that of Longs Peak from the plains, and the endless majesty of the San Juan range (to cite just a few examples) are common in the sense that they all contribute to the profound beauty that makes Colorado a forfeiture of description. However, there is no mountain in Colorado that can match the awesome size of Mt. Rainier. I looked out the plane window and nearly choked on my complimentary pretzels!  This mountain is HUGE! What the hell have I gotten myself into!?! Luckily, I had a few days before any actual climbing to let my amazement wear off (it never did).  Can you say gaper? I was looking up so much, that my neck began to hurt after the first day.  On this climb, because it was my first experience with glaciers up close, I chose to go with a guided group from Rainier Mountaineering. I chose to ascend the Emmons Glacier Route because I knew that this time of year, the Muir Route sees far too many climbers. I also wanted full on glacier exposure with huge, gaping crevasses. The Emmons is the largest glacier in the 'lower 48,' so it fit the bill. At the White River Trailhead the weather was perfect, but high above, Rainier was wearing its signature cloud cap.  Everything seemed perfect until I saw my 65 pound pack:  The trail was in good condition - only a few avalanches had covered the trail with snapped trees that were impossible to navigate. We made it to snowline, and we camped on the Inter Glacier.  Next day, we continued up the small headwall that leads over and around Steamboat Prow. This was an incredibly windy section of snow climbing, and the big packs acted like a sail. It was easy to be thrown off balance, and there were a few scary moments.  Once we got over and on the other side of the prow, this put us directly on the Emmons Glacier. I was captivated by splendor of the mountain as we roped up, crossed the glacier, and arrived at Camp Schurman.    The camp was an excellent facility complete with dirt tent sites, wind barriers, and an outhouse.   Later in the day, five big avalanches of rock and ice had roared down the Russel Cliffs all within about four hours of one another. It was a good reminder that we were on an active volcano.  For our alpine start, we planed on waking up at 1:30 am; when I saw my watch in my sleeping bag at 7:30 am I thought I had missed the boat! I ran out of the tent partially undressed in a panic to see if I had been left behind! Everything was fine, however. The guides had changed their minds in the middle of the night and were now planning on a sunset climb. We departed Camp Schurman and headed up the Emmons Glacier at 2:30 in the afternoon. I'm usually off the mountain by 2:30, so it proved to be a new experience altogether for me. On the upper mountain, the number of pictures I could take was limited. Everyone was roped up and there was to be no stopping except for the breaks within safety zones.   Success on Columbia Crest!!!  The sun was beginning to set, and it was cold! We had reached the top right as the cap cloud was beginning to form again, so the summit picture is cloudy. Prior to this picture, we had a perfect view in all directions for maybe four minutes. After the summit we moved down to a sheltered place where the register is kept. Here we changed into our down parkas, as the sun was already touching the edge of the horizon. As we made our way back up and over the summit (following our tracks) amazing orange alpenglow illuminated the mountain! Every direction I looked was fiery orange! Up, down, everywhere! It was quite the surreal experience, but by this time, the cloud had fully reformed and ice was beginning to collect on every exposed surface. I could feel the ice on my parka 'shatter' each time I moved my arms. I dared not to expose my hands for a picture. We made our way down and out of the cloud to the lee side of the mountain. We were now out of the storm, and there was hardly any wind.  We took off our parkas and kept going. You could see the city of Enumclaw off in the distance. I look a little frosty!   When we got back into camp at 11:30 that night, it was just nice to go to bed. The next morning we hiked back down the Emmons Glacier, up and over Steamboat Prow, and back on to the Inter Glacier. We had a great glissade down the Inter Glacier, all the way to the edge of the snow. Then we continued back to the van, and it was good to let my feet rest. Overall, I had a phenomenal experience and I highly recommend this route to anyone who wants to climb Rainier.  Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow): 
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