Mt Rainier (with photos)

[bpr]

You know, carrying a 50lb pack isn't easy. But that pack went 10,000' up (leaving bits of weight behind). Just missed out on the final thousand.

Comments

[klari]

beautiful!

[jmcphers]

Wow, that's a pretty insane climb. Respect!

[cdinwood]

Why climb after dusk? (I am completely clueless here)

[dr4b]

My question was more like "what weighed 50 pounds?"

How many people did you go with?

[bpr]

Crampons, ice axe, climbing harness + webbing, carabiners, snow picket.

Tent, sleeping bag, stove, fuel for stove, cooking pot, food for 3+ days, 4 liters of water.

Changes of clothes, enough layers to stay warm at night with a negative wind chill.

Our climbing group numbered 7 people. One rope team of 4 and one rope team of 3.

[bpr]

During the day, the sun is slowly melting the surface of the glacier. Mushy ice is very hard to climb. Furthermore, we have to cross many snow bridges over the deep crevases. During the day, these are weakened as they turn to mushy ice.

Climbing up at night when it is cold makes the glacier hard, so the crampons hold well. We try to summit early morning, then return down before everything melts out.

[lhynard]

bummer about the wind

great photos and description

Are you going to try again sometime? Or did you have your fill?

[bpr]

We will probably try next year, but that's 9+ months from now. So we'll see....