Mt. Rainier Trip Day #8 & #9 (Thumb Rock, Curtis Camp)

So at 2 in the morning we wake up for some more fun - consistent 50mph winds with 70Mph gusts (verified later by climbing rangers that were on a nearby ridge). Eight hours earlier we watched a large chunk of ice from the bergschrund above, rip down the Willis Wall as shown in the video on Day #7 post. Also, if one looks closely in the video on the Day #7 posting, at about 8 o'clock you may notice that there is another climber who starts taking pictures of the event. We talked with this climber to see if he was going to be climbing with us later or if he was heading out. He told us that he and his partner tried to climb the route the night before and were struck by rocks, breaking his helmet in half and injuring his partner; they were heading home.

Despite all these events described above, we choose to break camp and climb on. We roped up to navigate the Carbon Glacier and I took the lead. After a few hours of wandering through the crevasses like a lab rat on a quest for cheese, we came to this:





It is a snow bridge with at least a 100' drop on each side. On the other side of this six foot long snow bridge is the end of the maze... very tempting. We pounded in a snow picket and when I was assured that I was on belay, I started to walk towards the snow bridge. Just as I started to walk over this snow structure another climber in our party suggested we try to find another way. I didn't need any convincing to go look around for something else, so we started back into the glacier field. We ended up having to climb down into a crevasse and up the other side to eventually get out of the glacier field and in an area without crevasse danger. Unfortunately, this new spot was a prime avalanche path, so we quickly climbed out of this area.

With the ice and rock fall all around us we decided to get on the ridge as early as possible. Instead of climbing straight up the side of the ridge to the high camp, as the climbers yesterday had done, we decided to get on the ridge from the beginning and stay high on the ridge to the high camp. This proved to be a wise decision for avoiding many falling rocks, however, the wind was crazy scary on the ridge.

Here are some pictures of camp #2 Thumb Rock (10,800').







Mt. Rainier Trip Day #9 (Curtis Alpine Camp)

We didn't sleep much at this camp all night long.We could hear rock and ice fall, and the wind never let up. Once again at 2AM we wake up and start the same routine -- cook something to eat quickly, tear down camp, repack everything, and head off into the darkness.







As we climbed higher we eventually came to the bergschrund that we would have to climb up over. This year it was about 45' high and so we roped up again and got our ice screws and other protection ready.













Here is what the view down looked like just before climbing up the ice cliff.





After climbing the ice cap we only had another 1000' to go -- this is when things got a little scary. The ice was really bad ice: when we would kick our front points into the ice or use our ice axes the ice would mostly shatter and break off into plate sized pieces. It was very steep and we knew that we just couldn't fall, there would be no way to self arrest before falling off the ice cliff.







Here I am at the top of Liberty Cap 14,100' and not even halfway done with the climb for the day.



After the Liberty Cap summit we walked over to the Columbia Crest Summit 14,400' and then started down the Emmons Glacier. Here is a spooky crevasse that we had to jump over. We had no idea how deep this was until we had already jumped, but it gave us all butterflies in our stomaches when we were in mid flight over this and saw how deep it was.



And more crevasses. Notice Darren's face as he notices that he is now on a snow bridge and not just regular snow to walk on.



After 17 hours of straight climbing this day ended with a nice safe view of the mountains around us and finally a better nights sleep.

Mt. Rainier Trip Day #7 (Curtis Ridge)

Day #7 starts early in the morning checking out of the hotel and driving to the White River rangers station to check in.

At the rangers station we are asked what previous climbs we have done comparable to the north side route and how many times we have climbed and successfully summited Mt. Rainier. They also asked us to list out our gear including how many ice screws, pickets, radios, ropes, etc. After reviewing our list of gear, previous climbing history and our proposed itinerary for the climb they gave us the permit to climb and list of each camp that we could stay.

After getting the necessary paperwork out of the way and getting on the climbing rangers radar, we start off for the White River campground and trail-head to start the next adventure.

Here I am somewhat well rested and ready for the 8 mile hike and climb to our first campsite on Curtis Ridge.



And a view of all the junk crammed into my 55L pack, I am not a big fan of strapping lots of stuff to the outside of my packs other than axes and crampons.



The hike starts out in the woods and then moves out of the tree line into the snow.









After about 4 miles of hiking we start the climb over Elmo's Pass and look at the Winthrop glacier 3.5 square miles of ice and fun.





Which way to go? So many snow bridges to cross.









Finally we reach the campsite on Curtis Ridge and get a good view of the route we will be taking.



After setting up camp a few minutes later I hear a sound come from the mountain and I catch this avalanche ripping right next to the route that we will be on in 12 hours.

Mt. Rainier Trip Day #6 (Rest Day)

Not much happened today other than trying to get my pack from 55lbs down to 35lbs. We took all of our gear and spread it out on the floor and divvied up the group gear according to weight. In the end my pack weighed in around 47lbs.

This is a bummer because on this particular route we climb up on the north side, and then come down another route on the north-east side. We have to carry our full pack the whole time for over 23 miles round trip. Usually, if one is coming back from the summit the same way that they climbed up, they can setup a base camp and then on summit day only take the things that are needed to summit, leaving the tent and other heavy items behind.

I go to bed one last time in the hotel and nice clean roomy bed with the alarm set for 5AM.

Mt. Rainier Trip Day #5 (Rest Day)

One climb down and one more to go. We climbed the 'Disappointment Cleaver' route and figured that we would rest for two full days before we headed back to climb the north face of Mt. Rainier.

Because the park service only gives out around 100 permits per year to climb the north face it is not uncommon to not see any other climbers en route to the summit. This is due to the very technical nature of this side of the mountain and it is important to be well rested and prepared.

Here is the view of Mt. Rainier from my Tacoma city hotel room.



I was looking forward to a good rest day today, something like a movie and eating a lot of food that wasn't freeze dried. Instead, we ended up going for a short hike to climb a local crag in North Bend.









Although not the rest day I had in mind we did have a lot of fun. Here I am climbing one of many routes that day.







This day ended at 10PM, and I go to bed just as exhausted as the day before. We all agree that tomorrow we will sleep in until 12PM.

Mt. Rainier Trip Day #4

Early in the morning I woke up and found the following view, it was awesome. I sat here and watched it for over 30 minutes before I was interrupted by others.





After a somewhat decent nights sleep we decided to head down to the Paradise parking lot.



Almost there, a little more to go.



One last view of the mountain before heading to Tacoma for a few rest days and a hot shower.