July 24, 2020 depart Seattle 8:00 AM and meet up with Randy at Paradise Parking Lot. We started the ascent up to camp Muir at 11:30AM. Start on the Skyline Trail which was not super busy today as there was thick cloud coverage and the general Paradise area was still mostly snow covered. After crossing Pebble Creek we remained on snow for the duration of our ascent up Muir. We ascend 4 miles and 4600 feet through snow and thick clouds leisurely over 5.5 hours. Sun warmed rocks warm the soul. **Special Note** White out conditions on the Muir Snowfield happen often, and occur unpredictably. These conditions can be life threatening if you are not prepared to deal with them appropriately. Know your route and have multiple methods of navigation available. I strongly recommend a satellite communicator such as the Garmin In Reach.
Camp Muir gained at 5:00 PM and we set to work making camp and sleeping platforms. It was windy when we arrived so we built a westward facing wind wall that thankfully handled our evening light breeze easily. Here we went through the climbing ranger permit checks and the route update which was encouraging but warned of deteriorating conditions in warming snow. We then melted snow, cooked dinner, ate, and were in bed by 8:30PM.
July 25, 2020 12:00 AM alarm. Clear night blanketed by new moon, stars, and the Milky Way. Mild breeze, temp somewhere around freezing and overall pleasant. 30 minutes late on goal departure due to perhaps overzealous coffee and breakfast making. We are roped up and on route by 1:30AM. Cowlitz Glacier straight out of camp was straightforward and crevasse free. Cathedral Rocks, Ingraham flats, Icefall and the Disappointment Cleaver itself all prove uneventful. We found extra care was necessary to stay on route on the cleaver and to not kick rocks – overall considerably easy to do. Wands placed by guide services really proved to be helpful with route findings especially on the Cleaver itself. By 4:45AM we reach the top of the Cleaver, and put crampons and rope back on.
Upper mountain was well marked and traveled. The guide services did a great job of placing wands and a few pickets here. Pickets came in handy for running belay on steep areas above open crevasses. We found the crevasse fields overall easily navigable with snow bridges remaining firm and only a few spots of true exposure which proved easy to protect as we crossed the upper mountain just after sunrise between 6AM and 8AM.
Summit crater was achieved at 8:15AM. Clear day with steady winds on summit running with 30 mph + gusts. Respite from wind was found at the fumarole near the summit register.
Descending the upper mountain was relatively uneventful as snow remained firm enough up until the cleaver. Started descent at 9:45AM, short roped through the Ingraham icefall at 12:00PM. Just past the icefall a team member uneventfully punched a leg completely through a narrow snow bridge, and we saw a microwave block of ice fall and bounce down across the path behind us. 12:00pm proved warm and unstable for this precarious spot of the mountain, we would have preferred to have passed through this spot earlier.
Descending Cathedral Rocks we ran into significant rock fall that was not human triggered. Descending the rocky scramble at about 10,600’ we heard a rock break free north of us from the steep gully at approximately 10,800 which was the size of a refrigerator, and broke off many other small rocks. Thankfully the rocks sailed past the trail in front of us, but 60 seconds later we would have been directly in the fall line. Once again, we felt we were on this aspect of the mountain a little too late in the day. Descent from there was uneventful. After a snack and a power nap at camp Muir we made it back to paradise and the throngs of chipmunk photographing crowds by 4:00PM.
As with any outdoor adventure, and especially with alpine climbing/ mountaineering safety is the #1 priority. I’ve included some important links to weather forecasts and trip planning resources we used for our climb, as well as our GPS track for the ascent. Always climb with permission/a permit. Always tell someone where you are going. Always have your Ten Essentials. Always leave no trace. Always have a turn around time. Doing all these things will help ensure a safe climb, and that you always have (type II) fun.
Check out this post to read more about my Rainier summit trip!
See following links: GAIA GPS track of our ascent route, Mountaineer’s route description, Mt. Rainier National Park Climbing Information, mountain weather report, Climbing Rangers Blog, GPS track of route to Camp Muir