Ok, so it's been two weeks ... and I need to get to the end of this blog series (my first series, btw!).
So, when I last left you, I was sleeping at Camp Muir ... half way up to the summit of Mt. Rainier. I'm "sleeping" in a large plywood box with 17 other tired, stinky, climbers. The Hut smells like the worst locker room you can imagine ... and there are several snorers, and one guys who is constantly passing gas (loudly). Needless to say, I basically laid there all night trying desperately to get some sleep; excited for our summit day.
Finally, at around midnight the small solar powered light in the hut was turned on. I thought it was funny that all 18 of us immediately popped our heads up in unison. I was glad to know I wasn't the only one too excited, nervous, and disgusted to get any sleep. We woke excitedly, hydrated a quick meal, and then met outside to rope-up with our rope leads and head out. There was a new moon, it was quite dark, but clear ... the stars were out in force. This is a good sign, as it had looked like we were getting some weather when I climbed into bed 4-5 hours earlier.
We headed out of Camp Muir at about 1AM and started across the Cowlitz Glacier. I started out as our rope "anchor," meaning that I was at the tail end of our rope team (Matt, Jennifer P., and myself). We moved quickly across the glacier, crossing a portion of the climb often referred to as the bowling alley. The name refering to a boulder riddled glacier ... you really don't want to linger around this portion of the climb because rocks drop across the trail with some frequency. From the anchor position, my job at this point is just to manage the rope slack. Keep in mind that we have headlamps on, so basically I am concentrating on the 4-5 feet of rope that I can see within range of my headlamp. When climbing on the rope, we work in unison, step-rest-step-rest ... so I am watching the rope in front of me ... waiting for movement, and stepping as I see the rope move (which runs out into the darkness) attached to the unseen climbers ahead. The only other thing about this portion of the climb is that, in my peripheral vision, I noticed large dark cracks (crevasses) barely disernable from my headlamp light. I would recognize some of the large cracks later in the day during the descent.
We crossed the Cowlitz glacier, climbed up a short rock area called Cathedral Gap and then onto the the Ingraham Glacier. The image below shows our route above Camp Muir in detail:
After about an hour and a half of climbing we took a break in the Ingraham Flats. Several climbers from two of the ropes decided to call this their summit. 11,200 ft. is quite an accomplishment, roughly the elevation of Mt. Hood in Oregon. I switched over to Kate's team, climbing with Scott and Angelsea. Unfortunately, it was still very dark at this point ... so there aren't any pictures.
We headed out of "the Flats" and started the most difficult stretch of the climb; up the Disappointment Cleaver and onto the Emmons Glacier. Much of the Cleaver is exposed in late July, so this was tough. Climbing in the dark, on sand and scree, in plastic boots and crampons, just isn't fun. It tends to be a two-steps forward, one step sliding back, effort. For me, I was feeling really good throughout the climb to this point ... which made for a very enjoyable experience. An hour-and-a-half later we crossed above the Cleaver and broke out onto the huge Emmons Glacier. A great 15 minute rest, some Gu for energy, and I was feeling great. The only difficult part at this point was the cold. The next hour or so was bitterly cold. We were now more than 12,300 ft. up (Mt. Adams summit elev.), it was still dark, there was a wind, and I was praying for sunlight and a temperature increase.
Finally, at around 4:30AM there was a hint of a sunrise. The sunset was amazing rising over Yakima to the east. The best part of the sunset was the way that the low sunlight illuminated the glacier. This portion of the Emmons glacier really is a mess. There are huge crevasses and seracs (ice walls caused by glacier movements) all over the place. It really is like visiting another planet, especially as the sun hits these features and the deap, dark irridescent blue colors of the ice are illuminated. Really cool!
Kate (rope guide) with Derrick just behind her on the Emmons Glacier Glacier features looking toward summit from top of "Cleaver" One of the most memorable portions of the climb occured just a few minutes after sunrise. We came around a corner and came upon a couple of very large crevasses. The first, which we had to jump was 3-4 feet wide (they get a little bigger everytime I tell the story). It was enough that you had to take a running jump to clear them. Now these crevasses can be more than a hundred feet deep, so this was pretty exciting. Luckily, we are roped together and so there is help available in case of a fall. We then had to cross a 6 foot aluminum ladder bridge across a very large crevasse. I was competely stoked ... a few minutes later we stopped at High Break ... and I realized the my excitement for that part of the climb wasn't shared by my rope teammates, both of whom hadn't been on a glacier before. The best part for me, at 13,400 ft. I really fealt great. The conditioning had really paid off, and the pace and energy saving strategies taught by the guides were really working well. With only another 1,000 feet to go ... I knew we'd make it, and that it would be an enjoyable experience.
Another 15 minutes at High Break, and we headed off to bad the peak. Kate, our rope guide, was really amazing. The route from High Break to the summit was somewhat congested. On top of that, Scott from our rope team was starting to really struggle. I've been there before, and it isn't fun. Kate kept pushing; "breathe guys, breathe!" I was in the back, feeling like I could climb another 5,000 feet, and smiling. Keep in mind, this isn't a brag, I've just had that other experience ... sick, dizzy, nauceous, etc. Not today, I fealt great, which really changed the experience. I think I was really annoying Angelsea; "700 more feet! You can do it!" "600 more ...' Finally, we climbed over the ridge of the crater and into the massive crater floor. I didn't realize how huge the crate on Rainier was. Our team collapsed onto their packs and started the hour long peak break we'd been promised.
Unfortunately, the actual summit of Rainier is another 300 feet higher, at the opposite end of the summit crater. Even though you get credit for summitting when you reach the crater, I decided to head out to the true summit to sign the summit log. Kate (our rope guide) and I headed out across the crater together. Its amazing that something so minor is really a lot of work at 14,400 feet. We crossed the crater and climbed up the final 300 feet to the summit. I took some pictures, and we headed over to the log book!
Success!
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