The Story of Rainier

It's true, we returned to Rainier for more torture. This time it was Dad, Brandy, John, and I, and as John so brilliantly phrased it 'I'm just going to prepare for pain'. Irregardless, however, it was an awesome trip. I actually had more fun on this trip than the last one and I didn't even summit this time. And given that I described the last trip to Rainier as the coolest thing I'd ever done, I am confident that this trumped it. So let's get to the story, shall we...

ETA: 2 days
We all (and by all I mean Dad, Mom, Nikole, Brandy, John, Sandor and I) flew into Seattle Saturday morning. After we collected our 15 or so bags, we rented the cars and drove up to the base of Rainier to spend 2 days at this cool little cabin my mom found. This was a REAL log cabin - you could see the moss between the logs where the plaster had broken away. We had marshmallows over the fire, hung out in the hot tub by the stream, and prepped ourselves for the climb. It was an excellent way to start the trip, we needed a little time to get ourselves organized and it was nice to relax before the hike up to base camp.

waiting for the airport elevator with all our bags

our cabin

trying out the crampons to make sure they fit our boots...don't those boots look comfy! (ha!)

This is my bag once it was finally packed. The guides told us they would figure all the gear we needed to take, plus food for five days probably weighed around 60 pounds. It was SWEET!

DAY 1: Hiking up to base camp

We all met at Whitaker's Bunkhouse (where Dad, Brandy Matt and I stayed last time) and met our guides, checked out gear...were told we looked like walking yard sales...all the normal stuff :) The last time we headed up to base camp we wore t-shirts and were still warm for most of the way, so we dressed in t-shirts and a fleece top thinking that we would be fine. Man, were we in for a surprise. Apparently, there is a big difference between June and July regarding snow cover. When we arrived at Paradise (where the road ends) there were no wildflowers like last time, instead we were greeted with snow and fog. We were pretty much walking up through the clouds for the better portion of the day. With 60 pound packs on our backs and a 5 hour hike in front of us, this isn't exactly what we were looking forward to, but we rolled with the punches.

heading up the mountain

one of our breaks where Brandy and I ended up having to change from t-shirts into long underwear tops because the cotton was holding in all our sweat - yes this meant we stripped down in the middle of a snowstorm on the side of a mountain with a dozen people sitting around... some things just have to be done

Camp Muir was a welcome sight - especially since it was pretty much the first thing we had seen other than more snow in front of us since we left Paradise!

We finally reached base camp (otherwise known as Camp Muir). Which is set at about 10,500 ft. It isn't the most luxurious of locations to be sure. But it was somewhere to be out of the wind, and we could finally get our packs off our backs! So, how does one describe Camp Muir? Well I think Brandy said it best 'Now I know what it's like to be homeless'. The thing that there is not a lot of is space. Which means you leave your backpacks outside...which means you have to bring all your stuff that resided in your backpacks inside and find a place in your space lacking area to keep it all. And then when you need said stuff in your backpack you need to find where it is again. So more or less, we lived out of the trashbags that had been in our sleeping bag cases to keep the sleeping bags dry. Every time you needed your toothbrush, or food, or a piece of clothing, or your sunglasses, or your lip balm...you had to root around in your trashbag until you found it.

The other thing there is not a lot of is water. Well technically, there is plenty of it - it's the snow all around you. But the process to melt that snow into water is rather time and propane intensive which makes it hard to come by. So, you were not allowed to waste it EVER! Which meant, brushing teeth involved a tiny bit of water in a cup, washing your face involved wet wipes, not water - and that was if you bothered - at one point you realized you were so dirty it didn't matter anymore. We got hot water every meal time to rehydrate the dehydrated food - mmm, delicious. And we were supposed to drink 3 nalgene bottles of water each day. And remember all this stuff was kept in your tiny area of the world in the bunks, because anything left outside would freeze (literally).

Home Sweet Home!

Pretty sweet, don't you think! About 2 days in my dad found 2 nails on the ground outside and borrowed a hammer from the guides so that at least some of our stuff could be hung up.

Ah, the insanity.

But, regardless of living conditions, you sure can't beat the view in the morning!

This is the view out the door of the cabin. The buildings you can see are the park service buildings. The park rangers hike up the Camp Muir every few days - how's that for a commute to work!

This is the view standing right outside the cabin. Mt. Adams is in the picture, but we could also see Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood

Day 2: Training day
On our first full day on the mountain we practiced how to keep ourselves from sliding down the mountain out of control...always a comforting thing to know how to do. We also practiced pressure breathing and the rest step - both which are necessary once you start hitting higher altitude. And we practiced walking around on a line without tripping ourselves or other people. While we walked around on the rope the guide would randomly tell someone to fall, which would then initiate the team arrest which was supposed to keep the person who is tied to you from pulling you both down the mountain out of control.

Sitting on the side of the mountain during training

Brandy ready to head out

Throughout the day we saw the supply helicopter making trips up to bring more propane, and down to take the outhouse trash...if you know what I mean. Actual trash gets carried down with you, not flown out, so the trashbag with food had to share space with the trash. As I said, we lived in extremely sanitary conditions...right. It was pretty cool watching the helicopter drop things off and pick them up, though. Pretty impressive.

Day 3: Training day again...but a bit more technical this time

The night before we learned how to tie knots and practiced on the rope we brought up with us. Little did we know that the next day we would be hanging into crevasses on these knots! I'm glad dad printed out directions and we practiced tying them before we got up to the mountain...and I'm glad I was hanging on knots tied by people I knew :) But I'm getting ahead of myself...

Our second training day took place on the glacier. We headed out that morning with our lunches and packs with extra clothes in case we got cold - namely our parka, which was my favorite piece of clothing on that mountain. The very strange thing about mountain climbing is that you get quite hot when you are walking, but when you stop your body temperature drops almost immediately so then you get really cold. Which is why you are not supposed to wear cotton because it keeps the sweat from when you were hot and doesn't dry like the new materials do. So when you stop for a break the first thing you do is put your parka on. It doesn't matter if you are hot, the parka goes on because you are going to be cold very shortly. Then you sit down and during your 15 minute break you need to eat, drink half a nalgene, do any clothes changing you need and put on more sunscreen (we put sunscreen on every hour and I still have raccoon eyes - oh and since you are dealing with reflected sun you don't just put sunscreen on like normal, you have to put it behind your ears, under your chin, and yes, in your nose holes). Oh and if you are so unlucky as to need to go to the bathroom you need to do that during the 15 minutes also, and you can't be untied from your group to do so.

Thankfully our training day was a bit more laid back than normal because we were sitting for longer periods of time working on skills. So, while Brandy and I did have to go to the bathroom on a glacier, we didn't have to be tied to anyone while we did it...which was nice :)

Brandy and I getting ready for the day

There were two things we would be practicing on our second training day (in addition to always practicing what we had learned the day before...i.e. not sliding down the glacier) - ice climbing and crevasse rescue. We headed down the glacier in search of a spot to train. The guides had specific things they were looking for, while we were just wandering around following them. After about 30 minutes or so of wandering we found the two spots we'd use and the team split up between them. Brandy, John, Dad and I were all in one group and started off ice climbing.

On the way down the Cowlitz glacier

Dad and the rest of the teams above us as we are looking for a 'good' place to do crevasse rescue

Me in all my mountain climbing glory

You see those tiny dots in the middle of the screen that seem to be standing on the most scary portion of the glacier? That is Brandy and John walking up to where we did ice climbing.

The team behind us coming up to the ice climbing spot

So...ice climbing. Wow, is all I'm going to say about that! I can't believe I actually did it. It's always been one of those things that I never thought I would do because, well, it's insane. But then again, I was climbing a mountain, so the measure of insanity was a bit skewed :) It is as hard as it looks and as scary. But it sure is awesome to do!

Brandy, Dad and I eating lunch while the guides set up the ropes

me climbing

me reaching the top

Brandy at the top

Dad at the top - he made it look way too easy by the way

Dad ice climbing and John practicing how to climb up steeper slopes

John in front of the enormous ice cycles we ate lunch under. He as you may be able to tell is enjoying a bag of trail mix, which we had so much of we were using it as bartering chips

Next up was crevasse rescue. We headed back down the glacier to where the guides had set up the spot. The way they ran the rescue was by having one person belay the 'fallen climber' into the crevasse. The climber was also attached to a line that went up to their 'team'. When the climber was safely in the crevasse (yes I realize the irony of that statement) the team went into the team rescue position (which involves your head in the snow, your ice ax in the snow, and both your feet in the snow). The person belaying then released the weight of the fallen climber on the team in rescue position and the rescue began.

guides setting up the spot

rescue area as seen from the ice climbing area

the two people on the right are belayed the climbers into the crevasse, the people on the left are practicing the rescue

as the 'fallen climber' this is what you see below you

and beside you (the other team's fallen climber)

and above you...your connection to the world

me taking a picture of myself in the crevasse


Dad's picture of the top of the crevasse...we had a few setbacks pulling him out and he got stalled right at the top before we finally got him up all the way. He also went down before he went up - I was the last person on the team down in the snow and my feet slipped when the weight was transferred to me...sending dad further into the crevasse until my feet caught. When they did catch all the weight was on one leg and when it was time for me to get up, the guide ended up having to come push me over because I was stuck so hard in the ground...it was worth it to keep my dad from falling into a crevasse :)

Day 4: Summit Day
Summit day starts out in what the guides call an 'alpine start'. In layman terms that means really early in the morning. We did get a little bit of a break, however. Last time we got up at midnight, this time we got to sleep in until 3:30. So at 3:30am we were putting on our avalanche beacons, helmets, head lamps, harnesses, and crampons. When we first woke up I went outside and forgot I needed a headlamp to see, but I'm glad I did! The sky was incredible. There were more stars than I have ever seen. Every time you looked at two stars you saw more stars between them. It was beautiful!

getting roped in for an alpine start

The first leg of the trip is going out across the Cowlitz glacier and over the rocks to get onto the Ingram glacier. This part is relatively flat and with the sun starting to rise (yes the sun rose that early up there) you could see out over the sea of clouds below you. Going over the rocks is by far the most difficult of this section. Walking in crampons on snow is bad enough, but in rocks, they are just annoying. Plus half the time the rocks are sliding on the mud below them, your ankles are twisting around...all in all, not great fun. BUT, as we topped the rock area and looked down on the Ingram glacier, the sun was just coming up. It was an awesome sunrise!

After a short break on Ingram glacier we headed up Disappointment Cleaver. This section is what Brandy and I remembered from last year to be the hardest part of the climb. It was a bit different this time because we could actually see what we were climbing. This portion is really steep and has sections of rock mixed in with sections of snow. Being that we were earlier in the season this year, there was much more snow than last time...which was good!

Bottom part of Disappointment Cleaver. The ropes are used as a backup in case someone slips

Looking back on Ingram glacier. We came across where there is the least rock showing.

Coming up the Cleaver

At the top of Disappointment Cleaver I decided to head back down. I had hurt my groin the day before, and while I can deal with the pain my knee was giving me because I've had knee problems before, I had never hurt my groin and it was not enjoyable. Towards the end of the cleaver I was pushing myself up on the ice ax while letting the rope in front of me pull me because my leg just wouldn't bend enough to get up to the next step. It really sucks having to leave, but I was afraid that in the section ahead I would trip because I was more concerned with my leg than with the climb, and send out whole team sliding down the mountain. Or I could have kept going and found out I needed to turn around and my whole team would have had to forfeit the summit and go back with me. Mountain climbing is a strange thing because getting to the top is not actually the goal. The goal is getting to the top and then getting back down. My brain keeps trying to tell me now that I am down at sea level that I would have been fine and I should have kept going, but I have to go with what I knew was right to do at that time. I came to Rainier again so my dad could summit, and if my leg was going to get in the way of him summiting then I needed to suck up my pride and go back down. So as much as I didn't want to I headed back down as they headed up to the top. When I told Brandy she started crying and the guide who was taking a few of us down thought she was hurt. I told him that Disappointment Cleaver is just an emotional spot for her - she was crying last time when Dad turned around too :)

me at the top of the Cleaver

looking down on Brandy and John at the top of the Cleaver

Dad heading out the Cleaver and up to the summit

my view on the way down the Cleaver - God gave me that to keep me from crying :)

looking across the Ingram glacier at Mt. Adams

So, back down at base camp all we could do really was wait. It was a gorgeous day, so we sat outside in the sun and soaked in the rays...well we were completely covered with fleece and had SPF 30 on our face so we weren't sunbathing by any means, but it was cozy in the sun

hanging out at base camp waiting for the summit team (I'm on the right in the green vest)

Meanwhile Brandy, John and Dad were heading up to 14,410ft. The reason I liked this trip so much more (besides getting to hang in a crevasse) is that you really understood mountain climbing more. The last time we came the top of the mountain had lots of switchbacks and our final rest stop was in a semi-sheltered spot. Because the route changes every day depending on where crevasses open up the route they took this time was much different. Having had the 2 extra days on the mountain gave you a much better understanding of just how amazing these guides are in finding proper routes and changing them as they go. After the summit, the main guide ran up the side of the mountain (oh and I'm not exaggerating here, these guides were incredible) to change out the route flags for the next time up. The view from the summit was just as clear as last time. And Brandy verified that the sign in book seemed just as far away :)

heading up to the summit

THE SUMMIT - Columbia Crest! You come in on the opposite side of the crater and walk to the sign in book. You are actually allowed off the rope at this point, but you do go with a guide around the crater. This year you walked up to the high point before you got to the sign in book (last time Brandy and I sidetracked the high point and just went to the book). Brandy and Dad when 3/4 or so of the way across the crater. John went the whole way up.

John at the high point with their guide John

Hanging out on the side of the mountain while the guide reset the route markers (yes that slope is what he ran up)

The teams coming back across the rocks and onto the Cowlitz glacier. I took this from base camp. We could see them inch their way across the glacier back to Camp Muir.

Dad off the rope heading into camp

A much deserved rest. This was the afternoon hangout spot.

Day 5: Heading back to Paradise
The next morning we woke up to fresh snow on the ground and a clouded over mountain. We packed up and headed back down to Paradise. I never understood why they called the town at the base of the mountain that until I was on the mountain for 5 days. A shower and pizza were all anyone could think about the whole way down.

Fresh snow on our backpacks in the morning

A moment of clearing in the clouds on the way back down

Brandy and John on the way down

Me on the way down...looking pretty sexy :)

So while I don't think that anything can truly explain the pure majesty of that mountain, I hope I did a decent job trying. We had so much fun on this and the last trip. I can't believe that I actually climbed a mountain...and then went back to do it again. Sunrises at 11,000 ft and cloud covered earth with just you sticking out on top are something that you just can't get at sea level. So, will we do it again? Not likely :) I think that our mountain climbing days are over..although you never know. There is a weird attachment you have to the beauty of that place irregardless of the pain.