Mt Rainier...the first attempt

I see Mt. Rainier several times a week and think: "I'd love to stand on top of that." Training hikes have been gratifying, but only as a temporary appeasement.



Weather on the way up was unexpectedly warm, though forecasts and foreboding by the guides led us to believe it would be less than pleasant. As if coping with heavy packs, thin air, uncomfortable boots and the unknown wasn't enough? Smile. As eager and able as I felt, hourly breaks to acclimate, eat and drink became more and more welcome!

















The next crest always looks so close. Foreshortening doesn't help this perpetual optimist. Just keeping eyes on the boots in front of me was easier. There is a lot to be said for just taking one step at a time and not stopping. No matter how cheesey or how repetitive that concept is, there is wisdom there.

One of our guides had a guitar. He'd play on a steep slope as we were trudging slowly up. The most notable time I recall was directly below Camp Muir. It was a bit foggy, but here he was, with some tune/lyric to cheer us. Reminds me of a verse: "Help us sing along the pathway when the deeper cost we meet." Or he'd play it in camp as something to bring the group together. Inspires me to work on getting some guitar skills!




















This is the outhouse at Camp Muir. One of the guides got on a tangent about how Muir wasn't wilderness anymore...it is an urban civilization. Perhaps the outhouse complete with a toilet seat helps his point.




Meals were good and hot drinks were plentiful in camp. Simple pleasures. Alpine Ascents does a fine job. Breakfast on day 1 was on the way at a restaurant ran by sherpas. Day 1 dinner was chicken burritos complete with fresh guacamole. Day 2 breakfast was Blueberry pancakes, bacon and eggs and dinner was pasta. Day 3 breakfast was more pancakes, bars and oatmeal. The rest of the time, we had our fill of whatever we could make ourselves eat...sugar, nuts, jerky, bars, whatever...just something for calories and to get immediate fuel. Fascinating how the body works. Who would have known that a Snickers bar could be a preferred fuel...immediate sugar and slow burning protein. Hmmmm....about that sales tax on candy...



And so...attempting the summit, the guides were leery as we've had lots of precipitation...rain and snow (and nearly 2 feet of new snow at that). Avalanches were the concern, and so we'd go a ways and they'd dig a pit to test what it was doing. This process gives a climber time to analyze the desire to summit and evaluate the risk in such. Being goal-oriented (read summit-oriented) doesn't necessarily play to the survival-of-the-fittest concept...assuming the climber wants to be part of the "fittest" group :)
















In any regard, learning about the rest step, the German step, the French step, to self-arrest, to walk with a rope, fear the crevasse, respect the power of nature, understand that success isn't gauged by reaching the summit...is good, but only makes me think about the next summit attempt. Soon, I hope.

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6/7/2010 Since it's close to our climb, I was interested to read of an avalanche that 11 people were caught in and 1 died this weekend on Mount Rainier. Yikes. Here's the link: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012041683_climbers06m.html