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Our journey began by traveling to Seattle and then driving to Mt. Rainier National park. We camped at Cougar Rock which is probably very scenic when it is not raining. Left to right; Ty, Rob, Julie, Shane, Nick, (not shown Ken taking the picture)
After registering with the ranger station, finding more information about weather and the extreme avalanche danger, we sorted our gear and packed our packs. Here is the group with our packs on, ready to leave Paradise parking lot, elevation 5420 feet. From left to right, Rob Peddie, Ty Sloffer, Nick Sloffer, Julie Wegner, Shane Austin (not shown; Ken Simonelic).
Conditions were terrible, hiking in fog aka cloud cover was the order of the day.
Because of the poor conditions, late start and general laziness We set up camp at Panorama Point, elevation 6800. After digging in the snow for an hour we set up the tents and began to melt water. Looks cozy, doesn't it. (click the photos for larger pictures)
As we began to climb out of the clouds, we got our first look at the mountain. This picture was taken from about 6800 feet, approaching Pebble Creek.
After reaching Pebble Creek, elev. 7200, we stopped for a photo. Here is the whole group from left to right; Ken, Rob, Julie, Shane, Ty (lookin' studly with the shirt off). When the sun came out it was HOT.
We weren't the only ones enjoying the sunshine. Here's a shot of a marmot. He's really hard to see.
Making our way up the mountain, we are now on the Muir snowfield, elev. 8500. That's Ty in front with Shane, Julie, and Rob.
After reaching Camp Muir and settling in we were rewarded with this view of Mt. Adams.
We awoke to winds, clouds, and snow. Here is our camp site at Camp Muir, elev. 10,000. This is where we spent the next few days.
This weather pattern did not help the already extreme avalance danger. The winds kept piling the snow onto the steep glaciers, preventing any travel above 11,500 (unless you like being buried in a snowslide). This picture was taken from about 8000 feet on an adjacent glacier. As you can see the clouds were constantly moving in an out which meant no sunshine to help consolidate the snowpack. Consequently, the quiet was frequently interrupted by avalanche. Look carefully and you can see the aftermath of one of the many avalanches we heard during our trip.
We stayed in our tents for a good part of the day. Rob and Ken shown below.
Then we grabbed the avalanche transceivers, buried one in the snow and practiced finding a buried victim. We also practiced our crevasse rescue by going to a nearby crevasse. Rob voluntarily jumped in and Ty, Shane, and myself arrested the fall and set up a pulley system to hoist Rob out of the crevasse.
Next we rapelled into the crevasse and practiced ascending with our Texas kick and prussik set ups. It was good practice which, fortunately, we didn't need.
We were getting bored and the weather had not improved. We knew we would have to wait at least one more day. To get some exercise we took some food and water and ran back down to the Paradise parking lot (elev 5420). Got a hot dog at the visitors center and ran back to Camp Muir (elev. 10,000). Nick made record time, completing the ascent in 2:45. He could have gone faster but Ty and I slowed him down during the first :45.
On the way up, Ty and I stopped for some pictures. Me on the Muir snowfield with Mt. Adams in the background. A good shot of Mt. Rainier.
Ken, Julie, Shane, and Nick all decided to hike up to the Ingraham glacier and at least go as high as we could safely travel. We made it up to about 11,200 and then turned around. I took some phots of the group on rope, Gibraltar rock, the Ingraham glacier, and some very large crevasses on the Emmons glacier (probably 1000 meters long).
After listening to the weather one last time, waiting for most of the day for the avalanche conditions report, we finally gave up hope of reaching the summit on this trip. So we packed up, headed down, and drove to Seattle for some seafood, a warm shower, and a real bed.
Webpage by: Ken Simonelic
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