Rainier was a big trip for me.
Months of grueling preparation. Thousands of dollars of extra gear. Hours and hours spent poring over minute details. Endless meal planning. Overplanning. Then overplanning the overplanning. Maps. Spreadsheets. Calorie/ounce counts. Every day wondering if I was ready for 8 days on a frozen mountain with people I didn’t know.

The Gear Pile

The Gear Pile
This is all the gear that has to fit in that big backpack on the right. There will also be addtional group gear like ropes, tent, snow stakes, etc that will have to fit in or on the pack!


I detailed a lot of the pre-trip overview already here on the blog – Rainier Page, no sense regurgitating it all here.
Thursday morning at AAI’s headquarters in Seattle was the first time I physically met anyone on the team. A mother-daughter (Jenny & Roni) combo with an impressive list of past trips and perfectly matching gear. The wacky Canadian (Adrian) whose brutal training workouts I’d been following on Garmin Connect. The New Yorker (Patrick) with a ton of outdoor experience. And a newcomer (James) that AAI never mentioned had signed up, so we missed including him on all of our email discussions over the previous weeks.
Everybody seemed pretty easygoing, well-trained, and itching to get on the trail. This was going to be a good trip.
We also met our guides (that’s Sherpas to Cody and Jareck), JP and Don, both colorful characters with years of mountain experience. Don was even on the reality TV show ‘Naked and Afraid’ in Namibia.

Disaster Zone

Disaster Zone
The Alpine Ascents team room looks like a disaster zone as we prep our gear.


Everybody tore their gear out of their backpacks as JP & Don went item-by-item to ensure that we had the gear we needed. Some people discovered they had the wrong boots, some people discovered they had the wrong pants, and I discovered that the crampons that AAI recommended I buy didn’t fit my boots quite right. Nice. Luckily they have an onsite gear shop and I was able to rent different crampons, but I sure wasn’t pleased to spend another $50 because AAI screwed up. Ah well.
Gear check complete, pile in the van and head for the hills.

Keeping Up

Keeping Up
Don checks back on the group as we make our way up to Glacier Basin camp.


Most people climb up the Disappointment Cleaver (that’s “the DC” to people in the know), however we drove around to the opposite side of the mountain. Once there we added group gear to our packs and made an easy four mile hike through massive pines to the Glacier Basin Camp.

Glacier Basin Approach

Glacier Basin Approach
Glacier Basin Approach


We ended up spending an extra night at Glacier Basin, so we did some schoolwork while were there – land nav, knots, prussik climbing, and most importantly – how to poop in a bag since you have to bring all waste down off the glacier. Seriously.

Tied Up In Knots

Tied Up In Knots
James works on his double prussik as we practice tree climbing.


The heavy packs are absolutely brutal to hike with, and on day 3 we lost 2 members of our group due to the weight. Jenny and Roni had trained hard, had a great mindset, and had plenty of experience, but the pack weight just did them in. There would be numerous days throughout the rest of the trip where somebody would comment that they wished the girls were still with us.

The Group

The Group
This was definitely a fun group!


After a group photo, Don returned to the van with them to shuttle them back to Seattle and we made our slog up over St Elmo Pass to Winthrop Glacier.
The trip over the pass was a great example of team planning, group consensus, and good experience from the mountain guides. We all analyzed the route options, decided against a line that would take us through a rockfall zone, decided against a straight assault up the slope, and ended up with a nice traverse that got us safely over the pass with no unplanned excitement.

Glacier Basin to Winthrop

Glacier Basin to Winthrop
Glacier Basin to Winthrop


When we crested the pass we were treated to our first view of the remote Winthrop Glacier where we would be spending the next several days. The groups of people going up the Emmons Glacier route disappeared behind us, and we could really start to see just how alone and secluded we would be.

At The Pass

At The Pass
The group looking down from St Elmo’s Pass


AAI sent another van to Enumclaw, and Don had made the 4+ mile trek down to the trailhead with the girls, shuttled them to Enumclaw, returned, hiked the 4+ miles to his backpack, then the 1,600ft vertical and 2.5 miles over the pass to meet us back on Winthrop that evening. One seriously hardcore dude.

Mountain Sunset

Mountain Sunset
The sun drops on another day on the Winthrop Glacier


We spent the next several days alone on the Winthrop Glacier, with nary a soul in sight. Self-arrest training (stopping yourself if you start falling down the mountain), ice climbing, crevasse rescue, and travelling as a rope team. All must-have skills for travelling on glaciated terrain.

The Lean

The Lean
Don demonstrates the perfect mountain lean as we practice self-arrest.


Self-arrest is fun since you have to be able to stop yourself even if you’re on your back sliding headfirst down the mountain, but crevasse rescue is the real fun stuff.
First you pick a crevasse that looks good. By good, I mean wide enough and tall enough. The bluer the ice inside, the better it is for photos too. Don, JP and Adrian were close to the lip of one choice crevasse when all of a sudden there was a *crack* and a rumble, and they all turned and ran like mad away from the edge. A huge block of ice on the opposite wall went crashing down into the bottom of the crevasse and everybody took a minute to check their underwear and get their heart rates back down. Now we had a perfect width crevasse to work in!

Lessons

Lessons
JP explains why you try not to fall in crevasses…


The guides set up backup safety anchors in the snow to hold you in case your team’s anchors don’t, then you tie up to their ropes and the team’s ropes and jump off the edge of a crevasse. I think you have to be a little bit of not-right-in-the-head to jump into a crevasse, but it’s pretty neat once you’re in there.

Deep Blue

Deep Blue
The view inside the crevasse


The idea behind a 3-man rope team is that if the first person falls through a snow bridge covering a crevasse, the 2 other people on the rope team are far enough away that they can fall down and by self-arresting they can stop the lead person’s fall into the crevasse. The middle person holds the fall and the last person checks on the fallen person, then sets up anchors buried deep into the snow to take the load off of the middle person. Once they’ve safely setup anchors they use their carabiners and rope to create a pulley system and hoist the other out of the crevasse. Fun! And while the lead climber is dangling in the crevasse, they can use their prussiking skills to haul themselves out.
Great fun, great experience and skills to have, and nothing but high praises for our guides for their skill, ability to teach, and utter professionalism.

Helping Hands

Helping Hands
Don and JP check on James as he hangs in the crevasse.


As we sat on the Winthrop we kept a daily watch on the weather and watched a system moving in. Of course it was going to hit right on our summit day, so JP radioed back to AAI HQ to see if we could move our summit forward a day to miss the weather. The permit that AAI had gotten us for our climb wouldn’t allow us to spend an extra day at Camp Schurman, so that plan was axed. I feel confident that somebody at AAI could have contacted the park service and gotten the days moved around but didn’t want to expend the effort. Between not letting us know of our extra group member, not having a good handle on what gear people needed (James has horror stories of the climbing harness they recommend), and not putting forward this extra bit of effort that would have let us summit, I ended up pretty disappointed with AAI as an organization.

Winthrop to Schurman

Winthrop to Schurman
Winthrop to Schurman


When we finally ascended from Winthrop to Camp Schurman, the weather had already begun to set in. The wind picked up and we watched the cloud banks moving in from the coast and covering Seattle and the Puget Sound.

Dug In

Dug In
We dug our tent site at Camp Schurman many feet into the snowpack and built a wall to protect us against the weather we knew was coming in.


Because we were expecting such high winds, we really dug our campsites in – Adrian and I dug deep enough that the top of our tent was level with the snow, and built a massive wall on the downslope. We also dug a snowcave deep enough that I laid inside for photos, but we ended up tearing it out to make extra room for our tent vestibule.
The weathermen did not disappoint – Mother Nature came along and brought the wind with her. We watched two tents from IMG, another guide group sail hundreds of feet into the air and end up deep in a crevasse. They hadn’t dug them into the snow for weather protection and they weren’t careful while they were tearing them down, and they paid the price.

Schurman to 12k

Schurman to 12k
Schurman to 12k


Since we knew that we wouldn’t be summiting with 60mph winds at the top, we decided to take a ‘stroll’ up the mountain for more glacier travel time and experience. Several times the gusts almost knocked me over, and I was glad for my oversize goggles as I could feel the icy snow pellets pinging off my hardshell and goggles.

Greetings, Earthlings

Greetings, Earthlings
Greeting all the earthlings with Little Tahoma in the background. Love my Julbo Skydome goggles!


By the time we finished that climb we were all exhausted, but group consensus was to tear down camp and head back down to Glacier Basin instead of waiting until the morning. The snow is softer in the afternoon sun and easier to dig out the tent stakes than they would be buried under early morning ice. We loaded up and headed down the Emmons Glacier route.

Watching the Parade

Watching the Parade
James watches several rope teams on their descent down the Emmons Glacier from Camp Shurman


One of the fun things about the Emmons route is that there is a super-long glissade that knocks a ton of vertical and distance off the downhill hike. Use one of your trash bags as a makeshift diaper over your hardshell pants, sit on your butt, and slide down the mountain, using your axe to stop you before you fall into a crevasse.
AAI had sent up a summit guide, and he ran down ahead of us looking for crevasses, and radioed up to have us all move 100 yards laterally along the slope to miss a yawning opening. That would be no fun, since the clouds had moved in and we had limited visibility.

Schurman to Glacier Basin

Schurman to Glacier Basin
Schurman to Glacier Basin


Once we were down to Glacier Basin it warmed up slightly and we were out of the wind, and everyone’s spirits improved noticeably. We woke to a fresh inch or two of snow on the tents, but that didn’t stop us from a quick pack up and we beat feet down to the van with promises of a big lunch and beers at a local favorite in Enumclaw.

Glacier Basin Exit

Glacier Basin Exit
Glacier Basin Exit


We didn’t make the summit, but the mountain isn’t going anywhere. We all learned very valuable skills, learned how to function as a team, and enjoyed ourselves despite the weather and the grueling packs. I look forward to the next trip out!

Wacky

Wacky
Don throws down his best wacky look


Fresh Crew

Fresh Crew
James and Patrick look ready to tackle the mountain as we stop for a break on the Glacier Basin trail.


Still Fresh

Still Fresh
A big thumbs up as we settle into Glacier Basin camp.


Afternoon Stroll

Afternoon Stroll
The team takes an afternoon stroll up Glacier Basin


The Student

The Student
James listens intently to Don’s tutelage


The Long Walk

The Long Walk
The team traverses a steep slope to find a good spot to practice self-arrest.


Digging In

Digging In
Your choices are to dig in or slide away…


Uphill Run

Uphill Run
Running back uphill after self-arrest practice.


Winded

Winded
I can’t tell if James is panting from exertion or hamming it up.


The Ridge

The Ridge
Liberty Ridge from Winthrop Glacier


All Tied Up

All Tied Up
Patrick is all tied up


Team. Effort.

Team.  Effort.
Glacier mountaineering is definitely a team effort.


The Great Divide

The Great Divide
Adrian stops to look down into the crevasse he just crossed.


Dots on the Horizon

Dots on the Horizon
The other rope team descends over the horizon as we make our way back down to Camp Schurman.


Doubled Up

Doubled Up
Two ropes over the lip are the only things keeping me from falling the rest of the way into the crevasse.


Hanging in Space

Hanging in Space
It’s a long way down…


Under the Seracs

Under the Seracs
Don blazes a path under a lip of seracs


The Eagle Has Landed

The Eagle Has Landed
Am I the only one that sees an eagle’s head in this ice formation?


Kick It In

Kick It In
Patrick kicks in a foothold


Climbing

Climbing
Climbing the route


Boom

Boom
Adrian attacked the route like a madman, ice spraying everywhere


A Fractured Landscape

A Fractured Landscape
The Emmons Glacier is the centerpiece of a fractured landscape.


A Reflected World

A Reflected World
Little Tahoma in the reflection of my goggles


Don’t Slip

Don't Slip
One missed step here and you descend through the heavens to Heaven…


The Smile

The Smile
Patrick gives a big smile in the thin air.


Bringing up the Rear

Bringing up the Rear
Bringing up the rear on my rope team.


Last Man

Last Man
Taking a short break on the Emmons


All Loaded Up

All Loaded Up
We’re headed up the mountain loaded for bear!


Waiting and Watching

Waiting and Watching
Taking a break in Glacier Basin as I wait for the rest of the team.


Silhouette

Silhouette
Silhouetted against the alpine sky


Almost There

Almost There
Don kicks hard as he nears the top of the ice wall


Ice Spray

Ice Spray
Ice sprays as I kick away soft surface ice from the wall


Ice Attack

Ice Attack
Attacking the ice is the fast way up


Fine Form

Fine Form
JP displays fine form as he tops out on the route.