[at-l] Successful Rainier summit, July 11!!!

[DanandGailSC@aol.com (DanandGailSC@aol.com)]

All:

I just returned from a two-week trip to Oregon and Washington which included a successful summit of Mt. Rainier, 14,410', on Thursday, July 11, my 27th state high point.  I landed at the Greenville, SC airport this morning and haven't even been home yet.  I'm checking my email on a faster internet connection to clean out my mailbox.  I was surprised to see the AT-L thread regarding Mt. Rainier.  Yesterday I bought a Seattle newspaper and noted a story about six climbers on two rope teams who were reported to have been seen sliding into a crevasse on Saturday.  According to the newspaper, ground and air search could find no one.  

I am eager to see the photos posted by another lister who climbed Rainier recently.  My photos are not very good except for the summit photo, but they give a good idea of what it was like.  Conditions on Rainier were good, though very windy--at the summit, forty degrees with 40-50 mph winds.  I went with RMI (Rainier Mountaineering).  Six of the twelve in my group, plus two guides, reached the crater rim on two rope teams.  Three of us continued to the true summit 1/4 mile farther and 100' higher.  It was a very, very strenuous climb, but I still think the marathons left me more wasted.  Many disagree with me on that.  Pressure breathing was the key, and I was already accustomed to using it with running.  I tried using the rest step, but found it awkward and could not develop a rhythm with it.

On summit day we starting climbing at 12:30 a.m. with the works--ice axe, harness, rope, crampons, helmets, avalanche beacon, backpack with extra clothing layers, two liters of water, snacks, flashlights--and summited at 7 a.m.  It was amazing to see the crevasses up close.  We stepped over a few narrow ones, 6"-15" wide.  The path skirted around others.  At one point on the descent we clipped the rope to an anchor (not the correct term) just above a crevasse.  

Other climbs on this trip included Mt. McLoughlin, 9495'; Mt. Thielsen, 9100+'; Mt. Scott, 8900+', and Mt. Hood to approx. 10,500'.  Timberline Guides turned us around at the hogback because of soft snow and falling rock ahead.  Other stops included Crater Lake, Mt. St. Helens visitor centers, Olympic National Park, and many waterfalls.  Another great trip with awesome reminders of God's power in creation.

Gail (Gutsy) phoned me this morning from northern CA, where she is on a three-week section hike of the PCT.  She's a day ahead of schedule and met a lady she will be hiking with for awhile.  She recently joined three others for a 19-mile slackpack near Belden.  She is enjoying the backpack immensely, in spite of the heat and some pronation problems with the NB 804 trail runners.  Views are better than she expected for this stretch.  My heart is with her.

Dan/Firestarter