Rainier Trip Report

Rainier

Logan Talbott and I decided to head in to the Cascade Range for a little training this month in preparation for Nepal. We figured August was late season but that we still maybe able to get some ice and snow in the shadows. We were pleasantly surprised.
The Northwest had a heavier than usual snow fall year, unlike California, that left snow pack levels around until late season. Logan drove the Tacoma on 5 north bound and I started calling local shops and guiding services around Mt. Rainier to get an idea of what we were getting our selves in to. After talking with Rainer Mountain Guides (RMI), we decided on the Kautz Route on Mt. Rainier as our first objective, and subsequently our last, of the road trip.
My first sight of the mountain was beautiful. “This mountain,” I thought, “makes Shasta look like a little girl (hence the name).” We packed, got our $30 permit, ohhhh, and continued up the mountain. We decided on a more technical approach to the upper mountain choosing the more aesthetic line up the across the Nesqualie Glacier and then up the Wilson Glacier to join the regular route which comes up the Fan, a large rock out cropping.

Glacier travel was exciting and we could see other teams moving above us. A team of two about two hours in front of us and another team of three farther ahead. Visibility was low but not bad enough to hamper our accent. After pushing up the slopes we caught up with the other two-man team and climbed behind them to 10,800 ft. to a rock slope where campsites had been established.

We started out the next day at about 4:30 am for the summit. We joined the other team, who we know knew as Curt and Rob. We descended the rock out cropping and dropped on to the Kautz Glacier. Roped up and ran under the hanging seracs above us to the first ice pitch.

The ice went fast and Logan and I moved forward swapping leads and concentrating on gaining the summit. Although, we could not see the summit in the current conditions we proceeded to climb upward. We arrived at 13,000 ft. On the side of a rock outcropping that blocked the wind rather well and we boiled water and waited for a clearing in the weather that never came. We were at a loss of where to go so we made an educated guess and started climbing. Shortly after leaving the rock band, Logan fell in a crevasse up to his shoulders then climbed out.
We climbed steep snow slopes until we where under huge seracs and then, realizing the objective dangers, skirted our right and in to an ice fall where I lead a steep ice pitch to see if we could gain the upper summit snow field. By this time we where at 13,800 ft. only a few hundred feet shy of the summit (14,400).
Unable to see, we no longer had the option to hang around in an on coming storm. We decided to descend and made quick tracks down the upper snowfield and over the large crevasses that we had jumped on the way up.
We made good time down using existing rap slings and v-treads. One of the v-threads pulled on Logan and he slipped back but was caught by another piece of the anchor.
It started snow as we reached camp. Two packets of Ramen were all that remained of our food, which wasn’t much to begin with. But, Rob and Curt Olson came to the rescue and gave us some bagels and hummus. We decided we’d stay the night and wait until morning to descend with the other guys. Good plan.

White out condition in the morning made the half foot of fresh snow on the glacier that much more dangerous. In took all of us playing a different part in the epic to get us down the Fan and to the bottom of the glacier. After that, we were lost on the lower glacier and ended up walking down drainage to the termination of the ice. Finally, we got out.

This photo compliments of Curt.