On 7/3 and 7/4 of 2009, a team of 5 of us climbed Mt Rainier via Emmons Glacier Route, 3 of whom haven’t climbed Rainier before. It’s quite a nice experience for each of us. Here is a brief account of the climb.

July 3rd,

5:00am, took off from Redmond; Had a breakfast at McDonald’s in Enumclaw; Arrived at White River WIC at around 7:15. There were a few parties ahead of us including Anne and Marty’s group climbing Little Tahoma. We had a chat with Radka, Anne, and Marty and got our climbing permit. Camp Schurman was full (not surprising on a 7/4 weekend) and only 4 spots were available at Emmons Flat. The ranger kindly put 5 of us at the flat for two nights.

0830, packed and took off from the White River Campground (4400′). 2 hours later, we were at Glacier Basin. Avalanche Lily is blooming here! Compared to last time (late June, 2008), there is a lot less snow. We dropped to the snowfield and begin ascending towards the headwall of Inter Glacier. Inter Glacier is in an OK shape, with some ’shrunds open, but no major ones. We didn’t have to rope up. We met a girl from Iowa who did 2 Marathons in May and June and is now climbing Rainier. That is very impressive! We chatted every now and then on short breaks all the way up to Camp Curtis.

1500, we were at Camp Curtis at the edge of Inter Glacier. This is the first sight of Camp Shurman and I can see the route to it with some big crevasses. We roped up and dropped down to Emmons Glacier. We arrived at Emmons Flat (9800′) shortly after 1600. This is a notoriously windy area. We have heard about numerous incidents where people’s tents were blown down the glacier. So we took extra caution to secure the tents. We deadmaned trekking poles and plastic bags filled with snow to tie down the tents. It later turned out that plastic bags work very well and add minimun extra weight. We brewed water, had dinner and prepared packs and ropes for summit. We went to bed at 7ish.

July 4th,

0000, the alarm went off and we woke up. It was not too cold outside. Air temperature was around freezing level.
0045, we took off from the camp. There were already some teams in front of us. It was quite straight-forward to follow the Corridor to the left of our camp. The glacier is not quite broken this time of the year. We could see the city lights of Puget Sound area behind us all the way. It’s unbelievable how much light polution we are producing. It’s more than 50 miles and 10k feet up and the lights are still enormous. We also saw the lights of Portland from Mt Hood and even Mt Jefferson.

0430, dawn starts to light up the sky behind us. The top of Little Tahoma is now about the same height as us. It’s unbelievable how big a chunk of rock Little T is! Although it never appeared this way when we view Mt Rainier from various angles from below.

0600, both Liang and I complained about a little drowsiness. We are not sure if it’s from deprivation of sleep or the altitude. It’s probably a combination of both. We are at 12500′. I am already breaking my record of altitude for this season. We started to remind everyone to actively breathe. We have passed the Corridor now and are traversing North to the saddle between Columbia Crest and Liberty Cap. The glacier below us seemed very benign, a few crevasses opened, but nothing intimidating. There is no snow bridge to cross. So I am not particularly worried about descending in soft snow. There is a short section of traverse on a 40 - 45 degree terrain. But the steps were well kicked and we were quite comfortable not to placing pickets.

The thin air is getting everybody. The traverses is relatively flat. We are moving at a very slow pace, approx. 500′ vertical per hour. About 20 minutes before we reached the saddle, there is one relatively flat spot by a big chunk of snow. This is probably the first flat spot after we took off from high camp. If a rope team needs to stash anyone, this is the place (unlike DC route, where there are a lot of places to stash people). However it’s quite windy there. It actually has been windy all the way.

0830, finally we have circumvented the big ’shrund below the northeast rim of the crater to the saddle to the north. The final ascent, however, still seems endless. Xiaodong leading the second rope is proceeding at a very slow pace, taking a rest every couple steps. I know we can’t keep going like this. This will take us forever although we only have about 600 feet to gain. So I asked Yinan to take the lead. At this point, everyone would be tired, it’s now a mental game. Anyone who has gone this far is physically able to summit, it’s just a matter of mental readiness. I know Yinan would be able to do this and Xiaodong needs to be pushed a little. Amazingly, after Yinan took the lead, we were able to keep moving again, not fast but steadily. We only have about 600 feet to gain, so speed is not a critical issue, keeping moving is. It would later turn out that my altimeter is off about 200 feet, so we actually had only 400 feet left.

0940, the long waited summit! It is a perfect sunny day with a little haze and clouds on the horizon. Of course the perfect weather on top of Rainier is 30 MPH wind and slightly above freezing temperature. The view is fantastic! We could see mountains all the way from Southern British Columbia to Central Oregon. It feels like standing on the top a Northwest map. It took me a few minutes to find the registration book although I have been there once. It is actually placed under a big hot rock on the northest of the rim. It is helpful to look for the most barren rock. That’s their way to keep the book out of the snow. I sat on the rock (it really warmed up my butts) and ate my snack. We then signed the registration book and started descending. We all signed our names in Chinese (I always sign summit books in Chinese). And I added “in memory of pifu”. I know he wanted to be here but left too early. I have been wearing his crampons ever since I got them in May. They have been my company to Baker, Jefferson, and now Rainier. They will be a constant reminder of a friend whom I have never met, of how fragile a life is. I know he’s resting in peace.

1400, we are back to our tents. Everyone was exhausted. 10,000 feet is a lot to gain in one day, and the altitude didn’t ease it any bit. It’s a werid feeling to climb at this altitude. It’s really hard to describe unless you experience it. It’s not simply exhaustion. It’s also the inability to move swiftly and to think clearly. Now we are back at 9800 feet, which is a lot better. I am feeling a little headache. I felt the same headache at Camp Muir last time I climbed Rainier. We take a rest and discussed our options. Liang and I both proposed to stay for another night but we didn’t insist. Charlie and Xiaodong wanted to get down. There is just about enough daylight and the last section of the trail is paved reasonably well so it’s safe to do so. So we broke camp and packed. We left camp at 1600. From Camp Curtis, we glissaded 1700 feet down in a few minutes and then dropped to Glacier Basin.

2100 sharp, we are back at the parking lot. We are out slightly over 36 hours. Looking at the sunset casting on the mountain, we all feel happy and fulfilled. We checked in at White River WIC and started driving home. We stopped at the McDonald’s in Enumclaw and devoured, making up for all the foods we have missed for the two days.