The Mountain
Mount Rainier stands at 14,410 or 14,411 feet, depending on source. I can tell you from experience though, that when you are standing on the crater rim, you aren't as concerned with the exact measurement as you are with the incredible beauty of such a surreal place. It the most extensively glaciated volcanic peak in the contiguous United States, and mountaineers that have seen the highest peaks of the world are impressed by the way it dominates the surrounding landscape. For those of us who are blessed to live in the Washington, it is simply "The Mountain", an icon of our region that we know and love.
Climb Itinerary
Our climb starts from Paradise, in Mount Rainier National Park. We leave on day 1 around 9:00 am or so, and climb for several hours up to Camp Muir at just over 10,000 feet. In July (when we'll be climbing), the weather is often good enough that this part of the climb can be made in shorts and t-shirt, with no crampons or other technical equipment needed. We'll arrive in the mid-afternoon, and have just enough time to get our gear ready for the next stage, and have a quick dinner before laying down for bed around 5:00 or 6:00.
As part of a guided group with Rainier Mountaineering Inc., we'll have the luxury of sleeping in a bunkhouse, which is little more than a plywood box about the size of a bus. It isn't glamorous, but it is a luxury as once the sun goes down, it gets really cold FAST at that altitude.
Morning comes early, as in around midnight early, when we'll be woken up and given a short period of time to have breakfast (maybe a Pop Tart or two) and get our gear on. Somewhere around 1:00 am or so, we'll be hitting the glacier wearing full mountaineer gear which includes crampons, an ice axe, harnesses, helmets and headlamps, as we are roped in teams and starting the real climb.
Anyone who has been up at this altitude when they are used to sea-level, can tell you that with all the gear on, walking around in the dark that high up is no simple task. We'll traverse a few glaciers (always watching out for crevasses) and climb up a 1000 or so foot rock scramble known as "Disappointment Cleaver" before we finally see sunlight. Next to the summit itself, the most magical part of the climb is probably being among the first to see sunlight as it breaks onto the beautiful eastern Washington landscape.
Once above Disappointment Cleaver (named because of the great disappointment of how much further you still have to go to the top), we are officially on the upper mountain. We'll still have hours to climb from this point, and the slopes are steeper, crevasses deeper, and everything is even more treacherous. Conditions permitting, we should summit sometime that morning, and after a brief celebration, we will descend all the way back down to Paradise for a much needed shower and dinner!