For the longest time I had seen pictures of Mt Rainier. The pictures had set me in a trance. Being over on the east coast, the whole idea seemed like a dream something out a movie. I decided to book a climb to MT Rainier with RMI expeditions for a 4 day session in August of 2018. Before the climb I would be training as much as I could. This would involve working on and completing the Northeast 115 and plenty of vertical gain and cardio conditioning. The Northeast 115 a master list of all the peaks in the northeast USA considered 4000 feet and above. This includes New York, Vermont, Maine, and ,New Hampshire. I had completed this in March of 2018 on Mount Madison in -30F windchill on a sunny clear bluebird day. The sort of days that you dream of.A year had past very quickly and it was August 2018. I was getting last minute gear and finalizing last minute logistics. However some logistics were out of my control as you will learn.
Here is where the adventure begins.
The day of my travel I had gotten to the airport rather early. I went to check up my baggage and I soon heard that my flight had been cancelled. Everything just broke apart, everything that I had planned for. Even with the next flight I wouldn’t get there on time. I went over to aisle of chairs and thought out my next step. I was able to get a flight with another airline last minute. The catch was, that I had to wait 8 hours for the next flight. I had already had a parking spot and I wasn’t about to give that up. I ended up waiting 8 hours wasting time my reading and watching people work. Fast forwarding 8 hours, I finally boarded my first flight would be from Hartford CT, to Fortworth TX, where I would then fly from Forthworth TX, to Seattle, WA. After the first long flight we finally landed. I checked the time when we landed and I soon found out that I only had 5 minutes to make it to my next flight. I hastily hurried to the transport on the second level which would take me the 3 terminals over. Every minute waiting seemed like an eternity. I soon arrived at the terminal where my plane was. I hurried down the escalator almost falling on my face, attracting some looks from nearby people. As I approached the boarding area I saw that they were boarding my group as I turned the corner. I quickly got line and soon boarded after the rush. I looked for my seat and took it, however I soon found that I had about 3 babies within 5 seats of me. Knowing that this I knew I was in for a long flight. After another 4-5 hours of flying we finally made it to Seattle. After getting off the plane and claiming my giant luggage bag, me and my family headed to the hotel. After the long day it was nice to pretty much collapse in bed.
Morning soon came, and we were off to an early start to check in at RMI Expeditions The drive was just under an hour and a half. My head was on a swivel on the drive taking in as many views as I could. We soon made it RMI Expeditions after being spoiled by the wonderful views that were pretty much anywhere you looked. Once we arrived I unpacked my gear and checked in at the hotel. Orientation began shortly after under the green tents with a big orientation flag next to it. I was the first was one to arrive. Shortly after 2 other hikers sat down. Shortly after them a group of 5 joined us all under the tent. The RMI staff soon arrived and we began orientation. We began by discussing the RMI and its history/ core values, followed by a short video. We soon began the gear checklist. Each picnic table was covered with tons of mountaineering gear at this point. We went through each piece of gear and would raise it up to prove we had it. A couple of tangent situations broke out about some gear choices that they made. We continued going over gear and comparing pieces. The guide soon showed us how they recommended us pack our packs. We soon switched subjects to talking about the Mountain Day School. We soon ended our chat and went our separate ways to get food. I decided to stay local and check out the grill that they had on site. I ended up getting a jalapeno burger which was delirious. After that I headed back to my hotel room and packed my bag for the next day.
The next morning arrived soon. I had a quick bite to eat and then headed over to the meeting location for Mountain day School. We all arrived promptly and proceed to board the bus. The Mountain day School would be a refresher for some and new skills for others as well. As we entered Rainier National Park, I was taken away how incredible it was. The area look so differently from the Northeast. Obviously this was my first time being in Washington State, but even so everything was so beautiful. As we were driving up the road gaining elevation Mount Rainier came in to view. Everyone on the vehicle stopped what they were doing and stared at MT Rainier. We continued up the windy road before we finally made it to the visitors center at the base of Mt Rainier. IT was pretty packed with both hikers and non hikers alike. After a quick briefing we unloaded off the vehicle and donned our packs. The sun was strong and beaming down on all of us. We were advised to lather up in sun screen, which we all did. After dousing ourselves( at least I did) with sunscreen we were soon on our way up the trail the snowfield where we would be training for tomorrows climb. We started off in our approach shoes. Some of us had worn boots and some of us had worn a low profile hiking shoe. We proceeded up the golden gate trail until we made the cutoff for the snow field. The scenery and views were absolutely breathtaking. I had never been to the Northwest before and I was taking in every single view that I could. There were plenty of hikers and non hikers out as well. At some points it felt like a sidewalk it was so populated it took a away from the experience a bit. After the guides took us to the spot that they wanted to go over mountaineering techniques we took a quick break..
The group that I was with was a very positive group. Everyone was friendly and had some kind of prior experience of climbing. However for a couple of the group members, it was their first time in crampons and mountaineering boots. We soon proceed to go over basic movements and roped travel. The sun was still shining down on us. I knew that I was getting sun burnt for sure. The next thing that we practiced would be, methods of self arresting in the even that one of the group members was in a form of danger, we would all hit the snow pack with or ice axe in the ground. The arrest position hopefully arrest the other climbers fall and prevent any other hazards from this. We practiced this drill for a while. The guides wanted to make sure that we had this technique down and were comfortable with it. After training for a bit more he starting to head down around 3pm. We proceeded to descend the same route that we had taken. I was amazed by how busy the trails were populated by both hikers and non hikers alike. We soon reached the visitors center where we were dropped off in the morning and the van shortly arrived. So far it had been an amazing experience but I knew the next day was going to be even better. On the ride back , some of us slept and some of chatted. There was a feeling that I was unable to describe driving away from Rainier only to be coming back the next day to climb all the way to top. It was a feeling I hadn’t had in a long time. We soon made it back RMI location where we had a quick meeting and then we were on our separate ways until the next day. I decided to grab another Jalapeno burger and then proceed to pack my bag for the climb.
The morning came very quick. I must have packed and repacked my bags 3 times by this point. I was still not used to how warm it was, I may think differently someday but I’ll take cold weather over warm weather any day. I had all my of gear packed up and the time in which we were supposed to meet soon came. I was the first one at the meeting location but soon others followed. Everyone looked so excited for this day, both anxious and excited. We all had small chats before the guides came and before we knew it we were on the shuttle back to Paradise where we would start our climb up. After the shuttle ride we soon made it to parking lot where we would start our climb. Once again we donned layers of sunscreen. Once everyone was ready we headed on the Skyline trail which would bring us to Camp Muir trail. It was a hot day and the sun was definitely beaming down on us. Some of us had our approach shoes on while others had our mountaineering boots on. Most of the day would include making our climb to Camp Muir where we would then rest before making our climb at midnight. The climb up was so beautiful, it seemed like something out of a movie. waterfalls, with mountains bountiful in the background with views everywhere. We had a steady pace going, we were passing groups and others hikers every few moments. The trails were pretty busy, this definitely wasn’t something that I was used to. We soon made it to the base of the snowfields where we proceed to put on our mountaineering boots and push onto Camp Muir. Single filed line we put one boot in from of the other. Stepping and breathing maintaining our pace. Every few moments I would gaze behind me and take in the amazing fresh new few. About every hour to 1000 feet we would take a short 15 minute break to hydrate and fuel up. We took a total of 4 breaks until we reached Camp Muir. When we all saw Camp Muir some of us had a look of relief on our face. Others had a look of exhaustion. As we got closer to Camp Muir the views around us got even better. Climbers were passing us down on our way up. They were descending with plenty of speed which I’m sure made a few of us jealous due to the slow climbing speed we had.
We soon made it to Camp Muir after the long approach. The guides instructed us where to place our gear and where we would be staying for the night. We dropped our packs in a line along a space. We then proceeded to go inside the shelter to set up our gear. It was plain rustic and had seen plenty of use. It was incredible, you could only imagine the stories and weather that it had seen. We had some free time, so after unpacked I went to explore for a bit. For a few moments I just took in all of the views. This was my first time above 6,288 feet which is the highest point in the Northeast, which belongs to Mount Washington. I was currently standing at10,188 ft, something that a year ago I would have deemed impossible. I took some pictures with my camera but continued to find myself staring at Mt Rainier. A year ago I planned this and tomorrow less than 10 hours I would be climbing it. The guides soon announced that they would be bringing in hot water so we could make our meals. The hot water quickly dissipated , and before you knew it we were eating hot meals. It was about 6 pm or so now, and we would be waking up in just a short 5 hours at 11pm to prepare for our 12 am push. We all tried to get as much as sleep as we could. 11pm came quickly. we heard the guides come in and give their clothing recommendation. Hot water was soon brought in again. This is one of the most memorable breakfasts I’ve ever had. For some reason I thought that oat meal mixed with 2 packets of oatmeal would taste good. Imagine eating oatmeal that tasted like the strongest black coffee you have ever eaten. It wasn’t the best but it memorable. Everyone was still eating and waking up I decided to pack my bag early and enjoy the star filled sky as much as I could. Midnight rolled around soon, Camp Muir was filled with headlamps from our groups. We soon lined up and clipped in to the ropes. The moment all of us had been waiting for was finally here. We were on our via the disappointment Cleaver route. The headlamps on the trail reminded me of holiday decorations. Step by step we made our way. Along the first trek I remember looking at all of the crevasses and looking up to the endless sky full of stars. We had a steady pace going and we weren’t wasting any time. There was a subtle quietness, all you could hear was the placing of an ice axe with crampons stepping in the snow, with the wind gently howling as we trekked on. We made our way up Disappointment cleaver. It turned from snow to rock which took about 5 second of adjustment to get back into the pace. We continued our pace one step at a time. The rope team that I was on was getting slower and I saw 2 headlights in the distance catching up with us. At that moment I knew that someone maybe 2 people weren’t summiting. At that moment the worst thing hit me. What If I am going down? I soon found out that one of the climbers on my rope team was heading back to Camp Muir on his own decision. My heart sank. I felt so bad for him, he came all of this way to only turn around. Swallowing that thought took awhile, but I pushed on, pushing my body harder than I have in quite some time. We soon reached our first break, when my rope team reached the rest of the groups, I was instructed to clip into another team. After that I sat down on my pack and hydrated and had a quick snack.
Gazing upon the red haze that was the sun just starting to begin to rise was sight to see. It was an amazing view that still sticks fresh in my mind. Our break quickly ended, and we were back in line going at our pace. Now that it beginning to get lighter out the crevasses were much for visible and even more beautiful, yet deadly. Our pace was the same, step step, ice axe repeat and breathe. As we continued to gain elevation some of were getting a bit slower. I just focused on my breathing and enjoyed every moment of this. After switch back after switchback and crossing a couple bridges we were approaching the crest of crater. We soon passed one group of climbers that had started earlier and wished us good luck and to enjoy the view. . We soon made the final push over lip of the crater. My team was the last to make it over the lip. Legs were heavy , breathing was heavy we pushed over the lip and down into the flat crater of Rainier. We met up with the other 2 teams who were enjoying their nice break in the middle of the crater. We sat down for a view and hydrated and refueled. We made the final push up the the crater to the summit register where we each signed our name in the log. From there we made our push to the true summit. We made our way over to the true peak on the crest leaving our packs at the center of the crater.. While working our way we could see the steam rising out of the crater. The clouds surrounded us 360 degrees provided us with one of a kind unforgettable view. We were lucky enough enough to see the summit , with about any smoke coming in due to all of the wildfires going on in recent news. All of the team members were so happy to have made it to the top and everyone celebrated in their own way. Some of took pictures and some of just took in the moment completely. After we all took in the summit and congratulated each other we headed back to our packs where we had another bite to eat before we would start our descent .
After our quick break we all clipped in and we were back on our way down the route that we came. Our rope team went in first going a little bit faster, not sure why. It was breathtaking as were able to see the route that we had taken up, going up in the dark and coming back in the light. All of the switchbacks that we had taken going up we were now going down. Being that is was now clear, we were able to see just what we had climbed up as it wasn’t 12am, which was when we had started the climb. We made our way down slowly but effectively. We soon hit the disappointment cleaver so we took our time with all of the loose rock. Slowly we made our way down trying not to kick rocks down slope as well. We had some sliding loose rocks that made ways down slope but it was without issue. After taking our time down this route we soon found our way very close to Camp Muir. At this point the sky wasn’t as clear as earlier as the fires at Yosemite National Park were stilling going on. We made our way down slowly and steadily. We passed a group of guides from RMI who were doing some route work on the approach that we had just taken. We had a short chat and break and the we were on our way again. We soon passed a group who was with another guiding company. We moved to the side and let them past. We continued on and we soon made it to the the stretch where we began. As we were making our way across, we all heard a giant crack unlike all of the ones that we had heard before. We all look up to the cliff on our right and see a piece of ice bigger than a car hurling towards our group. We were ready to get out of the way but then it halted in its path.
As we continued the final push to Camp Muir, we saw the tents in the distance getting closer and closer. Being mindful of the crevasses we trekked on until we were a stones throw away from the tents and Camp Muir. We soon set foot on the rock surface again. We had made it back down to Camp Muir successfully. We shook each other’s hands and shared congratulations. I ran into the 2 hikers who unfortunately had to turn around at the disappointment cleaver. We talked for a bit and while they had to turn around they enjoyed one of the most beautiful sunrises they said. Despite not summiting they still made the best out of their situation. After sharing the glory and sense of accomplishment we all took an hour break and packed up. Taking in some of the last views we headed down the snow field. Going downhill with heavy packs and no crampons. We all probably had the most fun with this. We were able somewhat step and glide/slide downhill. Needless to say we were able to descend this much quicker than we had climbed up this. A couple people decided to try to slide down on the butts and that failed for most but some made it work. The view was breathtaking as we were heading down the snow field that we had climbed up previously. The mountains and scenery were absolutely incredible. But deep down I missed my Northeast mountains but I would gladly come back here any time. We shortly made it off the snowfield, and we took a quick break. Some of us left our mountaineering boots and others put approach shoes/boots on. We made our way down and we were passing what seems like crowds of people. Taking in every view that we could. Paradise came way too soon as we approached the parking area where the transport van was waiting for us. We loaded up our gear and took a last look and a couple pictures at Rainier and off we were.
The ride back was very quiet, most people were sleeping while others were reflecting while some were conversing. The ride was very quick. The ride had given me alot of time to reflect. I had thought about what I had just done. I haven’t been hiking for that long. I only really seriously got into hiking in 2016, with my journey with the Adk46 and then the Northeast 115. I thought about alot of my futures and what I wold have to do in order to get to them. It would be a very long long road but very worth it. I was already looking forward to all of the winter mountaineering and camping this year as it was. Its pretty amazing how much can change in a year. We soon made it back to the RMI Expeditions center . We all took a break to settle in and then we met at the grill where we had our group chat/ celebration.
Overall this was an amazing adventure I would do again in a heart beat. I’ve only just started my mountaineering journey but have gone so far but so little.
