Rainier Climb

I get asked quite frequently (by folks who know I climb a little) "Have you climbed Rainier...Have you climbed Rainier? Have you"....enough already. Time to do something about it.

Departure @ the parking lot. I am sporting my newly purchased top of the line, state of the art, Arc'teryx Naos 55 backpack. I've used it a couple times, and have been very impressed. OK, on with the climb.

So, since they are rebuilding Paradise Lodge, most of the parking lot is closed down, so they have to shuttle people in and out. What a zoo! When they get done, Paradise will be FANTASTIC!

Me @ Camp Muir, mid-day. It was warm (hot?) there on the snow field in the sun.

We left camp Muir @ 10K feet @ midnight, and basically made the slog to the top. Went non-stop at a good moderate, steady pace, and got to the top @ about 7am. We passed all sorts of people sitting in the snow, right next to trail. What were they doing?

Anyway...Brian did really well, I neglected to eat anything all night so I pretty much bonked @ 5am in the morning about 13K in elevation. Somehow I was able to push on, and get to the top. We stayed for a couple of hours eating and drinking some water, and headed down @ 9am. Got back to Muir 1pm, and back to the car @ 4pm Sunday. Overall, Rainier is a good conditioning climb, but so much more of the Cascades have so much to offer.