Camp Muir Kegger 5.28 - 5.29.11

The second annual Muir Kegger was planned for Memorial Day. We started by exchanging a few e-mails back in March, before a majority of the crew met the Monday prior to the Memorial Day weekend at Fremont Dock for some drinks and planning. We did manage to figure out a few things and made a list of go-dos - like locating tents for 20+ people. The plan was to head up early Saturday morning by 3AM, have a day to rest and hang out on Sunday, and come down on Monday. For those interested, a summit attempt Monday morning was a possibility. We got our rope team together to finish planning - Sara, Kevin, Aaron, and myself. Between the four of us plus Alicia, we wanted to make sure we had everything for a successful climb. A couple tents, stoves, shovels, pickets, wands, and a rope - the rest was personal gear. The forecast did not look very promising so everyone was pretty wishy washy about any summit attempts. As the weekend neared we'd have to decide. We basically followed the pack everything possible and then figure out what everyone actually needed to bring up once we were in the parking lot. We were going to try and cram all five of us in one car with gear, but considering the car was our shelter for the little sleep we'd be getting Friday night, we decided last minute to take two cars. We were planning to get our climbing permits when we got to Rainier since there was a statement about self-registration being open. We met at my building at 3PM Friday and started the caravan down to Paradise. We stopped in Puyallup for some snacks before grabbing dinner at Copper Creek. Then it was up to Paradise to figure a few things out before heading to bed early.

When we arrived we found out the self-registration was closed since we had just entered the summer climbing season and the climbing information center was open. We talked it over and decided Aaron would stay until it opened at 6AM to get the permits, then he'd skin up to catch us near Panorama Point. We sat in the lodge talking to Steve and Chris a bit before heading back to the parking lot to change and then get settled in for bed in the car. Alicia and I took the front seats of her car with Aaron in the back, while Kevin and Sara slept in the front seats of his car. I had brought my 35 degree sleeping bag with the hopes that I could leave my 10 degree packed in my pack for the next morning. It was close to 10PM and 2AM was going to come awfully quick. I wrapped my feet in my thin down jacket, snuggled into my sleeping bag, and tried drifting off to sleep. Sleep was difficult to find, especially thanks to the rave going until close to our wake up time. Between the music, cold, and awkward sleeping position, I was rolling around every few minutes. I'd find a good position every so often and drift off for a bit. When the alarm went off at 2:15AM I was hesitant to leave my sleeping bag - despite how cold I was and how much I was shivering. I'd try to fight for a few more minutes of sleep until we were sure there were other people up and getting ready. The car was a bit of a snow/ice box with virtually no visibility outside. Alicia finally noticed some movement next door from Sara and Kevin so I managed to pull myself out of the car to start getting ready for the climb. The word among the group was that the conditions were going to be bad so no one was going to try and summit and instead return on Sunday. With that news, we made the quick decision also not to summit - thereby leaving gear (pickets, probe, crampons, extra food) in the car and lightening our loads a bit. Sara, Alicia, and I decided we didn't want to climb with skis strapped to our packs so we had left those - Aaron wanted to get his May turns in though. We finished packing, I grabbed some food, shed my last few layers to keep in the car, and we headed up to the visitor center parking lot to ready the sleds for our climb.

We had brought our harnesses to use in pulling the sleds, with the intention of prusiking onto the haul ropes attached to the sleds. The previous years they had just used a couple slings and with the direction of the force able to come from the back rather than awkwardly off the front from the harnesses, we quickly ditched the harnesses and the weight leaving them in a lingering car. We waited inside the tunnel near the bathrooms to keep warm until the show was ready to hit the snow. I used a single sling around my waist and over the hipbelt of my pack, with a double sling girth hitched to that. A locking carabiner would attach me to one of the figure 8's on a bight that was put into the hauling ropes. I hooked into the sled carrying a couple boxes of wine, the sled poles, and the tents. There was one rope off of that sled with 6 loops for people. The keg sled had two ropes for hauling. We clipped in and took off at a blistering pace. I was soon out of breath so we stopped and started at a more manageable pace. We climbed a few hills from the visitor center and took a break before the slight downhill just out of the trees. I was not feeling the greatest so I traded off the rope and became an auxiliary person to help tend to the sleds. The keg team went down the downhill first and their sled got a little out of control, knocking Niki off her feet and trapping her skis under the rope. Jon helped untangle her and the teams were off towards Pan face.

Pan face was going to be the biggest obstacle of the day with the steepest sections. As we approached Pan face the clouds finally started clearing and we could see sun through the clouds. Everyone stopped for a quick break to put sunscreen on, and prepared themselves for the climb. The teams took it slowly and we used pickets to secure the sleds when the team needed a break. Everyone did great and we were soon above Panorama Point with some great views of Mt Rainier and the Tatoosh range. I was really not feeling very good and was contemplating turning around. I wanted to help and wanted to take part in the kegger, but I didn't want to be a burden on anyone. I decided to play it by ear as we went, and was waiting to see how I felt once we got on the Muir snow field. We had one last steep bit to ascend before we were on the more constant snow field up to Camp Muir. The teams did a great job and only had about 3,000' left to ascend - only. We plodded along, taking breaks when needed. Finally around 11AM the first hiker caught us. Unfortunately it was none of the people that were planning to catch up and help out. We had been blazing the trail and the hiker was hesitant to pass us since he'd have to expend the energy himself. We took a longer break at 8200' and had some guided groups pass us on the way down. I laid out on my sleeping pad for a break, reapplied sunscreen, and downed some Gu. Gu literally helped propel me up and down the mountain, I just didn't have energy. No takers for helping from the guided groups so the team continued on. I somewhat kept up with them, lagging just a little. Kevin was going slower with his bum knee so we kept tabs on each other. We took another break at 8500' and one at 9000' before the sled teams pulled away from us. There were a few of us stragglers lingering behind so we took our time up to Camp Muir. We could finally see some sunlight reflecting off of solar panels up there. It was so close but that last 1,000' really took it out of us.

I took a few more breaks, trying to calm down and catch my breath. I had a sharp pain on the right side of my chest and when that would spread to the whole chest I'd stop for a break. My favorite was to just fall down on my pack - I call it the turtle. It was quite comfortable but also an odd sight as Kevin would get questioning glances when people passed us. The Muir snow field definitely became a highway above 8500' as more and more people caught up with us. We were lucky enough to find a few awesome volunteers to help pull the sleds for a while! We saw the sled teams get up to Camp and willed ourselves to continue our journey. At the break at 8200' Sara, Alicia, and Kevin all volunteered to turn around with me if I needed it. I wanted to keep plodding along if possible but I did give one of my new little radios to Sara in case we got separated by too much and I needed to head down. Luckily we didn't use those. Kevin and I finally made it to Camp Muir around 3PM and found our team. A group was already boiling water for drinking while the others started setting up the tents. I took my Z-rest sleeping pad and collapsed on the snow near the stoves for a quick nap. It was snowing fairly good so I turned on my side to face away from it. I woke up not too long after and decided I should probably put more clothing on. Alicia came over to grab me since Sara, Aaron, and Kevin mostly had the tent up so that I could collapse out of the elements. They were great, taking care of me. Not what I wanted to impose but they never complained.

We got sleeping pads and bags all rolled out in the tent. We'd be fitting the five of us in one of the 4 person 4 season tents we were borrowing from the Boealps club. Kevin and Aaron played cooks for the night and boiled water with our two jet boils in the vestibule trying to escape the wind and blowing snow outside. The igniters weren't working so I finally got to use my fire starter that I always bring as part of my ten essentials. They got the stoves lit and we were soon feasting on our Mountain Home Dehydrated meals. I had chicken and rice, my usual - but it somehow tasted even better than I remembered. Alicia had the Beef Stroganoff, Sara had Sweet and Sour Pork with Rice, Kevin had Teryiaki Chicken, and Aaron had Mac and Cheese. After dinner I ventured outside for a quick pit stop before retiring for the night. Alicia and I ventured over to the nearest open bathroom and took our turn waiting in line. Luckily the weather had turned again and we were out in the sunshine with clear views - the occasional strong wind stirring snow and spitting it in my face. I had my down booties on and they were glorious, they did a great job of keeping my feet warm in the tent. We got back to the tent and proceeded to go to bed - at 6PM. We were all exhausted and didn't want to hang out outside in the cold, wind. I had my down booties on, wrapped those in my giant orange Mammut puffy, wriggled into my sleeping bag liner, and then wriggled into my 10 degree sleeping bag. I did sleep in my fleece jacket, a hat, rain pants, and mittens but I was toasty - it was so nice and warm in the tent.

I was woken up several times throughout the night, mostly by the wind. It felt as though the tent was going to be blown away, I was sure that the gear we had left in the vestibules was gone. Aaron volunteered to venture outside after an especially nasty period of wind to check on the tent and fly. He fixed some stakes and came in, happy to have seen the clear views lit by moonlight - and to get a taste of a mini Himalayan expedition of blowing snow. The weather reports said it was 14 degrees with 35ish MPH winds at Camp Muir that night - it certainly seemed like stronger winds but we survived. At 3:20AM I commented to Aaron that I doubted there were any summit attempts with that weather - although apparently I was dead so that didn't actually happen according to the three other tent mates. They're convinced that I didn't move for 12 hours despite my regular tossing and turning. The guys were gracious enough to stuff themselves in the ends even though they were both too tall, to buffer us from the wind. However that meant trying to stay as much in the middle as possible so that they could sleep without their heads poking into the tent walls - part of my tossing and turning.

We woke up around 7AM, wondering what the plans were for the day. We peered into the vestibules to see our gear buried in snow. Word from the group was that the wind was suppose to get worse so we were breaking down camp and heading down sooner rather than later. We took turns packing up our stuff and venturing outside - it's quite the logistical game of 5 people in a tent. Sara grabbed the stoves and waterbottles and went to the public hut to melt and boil snow for drinking water. Alicia eventually joined her when she got all packed up. I helped Aaron and Kevin take down the tent, having to rest after digging each snow stake out. We finally got the tent down and packed away, so I grabbed some food, water, and sunscreen and went to the public hut to get out of the wind. There were lots of people already inside melting snow, and plenty of places to sit. Most of the people that had stayed in the hut already cleared out so they brought the keg inside to start working on it. Cups, nalgenes, and jet boils were filled with Rainier beer and Shadle made sure that they were full, acting as beer wench for the morning with a one gallon jug, constantly refilling the drinking vessels. Stories were shared, toasts and food were made, singing and dancing was seen, and many pictures were taken. After some miserable weather, everyone was in great spirits helping tackle the keg problem - emptying it before we descended. The group made a good dent in the beer and decided it was time for keg stands. Luckily the weather had improved so we were treated with sunshine and minimal wind. Everyone took their turn at a keg stand, many people going back several times to help lighten the keg. I did my first ever keg stand to help out - not too shabby doing a keg stand with a keg of Rainier at 10,000'+ on Mt Rainier. Hikers had started making it up to Camp Muir so many also filled up their water bottles and a few even did keg stands with us. The keg was finally empty (it only took a few hours and a bunch of crazy mountaineers!) - it was time to head back down.

You could see the sea of clouds we would be descending into but the weather was great up high. Sara, Alicia, Kevin, and I took off early since we were hiking down. We figured we could use the extra time. We managed to create a few glissade chutes which are always nice - sliding down is way better than plunge stepping. We finally spotted a few skiers around 8,600' so we took a break. Monica made her way down, shortly followed by Niki and Sam - all sporting their white tyvek suits with Rainier 'Rs' painted on them. Soon we spotted Aaron and Steve making their way towards us with one of the sleds. They were taking turns getting the empty keg back down the mountain. The sled was awkward and took a lot of work so the guys decided to hand carry down the keg itself, while Sara volunteered to walk the sled down. The other sled team with the tents and wine was having difficulties as well, so Sara took a couple tents to lighten their load. I had Alicia attach the keg koozie to my pack to carry down. We made pretty good time with lots of fun/weird glances as we headed down. The plan to tackle pan face was to have the guys on skis side slip down with the sled, while us boot packers glissaded. At the bottom we took the sled once again to finish crossing the flat ground. The weather really deteriorated right at Panorama Point, with fairly bad white out conditions. The snow was sloppy and we followed the wands to the parking lot. After jumping Athena (her battery died) and changing, we packed back in the cars and took off for Eatonville where we would relive our weekend through stories over delicious Mexican food.

View Larger Map Map for this adventure

Our trail up Mt Rainier to Camp Muir for the kegger

Started at the visitor center at Paradise, made our way up past Pan Point and up to Camp Muir

Camp Muir, just about 10,000'