Mount Rainier - Emmons-Winthrop Route Attempt 6.8 - 6.9.13

In 2007 I came to Seattle, really the Pacific Northwest, for the first time in my life. I had a summer to experience all that I could before heading back for my senior year of college and I took advantage of it - hiking, camping, rafting, sky diving. I wanted to try everything I could before I left, not knowing where the future would take me for my next adventure (luckily it brought me back to Seattle). During that summer my brother came to visit and we decided to go for a hike - my first hike - down near Mount Rainier, with one of his friends from college that was living in the area. We happened to pick the Glacier Basin trail and had quite the adventure following the yellow tape tied in trees and crawling over logs after the recent trail washout.

Hiking the Glacier Basin trail through the washout in 2007

Six years later, the trail was newly reconstructed and I found myself hiking it again, this time with a group of my friends to climb Mount Rainier. During my first hike, even as I stood in Glacier Basin and marveled at the beautiful scene surrounding me, I had no idea I'd fall in love with the mountains and would spend most of my future free time climbing. It's quite a different world from the flatlands of the Midwest, where I grew up spending most of my time on the softball diamond. It was fun to head back in to this area with a new appreciation and understanding for my surroundings.

Glacier Basin circa 2007, my first hike

Following our Year of the Volcano plan, we had planned to start checking the weather for an attempt on Rainier the second weekend in June. Surprisingly the weather was looking good, and stayed that way as the week progressed. I had an all day meeting on Friday so we made the plan to climb Saturday - Monday. We'd reach camp the first day, rest the second day, and push for the summit on the third day, returning home that same day. The route conditions report on the Rainier climbing blog indicated there were already a couple wide crevasses open high on the DC route with ladders across them. That, coupled with Aaron's many pleas that we consider the Emmons-Winthrop route, we decided on the Emmons route. Camp Schurman is at about 9400', meaning our first day and summit push would both be 5000'. It would be challenging but we were willing to give it a try. On the DC last year, we moved camp to the Ingraham Flats on the second day so we only had about 3500' on summit day. Knowing how cold I get and how that negatively affects my performance, I like to minimize the summit push as much as possible by camping as high as possible. With the weekend forecast looking good, Sara assembled a team and planned the climb. We were hoping to find a fourth to go with the original Team Sexy and You Know It, and ended up with five total - Sara, Kevin, Erica, Fedya, and myself. Five is an awkward number for roped glacier travel so we sent out pleas to find a sixth, and Jaime volunteered. Sara finished the reservation process and got us all of our permits. We figured out gear, who'd carry what, and our carpool plan down. The weather stayed sunny as the week went by. Unfortunately some winds were creeping into the Rainier report that weren't showing up on NOAA, and they were some very strong summit winds.

We left Seattle from our carpool meet up near Boeing Field a little after 5:30am on Saturday. Last year during the drive to Rainier I managed to eat a whole quarter of half of a bagel, or for those who don't like word problems, an eighth of a bagel. This year I managed to eat an entire bagel by time we stopped at Starbucks – things were looking up! After the pit stop for some Starbucks in Enumclaw, we rolled into the White River Ranger station around 8am. There were a few other groups as well hoping to snag some of the walk-up permits. The rangers warned us about some fox at Camp Schurman that had been chewing into tents to get food, otherwise the route was in good condition. We also learned no one had summited in the past two days due to the high summit winds - shoot. There had been some groups summitting earlier in the week at least.

Packing up the last of the group gear and getting ready to hit the trail

We drove towards the White River Campground and found some spots in the busy parking lot. There were a few other groups getting ready as well, many skiing. We dived up the last of the group gear and everyone weighed their packs using Jaime's scale. Everyone came in about 45lbs for the 3-day trip. The previous two weeks no one had been summiting because of conditions, so in an effort to avoid what happened to us on Baker we brought snowshoes this time, adding a bit of weight to our loads. After a quick group photo, we were walking down the road towards the trail about 8:35am.

Team Sexy and You Know It

Not long after hitting the trail, my shoulder started to get a little sore so I stopped to take some ibuprofen. We stopped again a little while later so Sara could tape her heels - nothing like a Rainier trip to break in new boots! Unfortunately during this rest stop I failed to clip my water bottle back on my pack, and didn't notice until we were at least another 300 feet higher. Fedya was awesome and volunteered to head down and grab it for me as we continued making our steady progress. (I bought him a couple beers at dinner to show my appreciation when we got off the mountain). The dirt trail gave way to patches of snow, and a couple miles in, we were on solid snow.

First real view of our target from the trail

There was a good boot pack to follow though so no need for the snowshoes. We somehow lost the track and dead ended at the river. I check the topo on my GPS and noticed the trail cut back into the trees, so after looking around for a minute we spotted the wands the rangers had left to indicate this corner. We decided to wait there to catch Fedya so he wouldn't make the same mistake. We had a nice little food break, and I took the opportunity to lie in the snow and ice my shoulder a little. Fedya came bounding up the correct trail and we soon set off. We were only a few hundred feet in elevation from Glacier Basin.

Sara was pumped to have a climbing burrito for the approach up to camp

The trail leveled and we soon spotted a large can for food storage - we had made it to the basin. Some people camp here so there are bins to help deter various critters from eating their food. Knowing we were about to leave the cover of trees, we took another break to get our sun protection on. For me that meant another application of sunscreen, my sun hat, and a bandana around my neck.

Made it to Glacier Basin, only 3000' to the top of the Inter Glacier

Jaime had been leading up at a nice steady pace, but since we were starting out in the sun-softened snow on a less distinct boot pack, Sara gave Jaime a reprieve from breaking trail and led us out. We could see some groups ahead of us, mostly skiers, and were all a little envious. The snow wasn't sloppy enough to warrant snowshoes so we trudged on.

Sara out front kicking steps up the Inter Glacier

Eventually, as the slope started steepening even more, Sara let the rest of us take a turn in helping kick steps as well. We had almost 3000' to reach the ridge at the top of the Inter Glacier before we could drop down onto the Emmons Glacier. We kept our steady pace, taking short breaks here and there. Kevin was cramping up a bit so we stopped around 8000' for a longer break. We were high enough to see over the surrounding ridges and had a great view of the Cascades to our north. I'm often looking south at Mount Rainier from the Cascades, so it was fun to get the opposite view for a change. I found the Fremont Lookout Tower, a hike I had done some summers ago on the way to a rafting trip on the Tieton.

View to the north of the Cascades

Fedya laying out during our break

I've started discovering that the longer I sit during a break on a hike, the worse I generally start to feel. I let Sara know and we were soon off, heading back up hill. Fedya ran out ahead with Erica close behind and kicked steps to the ridge. The rest of us spread out a little more and made our steady progress up.

Not long after starting again I felt pretty terrible. This was definitely the hardest part of the climb for me. It's no secret that I tend to get in my head before volcano climbs and stress myself out during the week leading up to it. I've analyzed myself, with the help of friends, and can't quite figure out the magical key to getting passed this. This Rainier trip was no different and I wasn't eating much during the week before the climb (Sara took me to Qdoba Friday night before the climb and refused to take me home until I ate a whole burrito). A stressful week coupled with how I was feeling at that present time made me sure I never wanted to climb volcanoes again, well, maybe just Rainier. These climbs seem to be way more stress than fun for me, and it was wearing on me. Yea, I’m not sure why I thought the year of the volcano would be a good idea given my history. I had worked out my entire speech and I was ready to give it to Sara when we got to camp, but the terribleness passed and I made it to the top of the ridge. I was still planning on telling Sara how I never intended to climb a volcano again, sticking to other mountains instead, but I was at least feeling better. We had our first view of Camp Schurman, Little Tahoma, and the Emmons Glacier and it was great. I was surprised how broken up the glacier was with numerous crevasses.

Little Tahoma with the Emmons Glacier below it

The ridge was still covered in snow so we followed the boot pack down a little ways and roped up. We were planning to go over self arrest practice, glacier travel skills, and crevasse rescue with Erica on our rest day, so Sara and I put her in the middle of our rope and I just described the proper position for the basic self arrest for our short hike up the glacier to camp. There happened to be a little stream so we filled up all of our water containers before heading up the last few hundred feet to Camp Schurman.

Camp Schruman ahead on the right, near the bow of Steamboat Prow. We could see the boot pack heading up the Emmons-Winthrop route too

Just shy of 10 hours from when we started, we rolled into camp. We weren’t trying for any speed records and were anticipating a slow, but steady climb up the mountain. I wasn’t feeling dead (yay!) and helped set up camp. There were a few open tent platforms on the south side of the rock ridge so we took those, perfect in size for the two man and four man tents we brought.

View from the ranger hut of our camp on the south side of the rocks, more out of the wind there

Sara carved out a little kitchen and Fedya started boiling the water we had collected from the stream for dinner. I split a chicken and rice dinner with Sara and actually ate half of it. Given my performance history, I was doing really well.

Camp kitchen at 9400'

We heard reports from a few who had turned back high on the mountain and we wondered what the next days had in store for us. Much to my surprise, we had a pretty clear view of the boot pack all the way up to the bergschrund. We were worried it might be harder to route find during our alpine start on a route none of us had ever attempted and is less traveled/not wanded like the DC. It looked like it should be fairly easy to follow though.

Boot pack from Camp Schurman up the Emmons-Winthrop route on Mount Rainier

We ate dinner and got our warm water bottles before retiring about 8:30pm for bed, as the sun was still setting. Kevin and I took the two man, Mountain Hardwear Direkt 2; while Sara, Fedya, Erica, and Jaime squeezed into Jaime’s Black Diamond Bomb Shelter tent. It was a cozy night but about as much weight as the three man tent we carried up last year.

I woke up frequently throughout the night thanks to the wind. It would make the tent cradle me which was kind of fun, and I only felt like I was getting lifted up a couple times. Apparently my new fear while camping on mountains is that my boots are going to blow away. I frequently checked on my boots outside my bivy on Baker, and Rainier was no different. The Direkt 2 while super light, lacks a vestibule and many other creature comforts that add weight to most tents. After reaching outside and feeling for both boots (waking Kevin up in the process), I decided I’d pull them inside so I'd stop worrying and sleep better. Luckily I’m short so I had a little room above my head. Kevin got out and moved his gear around too since the wind sounded so strong. I woke up by 6am to some other climbers setting up camp nearby. The sun had been up for a couple hours already and I soon heard a familiar, dreaded cough – Sara had woken up with a migraine. Miraculously she worked through it and was feeling better in only a couple hours. I was sure we’d be heading back down but she was a champ. We all got up and enjoyed the beautiful, sunny day. I meandered over to the toilet and had trouble standing in the wind as I waited outside. Everyone got cell reception at camp so they checked the forecast. Winds were supposed to be 60 mph Sunday night on the summit, and 45 mph Monday. It was a bit cold sitting out in the wind, so after getting my fill of analyzing the route up and watching the progress of the ant sized climbers, I went back to the tent.

Snow blowing off Liberty Cap

Eventually most everyone ventured back out into our kitchen and we started the discussion of our climbing plans for the rest of the weekend. 45 – 60 mph winds didn’t instill much confidence in me. I figured that meant I literally would be crawling to the summit if I could make it that high. On Mount Hood a couple years ago, the wind was gusting in the low 50’s near the parking lot and Sara had to steady me as I stood in the wind. I wouldn’t have that option this year. People generally wanted to climb, but given what we perceived as pretty dismal odds of making it (20%), after a lengthy discussion back and forth, we eventually decided as a group to head down and save our vacation day for a better weekend when we’d try again. We still planned on going over skills with Erica, but we decided to pack up camp and do it on the Inter Glacier, farther away from crevasses. We packed up camp, and as part of our skills review, got completely ready for glacier travel for the few hundred feet down. We put Erica on the front of the rope this time so she could experience something new, and showed her how to use the chest harness and put the prusiks on the rope, in addition to using a kiwi coil.

Erica all ready for some glacier travel

We started down the sunny slope, past many crevasses, and back up on the ridge. Once on the flatter area near the top we unroped and picked out a relatively flat location, that we hoped was more out of the wind, to work on crevasse rescue. Not only would it be good for Erica to learn, but also a great review for all of us that haven’t practiced in a year. Sara, Kevin, and I did a run through first for Erica to watch, trying to remember all the nuances as we went. Then we had her try the two arrested climber positions. It’s always a bit of a jumble, but hopefully she learned some things.

Walking back to the ridge to head down the Inter Glacier, we passed several crevasses along the way

Next we worked our way down and found the long glissade chute down the Inter Glacier. Rather than hiking back up the slope numerous times, Sara decided it best for Erica to keep her pack on and try arresting as she made her way down the glissade. The first two positions went well enough (feet first, face downhill and back first, face uphill), but the next two proved rather tricky with a pack on. I tried demonstrating head first, face down but I couldn’t move in the chute with my pack on. I took it off and did a demonstration. Since I had my pack off, I was elected to demonstrate head first, face up as well. After a little practice we glissaded the rest of the way down to the basin. What a nice glissade! Thanks to Jaime and Sara for heading down first to clear the chute for the rest of us.

Kevin likes collecting snow in his helmet while he glissades

A little farther down the relatively flat basin led us into the trees. We stopped to change out of some clothes and get ready for the hike down. I took off my long underwear and gaiters, and rolled up my soft shell pants (stylish, I know) to help keep cool on the hike out. We fell into line and made quick time back down the trail, reaching the cars about 4:30pm.

One last look at Mount Rainier with the boot pack up the Emmons-Winthrop route as we head down the trail

It had been a lot of work to camp for a night, but we now know what to expect of the Emmons route, or at least the first half, and it was of course some good training for our coming attempt(s). I hadn't taken my snowshoes for a walk up a mountain recently either so it was good for them. After a stop in Enumclaw for some dinner, we arrived home Sunday night to our comfy beds. As soon as we find another nice window in the forecast, Team Sexy and You Know it will be back to challenge Mount Rainier.

Team Sexy and You Know It - Camp Schurman

View Mount Rainier Emmons 6.8 - 6.9.13 in a larger map Map for this adventure

Trail from Glacier Basin up to Camp Schurman

Made it to Camp Schurman just below Steamboat Prow. Only 5,000' more to the summit