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Pacific
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Where to
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Mount
Rainier NP
VISITOR INFORMATION
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Mount
Rainier National Park
Climbing
Mount Rainier
For
many who are attracted to the mountain, climbing and summiting it are
equivalent goals! These days about 10,000 people attempt to summit
Mount Rainier every year. About
5,500, or just over half, make it to the top. There are people who have tried five or six times and failed to
summit. Weather, reactions to
altitude and personal determination are variables which all impact on the
success of a climb. From 1968 - 1997,
the only climbing guide service allowed to operate within the national park
was Rainier Mountaineering
Incorporated (RMI). This single service policy has served to protect the
mountain from over-use. More
recently the National Park Service has experimented with allowing in more
guide services. In April 1997,
it awarded the Emmons Glacier route to Cascade
Alpine Guides & Adventures. About
one third of those attempting the summit use guides, and the rest climb in
self-guided parties.
Prime climbing
season runs from about June to September. As the summer wears on climbing can become more difficult as
crevasses open up on the glaciers, and scree (loose rock and debris) emerges
from the melting snow.
There are nearly
50 possible routes to the summit. The
two most popular routes are Disappointment Cleaver above Camp Muir on the
east side, and Emmons Glacier above Camp Schurman on the north side. These
are the routes most-used by the guides. The passage of many climbing parties
can create a deep trail through the snow that can be followed all the way to
the summit. (When you think of
10,000 would-be summit-ers squeezing through the four-month window, that’s
averages at more than 80 people per day.)
You will be
required to register and obtain permits in advance, and to check out upon
return. There is no
self-registration – you must get your permit from a ranger. These can be
obtained from the Longmire and White River Information Centers, and the
Carbon River, Ohanapecosh, Sunrise or Paradise ranger stations. Party
sizes might be limited. See
here for more information.
For unguided climbers, there is no
substitute for good judgment and technique developed with climbing
experience, as well as proper equipment.
The mountain has claimed an average of more than
three lives each year since its designation as a park - a reminder that
visitors need to continue to treat Mount Rainier with respect, despite any sense of familiarity.
While not all those killed are
attempting the summit, it must be noted that fatalities do occur due to
unprepared and inexperienced climbers attempting the summit.
Historically, climbing accidents have involved avalanches, icefall,
rockfall, and falls down glaciers into crevasses (both individuals and whole
rope teams), hypothermia, and mountain sickness. Bodies of at least a dozen
fallen climbers remain sealed in glacial ice.
The highest death toll in a climbing incident in the U.S. occurred in 1981 when an
ice avalanche on Ingraham Glacier killed 11 of a 29-member climbing party.
Related
Links
Alpine
Ascents International. 121 Mercer Street, Seattle, WA 98109.
Phone: 206-378-1927; Fax: 206-378-1937. E-mail
American
Alpine Institute. 1515 12th St N-4, Bellingham, WA 98225.
Phone: 360-671-1505. E-mail
Cascade
Alpine Guides & Adventures, LLC. 5103 190th Place NE,
Sammamish, WA 98074. Phone: 425-898-7329; Toll-free: 800-981-0381;
Fax: 425-836-2793.
Rainier
Mountaineering, Inc. 30027 SR 706 E, PO Box Q, Ashford, WA 98304.
Phone: 1-888-892-5462.
|
 Click on
Mount Rainier National Park Map to locate
park features such as campgrounds, roads and visitor centers.
Go Northwest!
Bookstore
Best selection of books on the
Northwest.
Click here!
 Climbing
Mount Rainier: The Essential Guide
by Fred Beckey, Alex Van Steen
May 1999, Paperback, 1st edition, 160 pages,
(guidebook). Written for experienced mountain
climbers, this book offers detailed information on nearly fifty routes to
the summit of Washington state's Mount Rainier.
 Includes 75 photos
showing climbers progressing toward the summit.
Order
now...
Challenge
of Rainier: A Record of the Explorations and Ascents, Triumphs and
Tragedies
by Dee Molenaar
June 1979, Paperback, 3rd edition, 364 pages, (non-fiction)
A classic text on Rainier that
documents pioneering and more recent explorers of trails to the summit,
its geology and natural environment, and its inevitable human disasters.
Fascinating and instructive stories such as the one about the guy who slid
a thousand feet in his down booties trying to catch a lid that fell off of
his cooking pot.
Order
now...
 Mt.
Rainier Climbing Guide SM10097 The Ingraham Glacier-Disappointment
Cleaver
Route, plus two
variations: The Fuhrer Finger Route, The Kautz
Glacier Route
Order
now...
 Mt. Rainier Climbing Guide SM20100
The Emmons-Winthrop Glacier Route, The Liberty Ridge Route
by Stanley Friedman
These comprehensive, lightweight (weighs less than one ounce) climbing
guides are designed to be carried with you on your summit attempts. Each
route is clearly shown with 40-foot contours (1:24,000 scale) on a single
waterproof and nearly-indestructible sheet that you can fold down and
carry in your pocket.
Order
now...
The
Measure of a Mountain: Beauty and Terror on Mount Rainier
by Bruce Barcott
October 1998,
Paperback or Hardcover,
278 pages, (autobiography)
By turns witty and introspective, Barcott's
trip to the top of the glacier-clad peak is filled with history, scientific
observation. "Enjoyable, interesting, sometimes funny, sometimes sad,
sometimes reflective, but always engaging", Barcott's imparts to the reader
the important connection between Puget Sound residents and the mountain.
Order
now...
 Mountain
Fever: Historic Conquests of
Rainier (Columbia Classics) by Aubrey L. Haines, Ruth Kirk.
October 1999, Paperback, 278 pages.
Order
now...
 The
Big Fact Book About Mount Rainier
by Bette E. Filley, Rachel French (Illustrator)
April 1996,
Paperback or Hardcover,
(non-fiction)
Well-researched, must-have reference for anyone who loves The Mountain.
Order
now...
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