Climbing Mt. Rainier
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 มิ.ย. 2023
- I set out from Bend, Oregon, this past Wednesday morning and began the five hour commute up to Ashford, Washington. The whole time I was driving, I fretted about the weather. Rainier, like most big peaks, is known for unpredictable and rapid changes in its atmospheric attitude. Looking back on my experience, I feel like I cheated a little: We summited with cloudless skies and mellow winds. For many climbers, the weather is an obstacle to surmount not unlike the glaciers and vert that make Rainier the challenge that it is.
When I pulled into Ashford I was thinking about all of the climbing legends who’ve been through this place: Ed Viesturs, Mark Twight, Jim, Lou, and Pete Whittaker, among many more. Rainier is a test piece. It’s the place where countless climbing careers begin, and some tragically end. As Twight says “the mountains have teeth.” One of the worst accidents in US mountaineering history happened right here in 1981, where 11 people were killed when the Ingraham Icefall fractured and avalanched down the glacier. It was the very same route we’d be attempting.
My friends and I went with the four-day climb through RMI (Rainier Mountaineering Inc.), which dates back to 1969 and was one of the first guide services operating in the vicinity.
#climbing #mountaineering #outdoors #rainier #sports #adventure
Music: uppbeat.io/t/zimpzon/calm
License code: 9IVKCMGYJXZNZTCH
Thumbnail photo by Lucas Davies on Unsplash
A few folks have been asking which gear didn’t pass the RMI check: Brent advised that we go with full length zips on the rain pants, as an example. I had 3/4 zips which are very difficult to delayer over boots and crampons. My "heavy" gloves were also not insulating enough. I also brought a summit pack which Brent told me to leave in the hotel room 😂
This is the best documentation of a Rainier climb I’ve watch. No annoying TH-cam music and great narrating.
Incredibley well put together and detailed work here Nick. This is one of the best Rainier films we've seen on here. Congrats on your summit!
Many thanks!!
Awesome video, I’m about to go up in the next few days. My first time was with RMI. Only advice i have is Alpine ascents does their skills training up high which gives you more time to acclimatize. You practice on the cowlitz glacier above camp Muir. I’ve tried this twice before and weather screwed us and various points. To anyone who wants to do this last week in July and first week in august IS the best bet for summit.
For those who’ve never been to rainier, it’s hard to understand the gravity of this climb, I remember straddling the side of one of the paths around the paradise area And looking up at all of the lights of the climbers and what looked like little fires blending in with the stars in the night sky. Going to rainier is like entering an oil painting.
Having a go at it tomorrow. Getting excited and a bit nervous. I did Mt. Baker about a month ago in some harsh weather. Got up at 11:30pm to climb, got back to the car at 11:00pm. It was brutal!
Thank you for posting this beautifully edited video. It looks like my trip with RMI overlapped with yours. I summitted on June 2, and the group was led by Dave Hahn. I can't tell what date yours was, but my grey pack and white/red helmet are there in the video at 3:18.
Thanks for letting me live vicariously through this video. I have attempted Rainier twice and both times had to turn around due to weather. Just got back from Ashford today after the second attempt and was feeling bummed about it. Watching this made me feel a bit better though. Third times the charm.
So sorry to hear!! Was it the smoke on the latest try? I saw it looked pretty bad up there
@@nickrrob Unfortunately it was the heat wave. The high temps opened up crevasses and added a higher risk for ice fall… The guides just didn’t feel comfortable with it.
Awesome video! I was there with Brent and the RMI team the week just before and you captured a nice shot of the platform I dug and tent I set up and stayed in at 4:45! Definitely quieter at night than sleeping in the bunkhouse :)
Excellent video and narration thank you! I actually jumped when you were describing not being able to see the bottom of the crevasse just as your crampon was loudly scraping across the ice. 😂
Great video man. Straightforward. Clear. No fluff. Good quality audio/video. Thank you.
Great video!
Mt Tahoma as native Americans used to call the volcano. a lot of climbers have lost their lives trying to reach its summit when they miss/lose their footing.
My daughter’s doing a 5k this week on the lower flanks of Rainier. I thought I’d send her this (after watching it) to let her see how it was so recently to climb to the summit! I can’t even imagine how it would be to cross those crevasses by flashlight! Thanks for sharing!
From Albuquerque
🌶🐈🌶
Going to go climb with my friend after we graduate high school
Nice video. Congratulations.
I did it in two days on June 30/July 1 with my five friends. It is a very tiring trek back down to the car. We only had 3 hours of sleep at Muir the day before.
I think this is the best of these videos for Rainier. :)
Well done Nick!
Did Ingram twice and disappointment once route 99-2001. Best advise is my good gear and take breaks but never ever quit.
Amazing video!
I live in Ashford. This was such a cool little video to watch😊
Really nice video...I worked 2 summers (1969 and1970) at the national park inn at Longmire....Lou Whitaker used to come into the inn often . He had just started the climbing school.❤
Going for a summit attempt with Alpine Ascents starting late May. I hope weather can hold out for us for sure! Great video!
This is great
great video! you mentioned that some gear you brought wasn't needed/ not appropriate what were these?
Hi Nick, just a suggestion, but please have your dash cam tilted a bit higher next time -- I feel it is tilted down a bit too much. Anyway, I really liked the narrating and the video in general otherwise. It is interesting to learn about the avalanche from 1981.
I think Brent is a really smart guy for providing advice.
By the way, I would really appreciate it if you check out some of my recent hiking videos. I feel like I can learn a lot from you.
I was looking at Mount Rainier the other day, and it's seems to have a lot more solid rock to it than St. Helens, which seems to be mostly a pile of ash. What are the Geologic differences between the two peaks ?
Your guides were probably smoking dope and woke up when ever they wanted. I usually bumped up from from Muir to Ingram for summit push which was a 1000 feet higher. Also we stayed at Ingram another night which allowed us to actually enjoy the climb. RMI is a terrible boot camp experience
Nick, I too am curious about what gear you had that RMI deemed wasn't needed (besides the Rainier beer!) and/or adequate.
Replied in the comment above 👍
I used a Rainier beer can as a weed bong three years in a row🤷
I’m heading up Rainier with RMI in a few days! What gear didn’t pass their check?
Ah! Sorry I should've put this in the description of the vid: Brent advised that we go with full length zips on the rain pants, as an example. I had 3/4 zips which are very difficult to delayer over boots and crampons. My "heavy" gloves were also not insulating enough. I also brought a summit pack which Brent told me to leave in the hotel room haha
I'm doing the 5 day at the end of July - also curious about what gear didnt pass?
I went right after you 6-9 June and we got stuck at Camp Muir due to bad weather.
Ah no! So sorry to hear! It’s a fickle beast of a mountain for sure. Best of luck if you go for it again!
@@nickrrob yeah I'll definitely be back! It was so frustrating it was hot and sunny all the way up to Camp Muir, we were walking around barefoot at Camp Muir, and then bam rain just rolled in. 😔
Did you encounter any aliens?
Bro wtf is an 80 year old man doing up there? Got bored with bingo?
He’s done it 50
Times. Experienced climber