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Ascent of Mount Rainier on 2011-07-16

Climber: Emily Wheeler

Date:

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Ascent Type:

Unsuccessful - Turned Back

Peak:

Mount Rainier

Location:

USA-Washington

Elevation:

13130 ft / 4002 m

Ascent Trip Report

After a rocky start to the climb, when 1 member of the party decided not to come at the last minute leaving the rest of us to split the group gear, we made it to Camp Muir and set up camp. 2 members were able to get a spot in the cabin, while the other 4 of us set up the tent.

We planned on a 2 night-3 day climb, to give an extra day if weather wasn't cooperating. We woke up at 12:00 am to assest the weather, and clear skies made the decision easy. We left camp Muir around 12:30 am and started up towards the summit.

After passing the bottom of the Cleaver, which had a fixed line set up by the rangers already, we were able to see headlamps of additional climbers. We had the realization that most of our friends were probably just heading to bed in the city at that exact time while we were heading up.

Our team was moving slow up steady up the mountain and had a beautiful sunrise to watch. Around 530 am, we were at about elevation 12500, when we could see the crater, we noticed a possible cloud coming around the mountain. By 13000, the visibility dropped and everyone on the route turned around (about 50 people at least). With weather deteriorating, my rope team made it back to camp muir with little delay by 10am. Our second rope team lost the trail for a while and worked with another group to find the wands again and make it back to camp around 11am.

We waiting for the weather at Muir to get better, but by 1pm we decided to pack up and head down to make sure we were able to get out. We made a small wrong turn on the muir snowfield, but found some snowshoers who pointed us in the direction to Paradise.

Although the summit didn't happen, this was a great learning experience since it was truely the only time I've had any weather issues while on the mountain. Hopefully the next attempt is better!!!

Summary Total Data

Elevation Gain:

8066 ft / 2459 m

Elevation Loss:

8158 ft / 2487 m

Route Conditions: