This blog is maintained by the Climbing Rangers for use by recreational non-guided climbers and skiers. Use these reports as a baseline but plan for changing conditions.
The first stormy weather of August approaches the mountain this week, with upper level troughs passing over the park. It's about that time of year where the long days of high pressure fronts are fading and checking the forecast becomes critical to the safety of any summit push.
Remember that the Public Shelter at Camp Muir remains closed through September and all climbing parties will need to bring their own tent/shelter.
Overview
It’s been a windy week at Camp Muir, but many parties have successfully summited the mountain. The Disappointment Cleaver route is in good shape and the weather for the upcoming week includes low to moderate wind speeds and several days of optimal climbing weather moving into August. Expect busy weekends at camp and on the route this time of year and consider the Emmons-Winthrop route as a less-traveled alternative.
As a reminder, the Public Shelter remains closed for the season at Camp Muir so bring your own bivy/tent setup.
Disappointment Cleaver
The walk up from Paradise is snow-free to Pebble Creek (where running water is plentiful, but make sure to have a water purification system). The snowfield is free from crevasses at the moment, and it's a good idea to make a GPS track of your ascent route in the event that whiteout conditions occur during your descent. At Camp Muir, it’s worth noting that there are no trash services on the mountain. Please carry your trash out and practice Leave No Trace principles.
Above Camp Muir, the route crosses the Cowlitz Glacier where both rockfall hazard and crevasse fall danger exist - don't forget to rope-up and helmet-up right out of camp. Cathedral Gap has lots of exposed rock, and just past Cathedral Gap on the way to Ingraham Flats there is some exposed firm glacial ice. Take care while traveling on this ice - it's not steep, but a slip or trip would result in landing on a very firm surface. There is a significant rockfall hazard here - move efficiently, but with deliberate footing, through this rocky and icy section just above Cathedral Gap and right below Ingraham Flats.
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| Looking back on the Ingraham Glacier from the base of the Disappointment Cleaver. Climbers are traveling through the Bowling Alley in the center of the photo. |
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| The High Crack Ladder on the Ingraham Glacier, below the Disappointment Cleaver. |
The route above Ingraham Flats Camp crosses a horizontal ladder before traveling through the Ice Box and Bowling Alley, where it’s important to move quickly to reduce your exposure to overhead hazard. Once on the Disappointment Cleaver itself, avoid kicking rocks down on parties beneath you by stepping carefully and not letting your rope drag. Above the Cleaver, the route switchbacks up to two additional horizontal ladders. During busy days on the route, please be extra courteous and communicate with other rope teams if trying to pass. Consider stepping off the route and waiting versus trying to climb around with difficult footing. Traverse to the Emmons Shoulder above the ladders and ascend until the route wraps back toward the Crater Rim. If your party seeks shelter from high winds in a steam cave near the crater, please remember to pack out all of your trash (and we’d greatly appreciate it if you pick up any additional trash you notice in the area to keep the mountain clean!).
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| Climbers navigate a ladder above the Disappointment Cleaver (seen in the right of the photo). |
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| Climbers traverse an exposed section of the route. A handline is seen on the left. |
Use caution on the descent with the warming temperatures typical for this time of year. Snow conditions are changing rapidly. Consider using techniques like belaying for sections of the route and remember that pickets are an essential piece of equipment for building snow anchors on this mountain; it’s recommended to carry two pickets per person.
Additional Information
Remember, practice Leave No Trace principals throughout your entire visit to Mount Rainier National Park. Do not litter in your national park.
A climbing permit and payment of the annual climbing fee are required to climb Mount Rainier. More information can be found on the Mount Rainier National Park's Website. The Paradise Wilderness Information Center (PWIC) is open for the season with hours of operation between 7:30am - 5pm.
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| Emmons-Winthrop route approximation (blue line) on 7/26/25 |
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| Recommended travel line shown climber's right of the Inter Fork of the White River . Avoid the snow slopes with running water underneath (denoted by the X) photo: 7/27/25 |
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| Inter Glacier travel is quite good for late July - 7/27/25 |
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| Crevasses crossing near 13,300 ft (7/26/25) |
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| A Ranger descends on belay across the snow bridge at 12,300 ft (7/26/25) |
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| The snow bridge over the 12,300 ft crevasse from above (7/26/25) |
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| The traverse to Liberty Saddle (7/26/25) |
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| The Emmons-Winthrop route taken by Rangers on 7/26/25 |
First, as a reminder, the Public Shelter at Camp Muir is closed for the season. Please plan on bringing a tent/bivy to stay at Camp Muir.
The DC has been in great shape for mid-July, and lots of teams are making it to the summit. Some unseasonable stormy weather has left a dusting of snow and graupel on the upper mountain. Expect busy weekends through early-August - this is prime time to climb! The Emmons/Winthrop Route has significantly less traffic and can offer more solitude this time of year.
Trail conditions up to Camp Muir are now mostly snow-free until Pebble Creek. Above Pebble Creek, consider trekking poles and even crampons (or at least some kind of shoe chains if only going to Muir) if traveling early or late in the day when the snow firms up. No crevasses have opened up on the Muir Snowfield yet - but be aware of rocks melting out in glissade tracks and cornices on the snow rolls above Pebble Creek.
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| Cornice collapsing above Pebble Creek, 7200' |
The route just above Ingraham Flats goes up the glacier until around 11,200' and then crosses over a ladder and traverses to the Disappointment Cleaver. Don't linger on this traverse - there's overhead hazard from both rocks and seracs. From the nose of the cleaver the route ascends staying mostly on the spine of the cleaver with a couple of zigzags to climber's left.
Glacier travel on the upper mountain, above the cleaver, remains fairly straightforward - ascend up from the top of the cleaver, crossing two horizontal ladders, at about 12,800'. Traverse climber's right once above the ladders, over to the Emmons Shoulder, and ascend for another 600 or so vertical feet until traversing back climber's left towards the Crater Rim. As in other places on this route with overhead hazard, move efficiently on the traverse and plan to avoid congestion on the traverse due to serac fall hazard (see photo below).
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| Traverse at 13,000 between the Emmons Shoulder and the route above the Cleaver. |
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| Looking down on the Cleaver, 12,700' |
For more info, check out our Disappointment Cleaver Route Brief. See you on the mountain!
Conditions on the Emmons Winthrop route remain favorable for climbing as summer stretches on. Rangers at Camp Schurman experienced a variety of mountain weather over the last several days. High freezing temperatures gave way to clouds, wind and even scattered upper mountain snow showers. To close out the weekend the Park saw thunderstorms, hale and heavy rainfall on 7/19.
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| 7/19/25 - Sunset on Little Tahoma |
Inter Glacier
The Inter Glacier continues to lose snow each day, no ice exposed as of 7/21. Hiking up climbers will find the transition to snow at around 7,000' elevation. Please follow the climbers trail to access the snow to avoid impacting the alpine vegetation. No cracks or holes in the Inter were noted.
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| 7/21/25 - A party begins ascending the Inter Glacier |
Emmons entrance from Camp Curtis
As the glacier recedes, the climb down from Camp Curtis to access the Emmons Glacier has gotten steeper with loose rock exposed. Use caution when making the transition on the descent and ascent of this feature. Use the appropriate travel techniques in this piece of terrain. Rangers watched multiple parties move through the steep rock step, maintaining traditional glacier travel techniques - a fall in this configuration could have serious consequences for the entire team. Teams should be prepared to slow down through here, coordinate with other groups moving through this bottleneck, and watch for rockfall. Some teams have opted to use hip belays in the steeper sections of the trail here, however there are no good rock anchors to rely on. As a reminder, after crossing the moraine the final approach to Camp Schurman is on the Emmons Glacier and climbers are encouraged to rope up for glacier travel. The boot pack crosses over several crevasses between the moraine and camp.
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| 7/19/25 - A party of 4 ascending up from the Emmons towards Camp Curtis |
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| 7/19/25 - The entrance to the Emmons from Camp Curtis |
Emmons Winthrop Route
As of 7/20 the route follows generally the same path as it has for the last couple weeks. The route has seen the most change between 11,400' and 13,000' as crevasses continue to open and re-routing of the boot pack occurs. This has led to several old, established boot packs existing in this section that led to dead-ends or less ideal crevasse-bridge crossings. Pay close attention through this zone and record a GPS track on your way up that you can follow back down to avoid wrong turns. Rangers noted with some route finding they were able to increase security over most crevasse crossings. Expect to encounter sections of exposed ice during your climb. Good crampon technique and potentially the placement of ice screws will alleviate exposure in these zones.
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| 7/20/25 - Broken Terrain on the Corridor at 10900' |
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| 7/20/25 - At the top of the Corridor, 11400' - the current boot pack travels through this feature. |
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| 7/20/25 - 12250' on the Emmons route |
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| 7/20/25 - 13600' the current boot pack traverses far climbers right to the Liberty Saddle with a few large crevasses to cross as you gain the saddle. |
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| 7/20/25 - Sunset from Camp Schurman |
Overview:
Be prepared to assess and navigate unmanaged terrain that involves several consequential crevasse-crossings, exposed traverses on the upper mountain, and constantly changing snow and weather conditions.
Accessing the Emmons Glacier from Camp Curtis requires patience and communication with other teams through this bottleneck. Be on the lookout for rockfall and consider belaying the steeper sections, although there are no reliable rock anchors in this area.
Accessing Camp Schurman from Camp Curtis involves traveling on the Emmons Glacier and the route leads directly over several crevasses.
As of 7/12/25, the crevasse crossings around 12,400’ require attention, especially on the descent as temperatures warm. Be prepared to belay and run protection, including pickets. The bergschrund snow bridge at 13,500 had several places to cross.
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| A rope-team descending from Camp Schurman. |
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| The route descending toward "The Catwalk" and the top of "The Corridor." |
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| Warming snow conditions during a mid-morning descent. |
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| The Inter Glacier, 7/13/25 |
Don't forget to pay the Climbing Cost Recovery Fee and check-in/out at our wilderness information centers at Paradise or White River entrance to receive your climbing permit.
Enjoy the summer sunshine and please Leave No Trace on the mountain!
As a reminder:
The Public Shelter at Camp Muir will close for maintenance and improvements from July 7-September 30, 2025. The shelter will still be available for emergency use only for safety purposes. All climbers and overnight users will need to bring tents and plan to camp.
The emergency radio that has been inside the public shelter will temporarily be moved to the restroom nearest the helipad. This base station radio is to be used for emergencies only to contact the park's dispatch.
