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Ranger hut fully iced over after last weekends storm cleared. Notice all the
wind effected snow in the background. |
The past week of weather on Mount Rainier has presented a bit of everything for climbers taking a shot at the upper mountain. 60 mph winds, rapidly rising freezing levels and 2-3 inches of water falling in the form of both snow and rain last weekend have created exciting climbing conditions to say the least. Despite the lull in low pressure the last few days, no guided parties have made the summit in the last 8 days due to insecure upper mountain conditions. High winds, coupled with icy surface conditions above 12,000 ft. have been enough turn around guided groups the last few days. At this time, there is no formal "trail" above roughly 12,500 ft. The guide services have been working tirelessly to shovel in the route but haven't been able to punch it to the top as of yet. That being said, any parties planning to summit need to be fully dialed on their glacial navigation skills, crevasse rescue techniques, route finding abilities and be comfortable sidestepping or front pointing on firm upper mountain snow/ice crusts.
Now that it's been nearly a week since most of the precipitation fell on the upper mountain, it would seem that the snow pack has had time to settle out and consolidate. Despite this, rising freezing levels will undoubtedly increase icefall/rockfall hazard along the route in addition to loose wet avalanches. With so many climbers turning out to enjoy the high pressure, it will be imperative for groups to move quickly and efficiently through hazard zones on the route. Traversing the Ingraham glacier under the "Ice Box" and the rock gullies on the cleaver itself are repeat offenders. Pictured on the left is a photo taken this week of 17 people parked underneath the rock gullies below the cleaver. With such high temperatures predicted for the weekend, be sure to move quickly through these areas and DO NOT stop below steep snow slopes, ice seracs or rock bands and gullies.
Lastly, crowd management is going to be an issue this weekend with so many parties on route and slow, icy conditions on the mountain. Handlines are meant to be used as handlines and teams should not attach any devices or prussiks to these lines along the route. Running protection is in place along a few of the steeper sections along the route and should be used efficiently if needed at all. This may not be the weekend to climb Mt. Rainier if all members of your party aren't comfortable with rope management skills and using running protection. Ensuring your team is comfortable in possibly icy conditions will help prevent bottle necks and keep climbers moving safely up/down the route.
