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| Looking across the Cowlitz Glacier from Camp Muir with some smoke haze in the air. (8/22/23) |
- This blog post with pictures about what was happening mid-heat wave 8/16
- A video from the helicopter with upper mountain views on 8/18
Route Overview:
With 17,000'+ freezing levels, the small and thinning snow and ice features that the route utilized to reach the summit in our 8/8/23 DC update have suffered significantly. Portions of the route have collapsed, and other cruxes have become so difficult to surmount that some guide services have officially ended their seasons taking clients to the summit. As we anticipated, the high temperatures then subsequent cool off have led to firm, icy surfaces on many parts of the mountain, resulting in slide-for-life conditions where arresting a fall would be difficult.
It is important to understand that while one can still climb the Disappointment Cleaver route in it's current condition -- at the time of this post -- to the top of the mountain, that there is no longer a maintained "route" that many climbers have come to expect. In most places, there is no bootpack, no wands, nor any ladders to lead to you to the summit. Ladders and route adjuncts above the cleaver were all going to be pulled by today 8/22/23. Old routes may be apparent but are NOT maintained. Be prepared for steep and exposed conditions that demand advanced glacier navigation, discretion of hanging or unsupported features, evaluating bridges and plugs, and potentially more involved glacial travel techniques such as rappelling into and needing to ice-climb out of crevasses to cross them.
If you do believe you and your teammates possess these skills, plan on navigation taking a significantly more time than any other ascents of the Disappointment Cleaver. Plan on at least a handful of attempts to bypass obstacles that will end in needing to turn around to try a different option. All recreational climbers that rangers interacted with at Camp Muir did not go past Ingraham Flats this past week. To put it simply, the objective hazards on the route are currently just much higher than other times of year.
Wildfire Smoke Complications:
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| Looking down towards Paradise from Camp Muir in unhealthy smoke conditions. Normally, you would be able to see the whole Tatoosh Range, as well as Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Hood. (8/21/23) |
In addition to the difficulty and character of the route changing since the heatwave, there are a number of fires that are plaguing the Northwest air quality at the moment. If you live in-state this won't be any surprise, however if you're coming from out of town, know that the AQI (Air Quality Index) has been in the unhealthy range many days in the past week. While the fires still carry on, wind direction / atmospheric flow plays a huge role in if the smoke reaches Mt. Rainier. For the most up to date information, check out these air quality / wildfire resources:
- AirNow Fire and Smoke Map is a government resource where you can input any location in the U.S. and see a map of current air quality readings at monitoring sites as well as active fires. If you click on a location, some even have smoke forecasts, letting you know if experts in atmospheric flow believe the smoke will improve or worsen in your location of interest. How cool! The closest one to Camp Muir is at the Jackson Visitor Center at Paradise.
- Mt Rainier Webcams is a site with links to webcams all over the park, including at Camp Muir and Paradise. Curious if high camp is above the smoke, or if Paradise is socked in? This is a great place to check.
- InciWeb is a great resource to see the most up-to-date details on wildfires in the U.S. Similar to the AirNow platform, there is an interactive map of incidents. If you click on an incident, you can find out what percentage the fire is contained, size in acreage, types and amount of resources dedicated to the incident, along with fire behavior and a lot of other information. This can be a helpful map to look at if you're trying to brainstorm a plan B for Rainier, and find out how the fires that are causing the smoke are developing.
Feature to Feature Updates:
- The Cowlitz: Similar to our last complete route update, this section of the route continues to be threatened by overhead rockfall from Gibraltar and Cathedral Rocks, ever-thinning snow bridges, and widening crevasses. There are some cracks opening up less than 8 feet away from where you leave the dirt at Camp Muir, so be sure to rope up before leaving camp. And -- evaluate your campsite selection wisely if choosing to camp on the snow! Some commonly used sites are now sitting a top thin snow bridges on the Wind Roll.
Note the cracks opening up on the Cowlitz Glacier. (8/20/23) - High Crack (11,300'): High crack -- the first notable feature when climbing up past Ingraham Flats -- still has a ladder to grant passage across it at this time. A popular alternative for many climbing parties who are not prepared for the high hazard route finding higher on the mountain is to opt to climb from Camp Muir, across the Cowlitz, up through Ingraham Flats, to High Crack and turn around. Some want the ladder crossing practice, but will spin just on the other side, to avoid entering the higher hazard portions of the Ice Box and Bowling Alley. This is an excellent alternative if you want to climb, get some glacial navigation and ladder crossing skills practiced, but do not want to undertake the more complex and severe hazards higher on the route.
- Getting onto the Cleaver: The unprotectable traverse to gain the Disappointment Cleaver from the glacier as of 8/8 relied on "a narrow section of ice, that then gains the cleaver on some quickly melting, and thin, small snow and ice features". These features have since collapsed. While there is a way to navigate on top of the smashed remains of this traverse to gain the cleaver, these new features remain vulnerable to further collapse. There is running water beneath the remains of these features, and it would be a high likelihood, high consequence event for this traverse to further collapse. Be sure to understand the risks you are taking before you embark across this section, knowing it must also support you returning to camp later in the day.
- Above the Cleaver: There is no established route that will get you to the summit of Mt. Rainier from the top of the Disappointment Cleaver. As described earlier in this post, know that advanced glacial travel techniques and a significant amount of experience are needed to continue further up the mountain from this point. Route adjuncts have been removed beyond this point as of 8/22/23.
Looking Forward:
While there is still traffic heading up and down the mountain in various forms, the climbing season is certainly winding down. A light dusting of snow coated Camp Muir on the morning of 8/23 -- telling us of the changing of seasons that is ahead. If you're planning on a hike up to Camp Muir, remember to check the latest blog on the changing conditions on the Muir Snowfield. That's what we have for now, folks! See you up there.
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| The sun makes it's debut from behind Muir Rocks on the morning of 8/23/23 after a light dusting of snow fell atop Camp Muir. |
