Disappointment Cleaver Update 7/13/25

 It has been sunny and hot up here as we head into mid-July. Freezing levels this past week have been steady in the 15-17k' range and the forecast for the next week looks similar. This extended warm weather and the high sun angle of mid-summer create dynamic conditions on the upper mountain with little to no refreeze at nights. This leads to punchy snow, weak crevasse bridges, and new cracks opening daily. Climbers should approach all crevasses with extra caution and plan to leave early, avoiding the heat of midday when the snow is weakest. 

Disappointment Cleaver

The route remains much the same as described in our previous DC blog from 7/9, so be sure to check that out for more info. Here are some photos from an ascent a few days later on 7/12:

Looking down from Dunn's Roll near 10,600' on the east side of Cathedral Gap

The ladder at High Crack near 11,400'

Looking back at the 11,400' traverse under the Ice Box and Bowling Alley to access the cleaver. Teams are encouraged to move quick through this section of high overhead hazard.

Penitentes above the cleaver.

The ladder at 12,900'. The boot pack splits just above this ladder where teams can choose the right or left variation. 

The ladder at 12,900' on the right variation. Note the serac hazard after the ladder, above the traverse towards the Emmons shoulder. 

Widening crevasse and thin bridge at the end of the 12,900' traverse to the Emmons Shoulder. Right Variation

Mt. Rainier casts a long shadow

Additional considerations

-It is always a good idea for teams of two to carry 2 pickets per person, and teams of 3 or more to have at least one picket per person, especially when building anchors for crevasse rescue in slushy snow. 

-Prepare for and prevent the possibility of heat injuries like heat exhaustion and heat stroke by staying hydrated, avoiding climbing in the hottest times of day, and taking more rests as needed to prevent overheating. 

-Never split up with your teammates or leave someone behind. If some needs to turn around, it is the responsibility of the entire team to facilitate that, the well-being of your teammate is more important than the summit. Furthermore, if splitting up leaves someone solo, that is a permit violation. Soloing requires a specific solo permit application and approval. 

-The Public Shelter remains closed till ~9/30/2025 for maintenance. As always, even when the public shelter is open, come prepared with your own tent. 

The Camp Muir Public Shelter Closes on July 7th for Construction

 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.

Historic construction images

The historic Camp Muir Public Shelter was constructed in 1921 and is the only sleeping shelter available for climbers and visitors who are not part of a guided tour. It is a stacked mortared stone building with a flat roof and wooden details. The shelter is a contributing building to the Mount Rainier National Historic Landmark District and the Camp Muir Historic District, which is at 10,000 feet elevation on the slopes of Mount Rainier. Camp Muir is the primary base camp from which most summit attempts depart.

Historic photos of the Public Shelter, 1921

The buildings at Camp Muir are subjected to hurricane force winds year-round with driving ice, snow, and debris that breaks down exterior finishes and shortens the life span of building components. The public shelter has not received targeted maintenance in over a decade. Work to maintain the building includes repointing of stone masonry, repair of roof, electrical lighting and cook area ventilation, maintenance on historic doors, and repainting of interior sleeping bunks. Work will be completed by NPS staff in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Guidelines for Treatment of Historic Properties.

Climbers resting in front of the Public Shelter, Circa 1930s

Emmons Winthrop Update 7/9/2025

The mountain experiences a prolonged stretch of sunny summer weather and climbers continue to work up and down the Emmons route. With warming weather and softening snow, we have seen ice fall from seracs around the Emmons and Winthrop as well as significant continual rockfall from the Curtis ridge and upper mountain. That is all to say that warming temps are having an effect on the mountain. 

7/8/2025 - Inter Glacier

Warm weather and long sunshine of high summer change the mountain daily, so today's route beta may be tomorrow's dead end. Climbers who attempt the Emmons-Winthrop route should come prepared for an unmaintained, wilderness glacier route which requires diligent navigation, careful crevasse-bridge assessment, and self-sufficiency in a remote, alpine environment. 

Rangers noted a significant change in snow coverage on the inter glacier from the start of their shift to the end, with the entrance to the Emmons route becoming slightly more challenging. Accessing the Emmons Glacier from Camp Curtis has become increasingly difficult now that the moraine is mostly snow free, exposing steep, loose rock and dirt. 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. 

As of 7/9/25, the route remains in good condition and 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 open and re-routing of the backpack occurs. This has led to several old, but well-established boot packs existing in this section that lead 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. When in doubt it, teams have reported that taking the lower boot pack option has been more successful if multiple trails are present. 

7/9/2025 - Emmons Winthrop 

Disappointment Cleaver 7/9/2025

  Overview

 Fourth of July brought favorable conditions to Mount Rainier and climbers found sunny days and overall great weather for summit attempts. Friday through Sunday was quite busy with a full camp at both Muir and Ingraham Flats.  

We are still in a transitional period here at Mount Rainier and any type of conditions can exist at any time. Always be prepared for wintery conditions even if just day hiking up the snowfield. Main hazards associated with this time of year include:

- Rapidly changing and unpredictable weather including winter snowstorms

- Overhead hazard from rock and serac fall

- Thinning snow-bridges over crevasses

Disappointment Cleaver

Hiking to Camp Muir:

On the way up from Paradise, please stick to the summer trail if it is melted out/snow free. If the trail is still buried, please follow NPS wands (markers) through the snow until gaining sections of melted trail. Please avoid trampling the fragile alpine wildflowers and vegetation. 

The Muir Snowfield itself is starting its transition to a summer texture with suncups lining the entirety of its length. Skiers take note, do not expect smooth snow surface conditions if skiing/riding from Camp Muir. 

Always be prepared to navigate to/from Muir in wintery whiteout conditions.

Above Camp Muir:

The National Park Service does not maintain the route; however, guide services on Mount Rainier do significant work to keep the climb maintained and marked with reflective wands. Several areas along the DC have significant exposure to overhead rock and icefall hazard. Remember, if you look up and something can come off the mountain and down on your team, do not take a break there. Continue moving until the overhead hazard is no longer present. 

Above Ingraham Flats, guide services established a small ladder across high crack. Gaining entrance to the Cleaver is still relatively straight forward. Remember, Significant serac fall and icefall exists in this zone. To reiterate from above, do not break here. Appropriate break spots exist once your team is on the "spine" of the Cleaver. 

From the top of the DC the route follows a well-established route to roughly 12,800ft. The ladder at this location still exists and from here the route splits. One is the "older" route travelling fairly direct to the crater. The alternate route travels further climbers-right and gains the Emmons Shoulder to rejoin the existing route at roughly 13,400ft. 

The more direct route still is in use by independent teams and guide services at the time this blog is written. It is important to remember that now with summer temps gaining consistency on the upper mountain, crevasses can open, and snow bridges can collapse. The direct route has several snow bridges that teams will travel over, and climbers should use their discretion when crossing. Beat the heat of the day by climbing early and descending early to alleviate some risk of collapsing bridges. 

The Emmons Shoulder route will traverse out climbers right where teams will cross another horizontal ladder just below 13,000ft. This route overall has less crevasses parties will travel over but the advice remains the same to minimize exposure in warming temperatures. 

Remember, Mount Rainier is a dynamic environment and can host winter storms any time of year. Always check the weather forecast before your climb and never completely rule out the possibility of severe weather/winds affecting your climb. 

Additional Information

- The Public Shelter at Camp Muir is now closed for maintenance since July 7 - September 30. Climbers camping at Muir should plan on bringing and sleeping in tents. 

- Remember, practice Leave No Trace principals throughout your entire visit to Mount Rainier National Park. Rangers went through the Public Shelter prior to its closure after the holiday weekend and collected 30 pounds of garbage left behind by climbers. 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. 

Disappointment Cleaver 7/3/2025

Parties continue to summit via the DC as summer finally feels like it's arrived for this holiday weekend!  Be prepared to route find and problem solve as the route up may differ from the route down due to changing conditions, which is typical for glacial mountaineering routes. Guide services have installed a horizontal ladder to cross a crevasse as 12,900', above the cleaver. There's still a handline along the nose of the cleaver as well.  As the route continues to change, more adjuncts like ladders, "fixed" pickets and handlines may be added and/or removed.  Use all of these adjuncts at your own risk.  Just because a climbing party or guide used that adjunct before does not mean that it continues to be safe to use as the anchors can melt out or the angle of the glacier can change.  Often times any route adjunct can be climbed around or bypassed, so look critically at the route as you ascend to find the safest course  

Climbers will note an alternative reroute to the route on the DC at around 12,900' that links back to the 'main' route around 13,800'.  This alternative ascends climber's right toward the Emmons Shoulder and avoids many crevasse crossings that the direct route crosses.  As the summer moves on remember that with ever changing conditions - numerous snow bridged crevasses exist throughout the route - use good decision making to navigate safely - and if the conditions or route doesn't seem safe for ALL of the folks in your party to ascend, definitely turn around.  

7/2/2025 - 12,900' bridged crevasse 

We have had multiple instances of crevasse falls from independent climbers over the last few weeks- 

rangers have been seeing a wide spectrum of preparation and knowledge on the mountain. As a reminder, knowing how to perform crevasse rescue effectively with the appropriate gear is paramount. - always have a plan for how to handle self-rescue in the event of an emergency. 

7/2/2025 - Current Route Alternatives

7/2/2025 - Penitentes near the top of the Cleaver

Keep an eye on freezing levels and the weather.  As the temperatures warm up: think earlier starts; as things cool down and get stormy, think a bit later start and be sure to not climb into situations where self-rescue or helicopter-rescue may not be possible.  Enjoy the holiday weekend and see you up high! 

Emmons-Winthrop Update 6/30/2025

Sunset over Curtis Ridge from Camp Schurman

Sunshine and warm weather returned to the mountain over the final weekend of June after a week of cooler temps and light precipitation. It was a busy weekend here at camp Schurman and many teams were able to take advantage of the great weather and find success on the Emmons-Winthrop route.

Warm weather and long sunshine of high summer change the mountain daily, so today's route beta may be tomorrow's dead end. Climbers who attempt the Emmons-Winthrop route should come prepared for an unmaintained, wilderness glacier route which requires diligent navigation, careful crevasse-bridge assessment, and self-sufficiency in a remote, alpine environment. 

The trail from White River campground is 99% snow free to Glacier Basin and above till reaching the Inter Glacier near 6800'. Travel up the Inter is mostly snow and no crevasses have appeared yet along the standard boot pack. 

Steep, loose dirt and rock crossing the moraine from Camp Curtis to the Emmons Glacier below Camp Schurman (6/30/25)

The final step of the moraine before getting on the Emmons Glacier (6/30/25)

 

Accessing the Emmons Glacier from Camp Curtis has become increasingly difficult now that the moraine is mostly snow free, exposing steep, loose rock and dirt. 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. 

Approximate path of the Emmons-Winthrop Route 6/30/25 some extra switchbacks may be encountered

As of 6/30/25, the route remains in good condition and 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 open and re-routing of the backpack occurs. This has led to several old, but well-established boot packs existing in this section that lead 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. When in doubt it, teams have reported that taking the lower boot pack option has been more successful if multiple trails are present. 

Widening crevasse near 12,400'. The boot pack may or may not be the best place to cross when you encounter it (6/28/25).

Teams are encouraged to evaluate each crevasse crossing they encounter along the boot pack as often there is a much better place to cross just downhill or uphill of where the established boot pack is. In some cases, the crevasse may be end run entirely just a short distance from the boot pack so be sure to look around instead of blindly following the trail. Bridges that may have been solid in the AM can often be unreliable by midday after the sun and heat has softened the snow up, so teams should make a plan to be down early and stick to preset turnaround times. 

Large serac fall in the gut of the upper Winthrop glacier. The route traverses above this to/from the Liberty Saddle (6/28/25).

Don't forget to pay the climbing cost recovery fee and check in out our wilderness information centers at Paradise or White River entrance to receive your climbing permit in person. This is a great time of year to be on the mountain with long days and pleasant weather, we look forward to seeing you up here!

Also, check out our last couple blogs on the Emmons for additional info.