With great
weather on tap this weekend and into next week, climbers are starting to
consider objectives accessed from the east side of Mt. Rainier National Park.
Before you head to Mt. Rainier, be sure the road is open first!
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| The Inter Glacier and Emmons-Winthrop route |
The White River entrance to Mt. Rainier remains closed to the public. Crews from both the park and Washington DOT are working hard to clear snow and remove fallen trees from the roadways. Check the park’s Road Status page for updates.
The White
River entrance station is currently scheduled to open May 24th. Keep
an eye on the Operating Hours and Seasons page for updates.
In the
spirit of preparing for the climbing season, rangers conducted a patrol to Camp
Schurman earlier this week. The trail from the white river campground was
mostly snow covered to Glacier Basin. Rangers found the Inter glacier to be
well covered with snow and without any open crevasses. Expect crevasses to
begin opening up near convexites and steep roll-overs in the coming weeks if warm
and sunny weather continues.
The Winthrop
glacier has a few pockets of open crevasses between St. Elmo pass and lower
Curtis ridge. During this warming period, it is always good practice to give
open crevasses a wide berth. Since the winter snowpack is well below average,
snow bridges spanning crevasses may be much thinner and less supportive than
usual.
Once at Camp Schurman, rangers spent time getting the camp ready for the season by repairing damage incurred by the sustained winter winds, setting up the webcam, and digging out the toilets. Check out the Camp Schurman webcam. The camera is a little foggy at the moment, but it should improve as temperatures rise over the weekend.
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| St. Elmo pass (center left) and lower Wintrop Glacier |
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| Wintrop Glacier and lower Curtis Ridge |
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| A glimpse of Liberty Ridge |
Once at Camp Schurman, rangers spent time getting the camp ready for the season by repairing damage incurred by the sustained winter winds, setting up the webcam, and digging out the toilets. Check out the Camp Schurman webcam. The camera is a little foggy at the moment, but it should improve as temperatures rise over the weekend.
Winter still holds
a firm grasp on the upper mountain, with high winds and 5-10 inches of new
snow observed earlier this week. Evaluate avalanche hazard as you travel, as the upper mountain
still has a winter-like snowpack above 10,000’ elevation. High
winds transported much of the new snow, and there may be lingering pockets of
instability / avalanche hazard despite the forecast of warm, sunny days this
weekend. As temperatures rise, be conscious of wet-loose slides that may
travel much farther downslope than you expect. Best practice for traveling in
avalanche terrain this time of year includes bringing a parter, carrying
avalanche rescue gear, and knowing how to use it.
Climbing season is right around the corner, and now is the time to pay the climbing fee.
Fees and Permits:
For a climbing permit, climbing fee, and reservation information, please visit the park climbing page. Climbers need to both pay the cost-recovery fee (Pay.gov) as well as register to climb (get a permit).
More info can be found at: http://mountrainierclimbing.blogspot.com/p/climbing-fee-and-registration.html
