The record breaking heat of the past week has had a pronounced effect on the condition of the Emmons/Winthrop Glacier Route. Freezing levels have been hovering around 17-18,500 feet since Friday! Most of Washington State and Oregon set new ALL TIME high temperature records by a large margin over the weekend! It is extremely uncommon to see freezing levels this high (most of us have never seen it) in an entire summer, let alone June, a month commonly punctuated by unsettled and sometimes winter-like weather on the mountain. What makes it even more unusual is that freezing levels are not dropping over night. Therefore, the typical diurnal melt-freeze process has been non-existent for almost a week.
Which brings us to current route conditions: Things have changed immensely over the past week and are continuing to change by the hour. Rangers, along with many independent climbing and skiing parties, summited on Saturday, June 26th. At that time there had been little change in the overall route since the climbing season began - it went straight up past "The Corridor" and through the bergschrund to the Crater Rim. As the temperature climbed and nights stayed warm, the seasonal snow cover began to rapidly melt. Many more crevasses and even glacial ice are now visible along The Corridor. Word from recent attempts indicate that the bergschrund is now impassible. No one summited on 6/30 and all guided teams and most independent parties did not even leave Camp Schurman due to crevasse-fall hazard. One party of skiers attempted the summit on the morning of 6/30 and were turned around at approximately 12,500' due to a crevasse bridge that had collapsed.
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| Climbing ranger ascending the Emmons on Saturday, June 26 2021. |
Now for the fun part: Due once again to the lack of freezing temperatures, the snow is isothermal, unsupportable, and "punchy." These are exactly the conditions that make crevasse falls a very real possibility. In fact, since Sunday, rangers have heard reports of up to a dozen different climbers punching through into thinly veiled crevasses, sometimes up to their armpits. Two different climbers took complete falls into crevasses, requiring rescue from their teammates (rangers would like to thank these teams for being adequately prepared to perform a crevasse rescue without outside assistance!). That being said, it's fortunate that no one was injured in these falls. A fall into a crevasse is often not "clean," meaning the person falling may impact the walls of the crevasse on the way down, sustaining a traumatic injury in the process.
Unfortunately, weather forecasts indicate that it will continue to be unseasonably warm at Mount Rainier through the coming weekend and into early next week, and climbing conditions aren't likely to improve substantially. Freezing levels remain above summit elevation for the foreseeable future. That coupled with the necessity of someone finding a new route up the glacier means that the chances of "success" (i.e., getting to the summit of Mount Rainier) might remain elusive until colder weather conditions return to Mount Rainier National Park. However, there appear to be several viable options for a new route variation to the top. It's just a matter of time until climbers find the way and the route 'goes' again. This is the nature of climbing on Mount Rainier in the summer.
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Yellow line indicates APPROXIMATE route that has been in place for most of the season but is now most likely unnavigable. The green lines indicate APPROXIMATE possible variations.
In addition to the summit routes changing, the approach to Camp Schurman has also changed considerably in the past week. The Inter Glacier will have crevasses showing soon, and the short section of the Emmons Glacier just before reaching Camp Schurman also changes daily due to widening lateral crevasses coming off of the Prow. We can't stress it enough: just because there's a "trail" of boot tracks over the snow does not mean it’s a safe route. Carefully assess for crevasses at all times - the boot pack is affected by crevasses throughout the season. You don't want to be the one to punch into a crack on the boot pack because you weren't paying attention! It's wise to rope up for this section of glacier.
 | Examples of the ever-widening crevasses and changing path coming into Camp Schurman.
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 | Looking down the Inter Glacier from the top of the Prow - 6/30/2021.
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Fortunately, summits aren't everything! It's a beautiful time to be in the mountains. Remember that to climb Mount Rainier one must pay the Climbing Cost Recovery Fee AND obtain a climbing/wilderness permit for their specific trip onto the mountain. This is necessary even if a group plans to do a "single push" ascent without camping. Stay cool. |
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