Dissapointment Cleaver Conditions July 20th. 2017

The current track up the DC is right around 3.8 miles from Camp Muir to Columbia Crest.   There is still no ladder at high Crack above Ingraham Flats and the crossing onto the Cleaver is fairly straight forward with little moat exposure.  That said, there is still a large amount of rock and ice fall in this area, with a recent collapse that sent large blocks of ice onto and below the current track.  We recommend moving through this area (between High Crack and the nose of the cleaver) with purpose, don’t hang out and take a breather and remember that rock and ice fall occur at all hours of the day.

We recommend shortening your rope between climbers in the rock sections, such as Cathedral Gap and the Disappointment Cleaver to improve travel and minimize the risk of snagging up rocks and dropping them onto parties below you.

View of the traverse from the top of the cleaver to the Emmons Shoulder.  Keep in mind this is a descending traverse on the ascent and an ascending traverse on the descent.  Plan an extra bit of food for this one.

Ladder crossing leaving the Emmons Shoulder

Once on the top of the cleaver, you be faced with a short climb, then presented with about a 500-600’ descending traverse to the Emmons Shoulder, followed by a series of switchbacks which will put you at a short ladder crossing spanning an open crevasse.  This is the only ladder on the route currently.

Shrund crossing with fixed line visible

The shrund around 13,600’ is becoming fairly hollow and is accompanied with a fixed hand line.  On a busy weekend this will be a zone where we would expect to see a possible bottle neck and a short weight may be required.

Looking towards the Emmons Shoulder. Taken a hundred or so feet above the top of the Cleaver.

There are a couple of fixed lines on the route currently.  We encourage you to inspect the integrity of the picket anchors prior to utilizing them as they tend to melt out during the day.  If they are weighted when they are melted out there id a high likelihood they will fail and the fixed line will become
un-anchored.

As we progress through July, keep in mind that glacier conditions are breaking up and snow bridges are thinning and opening.  This means that crevasse fall potential are heightened.  As a traveler in glaciated, YOU NEED TO KNOW HOW TO EXTRICATE YOUR PARTNER FROM A CREVASSE.  This means carrying the appropriate equipment and knowing how to use it.  Climbing Rangers are looking for your team to be equipped with a rope of adequate length for your rope team, multiple pickets within your group and gear required to rig a raising system.  Everyone should be traveling with helmets, ice axes, crampons etc…

The past couple weekends have been very busy and we have been reaching capacity at our high camps which results in large numbers of climbers on routes like the D.C. and the Emmons.  In order to avoid these busy and sometimes hazardous scenarios, we encourage you to plan a trip to climb during the week, opposed to the weekend.

July is a busy time for Search and Rescue on Mount Rainier.  Please come prepared with the appropriate gear and knowledge for climbing in heavily glaciated terrain and keep an eye out for changing weather.

Hazardous Upper Mountain Ski Conditions

Upper mountain surface conditions

After nearly 5 weeks of high pressure and sunshine, the vast majority of the mountain is beginning to show signs of late season snow conditions. Rockfall, icefall, opening snow bridges, sastrugi, suncups and penitentes are just a few of the obstacles/hazards that folks are dealing with at this stage in the game. Although there are plenty who would argue otherwise, climbing rangers are asking that ski mountaineers consider putting off their summit ski descent until next year when conditions are more suitable for safe skiing. The argument that routes on the mountain still "can" be skied doesn't necessarily mean that they "should" be skied.

Less than ideal skiing conditions.

Late summer snow conditions have already lead to two skier fatalities in the last three weeks and rangers have responded to multiple accidents/near misses for folks who were perhaps getting in over their heads. As it stands now, conditions on some of the most popular ski descents of the mountain would prove to be tedious/strenuous at best for even the most experienced skiers. For those that feel the need to ski on/around the mountain late into the season, rangers ask that you ski slopes lower on the mountain that aren't exposed to such high consequence terrain. No route on the mountain is worth injuring yourself or worse.

No one skis their best after being up all night, after ascending 9000 vertical feet, at high altitudes, dehydrated, and on light-weight ski-mo skis.  Make conservative decisions and plan on skiing real pow this winter!

Emmons Winthrop July 18, 2017

Mt Rainier's crater as seen from Register Rock



Bottom Line: The Emmons Winthrop has quickly progressed to late-season conditions. Large crevasses have continued to open on the route and snow surface conditions are firm and rough. Cautious climbing and keeping to a time plan are highly advised.

The long and hot summer days have left their mark on Mt Rainier and the Emmons Winthrop route is no exception. Several large crevasses have opened quickly at all elevations.

The glacier from Camp Curtis to Camp Schurman is becoming pock marked with rock fall from Steamboat Prow. Do not linger in this area. We are also still observing many parties travelling unroped in this area. The route crosses several snow bridges and the hazard here should not be under estimated.

We have also observed a lot of unroped travel between Schurman and Emmons Flats. This area is currently breaking up with large 'cathedral-ceiling' type crevasses. Those can appear to be thin at the glacier surface but open into large caverns below. Please travel on a rope team in this area.

The Corridor is climbing fine but the bulk of the traffic has been concentrated in a large trough that can be difficult to climb when frozen. Above the Corridor there are several large crevasses that must be crossed on ever thinning bridges. The 12,400' crevasse that has been discussed in previous posts is still bridged by a small plug of ice and snow but when (not if) that falls out the route will require a major change. The path over this obstacle has been shifted nearly every day so do not assume that the existence of footprints indicates a safe passage. Consider belaying your teammates. It might take extra time but it may also prevent a crevasse fall from becoming a major injury.

Above 12,500' to the summit the sastrugi from early season has melted into a firm and rough surface. Climbing out of the trail is very difficult and skiing down safely is not truly possible. This was, unfortunately, made clear July 17th when a skier fell to his death on the route.

Please climb safely, know your limits and don't be afraid to make the conservative call to turn around early if things aren't working in your favor.

Rainier Weather 101- Stratus Clouds

Stratus clouds are layered clouds that are very common in the northwest during the summer and impact Rainier climbing frequently.  Weather geeks subdivide these clouds into three sub-groups depending on elevation:  cirrostratus are found above 20,000 ft and are composed of ice particles. Altostratus tend to form in the 10-20,000 ft elevation band and can be either water droplets or ice particles.  Below 10,000 ft marine stratus, or just stratus are composed of water droplets (during the summer).


Low-level stratus as seen from Paradise looking west.



 

The 'marine' portion comes from the fact that these clouds form over the eastern Pacific and then move onshore when the winds are out of the west.  Large areas of clouds (thousands of square miles) form over the ocean because the cold water temps cool the lower atmosphere causing water vapor to condense into very small water droplets which then forms the clouds.  What is ironic about marine stratus formation is that they occur under a ridge of high pressure, which in general is associated with clear skies and warm temps.  Once a marine stratus deck forms it will have a well defined top.  This occurs because the air in the upper and middle atmosphere is slowly sinking (subsidence), this produces an inversion (temps increase with height over a short distance) which acts like a lid on any further cloud formation.

Typical stratus top as seen from Muir Snowfield.

When there is moderate to strong onshore flow across western Washington marine stratus move inland; how far inland these clouds move depends on the strength of the wind at various elevations.  When the winds are light clouds may only reach Puget Sound and the western foothills of the Cascades, cloud tops are typically 4-5,000 ft.  When the low-level winds are stronger a stratus deck can move across the crest of the Cascades and down along the eastern slopes.  When this occurs cloud tops are in the vicinity of 7-8,000 ft.  This means that Paradise and Sunrise are enveloped within the clouds.  In these situations visibility on the Muir Snowfield or Inter Glacier is greatly reduced. During summer these events do not produce much more than drizzle if any precipitation at all.

The intrusion of marine stratus into the Cascades can display a broad spectrum of behavior.  For example, at times the cloud layer breaks apart during the later afternoon (due to local heating and the mixing of drier air), only to reform overnight.  This may occur over a number of consecutive days (3 to 5 is typical).  At other times the atmospheric conditions are such that the stratus remain intact for days with no afternoon clearing.  I recall climbing the Tahoma Glacier years ago during one of these events- the top of the stratus were around 7,500 ft for three days, above was nothing but blue skies.

Evening stratus breaking-up near Cougar Rock CG.

The moral of this story is that stratus clouds on Mt. Rainier are common during the summer season and can at times produce low visibility conditions, especially at lower to middle-elevations.  In general, the Recreational Forecast does not reflect the nature of stratus clouds on the mountain.  Here is an recent example when it did: "Thursday...Cloudy on slopes below 7000 feet through mid afternoon, otherwise partly sunny."  Often the forecast will just say "mostly cloud", which in reality is only true for the lower half of the mountain- much of the time during this events the upper mountain is in the clear.  Hence if you know that Puget Sound is under the influence of marine stratus and the Rec. Forecast says "mostly cloudy"or "cloudy", there is a good chance that the upper mountain is going to be in the clear or partly cloudy.

The best way to predict whether a given stratus event is going to impact Rainier is by looking at a weather model and in particular an upstream sounding (vertical profile of winds, temps, moisture).  You can check-out the following website (Univ. of Wash.) for forecast soundings:
               https://www.atmos.washington.edu/wrfrt/rt/soundings_d3.cgi?timeindep
Keep in mind that forecasters tend to emphasize viable weather: clouds, precip, strong winds, etc.   Hence the forecast highlights these elements at the expense of more benign conditions like clear skies and light winds. With over 12,000 ft of relief within the park, Rainier can have a number of different weather scenarios at various elevations at the same time, so it is important to keep this in mind when planning and when climbing.

The next Rainier Weather 101 topic will cover lenticulars and mountain cloud caps.

Muir Snowfield July 10, 2017

Summer is in full swing on the Muir Snowfield. Warm temperatures over the past few weeks have brought the Snowfield into summer condition.

From Paradise, there is discontinuous snow on the Skyline Trail all the way to Pebble Creek (elevation 7200’). Please stay on established trails in this fragile area. In snow covered areas, there is a well-established bootpack and wanded route that connects sections of dry trail. The flowers are starting to bloom and marmots can be seen sunning themselves on the rocks throughout the area.

Above Pebble Creek, the route to Camp Muir is continuous snow. The bootpack follows the summer route, gaining a series of steep snow slopes directly above Pebble Creek. Glissade tracks are deepening on these features and rocks are starting to emerge in the bottom portions of these tracks. Always investigate a glissade track before starting to ensure that the runout is devoid of rocks or other hazards.

Climbers ascending the Muir Snowfield.

The upper half of the snowfield is becoming suncupped and dirty, making ski descents less favorable than earlier this season. Dedicated skiers can still sneak in a few enjoyable turns, but smooth snow is hard to come by. Once below Pebble Creek, stick to patches of snow that connect directly to established trails to keep from damaging fragile alpine vegetation.

Remember to carry and use blue bags for human waste while hiking on the Muir Snowfield. These can be deposited at Camp Muir in dedicated waste collection barrels near the bathrooms. 

Emmons-Winthrop

The Emmons Glacier route is currently in fine shape.  On July 9th climbing rangers found very similar conditions that were reported from the July 4th Blog Post.  That being said please remember that large glacier routes like this are dynamic and continue to shift through out the season both on a daily and even hourly pace.  Inspect all crevasse crossings and look for better ones where it is necessary.

The first location that is changing quickly is the section between Camp Curtis across the lower Emmons and into Camp Shurman.  The descent from Camp Curtis down to the Glacier has several large moats that are opening up through the main track.  Safer options exist so take the time to look around beforehand.  Also on the approach to camp Shurman the large moat right before stepping into camp is beginning to open.  Stopping on the snow bridge and un-roping on this snow bridge is not recommended.

The Emmons Flats camp can be a pleasant and quiet alternative to Camp Shurman but please keep in mind you are on a glacier here and there may be crevasses in camp.

From the top of the Corridor moving up into the alpine garden there is cerac fall hazard, please keep that in mind when planning breaks or traveling in large groups with potential for bottle necking.

The large crevasse at 12,400 may be reasonable to cross for a little while longer but every party should inspect bridges.  Once this can no longer be crossed the route will most likely move south then back to the west for 1,000 feet of climbing or so before rejoining current track at 13,400.  The Bergshrund at 13,800 needs to be given a lot of respect as well.

Again the climb is in great shape and may remain so for quite awhile and will also continue to shift from day to day.  Have fun with it.