It's been a very busy few weeks. The wilderness office finally burned through the reservations and sent out the confirmation letters to climbers... I know many of you waited a long time for this; they hope to improve this process next year.
We wanted to fly around the mountain on Wednesday, unfortunately there was a minor issue w/ the helicopter. Our small team loaded into the Chinook and watched as the rotors started to twirl... Then they stopped... Then we found out that one of the engines would not start. Yes, there are two engines, however we were pleased to spend the rest of the day doing other tasks as the mechanics figured things out. Perhaps next week.
There are two patrols on the mountain this weekend. The weather looks pretty much PERFECT for the next five days. Teams have been successfully climbing Liberty Ridge, the Ingraham Direct, and I even heard a rumor that the DC is now in... Some skiers took off for the Kautz too, more on Tuesday.
I suspect w/ the return of the climbing rangers next week, there will be more opportunities for updates. As some of you noticed, we have a new contributor, Joe Puryear. He will also help with posts on this site. We are VERY open to other contributors! If you're interested in sharing your thoughts on this blog, we'd love to hear from you. Send me a note, your posts can be anonymous, or by name/avatar. We look to share Rainier information, advice and stories. Thanks for checking in.
