Cold temps, good forecast

The weather report for the weekend looks pretty good, if you don't mind cold temps. It doesn't appear as though there's going to be any storms in the near future.

• Friday night: Mostly clear. Breezy. Freezing level below 500 feet. East wind in the passes 20 to 25 mph.
• Saturday and Saturday night: Mostly clear. Breezy. Freezing level below 500 feet. Afternoon pass temperatures around 15.
• Sunday: Mostly sunny. Freezing level below 500 feet. Afternoon pass temperatures 19 to 24.Sunday night: Mostly cloudy. Freezing level below 500 feet.
• Presidents day: Mostly sunny. Freezing level below 500 feet.

At this time, there is a reasonable boot/ski path up the Muir Snowfield, but there have been no new reported ascents.

One team did attempt the Sunset Amphitheater last weekend. I'll post more details when I can get them.

Nisqually Icecliff

The weather was pretty much perfect on the upper mountain last Thrusday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Clear, cold, and calm. As the attached images will show, the Nisqually Basin routes (Icefall, Cleaver, Icecliff and Chute) all looked pretty good.

Nisqually Icecliff, on Saturday a solo climber successfully climbed the route. This marked the first summit for Mount Rainier in 2006, and a rather significant achievement for the climber, Hannah Carrigan.

Carrigan, headed out towards the Nisqually Basin around dawn, considering both the Icecliff or the Cleaver route. The Cleaver was tempting, but looked thin and icy (particularly near the high traverse up on the Cleaver itself.) The Icecliff also looked hard and thin in places, but doable considering the winter snowload. In the end, she opted for the Icecliff.

Carrigan reported firm snow and ice for much of the route. There were a number of difficult problems to negotiate. One section of the icecliff required commitment to both ice tools while traversing and climbing. Getting across the Bergshrund at the base of the cliff also required technical climbing. One notable comment was that slots, crevasses, and steep sections viewed from below, grew substantially in size once on scene.

After passing the technical secions in the Icecliff, Carrigan then ascended the upper Nisqually Glaciers to the crater rim and Columbia Crest. She reported a number of open crevasses on the upper Nisqually and Ingraham glaciers. Despite the deep snowpack below 10K, there still seems to be some gapping crevasses up high.

Carrigan descended the Gibraltar Ledges back to Camp Muir. An excellent solo journey on a big mountain in the winter, Good Job Hannah!

Gibraltar Ledges, a few climbers have reported STELLAR conditions on this classic Rainier winter route. They stated that the route has more snow and ice than normal. The traverse along the ledge, and chute were particular hard and icy. This makes for excellent climbing, but also increases the difficulty. Climbers should bring pickets AND a few ice screws.

Ingraham Direct, there is some ice going through Cathedral Gap, but nothing too daunting. Once past the Flats, climbers have been ascending the right side of the glacier up to the top the Disappointment Cleaver. Though no teams have summited this route, it looks as though the route does go.

Summit Success

The weather was so good that I had a hard time coming down from Camp Muir. What was supposed to be an overnighter turned into a five-day excursion.

We arrived at Camp Muir on Wednesday despite unexpected rain, whiteout, snow and high winds. Making matters more interesting, the Muir Snowfield was a complete ice rink. That made skinning very difficult; crampons were, by far, the footwear of choice.

Like the snowfield, Camp Muir was all ice, which covered deep snow. There were three climbers camped in the public shelter waiting for the weather to break. They had attempted the ledges the night before, but left too late and had to turn back. The team reported firm/Styrofoam snow and ice all the way up the Cowlitz Glacier.

The weather improved that night, so we considered climbing the Nisqually Icefall the next day (Thursday). Like the other team, we too left late (1 PM) and due to the very warm temperatures prudently turned back upon spying a large avalanche tumble down the Nisqually Cleaver.

The three climbers in the Public Shelter decided to attempt the summit again, however this time via the Ingraham Direct. They climbed the right side of the Ingraham Glacier, and ran out of steam around 12,600 feet. Once again, they reported firm snow and ice, excellent cramponing.

I spent the better part of Thursday afternoon and Friday (with Ted, famous sledder of the Muir Snowfield) digging buildings out around camp. As of Sunday the 12th, there was excellent access to the public shelter, pit toilet, emergency radio and NPS facilities.

During the trip to Muir, I did take a jaunt to 12K on the Ingraham Glacier. We found firm snow and some ice (particularly near Cathedral Gap.) The most "crevasse free" path was on climbers right of the Ingraham Glacier. The center looked tempting, but had a HUGE crevasse around 11,700 feet. Though there has been a lot of snow this winter, I was impressed by the number of big crevasses still open on the Ingraham. And yes, the Ingraham Direct is in.

The high point of the weekend was that a climber reached the summit! That climber was a female soloist and she ascended the Nisqually Icecliff. Some consider this a major mountaineering feat on Mount Rainier. I’ll post more details on that trip soon!

Great Weather

The weather report is fabulous for the week and weekend. Climbers are sending me questions about routes up the Westside road, and through Camp Muir. It seems that some teams are headed for Gib Ledges, but I bet the Ingraham Direct is in good shape too! One popular plan is to climb the ledges and descend the Ingraham.

At this time, I don’t have any new upper mountain condition reports. I suspect that things are stabilizing in most areas (with regard to avalanche,) but that will be hard to really address accurately given the diverse terrain of Rainier.

I hope to spend the next three days on the mountain attempting the summit. If possible, I’ll put something up on Thursday night. Please check back.

I also welcome and encourage climbers to send me your route and condition reports.

Back Spasm

Anyone out there know how long back spasms take to heal? I slipped an fell on the top step of my apartment building's front steps one icy morning a little more than a week ago. I landed a few steps down and felt a massive surge of pain shoot from the lower, left quarter of my back that froze me in place for at least thirty seconds. I went to see my doctor and he put me on a muscle relaxant to