Egan on National Parks

"From that graveyard to the glaciers of Rainier, this land, this history, is a shared birthright. But we are absentee owners, at best, if we don’t create a new generation of stewardship..." Timothy Egan on creating a new generation of national park stewards. Check out the whole article here.

There are many opportunities to enjoy Mount Rainier this summer. Get involved in one of the many climb for causes, invasive plant pulls, or just come up for a hike with your family.

Around Paradise the snow has been melting at an exponential rate. Alpine fauna and flora have been returning as fast as the snow is melting. Late July can be the most photogenic time of the year in the park. Come on up and enjoy the views. Don't forget your sunglasses and sunscreen; winter parkas are also a must, even in July.

Early July

The first week of July has brought lots of action to the mountain. We've had three major rescues, a handful of carry-outs, and plenty of minor injuries to keep us busy.

On Wednesday, July 1st, our co-worker and friend Sam was hurt while skiing on the Emmons Glacier. His surgery on Saturday went smoothly and he was discharged from the hospital Monday. Our thoughts are with Sam and his long road through rehabilitation.

Saturday an independent climbing team was traversing onto the Disappointment Cleaver when one of the team members was struck by falling rock. His party was able to walk him back to Camp Muir. He was treated and then flown off by helicopter on Saturday morning.

Saturday night a different independent climbing team ascended the Kautz Glacier route to the summit. They decided to bivy around 13,000' on their descent when one of their party members began showing signs of HAPE. His condition worsened overnight and the party decided to traverse over to the DC route and descend to Camp Muir for help. High winds prevented transport via helicopter. Rangers and guides assisted in helping the party and injured climber down to Paradise where he was transferred to the hospital by ambulance. [ed.: HAPE is a life-threatening condition for which the immediate action is descent as rapidly and efficiently as possible].

With all of the injuries this last week we're stressing safety. Please be careful on the mountain. Use conservative judgment when putting yourself into a committed situation. Historically mid-July has held the best chance of success for climbers attempting to summit, but the possibility of rapid storm development and the changing physical conditions on the route, compounded by altitude, should always be paramount in a climber's mind.

However, with both the Emmons and DC still in great shape it's a good time to climb. Come on up and enjoy the best season on the mountain!

Full Swing

The first couple of weeks in June of higher pressure and mild temperatures enabled many climbers to reach the summit. The climbing season has reached its full swing and it looks to be a great one.

Climbing rangers have been out again this last week on patrol. Look for new route reports on both Sunset Ridge and Little Tahoma as well as updates on the more standard routes.

June is coming to a close with weather more reminiscent of last year's June. Wind-accumulated snow drifts have been shin deep in spots. The new snow has skiers and snowboarders out again trying to get in a couple more turns.

Historically July holds some of the best weather and conditions for climbing. Hopefully this July will follow suit. See you up on the mountain...

Early June

With June upon us, we find ourselves at a crossroads of the season. Many early season routes are still seeing traffic (like Liberty Ridge), while later season routes (like Disappointment Cleaver) are beginning to get attention.

Approaches are becoming easier, as the consolidation of the above average snowpack in the sub-alpine areas is taking place. White River is up and running, and Paradise is melting down to the point that you can find the buildings more easily!

Check out the Route Conditions for updated trip reports and conditions on routes all over the mountain.

Memorial Day Weekend

With the great weather and long weekend lots of climbers have been summitting. We've had successful summits via the following routes: Kautz Glacier, Tahoma Glacier, Liberty Ridge, Fuhrer Finger, Ingraham Direct, Emmons Glacier, and Gibraltar Ledges. The daytime sunshine has also been turning icy glaciers into good corn snow for great riding/skiing. The snow in Paradise still reaches the parking lot making for fun descents.

Climbing ranger David Gottlieb has just returned to Mount Rainier after another successful first ascent in Nepal. He and former climbing ranger Joe Puryear climbed Jobo Rinjang (6,778 meters). Check out http://www.climbnepal.blogspot.com/ for more information and some rad photos.

The weather continues to look clear and sunny for later this week. Come on up and enjoy the routes while they're still in great condition.

Putting in the Glacier Stakes

Good news for climbing this year at Mt. Rainier!

Many of you may have seen the white schedule-40 PVC pipes in various locations on the mountain. These stakes are installed using a steam drill and a big frothing wand to put an 8-9 meter long stake into the snow down past the layer of glacier ice.

When we put the stakes in, the snow depth is measured from last year's late fall layer. This year, all of the way up the Nisqually and even at 11,100' on the Ingraham, we have measured an amount of snow comparable to most years at this time.

This is good news for climbers. Many of the non-standard routes rely on Mt. Rainier's typical snowfall to make the route endure long enough into the summer for climbers to take advantage of the better weather.

The project's aim is to analyze the mass-balance of the Nisqually Glacier. One of the things that we have learned from this project is that the Muir Snowfield at about 9,700 feet has lost about 1 meter of ice each year for the past six years. Many of you may have noticed the rock rib that has been exposed just down from Camp Muir at about 9,700 feet!

The Glacier Monitoring Program is coordinated by the geologist at North Cascades National Park. Many of the Pacific Northwest's glaciers are incorporated into this study. Field crews from North Cascades National Park and Mount Rainier National Park are involved in the project.

Valor Award for Climbing Ranger and Guide!

The National Park Service has finally decided to recognize Chris Olson and Dave Hahn with a valor award and citizen's award for bravery, respectively.

In 2002, Nick Giguere and I had been lowered in on a jungle penetrator from a Chinook helicopter to a serac just below Liberty Wall. We hiked up to just below Thumb Rock where the injured climber and their party were waiting for us.

The second helicopter brought in RMI guide Dave Hahn and Chris Olson, an NPS climbing ranger, to assist us with the lowering from Thumb Rock. As the helicopter was trying to land, it slid back on the snow, lifted off the ground for a short period while it spun around 540 degrees and crashed into the snow. It was one of the scariest things I've ever seen in 20 years of working for the park service.

The helicopter nosed in and lurched foreward. From 1500 feet above, the snow looked like it was spraying in all directions in slow motion. The main rotor bent down, touched the snow at mach speed, then broke with pieces flying off at 300 miles per hour in opposite directions. Finally the tail rotor broke off and swung around crashing into the main cabin of the helicopter.

Within two minutes, drenched in jet-A, and almost crushed by the transmission that came through the roof of the cabin, out jumped Chris, Dave, and eventually the pilot, unhurt.

There were no other helicopters available for a long time. Chris and Dave gave themselves a once over, and hiked up to our location. Since Dave was a guide, he took care of getting the rest of the party down the mountain. Chris's specialty is high angle rescue, so he took the position of litter attendant. Nick and I lowered Chris and the injured person in one long 1000 foot lowering.

Not often does someone crash in a helicopter, get out un-injured, and then take on a crucial role in a technically demanding high-angle rescue situation. It was truly amazing.

Chris and Dave will be honored in Washington, D.C. this week. Finally.