Climbing the World to End Alzheimer's
Mt. Rainier
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Since I started climbing in 1992 I have climbed on peaks around the world, from Colorado to K2, which I summited in 2014 at age 58. These pages cover my climbs beyond Everest and the 7 Summits, with trip reports, dispatches, FAQs and photos. See all of my climbs.
Summited July 10, 2004, July 31, 2012 and July 8, 2015.
Washington State, US : Mt. Rainier (14,411'/4392)
Overview
Mount Rainier National Park was established in 1899 and has around 1.8 million visitors each year with about 10,000 climbers. Rainier is the tallest US volcano having last erupted between 1820 and 1894 with another event expected at some point. The summit crater is over 1,000 feet wide with three summits, the highest being Columbia Crest at 14,411 feet.
It has over 35 square miles of snow and ice including 26 major glaciers. The Emmons Glacier is the largest glacier at 4.3 square miles and the Carbon Glacier is the longest at 5.7 miles and thickest, 700 feet, reaching as low as 3,500 feet.
The biggest issue on Rainier, like most mountains near oceans, is weather. The primary park town of Paradise receives 126 inches of rain annually. It claims to be the snowiest place on earth where snowfall is measured regularly receiving as much as 93 feet of snow in the winter of 1971/72 and boasting a record snow pack of 30 feet in March 1955. Climbers regularly get stormed out by Pacific fronts that dump rain and snow year-round making a summit of Rainier special anytime of the year.
I think a Mt. Rainier climb is one of the very best investments for anyone aspiring to climb higher and more difficult mountains. With easy access, ample guide services with climbs and classes or going with qualified friends, it can be both a learning as well as a climbing experience of a lifetime.
Climbing
A detailed look at the statistics provide by the National Park Service reveal some interesting insight. Over the past 10 years, roughly 10,000 to 11,000 climbers attempted the summit annually with about half reaching the summit. IN 2017 5,477 out of 11,444 summited Rainier by al routes or 48%. Sadly there are several deaths each year As you would expect, the prime climbing time is the summer but especially starting around early June with 300 to 500 climbers per week, peaking at the end of July with 800 climbers on the mountain each week and dropping off dramatically by late September back to several hundred. While Rainier is climbed year round, you could be alone from November to May – not a good idea!
Routes
Mount Rainier offers over 60 climbing routes ranging from moderate to world-class. All require proper training, skills and gear. Of all the routes, four dominate the mountain by a huge margin:
| Rainier 2011 – 2016 Route Stats sources: National Park Service, www.stephabegg.com | |||
| ROUTE | Total Summits since 2011-2016 | % of Traffic | Range of Summit Success |
| Disappointment Cleaver | 45,925 | 72% | 48% – 59% |
| Emmons‐Winthrop | 9,506 | 15% | 51% – 59% |
| Kautz Glacier | 2,752 | 4% | 44% – 62% |
| Ingraham Direct | 1,154 | 2% | 7% – 26% |
| others | 5,544 | 7% | |
| TOTAL | 63,881 | 100% | 48% |
Guides
In 2016 the three guide companies took 5,110 climbers – 1,841 guides and 3,269 clients. In the same year there were 10,975 total climbers thus 7,706 were independent or 70%. Three companies are authorized to guide on the volcano: Alpine Ascents (AAI), International Mountain Guides (IMG) and Rainier Mountaineering (RMI). RMI has a legacy since 1969 and guided over 2,877 people in 2016 made up of 770 guides and 2,107 clients. Also for 2016, the other two guide companies were AAI: 382 guides, 744 clients and IMG: 389 guides, 718 clients. As for summit rates, The NPS did not publish separate stats for guided vs independent other than the generic 46% number for total climbers last published was for 2010 with 4920 out of 10643 summiting. The three companies do not make their rates readily available on their websites which is somewhat strange.
Rangers
Somewhat unique across the world is the presence of Park Climbing Rangers in the US National Parks. These individuals are there to protect the environment while supporting climbers through education, information and rescues. On Rainier, there are two permanently staff Ranger Huts at the high camps of Muir and Schurman. Each year, the Rangers do regular patrols reach the summit nearly 200 times. For Rainier, they maintain an excellent website for current information.
A full trip report is available plus the updates from during the climb on my Blog.
As usual, my climbs are to raise awareness and research funds for Alzheimer’s Disease. Please learn more at this link.
Climb On!
Alan
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