Rainier Shine

“True adventure begins when everything goes wrong.” -Yvon Chouinard

After climbing Kili I had no idea what to do next in order to get ready for my next of the 7 which would be Cerro Aconcagua. I was ready to go big after my trip to Iceland so I figured why not hit another high altitude peak in the states to train? I had already done Mt. Whitney which is the highest peak in the lower 48 states and also had done another peak earlier in the year called Mt. Shasta which is 14,140ft. There was another peak called Mt. Rainer in Washington that had always held my attention since its known as “mini- Denali” and was one of the more dangerous volcanos in the states to climb. Given that and my desire for going big it seemed that Mt. Rainier would be next!

I immediately began researching guide companies and found that there were only three which operated on Rainer. Having researched all three I picked International Mountain Guides for my climb and because I was going big I couldn’t just pick the normal route everyone takes their first time up the mountain. Instead I chose a route up the Kautz Glacier which is the second most technical route to the summit. There is no trail and it involves navigating ice fields filled with crevasses along with a 500ft multi pitch ice climb. Having no technical ice climbing experience, I was PUMPED for a shot at throwing a pair axes into the ice!

I started talking to the guide company and they recommended being able to carry 50+ pounds for the five-day trip. I’ve been backpacking a long time and found it hard to believe that I would need that much weight for five days! Normally I’m able to slim my pack down to 30-pounds including water for a four-day trip so I figured adding an extra day plus some winter gear couldn’t possible get me any higher than 35-40 pounds. I started training by throwing all my gear plus cans of food (think heavy but dense) into my pack and went hiking every weekend in addition to climbing at the gyms.  As the trip got closer I began assembling my gear in my bedroom which always puts my dog Jack on high alert that “Dad” is heading out yet again for another adventure.

After a lot of training and anticipation it was time to leave. I flew out of San Francisco International Airport and into Seattle Tacoma International Airport. I made arrangements to have a rental car and made the two-and-a-half-hour drive from the airport to Ashford, Washington where International Mountain Guides had their headquarters. I arrived that afternoon just in time for our 3pm group check in and met our Lead Guide Mike and the rest of the crew I would be climbing alongside. We shagged out all our gear and made sure everyone was ready for the mountain and then went our separate ways for the night.

When we met that next morning we all gathered our gear and got into the guide company van and headed up the mountain. Since we were going up a technically demanding route and we all came from different backgrounds the guides wanted to spend a few hours on the mountain making sure we all were up to snuff. We reviewed all the basic stuff like how to walk in crampons, tying different climbing knots, self-arrest, and rope travel in a group. After we were done we all piled back into the van and were left to our own devices back at headquarters where we would all meet again the next morning to finally head up the mountain.

Finally, the next morning came and we started divvying up gear and food at headquarters prepping for our departure. As I had said before they had warned us to be ready to carry 50+ pounds for the trip and even though I didn’t believe them I ended up with 50 pounds of personal gear and group items like a tent and food. I was a bit pissed at myself for not heeding the recommendations but figured what’s a few more pounds than I expected…? Famous last words.

We got to the base of the mountain and started our climb. Over the next four days we would blaze our own trail up the Kautz Glacier making camps along the way each evening. It was a Tues when we started and the plan would be to ascend from 5,400ft on day one up to 9000+ft and set camp. Wed we would go up to 11,000ft to set camp followed by our high camp on Thurs around 12,500+ft. We would camp at the high point Thurs night and then wake up early around 2am Fri morning for our summit attempt. As with any good plan something always forces you to adapt and change.

Aside from having a hell of a time carrying my loads Tues and Wed went well. We navigated glacier fields and crevasses without incident. A few times we had to step directly across some crevasses and my guide told me to look down. Having been a rock climber I was used to being up high and looking down but this was entirely different. As I stepped over the void I looked down and saw a bottomless pit. The edges of the crevasse were framed in brilliant white snow and as my eyes followed the crevasse walls down the white turned to light blue then dark blue and eventually pure black. My stomach dropped as my mind thought “what if?” and I quickly continued to safety on the other side of the emptiness. As we continued up the mountain the views kept getting better and I couldn’t help but feel pure happiness being out there putting myself through yet another test.

When we woke up Thurs morning we were all amped as this was the day we would get to do the big multi pitch ice climb I had been stoked about. We all roped up into our teams and kept slugging our way up the mountain and finally made it to the ice chute. The chute wasn’t completely vertical but had 60+ degree slope which would be way too steep to simply walk up. We waited at the base while our guides racked their ice climbing protection which was a mix of pickets and ice screws. Each guide had two clients and would start up the climb leading the pitches and then bringing up their clients on anchors they built at each pitch. The experience of climbing ice was something else! Adjusting to ice climbing was difficult and exhausting but after some trial and error I got the hang of it. After three pitches of climbing we made it to the top and were an hour’s hike from where we would set our high camp. This is where we would camp for the night and leave behind all our heavy gear to head for the summit in the early hours of Fri morning. Of course that was the plan but the mountain had another idea for us.

The whole time on the mountain I thought I had been on an adventure but like I said the mountain had other plans for us. When we had reached our high camp Thurs afternoon the guides radioed down to base camp to check in and get the weather forecast for the evening and following day. So far the weather gods had been cooperating with us but now they had decided to test our group. Our Lead Guide Mike came to the group saying base camp alerted him that a nasty storm was rolling in and by late this evening we would be swallowed by snow accompanied with 60+ mph winds and a white out. Of course upon hearing this we all thought our summit attempt was done and over but Mike told us we had some options. Option #1 would be to descend the mountain and call it a day knowing we gave it a good effort but that it just wasn’t in the cards. Option #2 was to wait it out and see if the storm missed us. We all settled into this new reality when Mike dropped Option #3 on us. He said we were all strong and good climbers so if the whole group voted yes for this option then we could do it. Option #3 would be to continue hiking and go for the summit then and there even though we had been climbing and hiking since that morning and were exhausted. This sounded like our best chance at getting to the top so we all talked about the risks of continuing. It was made clear to us that if we went this route that we would not be able to leave gear behind and would have to carry our full loads to the top as we had no idea where we might end up if we kept going. There was a strong possibility that the storm would roll in as predicted and we would be stuck in a white out unable to descend safely. If this happened, we would have to hunker down for the night wherever we could get shelter and ride out the storm. Naturally we all agreed that the reward outweighed the risks and decided to go for it. Everyone took a moment to rest and then we continued into the unknown and let the true adventure begin.

Having already completed a day’s worth of hiking and climbing we were all spent as we set out to gain the summit. It would be another 4 hours minimum till we summited depending on our pace so everyone settled in for the long haul. I have completed some pretty big summits with Mt. Whitney, Mt. Shasta, and Mt. Kilimanjaro under my belt but these were nothing in comparison to what I was about to accomplish. As I continued climbing I literally felt like each step was the last one I had energy for and that I was never going to make it. In all my other climbing and hiking I have had to dig deep to tackle those challenges but any depth I had dug into myself previously was like a puddle when compared to how deep I had go to keep myself moving. Every time I dug just a little deeper I thought that was it and yet somehow I was able to keep finding a depth within myself I never knew existed. After what seemed like an eternity of chanting “one more step” to myself we were within sight of the summit along the ridge-line that would lead us to victory. Just as soon as we had reached the ridge the storm we had been warned about swept in and left us in a white out. We continued to the summit and celebrated delirious from exhaustion but floored on adrenaline and our triumph.

After the obligatory photos the guides came to us and explained that the true adventure would continue since we could not go back the way we came due to the storm and the next potential place we could camp semi- safely for the night was a 3-hour hike down another trail. Immediately we began our decent and every one of us struggled making our way down the treacherous slopes. After having reached the deepest parts oy myself on the ascent I literally had nothing left and was letting gravity carry me down with bursts of strength from my legs to keep me from falling off the mountain. No matter how exhausted any one of us might be during this part of the trip there was literally no other option except to continue. We all pushed on and made it to a flat where we could dig into the mountain for the night and ride out the storm. My tent mate and I began shoveling snow to build walls and dig in a platform to set our tent up in to protect us as best we could from the weather. Drained from the days’ efforts we slumped into our tents and ate a quick meal before passing out. I had never slept in gale force winds before but the gusts and fluttering of the tent woke me a few times and while I probably should have been scared sadistically I enjoyed the experience. After all I was here to go big and this trip was definitely not leaving anything on the table.

In the morning when we woke we were told we had been sleeping in the face of an ice cliff that had been the site of one of the worst climbing accidents in North America. Overnight I guess it was cold enough to not worry about the cliff shifting and causing an avalanche but in the light of day there was concern as the cliffs face warmed in the morning sun. We packed up and headed out from camp without breakfast as fast as we could. After descending a few more hours, we made it to Muir Hut where base camp was located and were rewarded with a hot breakfast and warm shelter. We had made it! All we had to do from this point was descend a few hours more over easy terrain back to where our van would pick us up.

In one of my earlier posts I said “I chose the 7 because it was huge. In the end it wouldn’t be about the summits, it would be about the journey. It would be about pushing myself to my limit because that’s where I figured I would see who I really was.” I know Rainier isn’t one of the 7 but it was part of the journey along the way and up there I pushed myself farther than I’ve ever gone before. I got to see a part of who I was when I was at my limit. The experience of digging deeper into myself for motivation and strength when I thought I was on empty gave me perspective about what I could accomplish. If I could find it within me to keep going on Rainier, then what else was possible?