This was to be my 3rd attempt at a 4000m peak and possibly the hardest to date. Mount Rainier is a massive peak and active volcano and a first glimpse of this mountain from the airplane is enough to send down shivers to anyone attempting to climb this mountain. The peak is so prominent even above the clouds. This was a trip with 3 other climbers (Dmitry, Kim and Peter) that I didn't know from before and my first climb with IMG as my guiding agency. Our guides Dallas and Max were both quite experienced. Dallas was an Alaskan and South American veteran and Max had done some pretty bad ass stuff in the North East. I quickly realized I would be the least experienced of the group. Kim, Peter and Dmitry had all attempted Rainier before (unsuccessfully) and they had been to Alaska, South America, Swiss Alps and even Elbrus, Russia! Honestly their mountaineering CV was quite impressive!
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| View of Rainier from the plane |
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| Mount Rainier from the parking lot |
For this trip I had chosen the Fuhrer finger route which is considered an intermediate route on Rainier. After scaling Whitney through the mountaineer's route with ease I was overconfident of my abilities approaching Rainier. Both my over-confidence and lack of training showed up on our approach day. Mount rainier is not like other peaks, we were on a rope team less than 1 hour from the parking lots as we were in crevasse zone.
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| Approach, day 1 |
The group pace was faster than what I was used to and within the first few hours of the trip I started cramping and panicking. I lost my form and technique and started using my muscles without relying on lock steps. This is the first time I felt my body was letting me down in this way. Some how we managed to reach the camp and I was extremely embarrassed for letting the group down. I could feel everyone thinking that I would make them turn back. The camp site was again a beauty! It was on a ridge with a small spring for our water resources. My tent mate Dmitry and the guides were supportive and we decide to do some crampon sessions the next day and take the next day off as a rest day given high winds. The trip was planned to be for 4 nights and 5 days to allow for 1 or 2 days of bad weather.
On our right was the finger route with massive crevasses below. This was also the first time we had the view of the cresent shaped fuhrer finger route. It was going to be steep and super icy.
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| Campsite Days 1 and 2 |
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| First view of the finger route |
We started our ascent rather leisurely on Day 3 with all our gear packed as this was going to be an up and over trip meaning we had 40 to 50 pounds on us at all times. This route had rock fall risk. We started and I started gaining some confidence.
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| Crescent shaped Fuhrer finger chute |
We climbed the narrow chute at incredible pace worried about rock fall and weather. We knew once we were half way through there was no turning back.
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| Fuhrer finger below us |
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| Last section climbing the chute |
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| Camp above the Fuhrer finger |
Finally we managed to reach the top and camped above the clouds. This has to be my most favorite camping spots. We rested on day 3 and strolled to the summit on day 4. The hike up from our advanced camp to summit was a less than 2 hours but we could all feel the wind chill. My face was completely covered but I could still feel the chillness though my Baklava.
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| Rainier Summit |
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| Dmitry showing the elevation at the summit |
We had the option to camp on the summit but decided to move down to Ingram flats to reduce time on day 5 and have some respite from the winds. In hind sight this was highly appreciated. On our way out I got to see the highway carved out for the DC route and I was glad that I chose Fuhrer finger.
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| Camping at Ingram flats |
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| DC route on the way down |
