The initial seed that would lead me out to Mount Rainier was planted back in January 2018 by a conversation with a co-worker who shares a love of the outdoors. Upon actually trying to figure out what it would take to climb Rainier, I was quickly met with an impasse, as all guided trips for the 2018 season were already sold out. I tucked away my little mountaineering idea into the recesses of my brain, and merrily carried on with my mundane day-to-day for the next few months.
Flash forward to the very tail end of July 2018. My work situation had changed considerably, and I found myself in an NYC hotel room casually perusing various guided Rainier expedition websites (as one does in major metropolitan areas). That’s when I finally stumbled across the diamond in the rough. A spot had opened up on one of International Mountain Guide’s trips. I hastily made a few phone calls, filled out the appropriate paperwork, sent in my deposit, and in a matter of 24 hours realized I would soon be hucking myself at an active volcano at the end of August.
Let me be clear that in prior to this excursion, I have never donned a crampon, held an ice axe, or willingly tethered myself to another human being by means of rope. For a hiker with a growing curiosity in mountaineering and climbing, I was very excited to have found IMG’s program. One might say my interest was peaked. (Hey, wait, come back!)
Despite all of the physical and mental preparation leading up to the trip, the magnitude of what I had bitten off didn’t really hit me until I was driving south on Interstate 5 and I saw the mountain with my own eyes. There it was, looming on the horizon, basked in alpenglow. The hairs on my arms stood straight up, and I let out an audible slow motion ho-lee shite.
There are certain things you can’t really understand or conceptualize until you’re face-to-face with them. This trip was full of those moments. The crunch of snow underfoot as you make your first steps with crampons, gazing into the infinite abyss of a crevasse, navigating through a field of skyward reaching penitentes, your heart racing as you lay motionless at elevation. It’s one thing to look at photos of these environments from afar and think about what it might be like, it’s another thing to get out there and experience it first hand.
Our climbing team consisted of 8 individuals from a variety of backgrounds with all kinds of different outdoor experiences under their belt. I’d say most of us were from similar ilk; a love of being outside and wanting to push ourselves to experience something new and challenging. My memory could be incorrect, but I don’t think any of us had experience with anything quite like Rainier prior to this jaunt. In an odd way, it put me at ease knowing I was climbing with folks of similar skill level.
Our guides, on the other hand, were seasoned mountaineers with a considerable laundry list of climbing accomplishments; successful summits of Himalayan peaks, hundreds of visits to the top of Rainier, and most importantly, the experience and ability to guide wisely. You could sense a certain depth to our guides and their collective experiences that need not be explained. It was palpable, and you could feel it. I trusted them wholeheartedly.
Prior to our summit bid, the decision was made while on the Ingraham Flats that if anyone on our team had to turn around, the entirety of our team would be forced to turn back. This call was made for a variety of reasons that all seemed to coalesce at the same time.
We were already down a teammate and guide who had stayed back at Camp Muir. We were now a team of 7 climbers and 3 guides. If anyone had to turn around, that would put us in a 6 climber and 2 guide situation, with our other teammate and guide descending the mountain alone. If anything should happen to them, rescue would quickly become a challenging affair.
The condition of the route was also a factor. Our guides were very transparent in that what we had signed up for was no longer a beginners route due to the changing conditions this season. Imagine guiding up a group of individuals who had only put on crampons the day prior on an intermediate route. Bad or fatigued footwork could easily prove fatal.
We got horizontal in our tents around 5:00pm and lay anxiously for our call time the following morning. The window for departure was 10:00pm to 4:00am for our summit bid. We were awakened around midnight, quickly prepared for departure, roped up, and embarked into the night.
Ultimately, the decision was made to turn around somewhere around Disappointment Cleaver. Huddled on a cliffside with headlamps on, our lead guide made the call. Frustrating, but the right call given the circumstances. The feeling as we trudged back to our moonlit camp was somewhere between deflated and understanding. I know it was the right call, but damn it! I also know something else was planted in that moment, that I don’t think would’ve taken hold quite as strong in the last few weeks had we actually been able to summit. I’m still trying to figure it out. It gnaws at me and keeps me up at night. I know I’m not alone.
I’ll never forget after we broke camp from the Ingraham Flats and began our descent across the Cowlitz Glacier back to Camp Muir. We were moving along casually talking about life when suddenly we heard a loud crack up above us. I turned around and watched as large boulders crashed down, splintering debris and fanning out every direction. There wasn’t time to think. Our guide Ryan simply yelled, “RUN!” It really felt like things were happening in slow motion. I suddenly felt an agility in my crampons that I had never experienced prior to that point. Thankfully, no one was struck, but it was a reminder that we are only guests in the house of the mountain.
From afar, mountains look like static environments, unmoving on the horizon. How differently I view them now. They are lurching and yawing and groaning and creaking. They are very much dynamic, alive, and in a constant state of flux. I feel fortunate to have been able to safely experience Mount Rainier. My appetite has been whetted. If you have an interest in learning more about mountaineering, I highly recommend checking out International Mountain Guides.