Mount Rainier - Washington
July 31 - August 3, 2005

Traversing the Muir Snowfield is accomplished without crampons and generally follows established boot paths. It is an unrelenting ascent for the entire 2.2+ miles. With the cooler temperatures, the going was easy without the usual slipping in the softened snow. The visibility above Pebble Creek was limited and at times was around 50 feet. We made a couple of stops along the way to catch a few minutes to rest. These were at the location known as Moon Rocks and then a small rock outcropping between Moon Rocks and Camp Muir. Our group did spread out some, possibly as much as a mile before we reached Camp Muir.

At 9,000 feet, the clouds would start to clear and we could see Camp Muir. It was awesome to see our goal. As we looked up at Camp Muir, we could see past Gibraltar Rock and all the way up to the snowfield before the summit. It was inspiring to see that sight. Even though I have been there three times before, the impression felt like the first time.

During our ascent of the snowfield, we would see RMI led groups and other independent climbers, some looking like hell struggling with the ascent, others just cruising along. Our group was strong which attests to the months of training we did since March when we committed to this goal. RMI targets 5 hours 15 minutes for the trip to Camp Muir. Some of us beat that time – way to go!

Jay and myself landed in Camp Muir around the same time. Others followed within a few minutes and the last team members about an hour later. Once in Camp Muir, we located existing tent platforms on the snow field where we could start our little VFTT community. The public shelter was scheduled to be closed for one month for maintenance, but the poor weather prevented the workers from flying in, so the rangers said we could use the shelter one more night. Some of our group took up the offer.

I located a nice tent platform with snow walls where I could place my little Black Diamond Firstlight tent. With some additional clearing of snow for the vestibule, the tent was in place and ready for use. Unfortunately, I could not completely level out the platform and during my stay, I would slide toward the other side with every move. This made sleeping difficult as I tried not to roll onto my tent partner.

The energy level was high and everyone was in good spirits. Many have never been to this elevation before and the experience of getting to Camp Muir made everyone giddy with delight. Sherpa was seen with a permanent smile and thumbs up for the entire evening.

The main goal of our evening was to start melting snow for water. Arm set his stove up next to some “Human Waste” containers that offered good protection from the wind. We melted and filtered gallons of water that evening. We talked to Jeffery (Sir Edmund on VFTT) who was with the RMI groups for a summit bid that same evening.

Throughout the day and early evening the winds howled making stove usage and tent preparations challenging. The weather started to calm down as dusk came upon us. The low cloud level started to move away opening the region around Rainer up to some fantastic views. During the night, the winds would return and cause our tents to flap loudly, just enough to prevent a good nights sleep.

Go to Page << Previous, 1, 3, 4, Next >>, Photo Journal