Mount Rainier Emmons Winthrop Glacier

Mount Rainier via Emmons/Winthrop Glaciers

June 12-14, 2011

Crew: Jen Crim, Mark Koob
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June 10

After climbing Mt. Hood, we rolled happily into Rainier National Park to continue our Cascade adventure. We could not find a convenient place to camp so we staying at a nice hotel right outside the park entrance. The owners were very nice and even negotiated a lower price for us. A hottub and free wine made us all very happy.

June 11

We slept in and chowed down on the free breakfast. Driving into the park was exciting and Rainier kept itself hidden all day. We stopped to pick up our permits at the visitor center and were happy to hear the rangers say, "You'll have the best 3 days of weather on the mountain!". Too bad they were WRONG! Reserved a campspot at the Emmons Flats above Camp Schurman with the intention of avoiding the crowds seemed like a choice idea. Originally, we had only planned on one night with the good forecast, but after talking to the rangers and hearing that the Emmons side of Rainier was basically abandoned, we decided on an extra night. Armed with permits, we made for the National Forest just outside the park on the White River side. Finding a nice forest service road, we found a nice flatspot and started sorting the mountain of gear. Several Rainier beers put us to bed early on a cold June night.

June 12

Not finding early motivation, we hit the trailhead a bit later than intended. The previous winter had brought close to 200% snowpack, and we stepped onto snow immediately after the car. We all donned our double boots and were happy to have the cushion under our feet. The 50+ pound packs made for slow going but we steadily gained progress. The base of the inter-glacier came and there were many day hikers planning on getting a glimpse of Camp Schurman. Although many ascended unroped, we had heard that crevasses did exist and roped up anyway. The snowpack had grown weak and the entire ascent up the glacier was grueling while postholing knee to waist deep on every step. Just as we reached the crest of the ridge the clouds descending and brought freezing rain, snow and zero visibility. We quickly donned extra layers against the plummeting temps and descending onto the Emmons in a total whiteout. Wallowing upward in waist-deep snow was excruciating and gave an ominous feeling to the hike, but Camp Schurman finally came into sight. As we huffed into Schurman, we were shocked to find it a ghost town. Only 2 tents were set up and not a sign of movement existed. With the weather continually deteriorating and the storm gathering strength, we gave up on ascending to Emmons Flats and set up in the abandoned Schurman. We settled in against the storm and wondered if the weather would clear for our summit day. Finding a break in the weather, we checked with the rangers about our unplanned campsite (they didn't care at all) and chatted with our few neighbors. Apparently nobody had summit on this side for a week due to the nasty weather and the other climbers were quite disappointed. We set the alarm early and our hopes high for a break in the weather the following morning and went to bed early.

June 13

The alarm went off painfully early. A quick glimpse outside squashed any thoughts of a summit attempt. Complete whiteout, raging winds and snow was not what we were willing to battle. A few "oh wells" were exchanged and we went back to bed. Morning brought the realization that our decision was well made. Biting cold and zero visibility greeted us. Our neighbors had made for the summit against the storm and were beaten back down to camp. They slowly packed up and it was obvious they were filled with regret. It was hard to feel too sorry for them since their journey had brought them from the distant city of Seattle. We spent the day alone in camp digging stairs, melting water, building walls and watching the clouds play tag with each other. I deemed it the "battle of the glaciers" since the clouds would surge up the Emmons only to be knocked back by the cloud armies of the Winthrop. The stalemate continued all morning as we sat in the crossfire and hoped to catch a glimpse of the mountain. Our wishes were finally granted about noon as the clouds parted and we had a gloriously clear shot up the mountain. Running out to absorb the view lit our spirits but it didn't last long. The Winthrop couldn't stand the ceasefire, and a new line of clouds flew up and drove the visibility back down to about 15 feet. Both of our neighbors left camp leaving us all alone but it wasn't long until a single large group from RMI came up. The guides established camp while the clients were taken out and shown how to walk with crampons on. I was surprised that they hadn't been show this skill until now and wondered if they had any idea about crevasse rescue. The clouds finally gave up about 4pm and we enjoyed the mountain. I traced the route many times and watched spindrift blast over the large icefalls above us. About 6 oclock, we noticed 2 dots descending the route. We obviously weren't the only ones who thought it was odd to be descending so late, and the rangers came out and watched them intently through binoculars. After a few radio calls, the rangers quickly geared up and blasted up the mountain to meet the later comers. As the 2 parties converged, we were surprised to see that the rangers continued up the mountain while the party continued down. They stumbled into camp and went immediately into the ranger cabin. We wondered what on earth could be going but figured that it couldn't be good. We watched the rangers ascend until they went out of sight and we retired to bed quite early.

June 14

The alarm shocked me awake and the howling wind greeted us. The tent shook violently as the gusts came and my spirits dropped. Sticking his head out the tent Mark replied simply, "we should wait". We decided that we'd set the alarm an hour later and see if the storm was still blowing. Fortunately, an hour later all was clear and we watched a single set of lights ascend as we geared up. The wee hours of the morning were clear and cold with the thermometer hovering around 5 degrees. Fortunately the uphill trudge warmed our bones and we tromped cautiously across the glacier. The snow was solid, but occasional holes appeared where an unlucky foot had fallen into the maw of one of the hidden beasts below. Entering the corridor, we noticed that the lights above us had grown much closer. As we neared, we discovered that they were not moving and had dug a small shelter into the slope. The raging bellows from earlier in the morning had frozen them in place and hey had decided to dig in and wait until dawn before descending. After a brief chat we pushed onward and marveled as the sun crested behind us. The "trail" was vague at best this early in the season and it was nice to be completely in charge of navigating the mountain. Also, a helicopter began circling overhead and we couldn't help but wonder about the odd occurrence the evening before. As we closed in on the final 1,500 feet the wind rallied. The gusts began slowly and soon we were bearing into a full force gale. The steepest bit of the route became a shield of bullet proof ice and as the wind blew 40-50mph constantly with gusts up to 70mph I wondered if we'd get blown off the route. Just as I doubted if we'd ever top out, the summit ridge appeared and we crawled onto the summit. The view was incredible but was very unappreciated. Although amazed to have the summit all alone (in fact there was not another soul in site), the wind was unbearable and we left quickly after arriving. As we carefully descended the sheet of ice, the helicopter flew low over our heads and carefully dropped into the summit crater. We watched in amazement as it tenuously touched down just long enough for two huddled figures to climb aboard and blasted off the mountain. It flew straight to Camp Schurman and touched down once more to have to the two figures climb out and go straight into the rangers cabin. Puzzled, we made quick time on the descent. The wind died as we lost elevation and the snow became friendly again. Camp came abruptly and we didn't waste time packing our gear. The inter-glacier came soon enough and we happily unroped and glissaded down. A bank of clouds engulfed us but we came out from under it at the base of the glacier. The hike out was long and we were all happy to arrive back at the car. It had been a glorious trip and a wonderful introduction to Mount Rainier. We parted ways in Portland after dropping Mark off at the bus stop. Jen and I stayed in Oregon with her family for awhile and enjoyed several other hikes and general fun.

About the helicopter, we later found out that a party had gotten trapped on Liberty Ridge 2 days prior and they had to abandon one of their members who was delirious from hypothermia to get help. They had come into Camp Schurman and the rangers set out to rescue the climber. When they finally arrived at the location they left him, all they found was a few articles of clothing. The rangers spent the night on the summit plateau and were picked up by a rescue chopper that searched for the fallen climber. His name was Robert Plankers and he was a very well prepared and skilled climber. Here is an article on the accident. He was never found, may he rest in peace.

Mount Hood

Summit of Mt. Hood. Rainier looms behind.

Mark down-climbing the lower-angled option of the Old Chute on Mt. Hood.