catbirdseat

Here is the detailed trip report. Rainier Gibraltar Ledges, Feb 24-25, 2003 by Catbirdseat I had been planning this trip for several months. After reading Mike Gauthier’s book, I decided on late February as being the most likely to give us a suitable weather window, as well as enough snow to cover the ledges. The trip was originally scheduled as a Mountaineers Club climb, but since I got only one person from that group (Oyvind), I the climb private and posted it on CascadeClimbers.com. Oyvind was an expert Telemark skier and ski mountaineer with several Rainier ascents. AlpenTom expressed interest a few days before the climb. This was to be his first Rainier climb. Duchess joined us only one day before. She was a NPS employee at Paradise with ten successful ascents and one previous attempt on the Gibraltar Ledges route which was turned back because of high winds. We were very glad to have someone along who knew the route. Gibraltar Ledges was the route used by the first ascent party. The route begins at Camp Muir and goes straight towards the summit on the upper Cowlitz glacier, then past a rock feature on Cowlitz Cleaver known as the Beehive. At Gibraltar Rock the route follows a ledge system on the west side above the Nisqually glacier. Many years ago, the ledges were intact, and were the preferred summer route, but a portion fell away leaving a section of steep and loose rock. When covered with snow, this section is more easily negotiated. The ledges end at an exit gully of about 50 degrees, which is also part of another route called Gibraltar Chute. The exit gully leads to the saddle above Gibraltar Rock. From there, the route goes straight to the summit on the slopes of the upper Ingraham glacier, which has relatively few crevasses. Most people descend by some other route, usually the Ingraham Direct. The directness of the route has helped make it one of the most popular winter routes. Since weather is so critical to a successful winter ascent, we had been studying the forecasts carefully during the previous week. It had been a winter if little snow and we were concerned about having enough of it on the ledges. I had climbed Rainier less than two weeks earlier with Marek and we had changed our route from the Ledges to Ingraham Direct (Ingraham Headwall) because from what we could see it looked like not enough snow. During that climb the snow was hard packed and the crevasses on the Ingraham were mostly filled and easily crossed. Four days before the climb (Friday) it snowed 24 inches at Paradise with strong NW winds. It was still snowing lightly early on Saturday. Sunday the sun came out, but because of strong NE winds, no one reached Camp Muir, so we had no reports on conditions there. We were concerned about avalanche danger because, including Monday, our approach day, there would only be two or three days for snow settlement to occur. Tuesday had to be our summit day because the winds were forecast to lessen that day. Wednesday was too late because a weak front was predicted for to arrive that day. Oyvind picked up Tom and I at 7:30 and we arrived at Paradise at around 10:30 where we met Duchess in the parking lot. Duchess told us that To_the_Top was also going to camp Muir that day with two friends. We were totally grateful that they left before us because they put in a nice set of boot tracks that made it a lot easier for us. We left Paradise at 11 with heavy packs. We were prepared for the predicted cold weather that we thought might be as low as 0 F at the summit. Also we were carrying second tools, at Duchess suggestion, in case we found the exit chute icy. As we climbed to Panorama Point we caught gusty winds from the Northeast. It was strong enough that there was quite a bit of snow being transported. We were concerned about this because we were going to be on west-facing slopes at times and didn’t want to see them loaded the day before we’d be on them. High on the mountain we could see some spindrift, but not as much as expected. I have observed that east winds tend blow strongest at low elevations. By the time we reach Anvil Rock, I was lagging behind the others and noticed that most of the tracks were filling in. I arrived at Camp Muir at 5 p.m., about 30 minutes behind the others, feeling tired. It was windy, but not too bad, perhaps 15-20 mph. To_the_Top and friends were there and left shortly after I arrived. Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t get Tuesday off from work; otherwise he too would have been climbing. We had our meals eaten and our water melted by 7 that night and told jokes and stories for a couple of hours. Although it was about 15 F in the hut, we were all warm and cozy in our sleeping bags. Duchess told us about a recent trip to Wyoming where it hit -30 in the night, and how they couldn’t get moving until noon. I found out just how nice it is to have a pee bottle with you at Muir Hut when it is 10 degrees outside and windy! The only one who seemed to sleep well was Duchess. We knew she was asleep because she giggle periodically. She must have been having sweet dreams indeed. I had a mild headache and figured I was developing AMS, so at 2 am I took a Diamox tablet (125 mg). I actually fell asleep for a blissful two hours. Tom woke us all at 4 am, on schedule. This being a winter climb we wanted to climb in the light so we could see and for it to be a little warmer in the sun. We weren’t worried about snow bridges softening in the afternoon as we might have in the summer; it just doesn’t warm up that much in the winter. We did want to get past the Ledges before noon when the sun swings to the west and loosens up the pebbles on Gibraltar Rock. It took us an hour and a half to get ready. A hot breakfast is de riguer in winter and putting on all the clothes, etc., takes a lot of time. At the suggestion of Duchess, we opted to approach Gibraltar Rock on the East Ridge of Cowlitz Cleaver, unroped. It was a combination of hard snow and rock. We saw what looked like old boot prints in the places. Perhaps someone went up to check it out, but didn’t do the climb? There were no reports yet this winter of any ascent of the route. We passed left (west) of the beehive, which I found is actually a very small feature, a rock pinnacle of perhaps 30 ft in height. A drop off was reached where we rappelled 20 ft or so using an anchor we found there. From here we climbed snow just east of the ridge until we reached the notch where the ledges start. The snow was very soft. Sometimes the wind would pack it so you could walk on top, and other times it was a “wallowfest”. It all depended on the vagaries of exposure and aspect. We all tried to become experts at reading the snow surface for hard places on which to walk. As we walked onto the ledges I couldn’t help but notice the icicles that were stuck in the snow like so many daggers. I also saw holes in the snow where pebbles, and occasionally larger rocks, had augured in. I remarked to my partners that we should keep moving. As one proceeds one goes from the south side to the west side of the formation where the danger decreases until later in the day. Initially, the ledges are wide and easy. There is a slope of about 30 degrees. Near to where the ledge narrows, we saw the heavy galvanized steel eyebolt that was pounded into the rock long ago. I suppose in the summer, one could rappel to a lower ledge, but we continued on unroped. Oyvind broke trail on the crux of the ledge, which was a 45-degree rubble slope with about 5 feet of loose snow clinging to the rock face at the top. I was a little sketched here because the snow was so soft that I felt my axe would lever out if I were to slip. It was clear that prior to the latest snowfall this section was not covered. After the crux we had to front point up about 30 feet and found a flat spot to take a break and rope up for the exit chute. Here we watched a spectacular avalanche come off the Nisqually Icefall below. Though we had two 50 m ropes with us, we opted to all tie in on one rope. The last 200 ft or so of ledge was pretty easy 45-degree snow slope, but exposed, so we chose to place 3 flukes. There was one more shelf before the exit chute. We took a break and admired the blue ice cliffs of the Nisqually, which were directly across from us. We then studied the exit chute carefully. A friend of Tom’s partner’s roommate was killed on the exit chute in an avalanche. All they ever found was a boot. Oyvind thought that if we stayed as close to the rocks on the right as possible, the danger of avalanche would be minimized. I led the exit chute with our 3 flukes dangling like wind chimes. The first part was really soft and I could kick steps. I found if I got too close to the rock, I would wallow and get nowhere. After a short distance, the snow grew much firmer and I switched to front pointing using the pick in high dagger. I did not feel I needed the second tool, so it remained on my pack. I placed flukes every 100 ft or so. They went in with one or two blows from the side of my axe. I wasn’t at all confident about the flukes holding a fall. About 200 ft up the chute the angle moderated to 40 degrees and although the flukes were used up I was confident I could arrest if I slipped. Oyvind’s plan to stay right went out the window when I found the only firm snow on the left. Every time I went right I post-holed. At the saddle, we could look upon the upper slopes of Rainier for the first time and see the seracs of the Ingraham Headwall. I located the rappel station we had put in less than two weeks earlier on the trip with Marek. It was only partially buried in snow. This was a nice place to take a break with nice warm rocks to sit on. Tom told me how easily the flukes had pull out when he pulled on the cable. I remarked that they were what are called “psychopro”- protection that offers psychological protection, but not the kind you want to fall on. After discussing our options we agreed to do the rappel again on the way back and avoid the headwall. We decided to cache all unnecessary gear here. I asked Tom to leave behind the flukes he had pulled and the extra rope (with which he was more than glad to comply). I left behind my wands, second tool, GPS, down jacket, and a bag of food containing a bagel and two candy bars. We were barely under weigh when I watched two ravens make a beeline for my food. Rather than considering it loss, I thought of it as an offering to powerful spirits of the mountain. May they bring us good fortune! Tom led us out on some wind scoured slopes. Wherever there was sastrugi, the surface was pretty firm, but anywhere the snow was smooth it would not hold any weight. At about 13,000 ft, we encountered post-holing conditions. After a while Tom gave Duchess a turn at slogging it. It was hard work just following. One had to lift his boot high with each step and put it in a hole. Our route trended to the right in search of harder snow. It stood to reason that with the recent winds from the Northeast, that hard snow would be found on the east side. When we saw the bergschrund above, we had to start going left. By the time we reached 13,500 ft, I was really getting tired. I think I had used up too much energy on the exit chute. I had to breathe twice with each step. Several times I had to ask the team to stop a moment so I could catch my breath. Oyvind led the final push to the summit. He actually seemed to gain in strength as he climbed. Later he told me he was really getting excited and happy to reach the summit and he was feeding off of this. We couldn’t believe our fortune to find that the wind was less than 10 mph at the summit! It was 20 F, sunny, without a cloud in the sky. We could see half way into Oregon to Mt. Jefferson, which would never have been possible in the haze of summer. As it was 2 pm and we had 9,000 ft to lose on the way to the parking lot, we decided not to linger and headed down. We found that the soft snow was not as large an impediment going down as it was going up, especially where the slope was steepest. The saddle with our cached gear was reached in only 30 minutes. Using the second rope we rigged a double rope rappel using the same anchor as was used two weeks earlier. This consisted of a slung boulder backed up with a 36” picket. We were all off quickly and managed to dodge the open crevasse, which I had tangled with on the previous trip. After roping up again, Tom led the way and quickly got into snow so loose, he was in up to his hips. Fortunately it was only in that one place (hidden crevasse?) and we turned down hill and picked up speed onto the center of the Ingraham Glacier. Out in the open the wind had done its work and provided a decent surface on which to walk. I had taken it for granted that we would return to Camp Muir via Cathedral Gap, but it was Duchess who suggested Cadaver Gap as a quicker way back. I remember looking up at it from camp and thinking how steep it looked. Tom was for it, because he didn’t like the looks of the icefall on the lower part of the Ingraham. The icefall didn’t bother me because I’d already been over it without any problems. What appealed to me about Cadaver was not having to go up hill at Ingraham flats. Even a little up hill sounded awful at his point. I’ll try anything once, as they say. We all agreed on Cadaver and Tom led us off to the right and above a yawning crevasse, after which we observed that there were no more obstacles between the gap and us. After a quick break on the rocks above Cathedral Rock, Oyvind led us still roped down Cadaver. It was steep, but it had good snow for plunge stepping. Soon it turned very hard and each step required great care lest a slip send us tobogganing to the Cowlitz and an open crevasse waiting at the bottom right. Duchess had already slid into it once on a previous trip, and perhaps for that reason took her time going down. Tom showed remarkable confidence whereas I, whose crampons were balling up, even resorted to front pointing backwards for a couple stretches. I was amazed at how fast I could actually go ass foremost. Maybe it was because I was using muscles that weren’t tired – yet. Unfortunately for us, the hard snow ended at the bottom of the slope and it was back to post holing all the way across the Cowlitz. Oyvind amazed me with his stamina. He led the entire way plunging in 12 to 18 inches with each step. Camp Muir looked so close you could reach out and touch it, but it seemed never to get closer. It probably only took 30 minutes, but it seemed like forever. At the hut we met a lone skier we’d seen from above. Oyvind, ever the bullshitter, had said the guy would have dinner waiting for us when we arrived. Not quite, but he was pleasant enough. He was spending the night planning to ski the snowfield in the morning. We must have smelled pretty bad because he went outside in a down jacket to watch the starts and wait for us to leave. We spent more than an hour melting water and repacking our gear. Had I felt any worse I would have spent another night in the hut and hitchhiked home the next day. But I managed to pull myself together and trudged off with the others in the dark to Paradise and the cars. I was able to keep up at first, but I started to stagger below Panorama Point and Oyvind, bless him, stopped every so often so I could see his headlamp, although I am sure I could have eventually found the parking lot on my own. I arrived at the car to find Duchess already changed. Tom let out a couple of blood-curdling screams when his leg cramped as he was getting his boots off. Duchess had the combination to the gate at Longmire, so we followed her down where she bade us pass with a curtsy. And there we parted with a farewell. I had commented earlier that with an Avatar like Duchess she should bring “class” to the team, and indeed she did. In the warm front seat of Oyvind’s car, I would have loved to fall asleep, but our driver kept mentioning how tired he was, so Tom and I did our best to keep a conversation going so we could all get home alive. A quick stop at Wendy’s and we were good to go. Our day had begun at 4 am and we were snug in bed by 1 am the next day. Too bad Oyvind had to go to work “the next day”, i.e. in 7 hours. We all were very pleased with how everything went: four climbers from CascadeClimbers.com who had never met throw together a climb at the last minute, nail a perfect weather window, work together well under difficult conditions and pulled off the first winter ascent of Gibraltar Ledges of the season. This was Tom’s first ever ascent of Rainier, done the hard way in winter, and my second winter ascent in two weeks by different routes. For Duchess, it was unfinished business completed, and for Oyvind, just a plain old good time.

The four of us all took turns breaking trail. It was a great team effort. I am certain that a party of two would not have made it to the top unless they were exceptionally strong.

A lot of it has to do with geography. Alaska is a lot closer to Japan than many other sources, so it make sense to sell to the Japanese. The price of crude has to include the cost of shipping it. Much of the oil we import comes from Venezuela and Mexico, which are closer to us than the middle east.

It's starting to get COLD. A few 10 degree nights and you never know.

That's interesting. I briefly had a job with Arco Products testing emissions from reformulated gasolines. We measured aldehydes from fuels made using ethanol mixed with gasoline. You get quite a lot of very toxic compounds like acetaldehyde and acrolein when you burn alcohol.

Joe, I dare say you are not the first retard to post on this board. I think all climbers are a little retarded.

I don't understand how some people think that taxes paid on gasoline used primarily for cars and trucks on paved highways, should automatically be earmarked for off-road vehicle trails. Only a very small portion of that tax money comes from sales of gasoline for off-road use. I think that the use of that money for hiking and biking trails is every bit as legitimate as its use for ORV trails. The split should be more like 60/40 ORV/non-motorized than the current 80/20 split.

Trask, what makes you think we are not doing that already?

Love him. Hate him, it's all good to trask. But for the love of God, don't ignore him! He might melt into a puddle like the Wicked Witch of the West.

N_By_N, I think you SHOULD buy it and give it a good test. Then report back here at cc.com and tell us what you think of it. I sometimes have parts of my left leg go numb from the waist belt pressing on a nerve. Perhaps it will take pressure off of the nerve?

I've played around with flukes in spring snow. We once put six men on a rope pulling for all they were worth, to see if we could get a fluke to pull out. It held. We felt it unwise to put more people on the rope. The point was made.

Play when really, really bored. Trask, when the tough get bored, the tough go climbing. It's going to be nice on Sunday. You getting out or what?

The wise man learns from the mistakes of others. The average man learns from his own mistakes. The fool never learns.

Welcome to the team, Duchess. I expect you'll add a touch of class and perhaps some good beta too!

No one tried to answer Matt's question. If you clip to the cable (without altering it's attachment point by use of a biner) in the pound in (endwise) mode, the cable MUST be able to cut a channel in the snow to provide a direct path to the load. Otherwise, it would serve to pull the picket out. One must hold the picket in and jerk on the cable using the sling or biner to ensure it cuts the snow. If this is not possible, cut a channel with the pick of your axe. Assuming, the preceding, the picket used in this fashion is much more like a deadman and is many times stronger than a pound in with the attachment at the surface.

Hey does anyone know Duchess? Send me a PM. I need to get in touch with this person right away.

I hadn't given it much consideration, but we could plan on staying until Wednesday if Tuesday isn't good. I'd prefer not to, though. Muir Hut isn't exactly the Ritz Carlton, if you know what I mean. Weather reports suggest that the ridge may start to break down by Wednesday anyway. My guess is that Harry Pi is a DFA doppleganger. He's funny.

I loved it. Thanks, Dave.

We'll just have to hope that things are safe at Pan Point on Monday and above Muir on Tuesday. My guess is yes. We may wish to dig some quick avy pits when we get up there.

We probably will try to arrive at Paradise as soon as the gate opens, which is around 9 am. I just talked to Gator and he did not have any recent information on the route as might be expected. So we'll just have to go up and find out for ourselves what the deal is. Are you in good condition?

We are definitely going to wait until Monday to go to camp Muir. That will allow the snowboarders to put in a nice boot path we can use and for the snow to settle on the route. Good weather is expected through Tuesday. There is room for one more. Go for it.

I built a shelf unit out of recycled 2x4s and particle board, painted white. It is 6 ft wide, 3 ft deep and 6 ft high, and has 3 shelves. It is on casters, so it can be moved for cleaning (like that ever happens). It and the gear it contains reside in a corner of the family room. My wife didn't like the way it looked, so I hung a long rod from the ceiling and I use one of her home made quilts to hide the unsightly (to her) gear.

Richard Fournier replied today. He says that he has summited a glaciated peak of 6310 m in Ecuador, even though he doesn't consider himself to be an experienced climber. He wishes to take one of the easier routes up Mt. Rainier. The high altitude he expects will be hard but he is in good physical condition. His schedule has not been established yet. He is still looking for a flight on Air France where he can use his frequent flyer miles. Next, he requires an inexpensive place to stay in the Seattle area. Does anyone have an extra room they would like to let cheap for a couple weeks?

The Seattlesucks website sucks. It's boring.