ScaredSilly

You are better off being in the desert than the mountains.

Solo - no one knows where the body is located. Team but unroped - one person knows where the body is located.

No problem with an 11am start. I left have later. My only suggestion is to spend a night at Muir. hang out until the early afternoon the next day then move up to the flats at 11k. Get in more acclimation and an easier summit day.

I have to agree with Ivan, there is a lot to be said about the virtues of the north side approach. That said twice after doing north side routes I have come around via the Newton Clark to get back to Cloud Cap. That too has its virtues. Fortunately, both times in doing north side routes I have had the pleasure of summiting with no one else around. Once was a solo ascent and I literally had the whole hill to myself, no footprints too boot. That said good on the OP in exploring the hill.

Thanks for the additional details.

Bummer of an accident. Especially as a friend's daughter knew/knows those involved. After reading the Mellow Valley News article, which was well written I am at a bit of a loss to fully understand what happened. One climber reached the ledge before the victim, but then what did they do/not do which caused the fall? Obviously the rope was no longer part of their system but why? Did they let go? rap off the end?

In other words the OP should not trust it .

There is always objective danger. Here this is what can happen: Where it flushed is right where one would come back up on the return to gain Camp Hazard. As well as where one crosses at the start. That said, one does not need to bivy right at Camp Hazard. There are safe bivies a few hundred feet down where the access on to the glacier can be found with a very short rappel. I have heard of some people climbing back up the rappel. But it is a grungy loose rappel. If you are fit going up an over is easy as the descent is fast.

As an early climb it will be snow. This time of year look at the Furher Finger. More direct. Or Gib Ledges.

My suggestion ... go back and try the Kautz again. More varied and fewer people. If the weather is shit yer not going up regardless of the route. If you want to really enjoy yourself, camp at around 7-8k in the moraine the first night. It makes for a nice stroll from Paradise. Then hop up to Camp Hazard at 11k. You will be there by noon. Enjoy hanging out acclimating, check the route for the morning, and the seracs. You have been there before it will feel like home. Get up and blast the route, carried up and over. We made a stop on Point Success before walking over to Columbia Crest. Then blast down the DC. Enjoy a beer back at the parking lot. As for your specific questions leave that stuff at home. Bring fuel for an extra day. You can always space food out but ya gotta have something to drink. The best chance of success comes with weather. Sometimes it has been pissing down low and we have hiked to high camp and out of the soup. Sometimes we have got the opposite and been hammer up high. Having carried all of our crap we bivied for the night, got up in the morning, topped out, and hiked down.

One rarely finds running water at the high camps (we did on Mowich), if you want to save on fuel bring plastic bags and put snow in them. We do that regardless because at some camps you will be bivying on dirt. Ptarmigan Ridge is the only route you list that two tools are needed. But by July the route might not be in shape. Lots of people take a second tool for the Kautz but it will be used for less than 200' of 45 degree climbing (i.e is not needed). Regardless of the route bring ski poles. For the Kautz Glacier or Success Cleaver go up and over and come down the DC. much faster descent. For Ptarmigan. Mowich Lake is probably the best approach these days butting back is a PITA. Most folks slog in from White River. BITD we came and went via the Carbon.

Like DPS said if you already have them take them. I used similar on several trips. Much better to have warm toes all the time then to be worry about them.

I have several policies with State Farm. They asked about my climbing. Kept the rate but yanked the double indemnity clause. About 10-15 year later they put it back in. I have done both whole and universal. If you are having problems and have a professional society (such as engineering), join as they often have group term plans.

Its the place where the Queen sat her fat ass in the snow and let her feet dangle down in the Sandy snow whilst Joe Leuthold brought up her parasol to shade her from the Sunshine.

One can easily do both North and Middle in a day. Pole Creek is a better approach. One can go up the SE Ridge on North and gain the regular South Ridge route to the summit, back track to the col with Middle then hike to the top. Then descend from the col back to Pole Creek

Warren Harding was supported by Gallo ... or maybe it was Harding that was supporting Gallo

The OP is posting this for click bait for their blog: https://www.mountainproject.com/v/red-bull-climbers-suck/112529810__2#a_112532132 They have done this before. Ignore them.

Do something different and pick a route on the west side that is doable directly from NF-23 like the West Ridge or the Pinnacle Headwall. Shorter approach and would make a great ski in/out.

Nice job and nice to see the directissima climbed. I have always thought that way was a great line (though I have never had the chance to dance with it).

Shameless bump ... http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1148810/Two_door_Bibler_Back_Diamond_I

For starters 7mm/8mm cord is too large of a diameter for a prusik knot. You want 5mm. As for the sheath to be honest I have never worried about it. I have always bought cord with a nylon sheath.

With either month it can be blue bird or pissing sideways. So no not drastically different. You will see fewer people in April. In May I would not be on the South side during the weekend unless you like being in a Congo line.

For something different check out Cinque Terre: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/cinque-terre http://wikitravel.org/en/Cinque_Terre Better weather, better wine, and better food than you will get in the huts (though it is pretty good).

One comment for ya, as someone who has started low multiple times from the Carbon River (both when it was open and now closed), taking two days to get to high camp is well worth it. From Comet Falls at 3k I would have made a leisurely ascent to 7k-8k for the night. Then gone up to Camp Hazard at around 11k. Two days would have given yourselves more time to acclimate then blast the remaining 3k to the summit making for a short summit day. It might have starved off the AMS and given ya time to poke around Camp Hazard.

Nice working up through Comet Falls. Taking trekking poles makes a big difference on long approaches and descents. And yeah, you will probably regret not walking over to Point Success - the least visited summit on Rainier. One comment on being short on screws, set your tools as anchors and not rely on screws.