sdizzle25

pretty sure we tried crossing way higher up, pretty much at the same elevation as the top of the muir snowfield. Your way would have still been doable. i would thank you for the pictures, but they really just rub in the fact we could have had wayy more fun on the kautz so yeah, screwed the pooch for sure. lesson learned

Naturally, I get in to technical climbing when i move from Idaho to Eugene, Oregon, so after spending my teen years snowshoeing past beautiful WI 3's and 4's i will be spending the winter at sea level drenched in rain. Antyways, where is the good water ice that might (read: probably wont) form in S.W. washington this year? I know there is stuff by Leavenworth, is there anything good in Rainier National Park? I know theoretically something might form in Oregon, but i will sheild myself from heart break and not get my hopes up

Id say as long as we are equipped with the knowledge to start late season at the van tramp glacier instead of paradise we should be fine. had tools and plenty of screws, nisqually was looking really quite broken up. if im just being a wuss let me know, but the idea of spending the entire afternoon trying to cross that thing while being seranaded with consitent rock and ice fall just seemed like a little too much objective hazard to make it worth it

there's nothing wrong with the route itself, though the actual disappointment cleaver gets old real quick. i was referring to exactly that, all the guided parties, but thats just part of the reality of doing a route like that these days, so ill quit complaining.

Trip: Mount Rainier - Kautz Glacier-then DC (sigh) Date: 8/28/2010 Trip Report: Planned to do ascent of Kautz Glacier route. Mixture of rookieness on the mountain and bad advice by the climbing ranger put us heading up the muir snowfields with hopes of traversing the Nisqually onto the Turtle. Bad idea. Nisqually looks like a pile of office building size ice legos (apparently crevasses open late season?) tossed down the mountain + white out put us on the Dissapointment CLeaver Route, which I will doubtfully do again. Note: If you do do the DC (and i dont recommend it), stay at Ingraham Flats. It is about 20 minutes and at worse 2 tiny crevasses away from Muir, and you have the advantage of not being subject to the giant pile of crap (literal and figurative)that is camp muir. Regardless, 1st time on Rainier and an awesome hill. weather was beautiful with exception of the white out and snow storm on the muir (both up and down)