mthorman

I am looking for a partner for Sunday (7/6) to Friday (7/11). Any chance you could shift your dates? If not are you interested in something for Sun/Mon/Tues? I would really like to get on the North Ridge of Baker and the North Face of Shuksan but could be up for other options as well.

Hmm...well I am seeing freezing levels in the 11,000 and 12,000 foot range. That is way too high in my opinion. From what I understand the problem with warmer weather in later season is the rockfall. The route becomes a shooting gallery. We saw a lot of rocks on the snowfields some as big as small boulders. Also the "rock climbing" sections are on mostly frozen together rock, so if the temps are warm it could be loose and dangerous. The only reason we attempted it was because the 2 days of our approach was supposed to be very cold with freezing levels around 6,000 or 7,000 feet. On our summit day it never got anywhere close to above freezing. Two weeks earlier when I was on Liberty Ridge there were a lot of rocks we saw falling down the the Ridge due to the warmer conditions. I think as far as snow conditions go you could probably climb it for a couple weeks, just know that you will probably deal with more ice or at least hard snow and probably a lot more unfrozen rock.

Yea I agree with you. We were confused at first because we thought we were above the 1st cliff band when we weren't. That said we did look long and hard at the "pink" line in my photo overlay. However it looked to be multiple feet of 5th class moves on rotten rock and we thought the rock band was supposed to be 3rd/4th class rock. After we back tracked and found the ledge that ended in 15 feet of easy class 3 we knew exactly where we were. Oh well that is all part of climbing a route! I am sure with more years of experience, route finding will become easier as well.

Here is one more photo overlay for anyone planning on climbing the route in the future. It shows our route, plus the different variations. This view is seen from lower Curtis Ridge on the way to climb Liberty Ridge.

Trip: Mount Rainier - Curtis Ridge Date: 6/14/2014 Trip Report: Warning, this write up is a bit long. If all you are looking for are pictures then just scroll down to the bottom of my post. So I was driving home from back to back summits of Rainier by Liberty Ridge and the DC. While on the way back to Spokane, I called my climbing partner Joe to tell him about the trip (he had school and couldn’t make it). While in conversation he suggested doing a climb the following week since he was just finishing up school. After a little bit more discussion it was decided to go back to Rainier and climb Curtis Ridge. Due to my work schedule we only had a 3 day window. The weather looked bad for Thursday and Friday, but they were calling for a clear day on Saturday (our planned summit day). So with high hopes and decided to at least give it a try. Thursday I drove over to Joe’s as soon as I got off work at 8am. By 2pm we had registered for our climb and set off from the White River Campground. The weather was actually pretty decent, and we even got a glimpse of the mountain on the drive over Chinook Pass. After a leisurely hike up to St. Elmo’s camp we set up camp. No sooner did we have the tent set up than the clouds, wind, and sleet came. It was a windy hour melting water and doing dinner. The weather report was predicting snow for the night, and the next morning we weren’t disappointed. There was about an inch of white soggy stuff over everything. We rose at 7am and were hiking by 8:30am. The route over the Winthrop was still pretty straight forward with little crevasse issues. Once we reached the lower Curtis we turned off the old boot pack and headed up. By this time the weather was pretty bad. Visibility was anywhere from decent to whiteout, and winds gusts occasionally reached 45mph. The going slowed as the snow turned deeper and wetter. We switched off breaking trail several times especially above 9000 ft where the post holing was knee deep. The normal high camp for Curtis Ridge is near the Gendarme. With horrible weather and only hope that it would improve tomorrow, we didn’t want to do the rappel and commit ourselves to the route. After we reached the rappel spot we started back tracking, looking for a spot to pitch the tent. After a short search we found one of the best spots I have ever seen. It was a good sized snow ledge tucked down in a snow/rock cave. We had to dig the floor down a little so it was tall enough for the tent, but once we finished we were completely out of the elements. Quite satisfied with our site we set to melting snow and wishing the weather would clear. After melting several liters of water Joe noticed that there were multiple things in his water that were moving on there own! After a quick check we realized all the water had living organisms in it. Since we needed water and didn’t want to waste any fuel we opted to just boil everything we had already melted in order to kill whatever it was. This process added more time to an already long cold process. We were happy to crawl into our cozy sleeping bags with a warm dinner. Somehow I had enough service on my Iphone to check the weather forecast. It was still calling for a clear day in the morning and we settled down in hopes it would be right. Alarms went off at 2am and we crawled out of the tent to check the weather. All I remember was Joe saying that he could see the moon and several stars. That was enough for me and we quickly went about breaking camp and forcing down food. We left camp just after 3am and followed our footsteps back to the rappel point. We had brought a 30m rope to save weight so we also had along a 100 feet of static 5mm cord. We rigged our rappel and headed down in the darkness. Unfortunately we had a small issue with pulling the line and I had to ascend about 15 feet to get things unstuck. From there on it was game time, and we were excited to actually be on the route under clear skies and cold temperatures. We stuck to the ridge crest then traversed under some cliffs on the Winthrop side. Then back across the ridge and along the Carbon side of the ridge. Just before we reached the Gendarme we passed a nice flat spot tucked up next to the rock on the Winthrop side where high camp usually is. We passed the Gendarme just as the soon rose. With the rising sun we could see the could level down around 9000 ft but clear skies everywhere above. Passed the Gendarme we stuck to the ridge crest and ended up doing 1 more short 30 ft rappel to get off one of the rock fins. On breaks we would search the upper face trying to see where the route would go. It was like trying to memorize a maze from above before you walk through it....which snowfield connect by which rock bands. We reached the base of the 1st cliff band and looked up at what we thought was the route. It didn’t look like a class 3/4 scramble so we continued traversing for another couple hundred feet. We found an easy snow slope turn up around the end of the cliff band. Then we traversed back the other direction. We found a small rock scramble of 3/4 class and gained another snowfield. At this point we assumed we were above the 1st cliff band and started traversing the snow slope. Things didn’t seem to fit and we couldn’t make what we saw mesh with our metal image from the Gendarme or the picture topos we brought. We continued on this snow slope traversing right until it ran out on a ice/rock nose. Joe led around this nose and up onto the snow above. After he belayed me up we stopped to try and figure things out. After much discussion we figured we were way too far right and officially off route. We searched for a way up but with no luck. We looked at going right and trying to run around the end of a cliff, but that just led to the Willis Wall. It was 9am by this time and we decided that if we hadn’t figured things out in an hour we needed to bail. At this point we turned around and headed back the way we had come. From this high point we could see a snow ledge that we had missed that went off towards the climber’s left and stopped at the cliff band. Hoping this was the “hidden passage” we needed, I led the reverse pitch around the nose and back to the snowfield. After a traverse of the snow ledge it ended at the rock band with what looked like an easy 15 feet of exposed climbing to a snowfield above. Sweet! Finally on route and going somewhere! It was about this time that I started to believe we really were going to climb this big route. This snowfield was more like a wide gully and Joe took the lead kicking steps. Near the top at a constriction we switched, and I finished breaking trail up to the 2nd cliff band. From here it was a simple traverse to the right a couple hundred feet to a steep snow slope that turned to a rock scramble. We broke the rope out of the pack again and set a belay. I led up to the end of the rope, then we simul-climbed through the rocks to the upper snow field. It was Joe’s turn to break trail, and he made quick work of this upper snowfield. We traversed left scrambled over some rocks and took a quick break right on the ridge crest looking down to the Winthrop. From here I broke trail as we headed up a snow gully. We made a short exposed rock scramble left to another snow slope and up again. At the base of a 15 foot snow covered ice step we stopped to get the rope out and belay up. Joe took the lead and got in a good piton. Just as we was about to pull over the lip something slipped and he took a 20 foot fall down to the soft snow below. Unhurt he quickly dusted himself off and sent the short step with ease. This step led us into a right trending snow gully. I took over the step kicking and continued up to where the angle increased to 60+. A fall here would land somebody all the way down in the gaping crevasses of the Winthrop. So after a short simul-climb we were above this and finally home free. It felt so good to be above the last of the steep snow/rock. At 12,500 ft and finally above the maze we took a break before starting the plod to the summit. After a 30 minute stop to melt a couple liters of water we topped out at 5pm in clear but windy skies. We traversed across the upper slopes of the Emmons/Winthrop looking for the decent trail. Unfortunately with all the recent snow and no wands it was useless exercise. So down we went making our own path. We ended up going way to the east to avoid a couple of large crevasses. Then traversing back west about 12,500 ft we found the boot pack. From that point on the mental strain started to wain as we followed this down to Camp Schurman. The upper slopes were quite icy and 16+ hour day was taking its toll. Down on the Inner Glacier we entered the clouds and drizzle. We took a quick stop near Glacier Basin to drink our beverages we had hidden on the way up. Then it was headlamp time and pounding out the miles to the car. We finally reached the trailhead at 10:30pm making for a 18.5 hour summit day. Our camp on St. Elmo's Pass on Thursday afternoon in the clouds. Friday morning with fresh snow coating everything. In the background Curtis Ridge played hide and seek with us in the clouds. Joe ascending the lower slopes of Curtis Ridge with clouds hanging low in the background. Joe melting water at our awesome bivy site. It was a nice snow platform in a snow/rock cave a few hundred feet before the rappel point on Curtis Ridge. Early morning sunrise splashing colors down on the Winthrop Glacier with camp Schurman in the center at the point of Steamboat Prow. Joe passing the Gendarme on the Winthrop side. The sea of clouds covers everything down low making islands in out of the mountain tops. Joe climbing Curtis Ridge shortly after sunrise. The prominent rock feature just behind him is the Gendarme. Joe ascending snow slopes as we start the maze of snow slopes and rock bands. Curtis Ridge is in the background with the Gendarme and various other fins of rock. Joe traversing across the hidden snow ramp/ledge that we missed. We first went around the nose of rock/ice that is to the right of Joe and 150 yards behind him. Ascending the upper snowfield towards the exit gully. The upper cliff bands of Curtis Ridge towering overhead. Joe climbing the steep snow gully that leads to the top of the technical section of Curtis Ridge. Joe giving the thumbs up after climbing Curtis Ridge and descending the Emmons Glacier. A photo of the upper section of Curtis Ridge. The thin blue line is the route we took (minus the detour). The red line shows where we got a little turned around and went off route. Gear Notes: 2 pickets, 2 ice screws, 4 nuts, 4 cams, 4 pins, 2 tri-cams. Used an assortment of everything except for the ice screws and tri-cams. Cams, pins, and nuts seemed to be fine for rock pro and there wasn't enough ice for any screws.

Awesome photos! Looks like you guys had a stellar weekend with great weather and fun climbing!

Just climbed it this week. If you send me a email to westbnsf@gmail.com I will send you back my track log from the trip. It is a super straight forward route with a very solid boot pack right now.

Trip: Mount Rainier - Liberty Ridge Date: 6/1/2014 Trip Report: With the recent disaster that occurred on Liberty Ridge I was reluctant to post this Trip report. However with no recent TR’s and plenty of people asking me about route conditions and beta here it is. As I think back on the trip it was a good trip yet a sad trip. A trip I will never forgot as we watched the aftermath search of the horrible incident that took the lives 6 other climbers. Several months ago my friend Brett and I conjured up a plan to climb Mount Rainier’s classic line, Liberty Ridge. We convinced Kirt to come with us which wasn’t hard and decided to just go when the route and weather were good. With high winds and possibility of snow over Memorial weekend we anxiously waited for things to improve. The forecast looked good for the next weekend so we finalized the trip and started packing. The road into White River campground was supposed to open mid-week but when we arrived on Thursday afternoon it was still closed. We were told it would open at 8am in the morning, but we wanted to get an early start to avoid the heat and post holing in the soft snow. So we opted to ride our bikes the 5 miles from the ranger station to the campground. Friday we were hiking but a little after 6am. The trail was great and free of snow up to about the 4,800 foot line. However there was a good boot pack on the snow and it was crunchy at that time in the morning. We made the long plod up to St. Elmo’s pass were we stopped to rope up for the glacier crossing. After dropping down onto the Winthrop Glacier we took a direct line more or less across the glacier staying with the contour. It was pretty well filled in and navigation wasn’t an issue. After crossing the lower Curtis Ridge we made camp at 7,400 ft overlooking the Carbon glacier and the entire north face of Rainier. Spent the afternoon drying gear, napping or just hanging out in the tent to avoid the sun. Saturday was going to be a short day, just moving camp to Thumb rock. However we again left early in order to avoid the heat and soft snow. As we were crossing the Carbon in the early morning we could see a team of 2 and a team of 3 leaving Thumb rock camp just after 6am heading up the ridge. The Carbon Glacier had a well established boot track and the going was easy. We opted to cross the bergshrund early and ascend up the right side of the toe to reach the lower ridge. We thought about taking the Carbon Glacier all the way up to the natural fall line from Thumb rock and then taking that up, but we were unsure if the bergshrund could be crossed. As it turned out several other teams later in the day took that route and said it was pretty good. Once on the lower ridge we unroped and headed up. The lower ridge up to thumb rock was in good shape and the route switched between the right and left sides of the ridge a couple times. We only had 1 steep rock section that was about a 8 foot vertical step. We arrived at Thumb rock around 9am to find a couple of nice tent spots. Spent some time improving one of them and setting up camp. About this time a helicopter flew in and started searching the upper Carbon Glacier where it meets the Willis Wall. Unfortunately as it turned out the 2nd worst disaster on Rainier was in the process of unfolding. There are still many unknowns in the entire incident and unfortunately they will probably be that way. Everyone wants to know what went wrong, what happened, but sometimes stuff just happens. It was a sobering afternoon as we watched both the small park helicopter and the large Chinook helicopter search the Willis Wall, and debris field at the base. We could see man made objects such as tents, sleeping bags or such being blown around in the rotor wash of the helicopter down on the Carbon. My sincere condolences go out to the families of the six who were lost as well as the AAI guiding community as a whole. Accidents happen, but they are never easy to understand or recover from. We rose at midnight from the tent and begin the cold tasks of breaking camp and packing. The weather was clear and the lights from Seattle twinkled way down in the valley. We began our ascent unroped about 1:15am. The trail was well broken in and the steps were large and frozen solid making travel very easy and fast. The route made an immediate left out of thumb rock then climbed back to the right to gain the ridge above. From there it mostly stayed on the ridge crest or to the right. Just below the Black Pyramid it veered left and then up a short vertical step of rock before again gaining the ridge crest. At the Black Pyramid we were forced out left onto the face. The route usually stays fairly close to the edge of the pyramid, however we found solid alpine ice. There was a very faint track that traversed way out left and well on the upper face of the Willis wall. The conditions here were 2-6 inches of snow over hard alpine ice. Sometimes the snow was soft and powdery and other times it was hard and windblown. The consequences of a fall here are huge and so we decided to rope up and put in some protections. I led out and we simul-climbed the next 500 feet or so. I put in an ice screw every 100ish feet. The climbing itself wasn’t hard, but it was engaging and just steep enough to keep you on your toes. The higher we went to the more snow we found over ice. The last screw I put in, I had to dig down about 16 inches through snow to find the ice. As the angle eased up and the snow became more solid we arrived shortly to the more level terrain of the Liberty Camp Glacier. The sun peaked over the horizon and enveloped the us with its warm rays. After a short break we continued on towards the upper bergshrund and the last obstacle which usually includes a short section of ice climbing. The route however took a right turn and headed up a short snow gully that was about 45 degrees for 1 rope length. It was easy going and it deposited us above the bergshrund and on the upper glacier. I was a little disappointed about not having any ice section to climb but I guess that changes as the season changes. After a short snow slog we were standing on Liberty Cap by 6:45am. With plenty of time left and a beautiful windless day we opted to traverse over and climb up the Columbia Crest. After a few summit photos we headed down the Emmons/Winthrop Glacier towards camp Schurman. We passed Schurman about noon and quickly continued down towards Glacier Basin. It was hot out on the snow and without the slightest breeze to cool us down, all we could think about was descending to the shade. Reaching the trail we pounded out the 3 miles back to the campground in a quick hour. After retrieving our bikes we had stashed we enjoyed the breeze of the 5 mile downhill ride back to the White River Ranger station and our car. We arrived back at the car at 2:45pm making for a 13 1/2 hour day from camp. I bade farewell to Kirt and Brett as they headed back to Spokane. I drove around the mountain to Paradise to meet up with my uncle and father-in-law for a trip of the Disappointment Cleaver. We had a fairly relaxed itinerary with day 1 to Muir, day 2 to Ingraham Flats, day 3 summit, and day 4 descent. But with a long summit day of Liberty Ridge on Sunday the slog up to Muir on Monday was a long one. We had a great trip and I enjoyed the summit of Rainier for the 2nd time in 3 days making for a fun week on the mountain. Riding our bikes on the White River Road from the White River Ranger station to the trailhead. Crossing the Winthrop Glacier with Curtis Ridge in the background. A close up of the upper section of Liberty Ridge showing the current conditions. Note the several large sections of shiny ice. The snow all around that is just a few inches of snow on the same hard ice. Crossing the Carbon Glacier near the toe of Liberty Ridge. Note the well broken in boot path on the right side of the photo. Ascending the lower slopes of Liberty Ridge in route to Thumb Rock. The Chinook helicopter over Willis Wall searching for the missing climbers. Sunrise high on Liberty ridge. The only downside to leaving Thumb Rock at 1:15am is that all the fun engaging climbing is over before sunrise. Note to self, leave later next time! Brett excited about the warmth of sunrise and the awesome climbing of Liberty Ridge. Me on the summit of Rainier (Columbia Crest) with Mt. Adams in the background, after climbing Liberty Ridge. Gear Notes: Normal glacier gear 30m rope 6 screws (used them all for simul-climbing the ice near the Black Pyramid. Approach Notes: Good boot pack to follow. Go early to avoid the heat and soft snow of the afternoon.

Nice job Jeff, and great pictures. Looks like a fun route. One of those headlamps over on Liberty Ridge was me. We were at Liberty Cap by 6:45am though so never saw you guys. And agreed, the slog down below Schurman was really a pain in the butt! I can only imagine how bad it would have been a couple hours later!

Hey Dmitriy, welcome to this site! I think a lot of your questions would be answered by taking a basic mountaineering class. Check out this website, http://mazamas.org/ I have no personal experience with them, but I have a friend who took their BCEP class and said it was a good basic class. They run a good intro program for those getting started. Other than that start reading books and watching videos on basic topics. Good luck as you start your climbing career!

It was fun climbing with you Ron, and looking forward to Rainier! Here are a couple pictures from the trip showing the current conditions. It was nice to see a little sun even if it wasn't in the forecast! Looking down the "Old Chute" from just below the summit ridge. Looking up the "Hogsback". Notice the large open bergshrund already.

Wow, that is impressive! That is one awesome line. I would love to do it someday just not in the conditions you guys had! Sounds like it was one of those trips you are really glad when it is over and you are in one piece.

Yea I really like NOAA and all of the different features. The other two links I use quite a bit are the "Forecast Discussion" (found on the right side bar just below the map), and the "Hourly Weather Graph" (found near the Weather Table interface link). I like the forecast discussion because it is much more detailed information and talks about different prediction models for long range. And the hourly graph really helps to see more specifics for certain hours. Combine everything together and you can get a pretty good idea of what is going to happen. Although it is still the weather, and predictions are never certain

You will also be able to hold a fall a lot easier if the thumb of your brake hand is towards the belay device. Holding the rope with the thumb away from the belay device (as in the video) makes it really awkward to even put your hand in a brake position.

I will be in Portland area this next week for a few days. I have Tuesday, May 20th free and would love to get out and climb at Ozone, the Far Side or Broughton Bluff. Happy to lead or follow trad or sport up to 5.10ish. PM, text, or email me if you have the day off and want to get out climbing. Marlin Thorman westbnsf@gmail.com 509-710-3867

A friend of mine climbed TC on Dragontail this weekend. Sounds like they just walked in. Look in the approach notes at the bottom. http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1123949/TR_Dragontail_Triple_Couloirs_#Post1123949

Not sure about police but firefighters in the state of WA are covered under $100,000 state life insurance if they die on the job. Severe accidents at work would be covered under L&I, so not really sure what all that would entail in benefits. Different fire departments also have a disability retirement, but again the exact benefits would vary by department.

Just my personal opinion. If you are going into the backcountry where you think you might need to navigate by GPS, then go out and buy a good GPS. Prices have come down quite a bit over recent years, and used models are good options as well. However if you do intend to use your phone's GPS for navigation out of cell service on a mountain. I would definitely recommend trying it out on a training hike or two that is outside of cell service, but where the consequences are much less severe.

Great pictures guys, and another awesome ascent. As Joe said, you guys have had quite the run this spring! Good luck down in CA Goran, the Sierras are amazing too!

Great job guys! That is impressive to do it all in one push from the car...very fast! Interesting to see how much of a change in snow conditions 3 weeks can make.

Great job guys!! Nice write up and excellent pictures! Marlin

On Saturday the conditions on the Sherpa Glacier/couloir were pretty similar. There were a few areas of wind loading powder (8-12") in the upper coulior but we just avoided those areas to the left or right. Great job on getting the ICG route the next day. We wondered how much new snow dropped that night on the upper mountain. Glad you were able to use our tracks, and that they weren't filled in! Did you guys go all the way up to the summit of Stuart or just descent from the top of the Ice Cliff Glacier route?

Nice photos! Wow glad the outcome wasn't any worse in the avalanche. I was up climbing SGC on Stuart that day and we were definitely on high alert for avy conditions. Thankfully the couloirs we climbed for ascent and descent don't get that much sun and didn't have nearly that much unconsolidated snow.

It was a great climb and one I will look back on with good memories. Joe did a great write up, so I don't have much to add. But here is a brief itinerary of summit day (for those curious about times). 2:40am - Rise and Shine 3:45am - Lead out of camp 8:00am - Enter the bottom of the Stuart Glacier Couloir 10:45am - Reach the notch on the west ridge 4:00pm - Reach the summit 5:30pm - Top of Sherpa Couloir 7:15pm - Back to camp Now on to the pictures! Hiking up 8 mile road on the approach to Stuart. The view of Stuart on the approach in through the valley. A close up of the north aspect of Mt. Stuart. Stuart Glacier Couloir can be seen on the far right side. The descent via Sherpa Couloir is on the left leading down to Sherpa Glacier. We had a beautiful view from our tent at 5,400 ft at the base of Mt. Stuart. Sunrise over the enchantments. This was taken from somewhere up on the Stuart Glacier. Joe leading into the start of the actual Stuart Glacier Couloir. Looking down the route from about 8,700 ft on the upper snowfield in the couloir. Joe is coming up the in the bottom left of the photo. Joe racking up at the notch on the West Ridge of Mt. Stuart. Typical conditions to what we found on the west ridge. Lots of snow and ice covered rock. Looking farther up the west ridge. Our pitch 2 went up this and around to the left side of the ridge. Joe rappelling a short section between pitches 3 and 4. Descending the east ridge trying to get out of the clouds and wind. Finally below cloud level. This is taken looking down the Sherpa Couloir (our descent) with Sherpa Peak in the background. Joe descending Sherpa Couloir.

Between ice climbing in the winter, mountaineering in the spring/summer, alpine in the summer/fall, and rock all year I don't have much more time. However I do enjoy the below hobbies. 1. Backpacking 2. Outdoor photography 3. Road biking 4. Canoeing