John Gassel

The road status page for the park says that the White River Road to the campground is scheduled to open May 28th. I'm hoping to do a climb about a week or so prior to that date. What's the approach beta when the road is closed? Does it usually open open up at the scheduled time?

Okay, thanks. I understand what you were getting at now. Definitely more walking but no car spot might be handy.

Awesome trip report and pictures! I'm headed there in a few weeks to hopefully do the route. Curious what you meant by "the right looked short-lived"? Not enough ice to make it fun? Or little ice/snow left? Thanks!

Hey Chris! Did you end up making the trip out there?

I looked around at the maps on the web and couldn't find anything called "Carbon Creek". I can't see any way that it's only 5.5 miles to Spray Park from anywhere near the Carbon River entrance since that road is now closed at the ranger station. Can you explain what you mean a little more? Thanks! On a side note, I ordered a much better map that should be coming in today so maybe I can find it myself later.

Haha, I have a feeling our stink and sweat from being on the mountain will far outweigh any amount of badassness that one gets for climbing Ptarmigan.

Thanks for the response. It's not that we are uncomfortable crossing glaciers with the 2 person party. My partner did LR at the same time (early July) last year and gave the impression that the Carbon is really broken up and a bit of a hassle to cross. That coupled with the good things I've heard about the approach from Mowich and a change in scenery is our main motivation. How close can you get to Mowich Lake if the road is closed? Is it best to just drive to the point the road is closed or drive to the Carbon Road closing and hike in from there?

Yeah, I'm arriving on 6/27 to do Ptarmigan. Ideally the road will be open by then, but I'm looking for backup plans in case it's not. Are there no shuttles that go between the two I'm guessing? I couldn't find anything. I suppose the best thing to do would be to rent 2 cars ourselves? Seems like a lot of work/expense if the road is closed. I know there is the option to park and White River and do the approach across the Carbon like some parties do, but since we're a party of 2 I'd prefer to do the approach from Mowich.

Anyone have some insight as to when the road to Mowich lake is going to open up this season? Going to be there the last week in June. I'm also curious what the best way to get between there and White River with one car. Is there a shuttle service or anything I should look into. Thanks!

I know the season to attempt this climb is pretty long with the best dates season usually ranging from May-July. Go earlier in the year for more snow and later in the year for more ice. My preference would be for a trip the first week in July, but I had some friends find 'out' conditions last year on Liberty Ridge at that same time. Hoping to avoid that for this trip. My impression is that we on the east coast have had a good winter and that out "west" has had a relatively light winter. That's a huge generalization and I'm hoping people with more local opinion can chime in as to how the winter has fared on Rainier compared to most other years. Any input will be helpful and appreciated.