[TR] Mt Rainier - Kautz - Tahoma 07/14/2018

[dave schultz]

Trip: Mt Rainier - Kautz - Tahoma

Trip Date: 07/14/2018

Trip Report:

 

Sean and I were debating the idea of Slesse, and last minute Friday opted to bail and go to Rainier.  My brainchild was single push up Kautz and down Tahoma, then back to Paradise for a full-value tour.  

 

 

We started at 2am and summitted around 1pm.  We were expecting to use our own rope to rappel, so the fixed rope was a pleasant surprise, though the rope has seen better days (it did hold me, at about 225lbs with all gear).  I think we missed the 1st ice pitch?  The pitch we did climb was casual and fun.  I was exceptionally slow above 13k,  I guess working at sea level makes it tough to move fast up there.  

 

We had a real discussion about down DC or down Tahoma, we opted for Tahoma.  The Tahoma was really fun, and definitely still has lots of life left this season.  We broke through no crevasses and only had one jump that was seriously questionable if it would go ...

 

We exited the Lower Tahoma glacier around 7pm, and lost visible light on the lower elevations of the South Tahoma Glacier.  We lost of a lot of time trying to get across this POS, we ended up crossing very low around 7800 feet.  

 

I had a GPS track of the traverse from Success to Paradise, so it was a matter of staying awake and following a track to get back.  

 

We thought about heading down to the road and trying to hitch a ride, but we were not entirely sure about where the trail was and thought that getting lost trying to find a trail might be more frustrating that the long way across back to Paradise.  

 

It was an awesome, full value trip on Rainier - a venue without equal.  Combining everything into a single push really helped reinforce what is possible given enough food and water.

 

Thanks Sean for being a great partner!

 

Final stats:

21.6 miles

11,250 feet of vert

26.5 hrs c2c

Gear Notes:
Two Tools helpful, a hammer to pound pickets.

Approach Notes:
LONG WAY back to Paradise

Edited July 16, 2018 by dave schultz
Pics ... steep learning curve for the site ...

[Bdubs]

Did you happen to walk past our camp low down at 8000 ft on Saturday morning?  Maybe spot two people in bivvys getting punished by the wind?

[dave schultz]

Bdubs - we most definitely walked by some people who were still sleeping in an open bivy Saturday, they were appreciably higher than 8k though, probably closer to about 9k (there was another tent nearby).  Was that you? 

 

It was cool to see someone else utilizing the open bivy concept …  Winds felt pretty light on Friday night / Saturday morning ...

[Bdubs]

@dave schultz Yes, that was definitely me and a buddy in the bivys!  Wind was not fun on fri night/early sat up there in a bivy.  Must've been earlier in the night, but we had a couple periods of decent gusts.   BUT had zero wind the next night (sat night) bivying at 13k atop the Wapowety, which was rad