two nights on the top

[Thinker]

My buds and I spent Tues and Wed nights in the east crater. Explored the caves all day Wed, made it into the 'birdroom' approx 300 feet below the crater surface. Last year the passageway to the birdroom was so small that neither of us wanted to make the crawl, this time it was fine. LOTS of loose rock in the steep passages, almost took out one of our guys. You pretty much figure you're toast in there if anything serious happens.

 

Small 'alcoves' form around some of the steam vents near the surface. One of these served as our cooking and socializing area. If the sh*t hits the fan up there they are the perfect place to wait it out, out of the wind. From what I've read, these alcoves must be where many of the first climbers overnighted on the summit, as was the tradition for many years. My hunch is that the ones they used were near Register rock, as some reports indicate the snow/ice level in the crater was a bit higher a hundred years ago...but that's just my speculation. For a good read of those early ascents pick up 'Mountain Fever' by Aubrey Haines, 1962, one of the most comprehensive and well documented accounts of the climbing history of Mt. Rainier.

 

I was pleased with how well the Bibler stood up to the constant wicked wind up there. Full heavy packs all the way to the summit sucked big, but I needed the workout. The sunsets and the clear stary skies alone were well worth the effort. I'll post a photo later if they turn out.

 

The EW is in good shape. The route the guides currently take swings way right over into the saddle. We went a little right, and continued up. On Thurs morn while we were headed down several parties looked very disturbed when I told them they were following our wands, which we were in the process of pulling. One team pretty much pleaded with us to leave them, so I left a few widely spaced wands thru the tricky part for them just in case. Sorry for leaving the litter on the hill, Mike, but I thought it was better than having a bunch of lost gumbies up there that day.

 

 

 

[Norman_Clyde]

Cool! But why do they call it the "Birdroom"?

[Kiwi]

Cool. I always wondered why people don't stay on the summit longer.

[pete_a]

Very Cool! I've always wanted to spent a night up on top... Cheers to ya Thinker.

Isn't there a buried plane that is visible in one of the caves? And I thought there was a small pool at the bottom of one of the caves too that some folks went skinny dipping in once.

[Mike_Gauthier]

nice report. thanks for sharing. i'm looking forward to the photos if you can get them up!

staying on the summit totally rocks during this time of year! it pays to wait for clear weather and warm temps. if possible, spend 2 nights on top, especially if you want to fully explore the caves AND relax.

[Thinker]

We didn't actually get into the cave system with the lake as it's in the west crater and we didn't have the time or energy to go find the entrance. I don't recall just where the airplane wreckage is; we didn't see it....nor did we see the bird skeletons observed in the 'birdroom' during a 1970 exploration. The birdroom has a small bench at the top of the room and the majority of the room slopes steeply at the angle of repose for the rocks and boulders making up the floor. One guy went down, around, and back up along the walls but didn't see anything of note.

 

We did find a golf ball, an old decayed pair of goggles, and some other debris...nothing too fancy in the way of junk.

 

OK, 8 photos posted in my user gallery now.

here

Edited July 22, 2003 by Thinker

[Dru]

Were the caves as smoky as Muir Hut

 

 

Cool TR

[AlpineK]

Dru said:

Were the caves as smoky as Muir Hut

 

 

Cool TR

 

 

Double cool

[Stefan]

Cool pics. I saw a picture one time of somebody wading in a pool of water up there. Did you come across any standing bodies of water up there?

[catbirdseat]

Did anyone have trouble with altitude sickness? I'd heard that is a real risk with camping at the summit. There is a lot more time for it to set in. Anyone take Diamox?

[Thinker]

We didn't make it to the big lake (see above), but we did see a couple of very small 'ponds' probably just melt water perched on top of an ice shelf.

 

I think everybody was affected to some degree by the altitude. I know I had a minor headache the second night. One guy took Diamox because he'd had enough experience at altitude to know it was going to be an issue. We spent one night at Glacier Basin and one at Emmons Flats with the hope of acclimating a bit better. I figured it's not all that much different than climbing bigger mountains where base camps are at or above 14k. We definitely kept doing status checks on each other and were prepared to head down at any time if it became necessary. The cold and wind were more of an issue than the altitude, in my opinion.