Hole in Mt Rainier

[philfort]

Looking at some slides of the NW side of Rainier recently, I discovered a rock ridge with a large hole in it, halfway up Mowich Face.

Has anyone seen this curious formation (an arch, I suppose) up close? Is it really as it appears?

(the hole is just barely visible on page 108 of the Beckey guide, under the 'a' in Mowich Face)

[gregm]

Why don't we name it Paul Bunyan's rappel anchor? We can make up some story about the giant lumberjack and his big ox Babe climbing the face, but Babe forgets his sunglasses so they back off. They can't find a rap anchor so Bunyan hacks one into the rock with his axe.

[Dru]

if you're wanting tall tales... Bunyan Shmonion! That hole is there from one of the early Canadian ascents. a member of the party peed on the rock there. Since we drink real beer, not that American swill, the rock was not able to withstand the Canadian stream and eroded away to form the hole you see today.

[gregm]

hey here's an audio clip of me pretending to be a canadian (you may have to unwrap it):

http://praxis.etla.net/~philfort/NewYears00-01/MattNCraig.mp3

 

[W]

Hey Philfort, I will answer your question- yes, I have seen the fabled hole. While on a climb of the Central Mowich Face in 1994, I thought I was hallucinating when I looked left and spied this feature. After climbing a few hundred feet further and getting some different aspects, I concluded it to really be a hole in the rock. I'd forgotten all about this! Pretty cool.