soloing rainier in august: hardcore or stupid???

[kdk1610]

an acquaintance from another board has the goal of summiting rainier solo in august!

 

any comments on:

 

*how often this is done?

 

*objective dangers

 

*overall wiseness of this decision

 

thanks,

 

dave

[sobo]

Dave,

There is really only one answer to your question... "It depends."

 

Re hardcore: It depends upon what route he/she selects.

Re stupid: It depends on how much experience he/she has.

Also, it depends upon the weather forecast and the current *and pre-climb* conditions (up to several weeks/months previous, depending upon the selected route).

Getting my drift?

 

Personally, I've soloed several routes several times on Rainier. So have LOTS of other people, even in winter, and even as recently as this past winter. So this is definitely not an unheard of thing to attempt.

 

IMHO, it's not worthy of getting all worked up over, and route selection + climb conditions will determine the endeavor's "hardcore factor", not the mere fact of attempting/completing a solo. Lastly, it's only stupid if your acquaintance has no business soloing Rainier.

[genepires]

Solo ascent of rainier required a permit. Application for permit was meant to weed out the unqualified. I hope your friend is aware of this and has gone through all the hoops. Maybe they are done with this process. Maybe a rainier climbing ranger will reinform us of the rules.

[JBC]

an acquaintance from another board has the goal of summiting rainier solo in august!

 

any comments on:

 

*how often this is done?

 

*objective dangers

 

*overall wiseness of this decision

 

thanks,

 

dave

 

My short respones is "If you have to ask you are not ready and it would be very foolish."

 

The longer answer is that it takes exceptional judgement and considerable skill to SAFELY ascend Ranier solo. Regardless of time of year and route there are considerable objective hazards, one is at greater risk when on is alone on Ranier. It is my opinion that if you have to ask about what the objective hazards are you don't have the required experience on big mountians to safely solo Ranier. A climber with a lot of mountain experience will know what the hazards are in general, even withgout familiarity with a particular route. With a lot of experience, solid skills, and very good judgement one should be able to weigh the risks and hazards for ones self and do ok. some routes are safer than others for the solo climber - gain something that becomes more apparent with experience. Experience on big glaciated mountains is essential. One may be able to climb at a very high standard on rock, and have many years of rock experience and still not be adequetly prepared for a Ranier climb for example.

 

I don't know what level of experience your acquaintance has, but it is certainly something to consider. If they are an exeprienced mountaineer with the right mindset they will probably do fine. If it someone who wants to solo Ranier because they just don't have a partner available, they might want to rethink things.

 

Jim

[To_The_Top]

One suggestion if he is considering soloing it is to climb with a team like a week before, taking note of the route and noting any potential dangers, depending on the route.

TTT

[thelawgoddess]

*how often this is done?

probably more than you think. for the legal attempts i'm guessing the nps might have some estimates. ???

 

*objective dangers

anyone who's already set this goal should really already know what these might be ... and be prepared to face and deal with and/or walk away from them. (btw, reading the solo permit application might be helpful in providing some food for thought.)

 

*overall wiseness of this decision

that's an incredibly subjective question, and (like others said) it really depends. there are so many factors that come into question when making this type of decision, and if you haven't tried to think of and through every one of them before coming to terms with it (and it's possible consequences), i would venture to say that isn't so wise. but there's plenty of time between now and then to gather information, assess yourself, and make your best decision.

[still_climbin]

Quite frankly, if anyone is going to solo the mountain then they should've climed it at least once just to know the territory, peferable more than once. Rainier can throw some real sh*t at you on ANY route due to the many alpine variables not experienced anywhere else in the lower 48. If you don't recognize this up front you are in troble from the start. I agree with the former advice that if you have to ask, don't try.

[Arc]

Heck, I have Soloed the DC, Success Cleaver, Emmons Winthrop, and have camped on the summit solo.

 

Stupid?.....Perhaps.

 

Qualified for a solo permit?.....I thought so, and so did the rangers.

 

Did I feel fear and lonelyness followed by the voices of dead climbers?.....Yes

 

Did I cache a six pack, and had cigaretts on me at all time?.....Yes

 

 

Just do it if your ready man, give it a try, worst case......you may not like the idea of it once you are underway, and that ok too.

 

I have been seen "spinning" from solo efforts before, just because I didnt feel like it that day, just listen to yourself.