Northside open in April or May?

[snowball]

Hi All

Been outta touch.

Is Rainier open for climbing in April or May via the northside (i.e. via WRCG)?

I know the southside road is closed but my assumption is that the WRCG is mostly unimpeded.

Thanks!

 

 

FYI:

Jerry Cooke's family had a service for him this wednesday. Some wonderful words are written on the memorial service announcement.

Edited March 3, 2007 by snowball

[mtngt]

Road to WRCG is generally not open until mid/late May,as the DOT gets 410 open. The WRCG road sustained damage in Novemeber floods, may take it longer to open depending on the park's logistics and budget.

[mattp]

The Carbon River approach has in the past been an OK way to go (in my minority view the preferred approach to Liberty Ridge) but I think it got some pretty severe damage as well.

[Jamin]

I have been trying to find partners who will go up there and check it out sometime, but I have not been able to find anyone. I want to attempt Liberty Ridge this spring or summer, but right now it is 11 miles to wrcg and 6 more miles to the base of Liberty Ridge. Unfortunately, I don't know anybody who is up to doing a reconnaisance.

[mtngt]

The road into Carbon has been deeply decimated, the trail into Ipsut and beyond in some major trouble. 410 from the N boundary to WRCG is passable, albeit indeed makes for real climb/undertaking. Much of the damage likely won't be found or fixed until into the upcoming season, but permits and passes are available to anyone desiring a commited process.

[mtngt]

Re Carbon access, from the park's website 3/5/2007:

 

Flooding from the Carbon River partially or completely destroyed two miles of road between the park entrance and Ipsut Creek Campground. In places, only culverts and road signs remain to remind visitors that new river channels used to be roadways. The historic Ipsut Creek Cabin was undermined when a channel of the river flowed directly beneath it. The windstorm in December toppled dozens of trees across the damaged roadway.

 

And:

The Carbon River Road will be rebuilt, at a cost of just under $1 million, to restore access to the Ipsut Creek Campground and the Carbon Glacier Trail. Work will be suspended from March 15 through August 6th to protect the endangered Northern Spotted Owl, Marbled Murrelet, and Bull Trout, which nest or spawn in the area during the summer. Meanwhile, trail crews have opened the roadway for hikers all the way to Ipsut Creek Campground.

 

410/WRCG:

White River Road and Campground

Damage to the White River Road and Campground was relatively minor. These facilities should be accessible by early June as usual, and the road to Sunrise should open in late June when snow plowing is completed.

 

 

[Norman_Clyde]

If you look at the big picture, a couple of extra miles hiking into Ipsut Creek won't add that much time or mileage. Ipsut is lower elevation than White River campground, but I'm pretty sure it's closer to Lib Ridge, and unlike the White River approach, the Ipsut approach is very direct, with no elevation loss and no traversing.

If you wanted to add an adventurous semi-circumnav. of the peak to your climb, you could start from the West Side Road once it opens, which it is projected to do in April.

[Duchess]

Ipsut Creek approach = start at 1800' at road closure.

5 mile hike up road + 7 mi from Ipsut Cr campground to Curtis Ridge.

 

White River approach = start at ~4500' (white river cg). 3 mi hike to Glacier Basin + ~4 (???) mi to Curtis Ridge. Someone might have a more accurate mileage but that's my best guess.

 

You do the math!!

[ScaredSilly]

I have done the Ipsut approach 4 times for various north side routes. It is a nice alternative to WR. Coming back around from Schurman is good fun - last trip we saw a heard of goats and a bear, another trip some Ptarmigans (after doing Ptarmigan Ridge). Yeah it is a bit longer, but hey it is all training.

 

I have also hiked in one March when the Carbon River Road was closed during the previous flood. It was not any big deal it added an extra 2 hours of hiking. So I guess I have done the math QED