2010 Snowpack

[mtnwild]

Has the PNW (rainier specifically) had a good snowfall year?

 

I want the information to help plan a climbing trip on Rainier in late June. My thought was if it has been a very low snow year perhaps this timeframe needs to be a little earlier for the route being considered (LR).

 

I know there are lots of other variables many of which have yet to play out but just using it as 1 of many data points.

 

thanks

[summitchaserCJB]

http://www.summitpost.org/trip-report/205062/hell-on-liberty-ridge.html

[Bigtree]

Just because the snow level is high doesn't mean that there isn't a lot of the stuff once you're in the band. Case in point is Mt. Washington on nearby Vancouver Island with a 18 ft snow pack at ~ 5000 ft. http://www.mountwashington.ca/en/conditions.html.

 

 

[BirdDog]

+1 what Bigtree said.

 

From my personal obs; snowpack below 4500 is low, about normal above. Spring weather, ie:warm or cold, will have more to do with route conditions than depth of snowpack.

 

 

[summitchaserCJB]

Ya +1 as well. I'm not sure where I heard that but ya.

[Joe_Poulton]

http://www.summitpost.org/trip-report/205062/hell-on-liberty-ridge.html

 

That's amazing...

[Bronco]

I think late June is typically getting toward the end of LR's season. I know crossing the schrund at the top of the route became much more difficult in the two weeks after we climbed it in early June '03. I seem to recall reading about somebody aiding up an overhanging wall on ice screws to reach Liberty Cap.

[summitchaserCJB]

http://www.summitpost.org/trip-report/205062/hell-on-liberty-ridge.html

 

That's amazing...

 

I know. It didn't make me want to quit climbing but that really makes you think a little.

[Bronco]

"Liberty Ridge is a great route, a climbing ranger began, but it’s not in great shape. He warned us that almost a foot of snow had fallen in the last week and that possible storms were forecast for the next week."

 

Something to be learned here is to avoid climbing committing routes on big mountains when the climbing ranger flat out says the route's out of shape, there's a bunch of new snow on the mountain and the weather forecast is unstable.

 

[ScaredSilly]

What is happening now will make a little but not a lot of difference come June. A cold spring could mean things could be good until July, a warm spring and June is blow out.

[nels0891]

"Liberty Ridge is a great route, a climbing ranger began, but it’s not in great shape. He warned us that almost a foot of snow had fallen in the last week and that possible storms were forecast for the next week."

 

Something to be learned here is to avoid climbing committing routes on big mountains when the climbing ranger flat out says the route's out of shape, there's a bunch of new snow on the mountain and the weather forecast is unstable.

 

Agreed! Obviously with any type of climbing stories, I dont want to be quick to throw out criticism because I wasnt there and its really hard to fully understand their situation just from a trip report. With that said, it almost seems like a classic case of Mount Rainier being slightly underestimated by what it can offer. I've recently been considering that route this summer myself so after all of the research I have been doing, it doesnt seem like the most educated decision. Most guidebooks seem to say that it is commonly underestimated despite all the difficulties that are present on the ridge.

In another sense, I understand that they had come from a very long way to do that route and they all seemed to have considerable experience in a mountain setting.

 

One more thing I noticed from that article that really surprised me... What is up with the little shelter of a tent they described? Especially given the forecast of possibly experiencing bad weather, wouldn't it be a wise choice to use a sturdier tent? And perhaps pay a little more care to not poke holes in it with your crampons?

 

It really is good to hear that these people did not have a worse outcome however, as it seems as though it could have gone terribly worse.