[TR] Mount Rainier - Kautz Glacier-then DC (sigh) 8/28/2010

[sdizzle25]

Trip: Mount Rainier - Kautz Glacier-then DC (sigh)

 

Date: 8/28/2010

 

Trip Report:

Planned to do ascent of Kautz Glacier route. Mixture of rookieness on the mountain and bad advice by the climbing ranger put us heading up the muir snowfields with hopes of traversing the Nisqually onto the Turtle. Bad idea. Nisqually looks like a pile of office building size ice legos (apparently crevasses open late season?) tossed down the mountain + white out put us on the Dissapointment CLeaver Route, which I will doubtfully do again.

Note: If you do do the DC (and i dont recommend it), stay at Ingraham Flats. It is about 20 minutes and at worse 2 tiny crevasses away from Muir, and you have the advantage of not being subject to the giant pile of crap (literal and figurative)that is camp muir.

Regardless, 1st time on Rainier and an awesome hill. weather was beautiful with exception of the white out and snow storm on the muir (both up and down)

[RJRiha]

What's wrong with DC? Many people do it for their first Rainier climb and thoroughly enjoy it. I know some don't like it because there are guided groups up the wazoo on that route, but the route itself isn't bad.

[sdizzle25]

there's nothing wrong with the route itself, though the actual disappointment cleaver gets old real quick. i was referring to exactly that, all the guided parties, but thats just part of the reality of doing a route like that these days, so ill quit complaining.

[tazz]

hmmm... that's why "rookieness's" climb the DC (or emmonds)...they are not equipped for more difficult routes yet.

 

I bet next year you will be more experienced and equipped. ;-)

[sdizzle25]

Id say as long as we are equipped with the knowledge to start late season at the van tramp glacier instead of paradise we should be fine. had tools and plenty of screws, nisqually was looking really quite broken up. if im just being a wuss let me know, but the idea of spending the entire afternoon trying to cross that thing while being seranaded with consitent rock and ice fall just seemed like a little too much objective hazard to make it worth it

Edited September 7, 2010 by sdizzle25

[NateF]

DC is much more pleasant in the June-July time frame, pretty late season now

[jlawrence10]

Some friends and I did the Kautz Glacier about three days before that (August 25th/26th). We took the Moraine trail off of Dead Horse trail, but stayed a little high and crossed the Nisqually right through the crevassed area. It wasn't actually too bad, but a better place to cross would definitely have been down lower, where it's icier and dirtier and more firm. Didn't identify many objective hazards until we went up "the fan" on the other side, and even then, very minimal. Overall, a really fun route.

Didn't see another soul or party the entire time, including on the summit (11:00 AM). Well, we could see across to Camp Muir, which just made us more happy about the route we had chosen. For pictures, you can hit up http://gallery.me.com/jlawrence10 and see some pics from our trip. Keep thinking I'm gonna write up a trip report, but I guess I'm not gonna...

[sdizzle25]

pretty sure we tried crossing way higher up, pretty much at the same elevation as the top of the muir snowfield. Your way would have still been doable. i would thank you for the pictures, but they really just rub in the fact we could have had wayy more fun on the kautz

so yeah, screwed the pooch for sure. lesson learned

[nels0891]

That traverse you guys planned on doing, from the top of the muir snowfield, is usually only done in the really early season to access the nisqually glacier and icefall routes.