Climbing this Season. Newish. Advice Needed.

[KCK]

Hey all,

So long story short I’m from MI and in Eugene finishing up my graduate school studies this May. I will be free to hike/climb after July 6 and was planning on doing Mt. Hood, Mt. Rainier, and the sisters. I have done the sister’s summit before which was pretty easy. I was hoping that you all could give me some advice on routes for Mt. Hood and Mt. Rainier? As for my experience, South Sister was my first summit and I attempted middle sister in October but had to turn back because of weather. I also rock climb and know how to lead, and also am familiar with the knots/have a harness and rope. I’ve spent a lot of time outdoors and know how fast weather can move in, and I’m pretty good with navigation with/with out a map/gps. I run about 3-4 miles a day so I’m physically in shape also. I was also hoping that I would be able to meet up with a group of people and do it with them so please feel free to pass my name/email along if you know of someone. Its always better to climb with another person and would feel more comfortable with another. I’m very eager to learn and these summits are my goals for this summer because I will be heading back to MI after July (luckily I have all of July to do this). ANY advice on routes/books/people to contact would be really appreciated. Thank everyone and look forward to hearing your responses. I’m also going to post this in the topic about looking for partners to climb with so ignore if you see it again.

 

-Kyle

Email: kck11@albion.edu

 

[Dave7]

As far as books go, Freedom of the Hills is a must for learning all the essential systems for climbing mountains like Rainier. For a guidebook i would recommend buying Mt. Rainier 'A Climbing Guide' from the Mountaineers. It does a great job of describing and showing you possible ascent and descent routes. If it is your first time on rainier i would recommend the disappointment cleaver or ingraham direct (depending on conditions) route to the summit. Fairly straight forward, minimum objective hazards. I am not to familiar with Mt Hood, but i hear its more of a challenge than meets the eye! Hopefully you can get out with some experienced climbers or guides to practice some of the essentials before attempting your climb. Hope this helped you out some!