Looking for partner to climb Rainer in December

[Allenkoe]

I'm looking for a partner to climb Rainer in mid December. I have been class five rock climbing for about five years and want to get into alpine climbing. I have all gear required. I would like to meet someone that dosnt mind passing along alittle knowledge and tecniques. I have a winter asscent booked with rmi in January but from what everyone tells me it's better to just find a partner and learn that way. Heres my number 314-458-4717 my name is Allen call or text any time. Peace

[B Deleted_Beck]

Nevermind.

 

Have a safe trip, if you get a good partner!

Edited September 6, 2012 by Ben B.

[sampdx]

Take it or leave it, but...Rainier's a big mountain. Not sure I would want to do that one for my first shot at mountaineering. You might be in great shape, but there are objective hazards inherent in mountaineering - especially on a heavily glaciated peak like Rainier. If something were to happen to your partner, you wouldn't have the skills to get down - or survive a night on your own up there. Just food for thought. If you do find a good partner, have a fun and safe climb! Rainier's a beauty!

[CaleHoopes]

So, my opinion (for what it's worth)... Rainier is a fine first mountain.

 

IN JUNE or JULY.

 

December is not the right time for a first ascent of Rainier for someone with no alpine experience.

 

This is a WINTER climb of Rainier. You have no boot pack, you get snow bridges that might not be fully formed yet and often times EXTREME avalanche danger that is in a zone that the NWAC doesn't report on. Additionally, it's much harder to get services to you in the winter for rescue when the climbing season is over. The weather is very inconsistent in December and if you get hit by a storm up there, your skills won't matter.

 

I don't want to discourage you at all. I just want to discourage WHEN you go. Training a rock climber on glacier travel is not that difficult and Rainier is easily within your reach as a first objective. I'd just push it off a little bit and not put yourself and a partner at risk.

 

My 2 cents.

[Allenkoe]

Thanks for the insight, I was aware that the climbing season for Rainer is not in December however with the line of work I am in I only can take off to climb in the winter months. What would you recommend for winter months to get some experience.

[CaleHoopes]

There's a lot to do in the winter. Climb lower and watch the avalanche danger... St. Helens can be an excellent one-day winter climb - assuming you can get up the road to the shelter. Also, you can get a lot of training in over the winter because of the snow. There's a lot of snow in commonwealth basin - which is easy to get to from Seattle - and you can do a great amount of training up there on tech skills and such.

 

As far as Rainier - as long as you're trained up, there's no reason that a Rainier climb would take you more than 3 days. That means you don't really have that many days of vacation to take and if you went around July 4, you could potentially skip having to take any vacation to do it.