Seeking Conditions for Rainier, Gib Ledges

[TeaBaron]

Greetings,

 

I am travelling to Rainier later this week to climb Gibraltar Ledges. A friend and I will be travelling from Jackson, Wyoming and would like to get a feel for conditions on the mountain from word of mouth. It looks like the weather will be good this weekend for climbing.

 

Thanks in advance.

[B Freeman]

The weather forecast looked good from afar, but now it seems to be settling in and deciding on high winds. Currently forecasted at 50mph Muir, 75mph summit, average winds (gusts of ~1.5x that).

[Hunter Lee]

I climbed Rainier via the Gib Ledges Friday May the 3'rd. The route is in good shape, just be sure to get on it really early. You will not want to be on the Ledges later in the afternoon. Depending on your party's pace I'd suggest leaving Muir by midnight at the latest, the morning/afternoon sun will heat up the snow on the ledges making it progressively sketchier as the day goes on. I skied off the summit, so I got down quicker than a party on foot would, made the traverse OK, but the writing was on the snow that things could be a lot worse later in the day.