mountainsandsound Posted December 24, 2013 Posted December 24, 2013 Getting excited about this high pressure coming in. Have been wanting to attempt a winter ascent of Rainier during one of those bouts of high pressure- which looks like it is on the way. Even if the avy danger is low and weather forecast excellent, the snow coverage gives me pause. I haven't been following the snow report consistently, but I know it's been a dry fall and winter. This doesn't look too good: ftp://ftp.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/data/water/wcs/gis/maps/wa_swepctnormal_update.pdf What do you winter hardmen/women say? Would thinly bridged crevasses be a serious issue with our snowpack right now? I'd be inclined to go for the ID or the DC route. Quote
CascadeClimber Posted December 24, 2013 Posted December 24, 2013 (edited) I climbed Gib Ledges November 24 and found route conditions better than I expected. We simul-soloed to the top, skied from the top to Gib Rock, downclimbed the ledges, skied the Cowlitz back to Muir, and from Muir to the lot. The icefall of the ID did not look passable at that time, but we didn't go take a close look either. It was problematic to get through last January. Edited December 24, 2013 by CascadeClimber Quote
mountainsandsound Posted December 24, 2013 Author Posted December 24, 2013 How was down climbing the Ledges? I was leaning toward the ID or DC because I figured I'd probably descend via one of those anyway. Quote
CascadeClimber Posted December 24, 2013 Posted December 24, 2013 It was fine, but I've done it many times. Quote
mountainsandsound Posted December 24, 2013 Author Posted December 24, 2013 Thanks for the beta. Quote
DPS Posted December 25, 2013 Posted December 25, 2013 It was fine, but I've done it many times. You've done it so many times you should change your name to RainierClimber. Quote
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