Paradise Questions

[brown guy]

Couple newbie questions - We arrive in SeaTac after 11PM tonight and wanted to begin hiking up towards camp hazard at about 8AM. Is it an option to sleep in our car overnight at the Paradise parking lot if we just drove straight there tonight? What's a good place to buy jetboil canisters and white gas on the drive from SeaTac to Paradise given the late hour? Finally, is the ranger station open for registrations before 8AM at all? We have our climbing passes / camping reservations already but would just need to sign in. Thanks for any info.

[Water]

canisters after 11pm? find a 24hr big fred meyer or a walmart maybe? you are not officially allowed to sleep in your vehicle at the overflow/climbers lot at Paradise, but i think on any given night during climbing season it happens. I've stayed there 3/3 climb times... I have never heard of someone being booted out but you should be discrete.

 

not sure about sign in, that is always a cluster** having to plan your climb start to their arbitrary times.

 

edit: you might find a gracious soul here who will pick some canisters up for you during biz hours and let you pick them up and you could reward them with a 'beer fee' for their troubles--i'm in PDX so no help but its worth a shot.

Edited July 2, 2014 by Water

[ARBrandon]

Climbing info center opens at 6am for registration. I believe you can self register after hours, too.

[GerritD]

You can't register outside of the open hours. You could do it last year, I know because I did it. You can't do it this year, I know because I tried a few days ago.

 

The place where the self registry box used to be now has a sign saying no registration when they are closed. To confirm I asked a Ranger who said he did not know of an alternative way to register outside of normal hours.

 

Also I am pretty certain there is nowhere to buy either white gas or butane canisters in the middle of the night. Whittaker mountaineering just a few miles outside of the park entrance opens at 7am. I don't know if they sell fuel but I can't see why they wouldn't.

[DPS]

Whittaker mountaineering just a few miles outside of the park entrance opens at 7am. I don't know if they sell fuel but I can't see why they wouldn't.

 

If you eat at their restaurant, you will get gas at no extra cost.

[astrov]

Do they ever answer the phone up at the Climbing Information Center? I'd like to speak with a climbing ranger about conditions.

[APE]

Do they ever answer the phone up at the Climbing Information Center? I'd like to speak with a climbing ranger about conditions.

 

Yes.

[medicsandy]

DON'T eat at Whittakers! We did the night before our climb and all 4 of us got food poisoning. Spent 2 days of misery at Paradise lodge and totally missed our climb.

[Ted S]

Sounds like a really bad break. I read a similar comment (maybe it was yours on another site?) elsewhere before a trip this fall and while I was super cautious in what I picked, I did just fine with a 3 night -- and meal -- stay.

[grandpa]

DON'T eat at Whittakers! We did the night before our climb and all 4 of us got food poisoning. Spent 2 days of misery at Paradise lodge and totally missed our climb.

 

Ha! I've been wondering if you were still around. Haven't seen a post from you in a while.

 

I did another summit this summer, Shuksan. A most excellent climb, and in some ways I liked it more than Rainier, even though its summit elevation is a mile lower. I used the same folks as when I climbed Rainier (IMG, highly recommended).

 

A very good place to eat is the Copper Creek Inn. Another is the Wild Berry. Both have good food.

[medicsandy]

HA! I'm still among the living!! Thinking about a climb later this summer. Bought a road bike last summer and fell in love with riding. Much easier on the joints!