Mt. Rainier – May 22-25, 2011

Not too much to be said other than we (my brother Daniel and I) were blessed with ideal weather and reached the summit quite easily via the Ingraham Headwall/Disappointment Cleaver route.  Our original plan of ascent (Emmons) was stymied by the trailhead being closed, unreachable due to unplowed roads.  With neither of us having been on the mountain before, we weren’t bummed to just check out the standard route, even if it was with lots of other folks around.
Day 1 – Skinned up to camp Muir after a relatively late start, taking us 4.5 hours.
Day 2 – Alarm set to PM instead of AM so we overslept and got a late start (again) for the summit; left camp at 3:45, on the top around 8:30.  Hiked/skied back down to Muir, melted more snow for water, and then continued skiing over the Paradise Glaciers back to the car.
Day 3 – Left the Paradise TH around 6am and skinned up the Nisqually until near white-out conditions, moderate winds, and heavy snow made bailing the more prudent option.  We skied out the Nisqually to the bridge, skiing well over 3000′ in less than 3 hours round-trip, and hitched back to the car.
With poor weather remaining in the forecast, I was happy to pull the plug, go watch Pirates of the Caribbean and eat sushi.  So, a quick 5-day trip resulted in nailing the weather, finding good conditions and being reminded (again) that I’m glad I don’t guide on Rainier for a living.  I had an awesome time hanging out with my brother!

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