It’s official! I just registered my name on the mountain for June 1st, 2011! I can’t wait. What a great way to kick off the 2011 year. For those of you who don’t know about Mt. Rainier, let me feed you some facts; It is the most prominent mountain in the 48 states. It is a stratovolcano. It is likened to a mountain in the Himalayans. The Muir Snowfield is in the top 10 of North America’s most deadly hiking routes. It has 26 glaciers which cover over 30 square miles of terrain.
To put it simply… this is one mother of a mountain. And just because I say “mother”, does not make it forgiving.
It will take me about 4 days to reach the summit, provided I reach the summit. I will be acclimatizing in the northern cascades for about a week before the climb because the lack of oxygen can be seriously detrimental and just downright annoying when you’re climbing. Things like headaches, stomachaches, vomiting, fatigue, loss of appetite, and dehydration are results of hypoxia which has to do with not be acclimated to the amount of oxygen prevalent at that time. So hopefully my week of hiking through the cascade mountains will help with this when I begin climbing Rainier.
I will be in a 12 person team, most likely we’ll have 3 sub-teams with 4 people on a rope for safety. The climb will not be easy, about 50% of people don’t make the top. High winds and intense storms can pop up out of nowhere, it has been known to snow 2 feet on July 4th. 12 spike crampons are basically required as well as an ice axe. Crevasses and snow bridges are everywhere so it takes a lot of mental strength to make it to the top as well as physical. Especially since Ranier sticks out of the ground higher than the 2nd tallest mountain in the world, K2.
I could continue with the technical stuff but that doesn’t really matter, if you have questions, ask! and I’ll answer! In the mean time, here are some videos for your viewing pleasure.
- Timbo
