15.2 mi total
5,394 ft start
14,290 ft max
8,758 ft gain
43 hr 2 min total
Second ascent of Mount Rainier within the last year. Susie was turned back before the summit last year, so we came back to finish the job! Amber, Susie, Erica and I drove up from Vegas and ascended the DC route unguided. The GPS batteries died somewhere on the way up & I didn't notice until we were headed down out of the crater, so the track isn't quite complete. We hiked up in clouds, rain and snow on Tuesday morning, then hiked back down to Paradise through much of the same on Wednesday after summitting. At least we had nice (but cold) weather during our summit bid!
rockfall/loose rock, snow on route, crevasse danger, weather
ice axe, crampons, helmet, rope/harness, trekking poles, mountaineering boots, GPS device