Trip Reports

After staying the night at the Gateway Inn which is located right before the park entrance, my group which included four people from Vancouver, Canada, arrived at Paradise around 8:20 am. It was rainy and windy, but we decided to go ahead. The trail was free of snow and not too difficult until we reached Panorama point (6,800 ft). The Muir snowfield was covered with snow and not easy to hike through. The weather was especially cold and windy. We passed quite a few people coming down who were unsuccessful at reaching the summit.

By the time we could spot the Camp Muir shelter, the wind, clouds and cold had become even worse. The shelter was intermittently obscured by clouds disappearing and reappearing like a mirage. We followed the Skyline and Pebble Creek trail signs to Camp Muir. There are a few flags along the trail and it was well marked. When we got to the shelter, there were many hikers who were taking breaks and readying themselves to climb to the Summit.

We enjoyed glissading down through the Muir snowfield. It would be a good idea to bring something along for the glissading to help keep your pants dry. Snowshoes are not necessary, but crampons would be helpful. Be sure to bring a good wind jacket, sunglasses, warm clothes, and trekking poles. It took 5 hours to reach Camp Muir and 3 hours to come back down.

Snow was soft but packed down just enough on the main path not to require snowshoes. Can't leave the path or you're up to your waist though.

There were 100's of people on the route over the course of the day. From about 7500' I looked up at the straight shot to the camp and counted around 50-75 people ahead of me.

Clear visibility all day. The weather was perfect until about 9000' and then the wind kicked in and I had to throw on my rain jacket and knit hat to stay warm, even though climbing uphill.

At the camp the wind was brutal. I threw on an extra insulation layer and was still freezing. At the same time it was 93 in the Seattle area.

The promise of clear skies made this late-season trip too good to pass up. Our early start helped us beat the considerable number of hikers (and a few climbers) up to the Camp. There are still quite a few flowers in the Paradise area, including one of my favorites, Tow-Head-Baby (seed stage), and no bugs. It takes a long time before the snow begins- well past the end of the formal trail. Early in the day it was fairly easy going. As the sun rose higher, the melting became pretty furious. You'll definitely want water-tight boots for this trip! Also there are a number of crevasses evident on this ""snowfield"", though most were quite narrow, and none appeared to be seriously undercut. On the way down footing was a bit tricky as much of the upper portion was a thin going on vanishing bit of snow over a deeper, watery icy layer. Only carrying two sets of crampons for the three of us, I did without, so fell a few times along with Alex and Alex's mom.

Oh yes, that low lenticular cloud cleared off partway on the ascent. Utterly gorgeous views all around!

We did it! Bill and I made it to Camp Muir thanks to our good friends Jeff and Zulema who are old hands at it! They have been to Muir multiple times before and allayed our fears about crevasses opening up and answered all of our questions.

We met Jeff and Zulema at Longmire Friday afternoon. We had a relaxing and leisurely picnic dinner and then retired early at the National Park Inn for a good night's rest for the next day.

We rose at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 28th and left the Inn at 7:00 a.m. After a brief check at the Ranger Station at Paradise we were on the trail by 8:00 a.m. It was a nice sunny day but there were clouds obscuring the mountain at times. It was quite windy. We made it to Pebble Creek at 9:30 and stopped for a snack before starting up the Muir Snowfield about 10:00. The climb from there to Muir took us about 3.5 hours including another lunch-rest stop on the big rock boulder field about half way up.

We arrived at Camp Muir at 1:30. It was clear and beautiful but windy and cold! We had worn shorts and t-shirts up but at Muir we put on a long sleeve polypro shirt, fleece pullover and wind breaker and wind pants and gloves to stay warm.

Zulema suggested we bring nylon pants to glissade down and glissade we did! It was a blast sliding fast on our rear ends much of the way down the Muir Snowfield. We were back down to Paradise by 6:30 p.m. We treated ourselves to another night at the National Park Inn that night to relax.

The whole experience was very positive. It was a rigorous hike but I thought it was more difficult to get to the Crater Rim of Mt. St. Helens. THANK YOU ZULEMA AND JEFF FOR INVITING US AND SHOWING US THE ROPES!

Jane Habegger,

Olympia, July 28, 2007

I hiked up to Camp Muir with a group of Geocachers. The day before white out conditions were reported up there but the weather was great for us. The snow was a bit sloppy but nothing too bad. We made it up in just under five hours and down in two hours. Glissading down was a lot of fun.

Patchy snow starts right at Pardise and the paved trail was slippery with ice in the morning.

http://mosswalks.blogspot.com

The road from the Longmire to Paradise has been repaired and is in great condition. There's little evidence of the destruction that occurred last November, at least as seen from the road. I was expecting much worse.

The Paradise parking lot is now a construction site. Parking is very limited. Some people were parked a mile past the hotel down in the canyon, and then walking all the way back up the road just to get to the start of the trails.

Snow starts at the parking lot. Conditions were perfect. Not too hard, not too soft. Lots of people on the route. Once on the snowfield there was a very nice staircase of compact steps leading all the way to the camp. It was hot stompig up to Panarama Point - lower 70's I think. On the snowfield it was a little breezy and much cooler - maybe upper 40's. At the camp there was no wind so it was quite comfortable with warm clothing.

I made it up to the camp in 4.5 hours - 1:30 to 5:00. I don't know if that's a good time or not. I've been timing myself on Mt.Si and this was also a training run but totally out of context. I felt great up to about 8000' but then started sucking wind a bit and by 9000' or so I was feeling nausea. You can't get this kind of altitude conditioning on Mt.Si so this was very useful.

I made it back down in about 1.5 hours. The route on the snowfield is wanded. Follow those and you'll take the easiest route both up and down. It's easy to miss on the way up however. At the top of the steep chute up to Panorama Point turn *left* and follow the wands through some trees, and onwards.

I saw a fox and 2 deer on the way back down the road. A nice day.

We took a nice conditioning hike up to Camp Muir. Obviously, there are still many feet of snow at Paradise, and nearly the entire route is snow-covered. But the snow stayed reasonably firm for our ascent and good steps are kicked all the way up the Muir Snowfield. The route is carefully wanded from Panorama Point all the way up (which was handy, because much of our descent occurred in dense fog). Between Pan Point and Paradise, the wanding is more sporadic and the labyrinth of boot tracks on the snow appears to be confusing some hikers. Not much else to report, except that the climbing route looks good and plenty of folks are summiting.

Hiked up to Camp Muir on Saturday, May 5th. There is still 6+ feet of snow at Paradise. Unless you have snowshoes, you will be post-holing until you reach 6,500 feet.

Temperatures at Muir were in the mid 20s. Overnight lows were in the teens. Winds were gusting to 45 mph.

Trail to Muir was well defined with footprints by Sunday afternoon. Lots of day hikers about.

Still lots of snow most of the way to Pebble Creek, and tourist trampling the medows into a muddy pulp. We need some Park Nazis! Wild flowers just beginging to make an appearance. Snow in good shape. There must have been 200 people trying to make it today.

There is still alot of snow at Paradise but it is melting quickly. I hit the trail at 9:30 a.m. and made it to Camp Muir at 1:00p.m.. Back to the car at 3:00. It was very nasty weather. Heavy rain at the start. It lightened up a little but it was wet allday. Got very windy and cold above panorama pointe. Above pebble creek it got worse. The rain turned into anything from wet snow to freezing rain to ice pellets hiting your face 35 to 40 mph. No visibility at all once you get on the snow field. You can fin your way by following the flag markers. It was'nt to hard to stay on the right path, just pay attention. Once I got to 9,800' I broke out to the sunshine. It was still very windy though. Uneventfull trip down. Continuious snow from the parking lot.

Climbed to Camp Muir from Paradise on Saturday. The weather was almost perfect (some late cloud cover about 8000') and the wind wasn't too bad at Muir. The main path is heavily packed down and postholing was kept to a minimum.

Let the summer climbing season begin.

A great trip to Camp Muir on Memorial Day. Low fog from Paradise until above Panorama Point. Got to see Mount St. Helens blow a big steam cloud. Lots of recent snow made for some postholing on the descent around Panorama Point. Super day!

Beautiful day to head up to Muir - I showed the temperature to be 71 dergrees on the snowfield just below the huts! Snow was firm in the morning - no traction or flotation needed,great for kicking steps, but on the way back down later in the day the hot sun was really softening things up, and I was post-holing a bit. Some good glissade chutes starting to form up... Still a ton of snow at Paradise.

It was 27 degrees at Paradise when we arrived at 9:30 AM, with a thin cloud layer directly above us. It took 15-20 minutes to get above that and the sun immediately turned April into July. We made a quick clothing break to switch into shorts and t-shirts, applied more sun screen, and continued on. There had been ~2"" of new snow the day before, but snow conditions were quite good; although the last mile there were some postholing issues due to warming. If you have light snowshoes they would definitely make that section less strenuous. There was a pretty good swath of boot tracks the entire way along with a few wands. While resting at Muir some high haze moved in and a *huge* halo/ring developed around the sun. 4 hrs up

Packed my ski boots and straped my skis to my pack and headed for camp muir. What a beautiful day to be on the mountain. Going was good untill the 9,000 foot mark, and then it hits ya. It was a good push to get there and well worth it. It was my first time skiing down and that was great. It would of been better if I was'nt so tired but still fun. About fifteen to twenty people made it to camp muir so there is a good path all the way, at least untill more snow comes in. Awsome weather, awsome snow, awsome trip. 4 1/2 hours up, 1/2 hour down. Cant beat it.

I decided to take advantage of the last of the cold-but-clear weather window and get a little elevation in. My usual partners were N/A so I decided to hike up to Muir by myself. Observing the ice plumes blowing off of Panorama Point and above on the drive in made me wonder, as did the 20-ish temp at 9:30 at Paradise, but under the glorious clear blue sky and bright sun I started out anyway. I was still in sight of the lodge when I shifted to full face balaclava, goggles, and mitts, but once well bundled it was comfortable enough. I got up to the weather station on Pan Point without crampons, but just barely and with the ice and wind increasing I used them from there on. The winds around Pan Point were fierce - knock you down grade with plenty of ice loading (and I'm not small or light!) but it was still early so I pushed on. By the time I was up to the Pebble Creek area it wasn't nearly as tough. Still windy but only in the 20's with occasional gusts above. Incredible snow formations everywhere, with remnant footsteps making lines of ""snow hoodos"" and ski tracks looking like elevated rail lines. About halfway up the Muir Snowfield I ran into a couple of climbers skiing down. They'd spent 3 nights at Muir and actually managed to summit on Saturday - ""cold and hard"" was the route description. Now that's a real accomplishment! They were the only people I saw all day above Pan Point. The hiking track to Muir was mostly visible, but it's shallow enough in the hard snow that any new accumulation will cover it. Several stretches vanished under wind slab by the time I came down. Rainier started growing a cap when I was an hour short of Muir. By the time I started down just after 2:00, the cap was touching the top of Gibralter Rock. The winds were picking up again, and the clouds boiling up from the southeast kept me moving. As always, the conditions up there can change fast ! No problems this trip, and I was below Glacier Vista by the time it started snowing. Great day, great scenery, great mountain !

Arrived at 10:30 AM. Weather was crystal clear and comfortably warm, and Paradise had about 3 feet of snow. There was a bit of crust, presumably due to melt/freeze throught the week, so snowshoes went on immediately and stayed on the entire way. Most of the people we saw were on either snowshoes or skis, though there were a few people slowly postholing thier way up.

There was a clear swath of boot, ski, and snowshoe tracks the entire way. Curious snow contours are all that remain of what I'm guessing were late-season cracks in the upper snowfield's ice.

Arrived at Muir at 3:30, and headed down as the sun was setting; the snow hardened up in shaded areas, and the wind picked up making the weight of all that warm gear worthwhile. All the skiers and snowboarders had speeded down the mountain already, making us the last ones off (except for a group of snow-campers near pebble creek) as we arrived back at the parking lot right before headlamps would've become necessary.

This was my first time doing this hike - so you'll have to forgive me if this isn't detailed in the way you would like.

I got an early start - 7:00am I started hiking - at this point, the sun was just coming up and it was probably a few degrees below freezing.

The trail was totally clear up to Pebble Creek (which was completely dry because there was no melting snow yet). Then the Muir snowfield started about 40-60 meters past that.

The snowfields at this point were rock-hard and too slippery for me - there was also a dusting of snow from the over the weekend - obscuring any previous tracks for me to follow; so I decided to follow the coordinates given by the NPS and stay on the rock islands as much as possible. This was much easier than sliding around.

I didn't have to cross wide-open snowfield again until about 1km before Moon Rocks. By this time, the sun had softened the snowfield and I was able to climb it with relative ease.

Approaching Moon Rocks and beyond, there are several deep crevasses - though not very wide. I wouldn't want to slip into one and get stuck (ouch!).

On the way down, there was considerable waterflow in (and under) various places on the snowfield. Pebble Creek was really flowing once I reached that point.

My wife and I climbed up to Muir, it was her first time up there and we made what I thought was quite good time, 4.5 hours, but of course we were passed by lots of speedsters enroute. The route up to Muir is in pretty bad shape by my standards. There are various rock crossings needed until reaching the first breakover at around 8000. Much of the ""snow"" until perhaps 8500 is not snow at all but is hard ice with pebbles frozen in it and water often flowing over top, creating quagmires of slush in places. Eventually the bootpack does get better. I saw many many people doing this in trail runners (I wore light shoes for a while also, but with Stealth rubber that gives good traction on ice, and the slush pools plus a sporty Pebble Creek crossing at the end got these pretty wet). And a lot of people trying to slide back down on bags or sheets of plastic. Didn't look like that much fun given all the embedded rocks and exposed ice plus the slope is mostly too gentle for reasonable glissade, and there are several rock runouts. These conditions made for a somewhat more time consuming descent than usual, as the plunge stepping was more tenuous and there were more boulder stretches. Camp Muir itself was abuzz with activity, but pretty windy, crowded and lots of grit in the air so we didn't linger long, despite the nice picnic I had packed and intended for us there. Note that there are some actual cracks on the snowfield above 9500, maybe a foot wide and 20+ feet deep, the boot pack goes right by these, watch where you step, maybe NPS will eventually flagwand these. And there are even larger cracks on the less traveled skiers right side toward the Nisqually. For purposes of skiing or boarding, the suncups on the main snowfield are large and there is dirt and rock everywhere. Haul up board or boards and I can guarantee you a free base grind, and lots of dopey questions from the tourist hordes below.

Wednesday was a perfect weather day for an early morning hike to Camp Muir. Great glissading on the way down. Mount Saint Helen's blew off a little steam around noon.

What a day! Supposed to be warm, clear, and light winds (according to the NWS), so I was in the car at 4:30 am to beat the heat. Arrived at Paradise and left the trailhead about 7:15 in a 30 knot wind. By the time I got to Panorama Pt, the wind had picked up even more and I was starting to have my doubts, but I threw on a hat and a shell and perservered. Took the McClure Rock trail, which is difficult to follow in places, but allowed mw to bypass much of the steep (and still quite hard early in the AM) snow near Pebble Creek. Finally crossed onto Muir Snowfield at approx 7500 feet. It was about this time that I noticed that the wind had vanished. Huh. No complaints here! Typical hot snow slog from there, and after a couple of 15 minute breaks I arrived at noon. Oof - the last 200 yards always seems to be the hardest. Rested for about 45 minutes and enjoyed the beautiful blue sky and enormous views. St. Helens, Adams, Hood, and Jefferson were all clearly visible. Was even visited by a hummingbird while eating my lunch - not quite sure how the little thing got up so far. No bugs today, though, which was a great relief. The trip back to the parking lot, which only took two hours, was mostly plunge stepping and glissading in the rapidly softening snow (which is pretty much continuous above Pebble Creek). Uneventful except for the time I plunge stepped into a hole up to my hip, and there was nothing below my foot except air. A probe with my pole to about 5 feet found no bottom, so I took this as a warning that occasionally cracks open up in the snowfield - so beware! This possibility is mentioned in the ""50 Hikes in Mt. Rainier book, by the way, but I've never witnessed it myself. By 1 pm there was a line of people headed to Muir, some in tennis shoes. Crowds started picking up at Pebble Creek, and by the time I got to Alta Vista it was like walking through Costco. The parking lot was completely full, so go early in the day. The sun was dazzlingly bright on the snow, so if you go make sure you have good sunglasses and lots of sunscreen. If you aren't up to tackling Muir, go to Paradise just for the flower show, which is in full swing right now and will probably last another 2 or 3 weeks.

I took advantage of the beautiful weather to hike to Camp Muir. When I got to the parking lot at Paradise at 8:00 a.m., there were already many people on their way up, some with climbing gear, some with snow boards and some day hiking like myself. The route is snow covered all the way except for a few short bare patches. There is no problem with route finding since there are wands all the way to Muir, and many tracks from all the people who go up there. Definitely outstanding views from Muir--Adams, St. Helens, Hood. Took 3 1/2 hours up and 2 hours down. Poles with snow baskets are useful.

The weather forecast looked good for sunshine today, so off we went to plod up to Camp Muir. The day turned out to be mostly perfect for the hike up and ski / snowboard down other than in wind sheltered spots it was hot and the new snow that had fallen over Memorial weekend was still wet wet sticky snow, so the skiing / boarding was a bit challenging, but still fun once you got used to the slowness of it.

Crowds were not bad and most of the day trekkers had skis or snowboards for the descent. There were only a few bare patches of ground up by Pebble Creek, rest was totally in snow. We saw as far south as Mt. Jefferson today, so it was a ""5 volcano day"". The rosy finches were out begging and quite tame like the jays.

It was a really fun day! Love those views!

Decided to head to Camp Muir as a conditioning outing. Left Renton at 6:00AM, stopped at Longmire at 8:00 and was heading up the trail from Paradise by 9:00. (The gate above Longmire is staying open at night now unless there's a significant snow fall over night that they need to clear.)

Snow conditions were good and there's a good boot path all the way to Panorama Point. From there it a mess of tracks heading up to Pebble Creek. Stopped there at 10:45 for a 20 minute break and some pictures. Saw the Boealps (I think) group down on the Nisqually Glacier heading out for a day of glacier travel and crevass rescue (part of the basic mountaineering course).

From here, it's just up. My extra weight and lack of aerobic conditioning became apparent above 8000'. I stuck it out but was very slow. Got to Camp Muir at 3:00PM. Hand lunch and headed down at 3:45. Took an hour to get to Pebble Creek and another 45 minutes to get back to Paradise (5:30PM).

Back home by 8:15PM. Good exercise outing. Good weather (above Pebble Creek). Not that many people out.

The snowbanks are melting out fast, but they still rise to car-top height above Narada Falls. Snow extends from the Paradise Glacier on up, but more and more terrain is becoming visible around the high points of McClure Rock and Moon Rocks. Sunday was a pretty busy day, with very little wind and gorgeous views of the southern volcanoes. Lots of folks were heading up in skis or on split snowboards. There was almost no wind at Muir, and it was great to stretch out in the sunshine. Warning, don't forget to remove your watch while slathering on the suncream. I have watchband-width burn on my wrist. Others in the party report back-of-the-knee burns and burns behind the ears. It can be toasty up there.

Tex

Saturday was a wonderful day at Rainier. The ride in, although long, was relieved by the sight of numerous elk near the roadside. So near, in fact, that I slowed down partly to see the elk and partly to gain an edge should one of these beasts demand road priviledges. The first patch of snow near the road showed up near Longmont, and the banks rose to above car-height well before Narada Falls. At 7:00 there were only a few cars in the Paradise parking lot. I was aghast to find that I'd left the sunscreen at home, but a couple snowboarders were kind enough to share some SPF 40 and save my day - thanks guys!

I started out without snowshoes, but as soon as the trail got above the snow-play area then my feet started plunging through the crust. I turned around for my snowshoes. It was a marginal decision - generally the footing seemed pretty good and many others climbed just in boots and gaitors. Today's lesson: prolonged side-hilling in snow shoes can be hard on the toes.

At the start of the hike there was a thin plume of cloud coming off the top of Rainier. By the time I hit Pan Point that plume had turned into a stack of clouds that appeared to be taller than it was wide, which I think means that the climbers were experiencing some pretty stiff winds on top. At about 9:30 an big avalanche came down the ice falls above the Nisqually Glacier. The Muir snowfield was safe, but the avalanche was amazing to see. It had certain lifelike aspects; amoeba-like ""pseudopods"" that appeared to extend from and then contract back to the main body of snow. Admittedly, it is an unusual amoeba that covers acres and moves with the sound of jet engines roaring.

It was windy and slightly cloudy at Muir. Conditions were cold enough to cause another eat-and-run lunch at the camp. There were fewer folks on the way up than usual, but even so I counted about 120 people while descending between Muir and Pan Point. Many, perhaps most, were carrying skis or snowboards. It can't have been fun dragging that kind of a ""sail"" in those windy conditions.

Conditions were very different below Pan Point, the sun was baking the lower slopes. Deep ""mashed potato"" snow cover prevailed. It was a great glissade down off the Point, and the soaking helped alleviate the temperatures. Driving down from Paradise I noticed quite a few spontaneous sluffs forming on the steeper road cuts, and quite a few rocks had rolled out onto the road.

It was a beautiful day of sunshine, with distant Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens and the Goat Rocks poking thru a thick sea of clouds! Broke thru the cloud cover just above Panorama Point at 7,200'. Nothing but sunshine the rest of the way. Very windy on the Muir snowfield. Snow very inconsistent. Crusty in some places, but very soft in others. Our trail had already been filled with spindrift upon our return. Lots of snow on the Mountain. In fact, Paradise had more snow than I ever recall seeing.

Only about half a dozen people (probably less) made it to Muir. This was certainly due to the gate at Longmire not being opened until 10:15 a.m., despite only a dusting of snow overnight. Left the parking lot at 11:40 (yikes!) and arrived at Muir at 3:20. Back down to the parking lot at 5:15.

Don Geyer

Went up to Muir with the multitudes of people on Tuesday the 19th and summited at sunrise on Wednesday the 20th. Not a cloud in the sky, light winds, and relatively warm temperatures for the summit.

Trail to Muir snowfield was excellent as always. Low clouds hovering between 4500 and 7000 feet. They made for a nice a cool ascent to the snowfield. Higher, it was clear sunshine and all the lower clouds burned off by sunset. Few bugs but one huge fly bit my hand and it is still swollen there! At least I was able to smash it. The Muir snowfield is melted out to ice in a large portion, a reflection of the warm summer we have been having. The lower parts of other glaciers are also melted out pretty good.

Woke up at 12:15 and began the ascent at 12:45. Stars everywhere, the moon shining bright, and the lights of the Yakima valley in the distance. The route is good shape with the boot track well in place. The cleaver was good and the wanded route avoided most areas of loose rock. Afterwards the route traverses over to the Emmons Glacier where the lights of the Seattle metro area can be seen.

The guides put up a fixed line in a couple sketchy spots in the upper part of the glacier climb. One party was departing the summit at sunrise which seemed odd. A group of three climbers and my team of three were the next to reach the summit. For five minutes I was within the alpenglow with all the snow around me red. An amazing experience. We stayed for an hour after sunrise enjoying the views up to Baker in the north and down to Jefferson in the south. It was nice to do the route and be at the top with few people around.

6 hrs to the Columbia Crest summit from Muir and 3 hrs down. Everybody who made the summit, which was less than half of those at the camp, came from the DC route. The quick slide and hike down to Paradise was very enjoyable in the clear blue skies and the giant Rainier looming from everywhere. I arrived at the parking lot tired, more so from lack of sleep than anything, at 1:30 pm. An enjoyable trip up an awesome mountain and a sunrise I will not forget!

Climbed Mt. Rainier Saturday with perfect weather (not too sunny, not too cloudy, no wind except for summit, not too hot, not too cold). The Disappointment Cleaver route currently traverses all the way over to the Emmons glacier which makes it a very long walk for one day. The Paradise flowers look OK, but I think they might be passing their peak. Lots of biting flies at Paradise.

Mt Rainier Climbing Trip June 11-13,2003

Even though the mountains can be shaken and the hills can be removed, my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor will my covenant of peace be removed, says the lord, who has compassion on you. So this is a story you have to hear. You all know me well enough now to understand that in my life things don’t come easy. Well my adventure to the top of this mountain was no different. On Wednesday June 11th at 9 am 6 Christian climbers and I left Paradise trail head with 50+ pounds on our backs. We had blue skies above and tee-shirts on for a 7 hour assent to base camp. My teammates included Mark Fisher (our team leader) a missionary working in Ecuador for the past 15 years, David Diehl a Pastor at Maple Valley Pres in Seattle, his daughter Alissa, a doctor, her new husband Paul Camden, Mark Benson an amputee engineer for Siemens and Annette Day (our team Mom) the one who got me into this mess. The assent to Muir was no more than walking up slippery stairs for 7 hours. The captivating views took your mind off the monotony and the soreness. By the time we reached Base Camp I had inherited about 15 pounds and I was desperate for some rest, food and water. Annette made sure I got all three. After a sunset only a few have seen, we talked from tent to tent till we drifted off to sleep in the thin mountain air. We woke up early, made pancakes with peanut butter and got ready for a day of crevasse rescue training. Before we left, Fisher’s son Rian and his friend Josh arrived on the scene. They had climbed through the night to join us. We roped up and hiked only a few hundred yards to a small opening in the glacier. Most of the team spent a few hours baking in the sun. However, Paul and I got the chance to cool off while we hung in the cool air of the crevasse. When we returned to camp we received news that would alter our original plans of leaving for the summit that night at midnight. Weather reports had come in stating that sometime early Friday morning the blue skies and warm temps would change to snow and freezing. We decided to try and beat the weather and start our summit around 3 pm. I can’t remember the last time I felt butterflies in my stomach. I don’t get nervous. That kind of gives you an idea of how intense this adventure was. It quickly became time for us to gear up. Loading our packs with food, water and extra layers, we tried not to forget a single detail. Mom made sure to remind us of everything as she checked all our equipment. Each of us had the following: Climbing Harness with Locking Beener (+1) Chest Harness and Beener Ice Axe and Crampons (spikes for boots) Prussic and Texas Prussic (safety lines) Outer gear and Gators (Gore-tex layer) Sunglasses or Ski Goggles and Helmet Under Layer, Fleece layer, Hat, Gloves, Scarf Accent Pack 3 liters of water Food (4 Cliff Bars, 2 Goo’s, 3 candy bars) Head Lamp and Knife Wands to mark our trail We were to head out in two teams. One line was to be Josh (lead), Alissa, Paul, and Dave. The other was Rian (lead), me, Mark, and Fisher. All of us gathered for prayer and before I knew it we were on our way. It only took 45 minutes to reach the Ingraham Glacier. The direct route up the glacier was the approach we had decided to venture up. Josh, after climbing all night and not getting much rest, decided to return to base camp. The rest of us surged on towards the summit. During the next hour we were faced with 4 endless crevasses. I mean endless. We crossed over them on mini ice bridges. One of which was 3 feet wide and 15 ft long that spanned across a gap that I could not see the bottom of (its where I took the picture below). The next 1000 ft consisted of a narrow ice stairwell that you had to place one foot in front of the other. This is also the time it began to snow. For the first time I felt cold, so I put on my fleece. We now were 2 hours from the top (2000 ft). Little did I know what would be in store for us in the next few hours. At about 12,500 ft the second group decided to turn back. The visibility was about 100 ft and the wind had picked up to 30 mph. My rope team gathered together and decided we were all fine. I remember stating that I had been in worse conditions back in Cleveland. We took stock of our food and water, put our last layer on, and headed up. With about 1000 ft to go, my adrenaline was flowing. The winds had increased, visibility was down to 70 ft and it was getting dark. This was an unfortunate combination for me. I was ready to go but the conditions slowed down the team. My body wasn’t working as hard so my body temp began to drop. I was getting cold fast. It didn’t help things much when we hit the crater rim (the top) and the winds were up to 60 mph. Rian and I immediately began to look for thermal caves. These are caves formed by steam escaping through the glaciers. It only took us minutes to find one and dive 25 ft down into it. It was shocking. I was 25 feet under tons of ice, at the top of a mountain, in a white out blizzard… freezing to death. Really…to death. I was becoming hypothermic. I was cold from the core out. The boys huddled around me to warm me up and ask God for some guidance. We were faced with a tough decision. Could we make it down in these conditions or should we shelter up and wait till the weather passes? I remembered saying to myself once, while watching the Discovery Channel, I would never just sit there and freeze… I would at least go out trying. We tried a cell call with no success to find out if the weathers would let up and possibly inform someone we may stay in the cave. So after 2 hours we were decided. We were gonna go down. I wasn’t ready for what was waiting for me at the surface of the cave. Winds that could have blown me off the mountain, visibility of 5 ft, and temperatures in the teens truly scared me. We were lead by Rian (19) quickly down the first 500 ft. The weather was so bad that I could not see Rain’s foot prints in the snow. He was only 40 ft in front of me. He was in God’s grip. To find his wands (trail markers he placed on the way up) in those conditions was...unexplainable? I mean I was struggling to keep my goggles clean, he wasn’t even wearing any. All I know is a half hour later we were 1000ft down and out of the weather. I was now warm and a smile of relief hit my soul. Thanks God! We reached base camp at 3:30 am and were welcomed by a very worried group as well as some strong winds and snow. Once under my vestibule I had the chance to see myself. I was covered by a thin coating of ice. I had to pour hot water over my boots and zippers to free them up. As I undressed I had time to take a deep breath and realize we were safe. Cuddled up in my mummy bag, I remember someone stating, “I bet you regretted that decision.” My reply was a huge smile and a rock solid No. During this adventure it was obvious that my faith was being tested. I can truly say I never felt myself slip from his grip. He was there and for the first time I knew it. Recently after hurting my ankle I lost my faith for a moment. This story will echo in my head if ever I doubt again.

Weather conditions when we started out from Paradise at 12:45 were OK. Visibility was not great but good enough. Started out without snowshoes but before long found it easier with them – since we were planning to overnight at Camp Muir we were carrying extra weight.

Getting up the avalanche chute just below Panorama Point wasn't too difficult, but definitely easier for wearing snowshoes. There had been a few inches of fresh snow at Paradise the night before, and this got deeper as we got higher.

The conditions had grown gradually worse and by the time we stopped for a break at about 7500 feet, the wind was blowing the snow sideways. On with the rainpants in addition to the jackets we'd put on earlier. We headed on upwards, then turned back briefly thinking conditions were not inviting, and then changed our minds again, deciding that we had plenty of time and could turn back later and still have time to find a sheltered camp site lower down.

We persevered and by the time we got to about 8500 feet conditions had improved significantly. Onward and upward and we began seeing blue sky, intermittently at first and then much more consistently. Our pace slowed as we got higher. Suddenly we realised there was NO WIND !! Conditions now were verging on great. Still a little chilly but with full raingear on we were plenty warm. Snow conditions for snowshoeing were really good.

We made it up to Muir around 6:30 and skies above were clear, although plenty of cloud lower down and still no wind. There were a group of 5 or 6 guys from Minnesota already in the hut who were planning to summit early next morning. Another group of 3 climbers arrived at about 8:15. We got up a couple of times during the night when our hut mates were up and about. It was very cold. Snow gathered earlier in a plastic shopping bag for melting and left in the hut did not change its consistency at all during the night. At 4am it was still, extremely cold, and oh, so clear. I have never seen so many stars. It may have been the first time I've clearly seen the Milky Way. Unfortunately, even with three layers on my lower half and five including a down jacket on my upper half, I could only stay outside for a few minutes.

Two of the climbers returned at about 9am – they'd made it to the Gib Ledges but one of them was feeling pretty awful so they'd decided to turn back. As we were leaving around 11am we could see the remaining climbers on their way back down. Not sure if they made it to the top or not.

Conditions were spectacular – when we'd arisen around 8:30 it was clear – fabulous views of Adams, St Helens, Hood and Jefferson. By the time we started down there were some clouds lower down and in the distance but still brilliant blue skies around us. It was hot. We made good progress going down. We could see swarms of people along all visible points of the trail from Paradise. The consistency of the snow was still very good for snowshoeing and made the going easy.

We had a long, leisurely break for lunch just above Pan Point and enjoyed the sun (probably a bit too much judging by my colour today !). By this time the snow was getting a little more slushy. We took off snowshoes about a mile before Paradise since the volume of people going up had compacted the trail, but the last quarter mile we were postholing probably due to the warm conditions.

This was a fabulous trip – my first visit to Muir – gorgeous conditions, only a handful of people at the camp. Spectacular views both earthly and heavenly. I can only hope my next visit won't be too much of an anti-climax in comparison.

High Pressure system and sunny skies, had to take advantage of it! The road up to Paradise was in great condition, I made it in a Jeep without traction tires and didn't use 4wheel drive. As usual for this year there is an alarmingly low snopack at Paradise. Started at 10am with temps at Paradise in the low 30's or upper 20's. The snow was in great conditions for skiing or snowboarding, wind crust on top with dry powder underneath. Didn't bring snowshoes because didn't want the weight, but it would have been nice at some times especially below Panorama Point and in the small valley's where the wind had distributed snow. Turned around at Anvil Rock at 2pm because the wind was blowin' feirce (spindrift comming off Anvil and Moon rocks). We took our time on the descent taking in the views of this wonderfully sunny day. Stats: about 7 miles with 4000+ft elevation gain. Great day to get above 8,000ft!!!

A group of us are climbing Kilimanjaro in February so we headed down to Muir to get some altitude in. Of course, summit of Kilimanjaro is at 19,000ft but you take what you can get.

Five of us, Dean (Super Husband), Luann (Burly Girl), Laura (Mountain Woman), Ernie (Super Stud), and myself (pseudo burly girl) started climbing around 9:15am. It was a beautiful, sunny day. I started out without my jacket, it was that nice. However, the wind picked up pretty quickly and the jacket came on soon after. There were some icy spots on the trail but I think any new snow would pretty much solve that problem. Didn't use snowshoes or crampons. The first in the group reached Muir in about 3hrs15min. I took up the rear at about 3hrs30min.

This was my first time doing Muir in the winter and it was fun. Pick the right day and it may be better than in the summer. We had awesome views of the Cascades and sister volcanoes. I was surprised that we pretty much had the trail all to ourselves all the way up to Muir.

Hmmm... You know what? It's cold at 10,000ft in January. Who would've thunk it?

Earlier this week, the plan (vain hope) was to climb Rainier on Friday and Saturday, but that was when the forecast was for 12,000ft freezing levels and no precip till Sunday. Well, that changed, so I took my only chance for a workout and headed to Muir today, Friday.

The gate at Longmire was opened at about 8:50AM. I wasn't started hiking until about 9:30. Considering that it is dark by 5 and the gate at Longmire is locked again at 6, one is forced to make good time this time of year to make it to Muir and back in a day, but it is possible, particularly if you board or ski down (which I didn't).

The snow was extremely crusty, especially down low. I didn't even take snowshoes and certainly didn't need them. In fact, once I reached the relatively steep gully up to Panorama Point, I put my crampons on (highly recommended until we get new snow, tomorrow, oh well). This 30 degree gully is about the only thing about this hike that is actually somewhat interesting. For some reason there were no other footsteps when I was there, so it actually almost felt like climbing. I was making quite good time, but by about 9000ft the elevation was affecting me (I haven't left sea level in like two and a half months). Finally, about 10 minutes from the huts, I stopped for a breather and had a simultaneous elevation and coldness attack (I've never been that cold before) and wheeled right around and started down out of pure misery. I was lucky though that there wasn't nearly as much wind as I thought there would be, just a light breeze really.

Oh well, my only real purpose for this hike was as a workout, and that I got. Other people were making it, more prepared in the clothing department. I was fairly miserable on the way down, due to the fact that I was too cold to stop for food or water (my lips were so numb that I couldn't eat without biting them or drink without spilling water all over myself, not cool). I was starting to worry just a little bit about frostbite (I couldn't feel my face), so yeah I turned around a few minutes from the top, wanna fight!?

I got to the entrance about 0830 and got lucky because they don't open the gate at longmire till 0900.Due to no snow there's not much rd work needs to be done.I started up the thin ice covered trail knowing it will be a long day.I had my ice axe but wished I had my spikes on.The trail is packed ice so I didn't need snow shoes and if your thinking about skiing I would wait till it snows.The trail is a sheet of ice and bare rock to the camp.It felt like it was 80 out in the sun or more! I saw Mt Adams,and friends it was the first time I saw Mt Hood from here .I have been here a few time so the air was pretty good.I got up to the camp and wanted to rest but,I got a weird feeling so I headed down, about a mile and half down I heard this crashing sound and look back and saw a BIG chunk of ice falling down.There were 4 people that were on there way up and stop to look up.I think they were day hikers and might of changed their minds, because they where still there after 10 min and had not moved,but I didn't stick around to find out. WE NEED SNOW..............

Got an early start before daylight. The wind was blowing about 10-20 mph at Paradise. As soon as the sun came up it died down. Got to Pebble Creek in an hour and a half. Took a break, then immediately hit hard ice. We decided to put on the crampons and head straight up the ice instead of following the trail through the rock. Saw a couple of hikers but that was all. We brought all the gear to practice crevasse rescue. So the packs were pretty heavy. After negotiating a few crevasses on the upper snowfield we got to Muir in 6 hours. Brewed up some soup, sat in the sun, and kicked it for a while. Saw Ed Viesturs and two climbing partners. Pretty cool day. Hardly any people, beautiful weather, and a chance to practice some technique. We headed down finally, going far right to try to avoid the crevasses. They are plentiful and getting wider. I popped into a small one up to my knee. Couldn't see it. Haven't seen that many crevasses on The Muir Snowfield ever. It was kinda of nerve racking. Got down in 2.5 hours just as the sun was setting. Pretty cool day for October.

Camp Muir has been on my list for some time. I didn't think I would make it this year, but at 4:30 A.M. on Saturday the 12th, it was clear this was the day. I packed and left by 5:30, unfortunately leaving the trekking poles behind.

I arrived at Paradise at 8:00a, only the tenth car there. Conditions were lottery perfect for an October day - crystal clear skies, fresh snow still on the upper meadow trees, and a good splash of fall color.

The Skyline approach trail to the Camp Muir route was icy in spots, but not dangerous.

The lower snowfields, just above Pebble Creek, still had quite a bit of new snow on them and the going was easy - the only delay being the many photo ops. At just below ~9000 the snow field turns predominantly to ice.

The most difficult section was the next 500' or so of elevation gain. It is passable without crampons, axes, or trekking poles. The route is perfect for poles - and probably the place to put them to the test - or to learn to use your crampons.

The biggest crevasse I encountered was at the top of this section.

I had been advised by other parties to stay to the right side of the snow field and this worked well - the approach was not quite as steep as the direct one and all of the crevasses, with the exception of the first, were step across size.

I arrived at Camp Muir, elev. 10,200, 6 hours after leaving Paradise, tired but also not so fatigued due good pacing.

Upon descent I twisted my left ankle trying to catch the slipped footing of my right. This was at ~8500 feet, just below the most difficult section. I heard the ankle pop as I went down and the initial pain was intense. The damage done was probably due to my weight as much as fatigue - and probably would not have occured had I taken a break after the tough descent section, or brought my poles.

Other scramblers were quite gracious - but I was able to walk, albeit s l o w l y. The consensus advice was to lace up the boots tightly and take Ibuprofen - which worked, thank you very much.

I arrived at Paradise just as the last of the red was fading to the west. I almost ended up at the Alta Vista visitors center due the maze of trails near the parking lot. I was fortunately saved by my Black Diamond headlamp with freshly charged NIMH AAA's

From sunrise to sunset still a perfect solo hike, even if right at my limits. If there was any lesson to be learned it is that we need a list of essentials for scramble caliber hikes - and that trekking poles should be on that list.

Blew right through my alarm clock and didn't leave Renton until 7:30. My wimpy brother bailed out on me at the last minute (something about a new crown and an excited tooth not liking altitude all that well). Oh well. Decided to take a chance on the weather. Glad that I did. It turned out to be a beautiful day on the mountain up until the end.

The hike to Pebble Creek is bare trail. Took a little over an hour to get there from Paradise. From there it's a mixture of old snow, bare rocks and stretches that resemble a wet ice cube. Took ~2 and a half hours to get to Muir from Pebble Creek. Skys were clear but the wind picked up a bit as I approached Camp Muir. My guess is that they were in the 20 - 30 MPH range with higher gusts at times. BTW - There are a couple of open fissures to step across. One ~ 9200' and one ~9500'.

One of the more interesting persons I saw was the guy in running shoes, wearing a cotton sweat shirt without ice axe or treking poles on his way down. Didn't look like he was having the most fun.

Trip down was a little slower then usual because of the less than ideal footing conditions. Took ~ 2 hours to get down.

Right on que, the clouds from the valley boiled up ~ 7000' just as I descended from Pebble Creek around 4:00.

Nice day.

Three of us left the Paradise parking lot at 10:20 a.m. in fog, which we broke out of at about 7,000' level and continued in unbroken sun up Skyline Trail on bare ground with the last of the flowers in bloom. We first hit snow at or slightly after Pebble Creek. Snow was quite firm with a lot of steps already kicked in. There were a few individuals or small groups like ours, and a couple of RMI groups. All the lowlands were in clouds so only peaks over 7,000' were in view, including a hazy view of Mt. St. Helens and a clearer view of Mt. Baker. We arrived at Camp Muir at about 2:20, having made numerous stops to adjust equipment, take pictures, etc.

Not too crowded at Muir - and pleasantly sunny, with our thermometer reaching 76 degrees in direct sun out of the wind. There was one fly buzzing us just below Muir, that was all. We spent about 2 hours there.

It took us three hours to return to the Paradise parking lot, with a few minutes spent here and there glissading with great delight and admiring the views, and the occasional meander off the correct trail onto, for instance, the Skyline Trail loop away from the direct return to Paradise...

The parking lot was uncrowded when we arrived at 10:00 a.m.; we got a parking space in the first tier closest to the trailhead and restrooms. There still were many empty spots when we returned at about 7:40 p.m.

The trail to Pebble Creek is still mostly snow- covered, but there are many bare patches. There are meadow areas with many flowers in bloom, so this is a good time to do this hike. Most people had just ski poles, including 100% of the RMI group. Ice axes are not needed, except maybe on the steep slopes just above Pebble Creek. There were some deer flies at the lowest elevations. The trail is well flagged and not hard to follow, but you should always have map and compass on the Muir snow field in case clouds move in, as they did briefly on this trip.

We left Paradise on a beautiful sunny day with a nice and smooth walk up to Muir. After a water break, we harnessed up and went over to Ingraham flats to be joined by others attempting a summit bid later that night. After trying to sleep a bit, we awoke to a huge rumble of the ice fall letting us know she was there. We started our climb at 1:30am to be quickly joined by so many other climbing teams. We were really backed up just past the ice fall and at the lower portion of the D.C. It was a very slow progress to get to the top, taking over 2 hours. Things were better at the top of the DC as people began to spread out more and adjust their pace. The sunrise was INCREDIBLE! The mountain was out in all her glory! The route and snow conditions were good and we finally made it to the summit at 8:00am. We spent a hour and fifteen minutes and then began the long and steep decent. By the time we got to the cleaver, the snow was really soft and made for an uncomfortable, slippery decent.Happy to be off and through the ice fall, we picked up our gear and went up and over the rocks and back to Muir, and heading to the truck.We finally got there at 6:30pm- just 17 hours after beginning our climb. It was a great climb with extraordinary weather and great friends!!! What an incredible experience:)

Time for the final trip to Camp Muir in preparation for our summit attempt in less than two weeks! The other two teams of this year's Climb for Clean Air will be summitting this coming weekend!!!

Trail leaves Paradise on snow and occasional patches of pavement. Between Glacier Vista and Pebble Creek longer stretches of the 'summer trail' emerge from the snow. As always, the route to Camp Muir is entirely on the Muir Snowfield from Pebble Creek on.

The high clouds and cool breeze helped to keep temperatures on the solar oven that is the Muir Snowfield to a minimum. The views of Adams, Hood, St. Helens etc. were spectacular. The route was in excellent condition, well beaten-in and consolidated.

We (and our 40 lb. packs) reached Muir in four hours and 55 minutes. The breeze was consistently brisk and cool at 10,188'. After a 30 min. break, we glissaded down most of the snowfield. We were all pleased with our performance, the weather, and the conditions. It was a great confidence boost as we approach the ultimate test on July 19th and 20th!

As always, photos are available at www.dvandkq.net

One couldn't ask for a better day of climbing. Weather was sunny, but not too hot. The uphill path was well established, requiring little to no kicking out of our own steps. It was cold and breezy at Muir, especially after the long hike up.

Our squad of skiers and snowboarders got some stellar sliding in despite the somewhat late start and very slow huffing and puffing on the way to Muir. First thousand down was stellar sliding, with a nice corn layer and very small sun cups. From there to pebble creek was a little more mushy. All in all, well worth slogging the gear up.

Only small patches of the trail to pebble creek is clear of snow.

Another ""unofficial"" Climb for Clean Air training hike took us to Camp Muir on the most beautiful day of the year so far. I was sure that the warm temperatures and blazing sun would turn the route into slush as the day wore on, however the snow remained firm all day long. Not firm enough to allow any glissading, however. Besides, it was too darn hot to put on plastic pants.

There are a few melted out patches between Paradise and Pebble Creek, but 99% of the trail up to Pebble is still on snow. As always, the trail from Pebble up to Camp Muir is on snow.

Considering the weather, I was amazed at how few day hikers were enjoying the cloudless skies, and how few climbers were hanging around Camp Muir resting for their summit attempt.

We saw one guy in cotton pants and tennis shoes, but everyone else seemed to know where they were and what they were doing. That is sure to change as the summer progresses.

Only four more weeks until our summit attempt!

Photos from this and other training hikes can be seen at www.dvandkq.net