For a video of our trip, check out the link!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXItkt6Xz_Q
Elevation gain: 8790 ft
Mileage: 15 miles round trip
Let me start by saying that we talked to about every single ranger to figure out how to check in as the normal building was unoccupied. This was frustrating, so we wrote all our information/confirmation on our pass and left it at the desk.
With our rope party of 3, we headed out from Paradise Thursday 7/16/2020 at noon. The weather was warm with a few clouds, which gradually increased mid-afternoon, limiting visibility to an extent. We skinned up with splitboards about 2 miles into the hike, which was somewhat difficult because the snow had many "mini moguls" and didn't grip as much as we'd like, also more difficult to skin up than if the snow had been level, but we made it ok.
Camp Muir was absolutely empty other than one guided group of 10, which was a fantastic surprise! We had intended to stay at Ingraham Flats but since it was getting late, cold, and we were exhausted, we stayed at Muir (only because it wasn't packed as usual).. It is not advised to change your itinerary. The sunset and stars were phenomenal, with the milky way present and multiple shooting stars.
Not being in a rush, we left Muir the next morning at 11 am and got to Ingraham Flats at 12:45 pm, pretty easy hike with good trail. From here we dug out a flat spot to camp above the guided group, who had followed us up. Made some water, ate some lunch and practiced some ropes and 3:1 "Z" pulley system, then got all our gear prepped for an early start to the summit.
Went to bed around 7:30 pm and woke up at 11 pm. All three of us noted that we'd sweat a good amount while trying to sleep, it wasn't all that cold. Again, the stars were out as we roped up and headed over to the Disappointment Cleaver at 12:30 am, stepping over a small crevasse to get there. We made a mistake by not shortening our rope for this segment, as it was very difficult to navigate the Cleaver at night when your team is separated by ~30 feet of rope (we shortened the rope for the descent).
The rest of the "trail" was pretty well navigable with flags to show the way, and some crampon spike marks in the ice/snow. We walked around most crevasses easily, and stepped over about two crevasses (about 1 foot wide) with care, "around" 12500 and 13500 ft elevation. The sunrise was incredible as we continued climbing! Wow, that made the whole trip worth it.
We summited at 6:30 am (6 hour climb) and were the first to do so that day! It was COLD, WINDY, and COLD at the summit, so we took a few pics and got some shelter on the warm summit rocks next to the "sign in" box. Ate a snack, took a short nap, and then headed back to Ingraham. The descent took two hours, as we passed by all the crevasses and ice sculptures we weren't able to see well on the ascent. Stunning!
After returning to Camp Muir, we tried to splitboard down, but as I said before, the snow was not good conditions for this. Many skiers and boarders struggled down the hill as they fell after every few turns. This descent to Paradise took much longer than anticipated as we weren't able to just cruise down (I took the board off and walked/jogged).
Overall incredible trip. Worth the pain, exhaustion, dehydration, and malnutrition for sure.
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