Climbing Mt. Rainier story by Joe Megaw

Executive Summary

Our guides woke us at ten minutes passed midnight after the long and difficult hike up to Muir the previous afternoon. The climb would take us across glaciers, up the crumbling rocks of Disappointment Cleaver, past deep crevices, and finally up the steep slopes of the Upper Emmons glacier.

The silence was deafening, the darkness blinding. We climbed though the night, rising ever so slowly, until we could see the entire city of Yacama floating in the darkness 60 miles east. Our headlamps became a delicate string of lights strung out along the mountain.

We marched on, climbing higher and higher into the darkness, past pale blue ice formations bathed in moonlight. The horizon began to take on a deep red glow in anticipation of dawn. The air was still and cold, broken only by the sound of our crampons crunching in the snow. Sunrise found us at 13,500 ft, only an hour from our goal.

The thin air near the top took its toll on us all. Each step was an act of will, each breath a gasp for air. The mountain seemed to go on forever. When we finally reached the summit at 7:30am, we were both exhausted and exhilarated. We looked down on the entire North West, from Mt. Jefferson to Mt. Baker. It was a climb we will always remember.

Full Blown Story

Bill, Jerry, Steve, and I were standing on the 14,410 ft summit of Mt. Rainier at 7:30am Monday August 30th, 1993. We had absolutely perfect weather for the climb.

First I ought to tell you a little about the training I did to prepare for this climb. I started training 2 to 3 months in advance of the climb. I started out doing intermediate hikes with a light day pack, and quickly started adding weight to the pack. I climbed up to Camp Muir 4 times that year (including the one for real). I borrowed Gary's 2.5 lb ankel weights for many hikes including 2 of the Miur Hikes. Near the end of the training I was carrying a 25 to 30 lb pack, wearing ankel weights, and doing 3000 to 5000 ft hikes every week. The last weekend before the hike I did a hike on both Saturday and Sunday (Dickerman and Si). I was also doing about an hour on the stair master here at work twice a week with a 50 lb pack. The toughest training hike was probably Mt. Pugh (5400 ft gain with 30 lb pack and ankel weights).

There were 8 of us who were really signed up and ready to do it. Dana Hiatt, Jill Lunn, Janie Sales, Nancy Egaas, Jerry Bowen, Bill Wolf, Steve, and me. Dana took a spil on Mt Pilchuck one week before the climb and damaged a ligament in her knee. Nancy didn't pass the climbing class because one of the instructors didn't like some of her self arrests, but she has since re-taken and passed the class and is scheduled for a sumit attempt on the 18th. I think both Dana and Nancy could have made the summit if they had been able to try. They both should get most of their money back.

On Saturday we had a full day climbing class where our REI guides showed us how to put on our boots, and crampons. They showed us how to use our ice axes to self arrest a fall. They also showed us how to travel in a rope team, and high altitude climbing techniques like preasure breathing, rest stepping, and the french flat foot climbing method.

We started the climb at 9:00am Sunday morning by signing in and getting a quick equipment check. Our lead guide, Art, introduced the rest of the guides, Leslie, Jeff, Persumba, Alex, and Aron. By 10:00 or so we were on our way up to Camp Muir. We took it very slow and easy up to Muir. We took three 15 minute "maintenance breaks" on the way up, but we still took about 5.5 hours to get to Muir.

At Muir things started to get rushed. We unpacked our sleeping bags and claimed our narrow slots in the bunk house. We received several lectures on what we were going to be doing in the next 12 hours. Then we practiced putting on climbing harnesses, helmets, and crampons. We were all assigned rope teams. I was to be on Persumba Sherpa's rope team. Persumba is a native of Tibet, and was born and raised over 14,000 ft. He was very easy going, and seemed to have a kind of Zen philosophy to mountain climbing. He told us "Never say you have conquered the mountain. The mountain is like a giant cookie and you have only found one way to the center. Each bite of the cookie requires different skills and techniques."

When the hot water was ready we all took time out for a quick dinner, then finished getting our gear ready for the next morning before turning in for the evening at around 6:30. The night passed fairly quickly, though I didn't sleep for more than a few minutes. At 12:10am Monday "morning" Art woke us all up by turning on the gas lanterns in the bunk house. The wind was blowing but the skies were clear and the moon was bright.

I tried to move as fast as I could. I ate breakfast and started getting dressed for the climb, but by the time I was putting on my crampons I was already running late. In my haste I discovered I had put both my crampons and my gators on the wrong feet, but I didn't have time to change them. I ran down and joined Persumba and my rope team already on the glacier. Somewhere about this time, I guess Janie decided she wasn't up to this Mountain climbing business and decided to stay at Muir. We waited for about 5 minutes more for some others who were running even later than I was and then started out over the Coulits glacier.

It was cold, but not bitter cold, and there was only a slight mountain breeze so we were only wearing 1 layer of wool or pile over our polypropolene underwear. The almost full moon was very bright, so we didn't even need our headlamps to see most of the time.

Somewhere just before we got to Ingraham flats Steve fell into a small crevass. It was covered with snow, and was only a few inches wide so he only went in up to his waist, but it must have given him quite a scare.

By the time we had gotten to Ingraham flats three others (including Jill, and Hazel) had decided to call it quits so Art decided that Persumba would take them all back to Muir. That meant that I had to be moved onto Alex's rope team where Hazel had been so that she could take my spot with Persumba. Others on my rope (who wanted to continue) were similarly re-assigned. Alex had kind of a smart-alec, easy-going personality. He had just come back from an 8000 meter climb in China, so this climb must have been pretty easy for him. In fact I could hear him yawning almost the whole way up. Right behind me was a 17 year old guy named Ben, followed by somebody else, followed by Bill.

The next leg of the climb took us up Disappointment Cleaver. It was kind of difficult climbing up the steep rocks in crampons. Someone said that it was kind of like walking on gravel in high heels. The Cleaver was one of the most difficult parts of the climb because of the steep rocks and the danger of avalanches. It took us about an hour and 45 minutes to reach the top of the Cleaver where we took our second break at about 4:30am.

>From that point on we were climbing entirely on the upper Emmons glacier, circling around towards the north-east as the horizon took on a deep red glow in anticipation of sunrise. It didn't feel like I on the same planet anymore. The strange red glow, and moonlight illuminating the deep blue ice formations towering over me and deep crevices looming below me made me feel like I was exploring another planet. This feeling just got stronger as we continued to climb up the mountain to our final break at 13,500 ft.

The final break spot was on a steep glacier where RMI had cut ledges into the snow for us to sit down. We ate and drank what we could while we watched the sun come up over the horizon. It was a beautiful sight, even at 6:00 in the morning.

We continued on for our final assent up the mountain. We were moving very slowly now, but the thin air made every step a challenge. For me, this was the most difficult part of the climb. I was taking one full pressure breath per step, and still felt winded. The mountain seemed as if it would go on forever. Finally we reached the summit at 7:30 and were able to look down into the crater of Mt. Rainier.

I had wanted to go on, across the crater to Columbia Crest, the true summit. But that last leg of the climb left me unsure. Alex looked at me and advised I stay here because if I had gone over to the crest, I would have not gotten any break at the top. I wasn't in the mood to argue. Only Jerry and Bill made the journey over to the crest. Steve looked and probably felt worse than I did. Steve ended up using two of those infamous little blue bagies. I lounged around in the warm sunshine, took lots of pictures, ate, drank, and put on some sun screen. When Jerry and Bill got back we posed for a few obligatory group photo's before roping up for the long trip back down at around 8:30.

We went down quickly. The sun was very warm, though it was probably still below freezing. I was sweating even though I had stripped down to my light weight polypropaline undershirt. We took only two breaks coming down, one at the top of the Cleaver, and another at Ingraham flats. Jill, Janie, and Persumba cheered us on as we came back down into Muir just before noon.

The decent down to Paradise also went very quickly, it took us only about 2 hours, so we were there by 3:00. It felt great to be back where they had real air to breath and even though my feet were beginning to blister and I stomped down to the guide house with a smile on my face.

After we picked up our Summit Certificates we discovered that our climbing party had the fastest climbing time and the earliest time back into Paradise of any party yet that year. No wonder I was so tired. I drove home with Steve, but we decided to stop at a little burger joint just outside of the park that Art had recomended. When we pulled into the parking lot we saw some familiar faces. Bill and Jerry had stopped as well, and so had Hazel. We talked and munched on delicously unhealthy burgers, fries, and shakes and we all had a good laugh thanks to Steve as he hobbled over to the telephone in his long johns to call Vivian. We met again in Belevue where we tromped triumphantly into the E&A office dispite Jeff's best efforts to keep us out.