• Recipes
    • Search my Recipes
    • Recipe Categories
  • Lifestyle
  • Fitness
  • Nutrition
  • |
  • About
  • Work With Me
    • Brand partnerships
    • Nutrition Coaching

Home » Fitness » Hiking

February 22, 2017

Summiting Mt. Rainier in Summer

by Anne Mauney, MPH, RD

16 comments
share this post:
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Email

Hey guys! Since my brother Steve’s last guest post about his epic winter ascent of Mt. Hood was such a hit, he’s back to share another guest post, this time about summiting Mt. Rainier last summer!

mt rainier summit climb success

Want to save this post?

Enter your email below and get it sent straight to your inbox. Plus, I'll send you great content every week!

Save Recipe

I’ll let him take it away – thanks for sharing with us, Steve! (Psst: while you’re at it, check out my recap from the Mt. St. Helens summit hike Matt and I did with Steve back in October – most intense hike of my life!)

Summiting Mt. Rainier
A guest post by Anne’s brother Steve

Climbing Mt. Rainier has been on my list of things to do since I moved to Washington State – you can see the mountain super clearly from Ft. Lewis (where I’m stationed). I can remember it being a welcome sight as it towered over everything when I took my first trip out here back in 2008. As a result, when a friend of mine from mentioned that he was putting together a Mt. Rainier trip, I jumped at the opportunity to tag along. Pictured below is Mt. Rainier in the background of a hike Anne and I did back in late summer of 2015 (here’s a link to her blog recap from that: Hiking Mount Rainier National Park).

mount-rainier-national-park-pinnacle-saddle_thumb

Summiting Mt. Rainier requires a bit more equipment than I had, though, even with all of the military gear I’ve been issued. So, I had to pick up/rent a bunch of new stuff. Pictured below is my packing list:

gear needed to summit mt rainier

I brought the half-rope (30 meter 8.5mm rope) for rescue/emergency; we used a 60 meter 10mm rope that my buddy Dustin (the most experienced of us) brought. Ended up cutting two of the MREs out and it was just enough food for 3 days, two nights. I had a bunch of Larabars, which I like a lot because even when they freeze they don’t get hard, so you can still chew them. Also had a lot of Gatorade gel packs, which are great for immediate energy. Pictured is my pack with everything in it:

backpack for mt rainier summit hike

We left early on the morning of June 27th, getting to the mountain and registered by about 9:30. To climb Mt. Rainier, you go and fill out an info sheet for your party, pay a fee, and then get an annual climbing pass for the mountain. We started from Paradise, which is the main lodge area on the mountain and had tons of people hanging out and staying there for day hikes. Pictured below is Rainier from Paradise.

view of mt rainier from paradise

The route up to Camp Muir goes along some pretty well-trafficked paths for a bit, basically taking you up to the Muir Snowfields, which is the final part of the route going up to Camp Muir. We started out in hiking shoes with no trekking poles and then switched to heavier boots and poles as we hit the snowfield.

mt rainier hike muir snowfields

We had a bit of an emergency when one of Dustin’s shoulder straps ripped out from his bag. He repaired it with parachute cord tied to the frame and used it the remainder of the trip. We were pretty worried, as if he hadn’t been able to fix it, he would’ve been without a bag for the rest of the trip! This is a photo of the repair:

repair a climbing bag with a parachute cord rainier

The Muir snowfields get pretty steep, so poles were very helpful. Didn’t use crampons, though, as it was mostly soft snow at this time during the summer. It’s a bit of a meandering route, too. We followed the flags that had been put down by various groups or rangers heading up and it was fairly simple to make it. The photo below shows how steep it could get.

mt rainier muir snowfields steep climbing

Made it to Camp Muir at about 2 pm or so, and once we got there we set up our (rented) mountaineering tent and started melting snow for water and getting ready to turn in. Unfortunately all of us got a terrible sunburn on our elbows on the way up; despite putting on a lot of sunscreen, the reflection from the snow and the intense sun burned the back of our arms and elbows to a crisp.

Camp Muir is a collection of brick buildings, including a few latrines and a few shelters/guide stations. There were lots of guided groups with hot soup and hot water – made us a bit jealous as we melted our snow! This is a photo of Camp Muir:

camp muir mt rainier hike

And a photo of our little setup, in a small depression sheltered from the wind:

camp muir mt rainier hike 2

After going to sleep early Monday night, we woke up late Tuesday and spent the day practicing mountaineering skills/prepping for our summit attempt. We roped up and walked around for a while, made sure our crampons were fitted well, practiced some knots, and set up a snow anchor and a z-pulley to practice doing a rescue in the event someone fell into a crevasse/off the side. So, a good day of prep. Here’s a photo of the water boiling setup in camp as I made dinner:

mt rainier summit hike boiling water for dinner

We got up at about 10pm that night to prep and left at 11pm. We left then so we could do the ascent before the sun came up, partly so that it was cooler and we would get there as the sun did, and partly because the sun was going to turn the snow to slush and could also bring in clouds, too. We went to sleep at about 6 or so, but I don’t think many of us got much sleep. This is a photo of us getting ready that night:

camp muir mt rainier hike prepping to hike to summit

This is me with the harness on getting attached to the rope. You can see my water bottle dangling from my harness, as well as my down jacket in its stuff sack on my hip. I carried everything in a small waist-pack instead of taking my full backpack on the ascent.

preparing to hike to the summit of mt rainier

The route we took, pictured below, was the standard one (called the Disappointment Cleaver route because of one of the terrain features you traverse).

route to hike to mt rainier summit

You go through some nasty scrambles on rock in the route. I was the #1 man on the rope, so I had to find the route as we were going, which was pretty challenging as I didn’t know where we were going. Luckily it hadn’t snowed recently so I could follow tracks in the snow, but the rock portions were very confusing, and I had to guess which way to go. Figured it out, though! Here’s a photo showing just how dark it was before the sun came up along the route:

mt rainier summit hike dark

Because it was nearly pitch black, you had to follow a combination of boot tracks in the snow and reflective flags in the rock areas. Here’s a nice picture of sunrise as we neared the High Break.

sunrise on mt rainier summit hike

I didn’t really feel the altitude at all, honestly. I was feeling really strong and energetic the whole time. Some of the other folks in our group were hurting more from the elevation – getting very short of breath and light headed. Had to pull a bit on the rope at times to keep everyone moving, as I was up front. Made it to the top, though, and then it was easy going down. No big crevasses to cross yet – we crossed about 6 or 7 but they had snow bridges or were short enough to hop across; no ladders. Just before hitting the top, you go through the crater, which is pretty neat. Very flat and open after steep and mountainous terrain:

mt rainier crater summit hike

Took us about 7 hours overall. Here’s a photo of our whole group at the top (14,416 feet):

mt rainier summit

Here’s me drinking a can of Rainier beer at the summit (a summit tradition). Very refreshing!

mt rainier summit beer celebration

And here are two panoramas from the top. (Note from Anne: click on these panorama pictures to see them larger!)

mt rainier summit panorama view

mt rainier summit panorama view 2

The way down was pretty easy, the snow was softening so you had to be a bit more careful not to slide, but overall not that difficult. Here are some photos from the descent:

mt rainier summit climb descent

This is me as we started the descent. You can see I have a significant portion of the rope coiled around me – I had a lot of rope and the rear man did as well. This was because we didn’t want too much slack between each person on the rope, and because it gave us extra slack on either end with which to set up anchors in the event someone in between fell. You can also see I still have my goggles on – I forgot my sunglasses at the tent!

mt rainier summit climb descent 2

Going down switchbacks, you can see me up front:

mt rainier summit climb descent 3

These are the flags that marked the route. Luckily they’re reflective, so it’s easy to tell where you’re going at night.

mt rainier summit climb descent 4

This is a photo showing us let another group go past that was moving faster, as I recall. You can see the dramatic view you have as you go down. Made the walk down fun being able to see the mountains so clearly!

view from mt rainier climb descent

This is a view of a crevasse near the route. Most of the crevasses were not very large yet, as it was still early in the summer. As it continues to warm, they expand and the snowbridges over them will collapse and be replaced by ladders.

mt rainier snow crevasse

Took us about 4 hours to get back down. We got off track in the rocky areas a bit, but were able to get down easily, just a bit more scrambling. Was very nice to get back to camp and have some hot food after about 12 hours up on the mountain! Here’s a photo of one of the crevasses we crossed, taken from the crossing point and looking into it. It continued like this on the opposite side as well:

mt rainier snow crevasse 2

Once we got back to camp, a few of the guys took a nap and we boiled some more snow for the walk down and broke down our camp. I was eager to be done and get my boots off, so I bombed down to the parking lot and got there about an hour ahead of the rest of the group. Was nice, as I was able to get rid of all my trash, sign out at the climbing info center, and lay my wet stuff out to dry while I waited. I think I also had some pent up energy after being roped in all day! We then drove back, getting a burger at a diner out in the Washington boonies, before parting ways. Overall, a very fun trip, and I’m hoping to continue on to some of the other big mountains in Washington before I depart!

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for one more recap, coming soon, of my Mt. Adams climbs. – Steve

- anne
share this post:
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Email

join the list

Sign up for my e-newsletter and I'll send you a meal plan packed with a week's worth of healthy meals, snacks and a shopping list. Happy eating!

you might also like:

3 Year Anniversary Weekend Hiking in Shenandoah National Park

Anniversary Trip to Fort Lewis Lodge

anne mauney hiking the giant slide in acadia

10 Year Anniversary Trip: Hiking the Giant Slide in Acadia

Black Friday Hike & Running with an Old Friend

leave a comment

Cancel reply

16 comments
  • Kelli @ Hungry Hobby
    February 22, 2017 · 8:22AM:
    How cool! Thanks for sharing your adventure with us! It sounds like you were super prepared, no altitude sickness and tons of energy to get back to camp! My mother is from Washington and she always tells me stories about visiting Mt. Rainier picking berries and playing. I've never thought about it as an amazing place to hike until now, the photos are gorgeous, thanks again for sharing!
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 22, 2017 · 9:00AM:
      Even if you aren't doing an intense summit hike it's gorgeous to hike - I loved hiking around Mt Rainier National Park when I was visiting!
      Reply
  • Christina @ montessoriishmom.com
    February 22, 2017 · 9:36AM:
    Those pictures are amazing! Mt Rainier national park is high on my list of places to visit (as well as just Washington in general), but I don't think I'll be summiting the mountain any time soon :)
    Reply
  • Nicole Haber
    February 22, 2017 · 10:25AM:
    the photos are out-of-control gorgeous!! such a cool thing to do.
    Reply
  • Izzy Bruning
    February 22, 2017 · 11:20AM:
    This looks amazing! I hope you had a fantastic time.
    Reply
  • Kelsey @ So Much Life
    February 22, 2017 · 12:16PM:
    Wow!!! What a fascinating story to read! When I was a kid, I would hike Mt. Ranier with my grandpa (he lived within driving distance of some of the trail heads), and we would sometimes see or hear from hikers who were planning on summiting....and I always thought how crazy cool that would be to do some day! This post really goes to show how much prep work goes into a hike like this!!
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 22, 2017 · 1:01PM:
      Right?! I had no idea how much prep was involved, either!
      Reply
  • Roadrunner February 22, 2017 · 1:22PM:
    Wow, impressive! Please thank your brother for sharing it. Wonderful description with great detail!
    Reply
  • Sokphal
    February 22, 2017 · 4:29PM:
    Thanks for sharing your trip! Loved the pictures! What kind of training do you do for mountaineering, especially if you are going to a place that might have high altitude? Hill repeats?
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 22, 2017 · 6:54PM:
      Good question! I asked him and here's what he said: "You could definitely prepare by going to altitude and doing day hikes, especially if it's more of an expedition than Rainier, but in this case I didn't. I had just come back a few weeks before from a long training exercise where we were wearing heavy gear the whole time, which I think helped prepare me to walk with a heavy pack for so long. Beyond that, just having good cardio is the biggest thing, I think. I did a lot of running before, including track workouts, which gave me a strong endurance base to pull from. I think that and experience moving under a heavy load are the two keys!"
      Reply
  • Kristen Look
    February 23, 2017 · 3:26AM:
    Awesome- the views are stunning!! Really can't beat the PNW :-) Thanks for sharing!
    Reply
  • Laura
    February 24, 2017 · 7:26AM:
    So cool! I'd love to do this trek someday. Matt, what climbs or hikes are you planning to do next?
    Reply
    • Laura
      February 24, 2017 · 7:27AM:
      Oops - I meant to say "Steve," sorry!
      Reply
  • Kris S February 24, 2017 · 8:25AM:
    Awesome! :D
    Reply
  • Kelly February 25, 2017 · 8:25PM:
    Wow - so cool. I had no idea it was that complicated to summit. Thanks for sharing!
    Reply
  • Dennis Marrotte August 24, 2019 · 2:23AM:
    Hello Steve, Wow !!!! Dennis Marrotte, from Maine. Your Story and Pictures rekindle wonderful memories from June / July 1975. I was in the USAF, stationed in the Communications Squadron at McChord AFB. A mixed group of 16 AF people and family members experienced a full Saturday practicing with the RMI Team, co-owned by Lou Whittaker and Jerry Lynch, a Lawyer and AF Reserve C-141 Pilot. 8 of us out of the 16 summitted on June 29, 1975 in Winter like conditions by the Disappointment Cleaver Route from Camp Muir, with 20 mins on the summit Rim. I was in a three person Rope Team with Phil Ershler !!!! Who reached the top of Everest in October 1984, from the Tibet Side, on a courageous Solo Climb from a high camp. A Month later, in early July, I met with local friends from the area, to try a second time after an aborted attempt in ' 74 due to bad crevasse conditions at 12,000' on the Emmons - Winthrop Glacier Route from White River Campground. On our 2nd Try in early July. 75, we headed up at midnight from Steamboat Prow high camp, reaching the summit in CLEAR Weather horizon to horizon, spending an hour in shirtsleeves ! Mt. St. Helens then, was still Whole but would change dramatically 5 years later. Congratulations Steve and your Team, on your successful Climb ! Forty Four Years went by Fast !!! I was 24 then, now 67. Have you ever climbed Mount Washington in NH, in Winter ?
    Reply
- next post
previous post -

about Anne

anne mauney fannetastic food
Hi, I’m Anne! I'm a Washington D.C. based Registered Dietitian, mother, runner, and lover of travel, adventure, and the great outdoors. I've been blogging since 2009, sharing a mix of lifestyle content, recipes, and fitness tips. Come for the recipes – stay for the fun!
Learn more

fannetastic reads

Top Posts
01

My Top 9 Most Popular Recipes + Posts

02

Why I Don’t Recommend Whole30

03

What Causes Sugar Cravings (+ How to Stop Them!)

04

How I Make Money As a Blogger

05

Blog Recipes We Make Again and Again

06

What to Eat Before and After a Long Run

07

What to Eat During Long Runs

08

7 Common Nutrition Myths

09

How to Love Veggies

connect with Anne

Email me
anne mauney

I’m Anne, a Registered Dietitian and mother. I've been blogging since 2009 and love showing others that eating nutritious foods and staying active can actually be fun rather than overwhelming!

When I’m not writing or cooking for fannetastic food, you can find me running, coaching nutrition clients, or on an adventure with my family. Feel free to reach out - I'd love to hear from you!

follow anne:

join the list

Sign up for my e-newsletter and I'll send you a meal plan packed with a week's worth of healthy meals, snacks and a shopping list. Happy eating!

back to top
  • About
  • Contact
  • Recent Posts
  • Privacy Policy
  • FAQ

© copyright fannetastic food