Mt Rainier at 14410ft is the second tallest mountain in the lower 48 states, Mt Whitney is bigger by about 30ft. In terms on hugeness, Rainier stands on its own. I am not sure if hugeness is a word but when we are talking about Rainier , it should be.  Lyle and Heather  and myself decided to climb the DC route, which starts at Paradise with a tent site at Cam Muir located at 10, 100ft

See it is huge

Getting packed up at Paradise

Looking down at the Tatoosh mountains, skiing to Camp Muir is a great way to save energy

Sometimes part of the climb will be melted out, have a stream crossing and the skis come off. If its for a small portion, the skis are hand carried otherwise we strap them to the packs

The view looking towards the Tatoosh and Paradise, looks like another ski carry coming up.

yes

At least its a short carry

A view of the summit, 7000ft away

A picture of the Andinista and the tent at Camp Muir

Mapping out the route

Dinner, yes its a can of tuna for dinner :)

The view is everywhere

On the DC, looking down at the Emmons glacier

The summit slope looks so flat yet its 2000ft higher and 2-3 hours away!!

Lyle falls asleep during a rest stop

Ice Seracs Above the Ingraham at 13000ft

its a long day, 8-10 hours from camp to summit

Looking down at Tahoma Peak

Its clear and sunny but the wind keeps keeps the air temp pretty cold. The face mask is one of my fav pieces of gear

Taking a break at a flat spot

Reaching the summit rim

View of the summit crater, the volcano has a crater the size of a rugby stadium

Heather and Lyle in the summit crater

Descending to the cleaver

Looking down at the crevasses on the Ingraham glacier

A closer look

Traversing over lots of exposure

Connected to the fixed rope

Steep traverse

Rainier has plenty of big gaping holes, our route is near the top of the photo under the cliffs

Ingraham Flats is another place to camp at 11,200ft.

Can you see the tiny dots?, climbers making the traverse on the DC

Back down to camp, its a quick pack up and now for the ski down for nearly 500ft..awesome!!

 

 

 

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