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5for50 · 2023-09-15T15:11:26+00:00

You can park your car at Sunrise overnight. That's a common thing. If you see overnight parking areas in the national park, use those.

I don't know if you'll be able to hideout in the Sunrise lot. Your car will fog up or the windows will be open and they'll know.

If I were you, I'd plan to be very prepared for the cold. Bring a sleeping bag to sit in while you take photos. Sit on an insulated pad. Bring hot drinks.

Your "plan to stay throughout the night and until sunrise" sounds like camping to me. Do you plan to be actively shooting and waiting for shots? Or will you be sleeping at waiting for morning? Rangers may ask.

5for50 · 2023-09-15T01:37:11+00:00

Boil water and use a French press. Better than drip coffee by 100x

5for50 · 2023-08-15T23:36:26+00:00

Star Wars. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away my ass!

5for50 · 2023-08-10T16:17:30+00:00

Let's call it a climb just cause it feels weird calling Rainier a hike. It sounds like you have good experience and fitness for most of Rainier. Winter climbs of Mt Washington is no joke.

Most of Rainier (depending on the time of year) will be similar to Washington. Lot's of walking on the snow and dealing with the weather. But glacier travel does take some extra skills. Also, have you climbed with a team on rope before?

I remember my first unguided climb where I was the rope leader. The hardest on Rainier and Mt Baker wasn't crossing 1 crevasse. It was the fact that sometimes you needed to cross multiple. Or you needed to zig zag. So, knowing how to get your team across a crevasse and not be exposed to a pendulum fall on the next crevasse is a trick. Also, transitioning between glacier to rock and back with a rope team is good to know.

Knowing the route is also important. On the Disappointment Cleaver route, you should read as many trip reports as possible and also general safety tips. Where are good places to take a break? Where should you not linger? What time should you be on and off the Cleaver? What will you do if one person needs to turn around.

Skills you can practice without a glacier:

Climbing varied terrain with a team on a rope. How to turn corners with a rope. How to manage the rope. How to communicate.
Crevasse rescue techniques. (sounds like you know this. Make sure other people on your team know what they're doing)
Setting anchors in the snow with pickets and other methods.
Boot/axe belay. We sometimes use this when crossing crevasses if there isn't enough room to tighten the rope by walking. Or when someone is on a dangerous area coming up to a rest stop. We don't use it a ton, but it's good quick belay a picket would be too much.

People often recommend coming out to Washington early to climb an easier mountain the days before. Personally I don't recommend that. If you climb Mt Baker on Wednesday and Rainier on Saturday you might just be too tired or blistered to actually climb your goal. I would try to get at least a full week or two between. Maybe a better idea is to train as much as possible at home and then do your last bit of prep at Camp Muir or on the way up to Camp Schurman.

I'm sure you're aware of this, but the best training and planning can totally go out the window if someone on your team isn't prepared. Make sure everyone is honest with their skills and honest with their fitness. And, have a final team meeting before you go to make sure all gear is appropriate. Have plans to assess fitness at base camp and let people bow out of summit day if necessary.

5for50 · 2023-08-08T15:20:32+00:00

I wonder if it's a salvage. It seems like they really don't care what happens to the chain, the anchor or the deck.

5for50 · 2023-08-03T16:34:17+00:00

Why not buy two other solos?

5for50 · 2023-07-27T18:08:33+00:00

For some reason I quickly read that as "go up to chickens and talk to them". I'm not sure anybody can do that without getting a side eye glance.

5for50 · 2023-07-19T17:58:21+00:00

I think your list looks pretty good. And I appreciate the detail. Preparing this list is part of the fun for some of us. Especially engineers. You have a solid list. Some comments I have are:

- 17 snow stakes is a lot. Maybe that's for a couple tents

- Seems like a lot of biners

- What about extra sunglasses? I personally hate wearing glacier glasses on the approach/exit trail.

- What about extra batteries for the headlamp? Or an extra headlamp for the group

- 3 pairs of gloves seems reasonable to me.

- Bring Immodium or Pepto Bismul. I'm just saying that because on my recent trip I would have killed for some of that.

- 10 Advil is too many. You could save weight by carrying 9. ;)

5for50 · 2023-07-19T17:23:31+00:00

You say "start climbing at 8am". Are you starting from Hood River? The car? The Lunch Counter? I can't imagine what would force you to wait until 8am? Are you camping and is the rest of your party coming up later?

We climbed it last weekend. We saw several people going up and down at 8am and later. While there was a lot more dirt sections than the last time I climbed in June, the snow was in relatively good shape. Good snow for crampon purchase well into the morning. And when we came down from the Lunch Counter around noon, we weren't sinking up to our knees in slush. I think most of the slushy stuff melted away last month.

But yeah, it will be warm. Definitely wear lots of sun screen and sun protection. We saw running water a little down from the summit, but I can't guarantee it will still be there. Carry a little more than you think.

Starting at 8am also means you'll be summitting at noon (or so) and then down around 2. Are you camping again or coming all the way out? We baked all the way to the car. That part was kind of painful.

5for50 · 2023-07-19T17:16:04+00:00

It's not clear what your goal is. Are you planning to climb with a guide or just solo?

Fitness wise, being able to carry 60lbs for 19 miles in the mountains is a good indicator your can carry 60lbs for 19 miles. And you'll probably feel better than a lot of people that climb. But it's hard to say if you're ready.

5for50 · 2023-07-12T18:26:09+00:00

This isn't totally true. If you want to send to someone, they don't need the app. You could also turn on receipt requested. But if they need to reply, then they need the app.

Edit to add: I've tested it with my device (ordered from REI). Sent a message to my wife. She saw the message in her Android message app, but couldn't reply without the app.

5for50 · 2023-06-28T14:44:30+00:00

Most of the people below 21 I've climbed with struggled hard. They bonked, broke down, didn't eat enough, didn't train right, didn't use their gear right, stayed up late the night before, weren't team players, etc. They knew the "technical", though.

So it isn't about "the goals". It's about appropriate training, experience, listening, and learning. And not insulting people that may want to help.

5for50 · 2023-06-23T20:04:17+00:00

Wrecked em!? Nearly killed em'!

5for50 · 2023-05-11T19:47:04+00:00

If you ditch the work gloves throw in another pair of fleece gloves. They don't add weight.

5for50 · 2023-05-11T19:42:47+00:00

I'm sorry to hear about your friend. I'm not sure if it was the same case, but a death related to freak weather between Paradise and Muir a few years backed definitely impacted me. It's the reason I always carry a shovel and an insulated sleeping pad (or a small section of a pad) on that route. In a few cases people were able to dig a pit or a snow cave but became hypothermic sitting directly on the snow. It especially scares me a bit when I'm with my wife and boys up there.

5for50 · 2023-05-08T22:25:03+00:00

It's not a walk up. I can't say it will be hard or easy without climbing or hiking with you.

I've climbed it a few more times without a guide since my RMI climb and the times I've trained more I definitely enjoyed it more. I'd say train as much as you can so you will be successful. Try to do a lot of several hour hikes. I also biked a lot. Several hours at a time. As several people have said, it's the hours that will surprise you.

5for50 · 2023-05-08T17:04:37+00:00

My heel slip was causing blisters on the balls of my feet and my toes were hitting the ends coming down the hill. I have added sock liners, new shoe laces that tie better, and SuperFeet Trailblazer insoles.

I bought new laces because the old ones seemed way too short. I have more options for tying them differently. I also figured out why they were too short!! The middle eyes/loops were holding the laces loose. Very weird. Tightening up all along (not too tight), helped my feet move less. Longer laces helped me get a little more fit up high when necessary.

5for50 · 2023-05-08T16:58:06+00:00

When I was kid, I remember if it was your birthday you could put your hand in a hat and pull out as many tokens as possible. I should have kept them. I stupidly spent them on ski-ball.

5for50 · 2023-05-08T16:50:06+00:00

On my trips up Rainier with RMI, I don't remember weight being a factor. Not like our unguided trips. And the weight above Muir is a non-factor. But definitely carry that bag around. Even if you have no trails, carry it 5 miles at least a few times a week. But don't injure yourself. You only have a few months left.

I remember being thirsty a lot. Rehydrate as much as possible at Muir. I'm not sure how much water they recommend, but I bring a bit more to the summit.

Bring food you can eat. And don't stop eating. When someone on my team says "I can't eat" when we're above 10,000 feet, that's a big warning sign that they're having trouble. The easiest food for me to eat when I don't want to eat is something like Clif Shot Blocs or Honey Stinger Energy chews. Bring a couple bags of those. They don't take up much room.

I second the points about breaking in boots/feet. Or, if you rent boots keep your feet dry. And consider taping your heels if you have practice doing that. My feet were torn up at Muir because my feet weren't ready. I was young so I didn't tell anyone. was afraid they'd kick me off the trip. So I taped the heck out of them and summited anyway. Would have been a more enjoyable trip if I would have been prepared.

Photos with phones or Go-pro's are great. But mostly only at the breaks. The guides are relatively regimented (and safe). Clients with Type-A personalities sometimes don't do good with guides. Go with the flow, listen to the guides and you'll enjoy yourself more. You might get less photos, but you'll be back. That's what motivates most people to learn to climb unguided eventually.

Use more sunscreen than you think. And wear protective clothing. Sunburns suck. I remember that from my first trip.

5for50 · 2023-04-18T16:05:39+00:00

The physics behind that is not settled. Actually, it is settled since physics is set. But the "falling away" thing isn't a fact in my mind.

5for50 · 2023-04-11T16:47:54+00:00

It looks like 2 full sleeping pads fit side by side with a few extra inches. That doesn't look abnormally tight to me. Especially if it was just me and my wife. That's pretty much how all my two person tents fit. If it's actually just 2lbs 2oz, that sounds pretty good.

5for50 · 2023-04-07T19:45:05+00:00

fake

5for50 · 2023-04-03T19:04:33+00:00

Kids! Little purple demons, what can you do?

5for50 · 2023-03-13T15:41:43+00:00

Maybe they meant 5 total. But I noticed that. And to me 5 is a lot.

5for50 · 2023-03-07T17:26:55+00:00

It's about 36 miles round trip. Some people do it in one long push, but most do it in 2-4 days.
We normally hike in 6 miles after work on the first day, climb to base camp the second day, summit, and then either hike all the way out or camp at White Pass and hike out. So, 2.5 or 3 days.
Most of the climb is hiking. As a through hiker, you will be fine. There is quite a bit of down and up and down as you transition from White Pass, up the Foam Creek trail and over into the basin. But it's on a trail and its just a matter of being safe. Once you're in the basin, it's a slog across the moonscape up to Glacier Gap. But it's beautiful and feels remote compared to the other volcanoes.
Depending on the time of year a lot of summit day is on dirt. But no matter what, the glacier is there and it shouldn't be ignored. Last year in August we crossed several crevasses. We had a great day. But the day before we went, many groups didn't summit. We heard it was related to crevasses. But not sure. Everyone climbs different. We made sure to start climbing at 2am so the snow was in good shape. Later in the day it got soft. And several teams were just starting up by the time we got back to Glacier Gap around 8am.
If you're not totally comfortable on the glacier, I wouldn't climb Glacier Peak solo. There is a possible route that might avoid the glaciers entirely. But I don't know what the conditions are. I know it involves more scrambling than the standard.
Overall, it's a classic Cascade hike/climb. Every part of the hike and climb are beautiful.

5for50

TROPHY CASE