The Biggest Little Mountain in the U.S.
Well... looks like it's been awhile since posting on Blogger. No more! This is the spot. Be ready for posts about anything and everything. No pigeon holes. No standards. No standard entry style.
We'll start at the base of Mt. Rainier, Washington, one of the highest (fourth to be exact) in the continental US, topped with numerous glaciers (no idea why they don't just call it one glacier if it's all connected, but) and a pretty serious mountaineering experience to climb. At over 14,000 feet, the altitude is certainly a factor (though nowhere near the biggies internationally) as are crevasse danger, weather exposure, and rogue mountain goats. Okay, no mountain goats.
My old adventure racing pal, Jason Bagby and I, reconnected recently and reunited in Bend, OR to head up to Rainier to attempt to summit with a nice guy from Tennessee who was spreading his father's ashes on mountain tops across the US in honor of all that his dad inspired in him.
Along with the aforementioned physical attributes, Mt. Rainier has one of the largest gross vertical ascents around. With the base at roughly 5000 feet (we started at the Paradise Inn, a fantastic turn of last century hotel/resort), we would hike nearly another 5000 vertical feet to Muir Camp tucked nicely in the saddle of a ridge on the shoulder, and then still have nearly another 5000 vertical feet to the summit from Muir. Most folks (like us) take 2-3 days to do the entire round trip. Take a leisurely "stroll" through the amazingly gorgeous wild flower strewn "car tourist" portion of the park and up the lower snow fields to Muir on day 1. Then camp out (or sleep in the cool stone hut) overnight and ascend to the top the next day.
Well, overnight is not quite accurate as most folks get up before midnight to begin their summit bid in order to reach the top for the spectacular sunrises. We did likewise. But unfortunately, our climbing mate from Tennessee didn't have the lungs and legs for the summit push and we ended up short of the top. He was still able to spread his father's ashes while we filmed him talking about what his father meant and his journey to Rainier (the last of his summits which included Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the continental US, Mt. Washington, the spot with the highest recorded wind speed in the world, and a few in the SE U.S.).
Overall it was a fantastic journey as we had perfect weather and enjoyed the beauty and adventure while meeting many cool likeminded climbing folks.
Well... looks like it's been awhile since posting on Blogger. No more! This is the spot. Be ready for posts about anything and everything. No pigeon holes. No standards. No standard entry style.
We'll start at the base of Mt. Rainier, Washington, one of the highest (fourth to be exact) in the continental US, topped with numerous glaciers (no idea why they don't just call it one glacier if it's all connected, but) and a pretty serious mountaineering experience to climb. At over 14,000 feet, the altitude is certainly a factor (though nowhere near the biggies internationally) as are crevasse danger, weather exposure, and rogue mountain goats. Okay, no mountain goats.
My old adventure racing pal, Jason Bagby and I, reconnected recently and reunited in Bend, OR to head up to Rainier to attempt to summit with a nice guy from Tennessee who was spreading his father's ashes on mountain tops across the US in honor of all that his dad inspired in him.
Along with the aforementioned physical attributes, Mt. Rainier has one of the largest gross vertical ascents around. With the base at roughly 5000 feet (we started at the Paradise Inn, a fantastic turn of last century hotel/resort), we would hike nearly another 5000 vertical feet to Muir Camp tucked nicely in the saddle of a ridge on the shoulder, and then still have nearly another 5000 vertical feet to the summit from Muir. Most folks (like us) take 2-3 days to do the entire round trip. Take a leisurely "stroll" through the amazingly gorgeous wild flower strewn "car tourist" portion of the park and up the lower snow fields to Muir on day 1. Then camp out (or sleep in the cool stone hut) overnight and ascend to the top the next day.
Well, overnight is not quite accurate as most folks get up before midnight to begin their summit bid in order to reach the top for the spectacular sunrises. We did likewise. But unfortunately, our climbing mate from Tennessee didn't have the lungs and legs for the summit push and we ended up short of the top. He was still able to spread his father's ashes while we filmed him talking about what his father meant and his journey to Rainier (the last of his summits which included Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the continental US, Mt. Washington, the spot with the highest recorded wind speed in the world, and a few in the SE U.S.).
Overall it was a fantastic journey as we had perfect weather and enjoyed the beauty and adventure while meeting many cool likeminded climbing folks.
Labels: Adventure Racing, Documentary, Extreme Sports, Hiking, Mountain Biking, Mountaineering, Photography, Running, Screenwriting, Sports Photography, Trail Running, Travel Photography, Travel Writing
posted by Rick at 8/16/2016 09:36:00 AM
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