Final Camp Muir Prep hike on Mt Rainier

Ryan here. Katie's in Washington DC on business this week - so I'm resuming my blogging duties. Last weekend we made our final trek to Mt Rainier in preparations for the real deal summit attempt now only 3 weeks away! As usual we lucked out in terms of weather - it was gorgeous.

The Mountain through misty clouds on Sunday

This trip was was more than just hiking to Camp Muir. Saturday night we met inside the Paradise Inn at 7PM to talk gear before an evening stroll. Everyone was to have brought all the gear that is necessary for the summit attempt - helmet, harness, ice axe, and crampons. Lucky for us we already had the axe and helmet from the Alpine Scrambling course, also Katie had two harnesses and two pairs of crampons (that we've never used). We were set! So after the briefing the group ventured only a short distance up the slope - still in sight of Paradise - where we geared up. Harness first, then crampons, then threw the helmet on and grabbed the ice axe.

Katie all geared up (and looking hot)

Our fearless leader Mark had set up a series of wands for us to navigate like downhill skiing gates while roped up in teams of 6. For most of us this was a new concept, but it wasn't rocket science. You keep the rope on the downhill side of you, that is until you turn around a gate. Right before turning you step over the slack in front of you, putting the rope on your uphill side, then you turn - putting the rope back where it belongs on the downhill side. That's the process we'll be using above Camp Muir when we're roped up in teams. This was an early look at how things would run up high.

Snaking our way up the mountain at dusk

And for Katie and I it went swimmingly, but for a few people it took a little getting used to. The part that was new to us - the crampons - also went swimmingly. They fit the boots perfectly and weren't as awkward to walk in as we suspected. All in all we slowly snaked our way up the roughly 200' slope, and then back down, and called it a night. Along the way it finally got pretty dusky, allowing us to briefly use our headlamps. And to top it off we spotted a couple of foxes scurrying about in the snow too (no pics, sorry)!

Beautiful sunset view back toward Paradise

After a good night's sleep at the Paradise Inn, we geared up the next morning for basically a carbon copy of our last trip up Mt Rainier to Camp Muir. We did a few things differently this time, some personal, some as a group. Personally, I made sure to rest a few minutes, allowing the sweat to evaporate and then also blot any remaining sweat off before re-applying sunscreen. And this worked, because I didn't show any signs of sun after the trip (unlike last time). Also, both Katie and I were fully loaded with all the gear I previously mentioned plus all the regular stuff. So we did this hike with the same weight we'll carry to Camp Muir on the big day. Above Camp Muir, however, we will be a little lighter, leaving our hydration reservoirs, iPods, and sleeping bags behind. Full of food and water, our packs were a tad beyond 40 lbs. Above Muir it'll be more like 30-35.

This is a sweet shot I got from the back of the line - somewhere around 9,000'

The going in plan was to keep the entire group intact all the way to Camp Muir and for all intents and purposes we did! Everyone in the group made it to Camp Muir (that didn't happen last time). I stayed near the back of the pack, and in the last 1,000' especially, I walked with two of our teammates from our specific climb date cheering them on and making sure they didn't give up. The group made it to Camp Muir in a little over 5 hours, a little longer than last time, but the slowest in the group (3 people behind me) made it in only 5 minutes behind, much faster than the slowest group last time. So great progress!

Reaching Camp Muir (10,200')

Also of note was running into two co-workers of mine on the mountain. While sitting around during our first rest stop lo and behold I saw a familiar figure approaching through the mist with long flowing red locks. "Russ Lecompte?" I shouted. "Younko!" he responded. It was Russ allright. Russ and I actually talk a lot about outdoor activities but we've never done any together for no reason in particular. Russ was using his skins to ski up while his friend Billy carried his downhill skis. We met again at Camp Muir for some lunch.

Russ rocking some uphill skiing (he's smiling in this picture he said)

The way down was a little slower than last time, taking a little over 2.5 hours vs only 2.0 hours last time. Still pretty fast and we were able to keep the whole group together.   To top off an awesome day was a stop at Sonic in Puyallup on the way home for dinner! I love Sonic, and that is the closest one to where we live - over an hour and a half away. Now that's a good way replenshish those burned calories!