Mount Rainier was the first mountain I ever stood on top of. In July 2020 I climbed it with International Mountain Guides by the Disappointment Cleaver route, the most traveled way up the mountain and still a serious glacier climb: about 18 miles round trip and roughly 9,000 feet of gain to a 14,411-foot summit.
How the climb was staged
Rainier is big enough to make its own weather, so the climb ran over several days instead of one long push. We started at Paradise and climbed to Camp Muir at 10,080 feet, the rocky high camp used by most parties on this side of the mountain. From there we moved up again to Ingraham Flats at about 11,400 feet, which takes a real chunk out of summit day.
Summit day
Summit day on the Cleaver starts in the dark. Rope teams leave before dawn so they can cross the Ingraham Glacier and climb the Cleaver while the snow is still firm, then come back down before the afternoon sun softens the slopes. Glacier travel means crevasse hazard, which is why every step above Camp Muir happened on a rope with a guide.
What I'd tell someone thinking about it
- Go guided for a first glaciated peak. The guides handled route-finding, rope systems and the calls on weather and timing, which let me focus on moving well.
- Train for long days, not one hard hour. The challenge is several days of carrying weight uphill at altitude and still having something left for an alpine start.
- Trust the staging. Sleeping higher at Ingraham Flats made summit day shorter and safer.
Rainier is the traditional proving ground for bigger mountains, and it's the reason Denali is on my list. The rest of my trips, from the Four Pass Loop to the High Sierra, are in my field notes.