Mount Rainier, September '02

Back to the "Trail of Terror" for the third time. The third time's the charm and all that. We will be doing a three day trek to King's Peak in Utah immediately prior to going to Rainier. A 25 mile, three day hike all between 9,000 and 13,500 feet will be just what we need to acclimate. We'll see.

First, Kings Peak

Camp

Our campsite above Dollar Lake. We thought we were the only ones in the valley until we came across two guys the next morning. The temperature got down into the twenties in the morning.

rocks

Every inch of a four mile hike from camp to the summit was covered with these rocks. Of course you have to cross them twice, once in and once out. There is no real trail most of the way, just endless boulder hopping.

more rocks

I've never seen so many rocks.

the approach

And now....snow covered rocks. Kings Peak in the background.

pinnacle

The summit is just beyond this pinnacle. Lots of ice and snow, some of it very hard and slick with lots of exposure.

on top

Janet on top.

Now, Rainier for the third time.

A day after climbing Kings Peak, we flew to Seattle and drove to Paradise Inn at Mt. Rainier, rested a day, then started up.

Pebble Creek

Pebble Creek, at the base of the Muir snowfield.

Muir Snowfield

Halfway up the Muir snowfield.

Chopping ice

Ric chopping ice for water at Camp Muir. Note the three tents in the background.

Ingraham Glacier

View down the Ingraham Glacier, just after we turned around...It was just too much for us again. We turned around at about 12,600'.

Crevasse on Igraham

One of the crevasses we had to skirt.

Disappointment Cleaver

Just after climbing down "Disappointment Cleaver," a mass of rotten, loose rock, a portion of which is in the background. A climber had been killed by a basketball size rock very near where this photo was taken only a few days prior. It's a good thing we climbed up that in the dark, I'm not so sure I would want to in the daylight.


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