Guided summit climb of Mt Rainier in May 2021, with Lucy, Mako, Mika, and Ana.
This was an incredible trip! We did a five day "Muir Seminar" with RMI, and really lucked out with amazing guides (Dave Hahn (!), Dominic, Dustin, Jack, and Steve), excellent weather the whole week, and a well-prepared and friendly cohort of climbers.
There were a few inches of fresh snow the week before our climb, leaving the mountain particularly clean and beautiful. The group slept at Camp Muir (around 10,000 ft) for 4 nights, in separated tents instead of the bunk house as a COVID precaution, and got solid training on climbing technique and rope work. With the beautiful weather there was a constant stream of other climbers and skiers at Camp Muir, but it never felt overcrowded. On Tuesday there was a helicopter rescue on another part of the mountain and we got to see the long-line rescue preparation and return with the climber (who broke a leg) on the small Muir helipad.
On the summit day we took the Ingraham Direct route, which was heavily crevased and beautiful this year. Twelve out of the fourteen climbers made it through a couple "spicy" crossings and anchored traverses to the summit, and everybody made it down off the mountain safely.
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