Sunday, July 3, 2011

Rainier route still in good shape but changing fast

Our recent Rainier climbs on the Muir route have been successful, however the changing route conditions due to the warm & cold weather patterns have made for some additional challenges. Over the last week several snow bridges that allowed for passage over wide crevasses above 13,000' have collapsed. This made for more difficult route finding around these crevasses, but our climbs were still able to reach the summit. There was a significant rockfall/landslide off of the Nisqually Cleaver last Monday which was likely caused by the shifting temperatures as well. As the snow continues to melt on the Cleaver our route will become less direct & will make several switchbacks. We have had some great weather windows over the last few weeks & we will continue to hope for great weather in July!