Partly sunny skies today a welcome break from winter conditions

The Denali preparation course on Mt. Rainier continues to practice skills essential for a future Denali expedition while staying safe amidst challenging winter conditions. Heavy snow followed by a warm front led to a more unstable snow pack, but the guides and climbers have made good use of their time focusing on packing and towing sleds, setting up a full Denali campsite with wind walls, practicing knots and talking about avalanche safety.

A gradual cooling trend and sun breaks today are a welcome sight as the group plans to travel up as high as Camp Muir, or as far as they are able to move safely given the conditions. It's a great chance for climbers to test their endurance and see if training back home has paid off!

2012 Denali Prep Training Season on Rainier Begins!

Our first Denali preparation courses are currently in full swing on Mt. Rainier this week. The climbers are camped near Glacier Vista at 6336' and are having a great time practicing all the technical snow climbing and winter mountaineering skills needed for a successful summit attempt on Denali in the future.

The guides have reported variable snow conditions on the mountain- from minimal snow cover in some places to waist-deep snow in others. With mostly sunny skies, relatively warm temps, periods of moderate easterly winds and minimal snow fall since last week, surface snow conditions have been mostly stable but highly variable. Guides have reported cross-loading and interesting exposed ice crusts and wind-hardened snow on some aspects. The forecast calls for slight warming and the chance of light precipitation in the coming days but no significant storms. Overall it sounds like a great winter week to be on Mt. Rainier!