Rainier wrap-up

With a projected break in the forecast, a group of Alpine Ascents guides is headed up to Camp Muir today to breakdown and store the weather port, and put everything away for the winter. It includes lots of heavy lifting and moving gear at 10K feet, so having a group of 4-5 is great for efficiency. The guides will wrap everything up by tomorrow a.m. and we will put our Rainier season to rest!

Much thanks to everyone who followed along on the blog this season, and especially to all the climbers who joined us on an Alpine Ascents trip. You help make it possible for our guides to do what they love- taking climbers out in the mountains and helping them achieve their goals. Tune into our Cybercast page for updates on our international winter expeditions, including Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro, and Mt. Vinson. See you next spring!

Last Rainier Trip of the Season

The September 23-25 Rainier trip started up to Camp Muir in windy, stormy weather. The whiteout conditions persisted as the team traveled up the Muir snowfield, and the guides decided to turn the team around. Climbers were given the opportunity to try to make it to Muir the next day, but everyone decided to return to Seattle instead. Thanks to the team for keeping up their spirits in the midst of a challenging day.

September 21-23 Rainier climb

Fall is upon us, and with it a big wet low pressure system. Lead guide Stuart Robertson called to check in from a snowy and blustery Camp Muir. The team successfully climbed to Muir on Saturday in decent weather, and enjoyed a hearty burrito dinner in the Weatherport. The group did not move up to Ingraham Flats due to white-out conditions, and unfortunately were not able to make a summit attempt due to the on-going storm. The team is all safe and doing well, and will be heading back down to Paradise after packing up today.

100% summit success for Sept. 19-21!

Congratulations to the entire team for their summit success on Rainier on Saturday! The weather held long enough for the whole group to make it to the top of Washington State on the fall equinox. Pretty cool!

September 19-21 climb checks in from Muir

Lead guide Matt Hegeman called to check in from Camp Muir this morning. The team made it up to Muir in beautiful conditions yesterday. Everyone is doing well and they are preparing to move to high camp before making a summit attempt in the early hours tomorrow morning.

Rainier 9/17-19 Summits!

Lots of beautiful weather on the summit bid today. 9 of 12 total team members summited early this morning. Seth reported it was a great summit day, with everyone safely back down and ready to descend from Camp Muir around 1pm. They should be getting out of the park any time now and grabbing a bite to eat before driving back to Seattle.

11k feet on Mount Rainier!

All is well up on mount rainier. Above the clouds and experiencing Beautiful weather here at high camp and we look forward to our summit bid in the mañana. Please enjoy this nice photo!

Seth

September 17-19 Rainier climbers getting a tan

Lead guide Seth Timpano called in this morning to report that it is a beautiful day up at Camp Muir. They got about three inches of fresh snow overnight before the weather cleared. The guides made a delicious eggs, pancake, and bacon breakfast for everyone to fuel up for snow school and the move to high camp at Ingraham Flats. The plan is to wake up around 1am for an alpine start on their summit attempt tomorrow. Best of luck to the team!

September 15-17th climb summits

The Rainier 3-day climb returned to Seattle in the evening yesterday after a successful summit attempt. It was a cold early morning wake-up at 1 am, but the team got moving and headed out of high camp in the push for the summit. Despite the unusually warm spell we had last week, it's clear the seasons are beginning to change, but the route is still in great shape and is ready to be climbed.

Sept 15 Muir climb

Surprisingly nice weather up here today. We're preparing for our summit climb and will Be moving to High Camp shortly. 

September 13-15th climb summits!

The September 13-15th climb included great burritos on night 1, a birthday pancake for Dunk on the morning of Day 2, and a summit climb into clouds in the early hours yesterday morning. Half the team was able to make the summit, and all made it back down safely to Paradise and then back to Seattle yesterday afternoon.

Sept 11 Muir climb summits.

Beautiful day, great conditions, super fun!

Sept 11 Muir climb

Made it to Muir in beautiful weather, enjoyed a great sunset, and will soon be on our way to High Camp. The weather is splitter and the route goes. It's a good time to be on Rainier!

Photos from the DC route

Thanks to Eitan for passing along these photos. Beautiful day for a summit!

Success!

Eitan called to let us know they were able to summit via the new route variation this morning! It was a beautiful, clear, and WARM day on the mountain, and Eitan took a number of photos which I will post in the morning once he has a chance to get back to Seattle and pass them along. The team is safely off the mountain and enjoying a meal in Ashford before heading back to the city this evening. Congrats on the summit!

DC Route Back on Track!

The Rainier season has been incredibly dynamic as always, dictated in large part by the mountain weather and conditions. Over the past two weeks, no team from any of the three concessionaire guide companies have summited the mountain via the Disappointment Cleaver route due to a combination of poor weather and route conditions. Challenging weather on the upper mountain also prevented guides from performing necessary route maintenance, making it unreasonable for teams to attempt the route until the work was done once the weather improved.

The good news is the weather has cleared, and through a major effort of all three guide companies, there is a workable route in place ready to be climbed! The first Alpine Ascents team to use the newer route variation made their summit attempt in the early hours this morning, hopefully with great success. We will post another update as soon as we hear from them.

There are guides from each company working to improve the route and retrieve gear from the old variation over the next number of days as well. If you're signed up to climb with us in the next couple weeks, you may get to witness the efforts and collaboration that keeps the route running as smoothly and safely as possible.

Final 6-day course of the season checks in

Lead guide Victor McNeil called to check in today from the south side of Mt. Baker. The group is enjoying a beautiful week of weather, with sunny skies and high pressure predicted through the weekend. Today Victor and guide Sam Hennessey have been teaching anchor building, advanced crampon techniques, as well as belaying and rappelling this afternoon. Yesterday the team hiked over for a photo shoot overlooking the Deming glacier as well. The plan is to make a summit attempt on Thursday before wrapping up skills and hiking out on Friday.

How does it get up here?

...And where does the poo go? We get that question a lot. While the guides at AAI are known for their strength in hauling heavy load to remote locations there are limits. Anyway, helicopters are a huge help. We got some cool photos of them flying loads to Muir. Check it out!

Sick!

Sept. 1-6th mountaineering course wrap-up

Last week guides Matt Nightengale and Dylan Cembalski spent six days up on Mt. Baker with 8 climbers. The group experienced a wide range of weather every day, but with enough sunshine to dry out and effectively practice mountaineering skills and techniques. The team had a great time, putting all their skills into practice on a successful summit day on September 4th. Thanks to Dylan for the photo below, showing the fun of crevasse rescue practice!

Thunderstruck!

Think Ac/Dc. We are up at high camp hoping for good weather and good climbing conditions tonight on a freshly snowy cleaver!

September 3-5 climbers endure stormy weather

The climb made it Ingraham Flats but was unfortunately unable to make a summit attempt due to thunder and lightening as a storm rolled through. There was a break in the late morning, during which Pete Moore and Danny Ozment worked on high camp in preparation for a bigger system moving through last night. 

September 3-5 Rainier climb checks in

Lead guide Stuart Robertson called to check in from Camp Muir this morning. He says all are doing well and everyone was strong getting up to Muir yesterday. The group moved up to Ingraham Flats and will be watching the weather to see if they can get a summit attempt in before the next system moves into the area.

Rainier Climbs contending with unsettled weather

Our last few climbs have been facing the challenging weather that can come with attempting to scale a high peak like Mt. Rainier. The Pacific Northwest has been experiencing a series of low pressure systems moving through the area, preventing the last few climbs from getting much higher than the top of Disappointment Cleaver. The weather looks to improve this coming weekend, and hopefully the forecast will pan out the way the models are currently predicting.

The climbers have not been sitting idle while at Camp Muir or Ingraham Flats, however! Our guides have been teaching snow travel and mountaineering skills, and climbers are learning first-hand about staying warm and comfortable in a challenging mountain environment. Having the Gombu and a weatherport at Camp Muir provides additional teaching space out of the weather for further skills practice, and sharing a few jokes as well.

In addition, guides are seeing "late season" conditions on the mountain and are working hard with guides from the other concessionaires to make sure the route is in the best shape it can be for each climb. In a dynamic mountain environment the options for the route can change frequently, and guides are pooling their time and energy to keep the route in shape for the days when the weather cooperates!

8/27 3 day holding pattern

We have decided to spend a second night at Camp Muir due to high winds. Last night's high gust cam around 0100 and blew 83 mph. Luckily we are all safe and sound hunkered in the hut up here practicing the alpine cower technique. With an improving forecast tomorrow we saddle up the ton tons and head out to see how high we can get. And I thought... They smelled bad... On the outside!

Ton ton riding on Rainier

Looking toward the hut.

The aftermath.

6-day mountaineering course checks in from Mt. Baker

Lead guide Stuart Robertson called to check in from Mt. Baker. Depending on how the weather plays out, the team is will make a summit attempt when they get the best weather window in the next few days. Stuart reported all are in good spirits and everyone is doing well.

Blustery Summit for 8/24 summit climb

The 3 day Muir team summited this morning at 0645. Despite blustery conditions, low visibility, and rime ice on everything we made our way to the crater for a brief and very cold respite before beginning our descent. Nice work Ian, Brian, and Walter negotiating ladders, crevasses, fixed lines and steepness en route to summit glory.

High camp

Ice axe a la rime.

Aug 22-24 Rainier climb...100% success!

Lead guide Dave Watson checked in to say that the whole team is safely back at high camp after everyone made the summit! They encountered windy, cold conditions on the climb, but all are doing well and ready for some well deserved rest.

Aug. 18- 23 6-day Mountaineering course

Lead guide Devin Bishop just checked in from getting a bite to eat at the Skagit River Brewery with the 6-day participants and guide Nick Mullan. The group successfully summitted Mt. Baker yesterday at about 6pm, putting their skills into practice to climb the mountain. Thanks to Devin for the highlight reel below...

August 22-24 Rainier

The weather's not bad above the low cloud layer!

Lhakpa Gelu cooking eggs and bacon for breakfast this morning. Yum!

The team is headed to Ingraham Flats, and then eventually to the summit hopefully!

Fire season

We had a great perspective of a forest fire just started east of the mountain. As the sun went down we could see the glow of the flames in the distance. I only regret we didn't have s'more fixins!

Also psyched we managed to summit and enjoy a lovely sunrise after crossing 3 ladders!

August 20-22 Rainier climb

The guides called to check in yesterday after making good time up to Camp Muir on Tuesday. With beautiful weather, and stomachs full of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and coffee, the climbers spent a few hours on snow school, learning how to move efficiently and effectively in crampons and as a rope team. The group then headed to our Ingraham Flats high camp, and planned to get some rest before a summit attempt in the early hours this morning.

Aug. 16-18 Baker climb

Here's a couple photos from last weekend's successful Mt. Baker climb. Thanks to guide Dylan Cembalski for the dramatic shots! The weather cooperated enough for100% summit success.

Having fun at Camp Muir.

Emmons Team Summit Attempt Thursday

Lead guide Eitan Green called to report that a mix of blowing snow/rain and poor visibility forced the team to turn around at about 11,600' on their summit attempt. A wet low pressure system has been moving through the region this week, which the group experienced first-hand. They headed back to Camp Shurman to get warm and dry, and are heading out to the White River trailhead this morning. Mountain weather can be humbling any time of year!

At camp Schurman

We are up at camp Schurman enjoying the views and the cool cloud formations. We will be climbing tonight. Wish us luck!

August 10-12 Juniper Fund Climb success!

Alpine Ascents guide Dave Morton, and fellow First Ascent athlete & RMI guide Melissa Arnot led a fundraising and awareness climb for their newly founded non-profit The Juniper Fund (www.thejuniperfund.org), along with guides Lakpa Rita Sherpa and Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa. The team had great weather and a successful summit attempt, with many laughs along the way. Thanks to Dave for the photos below!

Emmons climbers moving to Camp Schurman

This photo is from an Emmons climb last week, looking out from a perch up on the Inter Glacier. The current Emmons climb camped in the same area last night (around 8,000 ft), and is moving up to Camp Schurman today. Lead guide Eitan Green checked in saying all is well. 

Mt. Olympus Fred Hutch Climb Success (and Birthdays!)

The Mt. Olympus Fred Hutch CLIMB had a successful summit this week, with beautiful weather and stunning surroundings in the Olympic National Park. While on the trip, Lead Guide Seth Timpano and climber Lynn Lippert both celebrated their birthdays on August 13th. Happy birthday to you both! The climbers are still on the Olympic Penninsula, but when they are able to send some photos we'll post those as well.

13-day course checks in

Michael Horst called to check in from Mt. Shuksan, letting us know that all is going well on the first part of the 13-day program. They've been learning mountaineering skills and put those skills into action with  a successful summit yesterday (Tuesday). They even had time to do a little ice climbing on the way down! The next section will be rock-focused, with the location being somewhat dependent on the forecast. We'll post another update when we hear more, but for now Micahel and the climbers are doing really well and enjoying the smaller team learning environment.

Beautiful day at Camp Muir

Another gorgeous day on Mt. Rainier. The team is practicing skills and preparing to move to the Ingraham Flats. Every one is doing well and excited for our summit bid. Gale says she is pshyched!

Mt. Baker climb success!

Guides Eric Salazar and Pasang Lhamu Sherpa led climbers to the summit of Mt. Baker this weekend, avoiding the thunderstorms along the way, and enjoying the views from the summit.

Aug 8-10 climb summits

Another successful Fred Hutch Climb for Breast Cancer!

 Thanks to Lisa for the shots with the  FH banner at Ingraham Flats and on the Summit.

And to Devin for the great shadow photo from the upper mountain.

August 6-8 Rainier climb summits!

The 3-day Rainier climb headed up for a sunset climb on the afternoon of August 7th to avoid the crowds on the route, and summitted in the evening before heading back to Ingraham Flats for some well deserved rest. The group descended and returned to Seattle yesterday afternoon.

Emmons climb summits

Great group, beautiful day, off to have Some beers!

3-day Rainier climb Heading out for a sunset climb

8-5 Emmons

It was a beautiful hike to our camp at 7800 feet here on the Inter Glacier. Everyone's doing well and enjoying a relaxing afternoon. 

Alpine Rock

Though we are well known at Alpine Ascents for our aptitude in avoiding crevasses and traveling to the highest of altitudes on giant mountains, no climbing resume is complete without some low altitude romps through some alpine rock.

Fellow guide, Matt, and I took our day off to go explore  vertical crack climbing in the Enchantments on a route called Acid Baby. We found excellent climbing and phenomenal alpine positions with views over the Enchantment Lakes and Stuart Range. It was a great day and we would love to share some alpine rock with you as a part of our private guiding program.