really high country

[jackelope]

view of the muir snowfield from the summit of rainier. my little bro summitted it last year. just thought it was a pretty cool pic i'd share. he didn't take many pics because he said every time he turned around to take a pic he got dizzy because it was so steep.

[Ray]

Nice photo! I'd bet money that is actually inside one of the summit craters you are looking at. Rainier has dual craters. The Cowlitz Cleaver and Gibraltar Rocks are in the way of the Muir Snowfield (at least from the summit) and those people would be much smaller dots. Long way up there and air is thin.

[jackelope]

to be honest i have no idea where it is. thats where he said it was. if i remember correctly he took the cleaver route to the summit? does that make sense? he very well could be wrong on what he was looking at.

[Ray]

Yeah it makes sense. There is no doubt that is the summit of Rainier. 

[jackelope]

another one. my brother is the guy standing all the way to the right.

[MichaelJ]

Maybe it's just me, but climbing a mountain like that just for the hell of it doesn't appeal to me...  I understand why you some may want to, to say they've done it and to challenge themselves, but unless there's a 200" muledeer buck up there, then count me out! lol

Michael

[boneaddict]

Actually Michael, I feel about the same way.  I'll bust my tail to get where I can have a great hunt or find the coolest rock, but have never been motivated to climb some big chunck of ice.  My luck, I'd get up there and everywhere wlse would be smogged or smoked in.

[GOcougsHunter]

It is the summit crater of Rainer on the north side.  When you take the cleaver route, you have to cross the summit crater (note the cattle trail) to get to the "true summit" and sign the register which is in a metal box bolted to a rock about 100 feet from the true top.  Last time we summitted, my buddy Chris and I threw a frisbee back and forth in the crater.  We stopped when people started throwing snowballs at us.  The best thing about climbing the big peaks of Washington is that it puts all of the deer hunting areas like Entiat and the Blues into wonderful perspective.  I don't even blink at crawl up a steep clearcut or ridge line.

[WDFW-SUX]

I grew up at the base of that pig and have seen way to many army choppers flying up there to get people thanks but no thanks.

[Guy]

That is some Really High Country! I like it. Got to the top of Shasta (14,160 or so) but never went up Ranier. Those big volcanoes are awesome. My climbing buddy died up on that mountain with a few of his friends. They climbed it while I was away, in the Marines. Sure do miss that guy - he was a good friend. Mountain weather can get bad real quick - be careful up there, I don't go so high anymore.

Did find myself up around 11,000' hunting elk in Wyoming a few years back. That was quite the experience.

Regards, Guy

[GOcougsHunter]

I'm sorry about your buddy.  I know a few people who have lost partners and buddies on Denali and Everest.  There are risks to just about everything.  And you are very right about the weather changing.  Anyone who spends time in the High Country here in WA should be prepared for anything.  Weather can change in an instant.
I was fortunate to chase elk around Beaver Creek in CO a few years back.  My altimeter had us topped out at 13,100'

[Guy]

Thanks. He died a long time ago, 20+ years now, but I still miss Gregg. We had some great times climbing, skiing and hiking. I never got the whole story - but apparently he and his buddies got trapped up on Ranier, unable to descend, and unable to survive for too long without food or shelter, just in their climbing gear w/o much food. All were young, Gregg was strong and experienced. I didn't know the guys he was with on that trip but understand that they too were experienced climbers. Sometimes the mountain calls the shots.

Every now and again I get myself in a bit of a pickle out in the mountains - especially on x-c skis or snowshoes in the winter - and sometimes wonder if I'm going to be able to get back to the truck where there's warm clothes, heat, shelter, food and often a thermos of hot coffee... The lure of crossing that next ridgeline, and the one after that and so on can lead me far past where I should have turned around. Still does, year after year.

Regards, Guy

[WDFW Hates ME!!!]

We are going to CO next year. Park the truck at 9000 and hike to 12000. I want to hike one of the Mts around here to see what the oxygen level is like...