I successfully summited Mt. Rainier

[everman]

Nice job, a bit surprising that only 2 people were able to finish besides the guide. What's the ranking in difficulty for this mountain?

 

[NuclearNed]

Originally posted by: everman
Nice job, a bit surprising that only 2 people were able to finish besides the guide. What's the ranking in difficulty for this mountain?

Only 2 people on my particular rope team summited, but several in my group summited. I don't know the exact numbers, but I think we started with 19, and I think about 12 made it all the way to the top.

This is the Rainier Mountaineering description of the climb I took.

According to the site above, this climb has "the reputation as the hardest endurance climb in the lower forty-eight states."

 

[mpitts]

Originally posted by: NuclearNed

Originally posted by: mpitts
Any thread that can drop a "Better Off Dead" reference is worth five stars to me.



BTW, congrats. That is so freakin' cool.

Wow, someone else remembers that movie???

YOU'RE EXCEEDING THE SPEED LIMIT, LAYNE MEYER!

 

[KK]

What would the rough cost be of doing a climb such as you did?

 

[NuclearNed]

Originally posted by: KK
What would the rough cost be of doing a climb such as you did?

The guide cost about $850.
The equipment rental was about $450.
With food, lodging, airfare, etc., I estimate the whole trip cost me $2500. This price also covers all siteseeing we did during the entire week.

There are longer climbs offered by Rainier Mountaineering, but they are more expensive. Also, my buddy and I asked our employers to sponsor us in return for a little positive publicity. We each got $500 from our respective employers, which whittles down my out-of-pocket to about $2000.

 

[SirStev0]

nice ... I hiked part of Rainier when I went to Seattle last summer... Very cool place... Didn't do any climbing... went on a back trail that took you to extinct lava tubes... that was very fun.

 

[bigrash]

wow it looks so beautiful out there. congratulations!

and thanks for sharing the pics

 

[MisterJackson]

Something to be proud of indeed.


I'm no expert in climbing by any means, but isn't it a bad idea to wear jeans? Cotton and cold wet conditions don't mix well, no?

 

[ThePresence]

Awesome! :thumbsup:
That sunrise pic is fantastic.

 

[JDMnAR1]

Excellent pictures, thanks for posting them!

 

[NuclearNed]

Originally posted by: MisterJackson
Something to be proud of indeed.


I'm no expert in climbing by any means, but isn't it a bad idea to wear jeans? Cotton and cold wet conditions don't mix well, no?

Jeans or any cotton clothes would be murder up there. I don't think anyone in any of the pics is wearing jeans, but I could be wrong. Virtually everything we wore was gortex.

 

[skyking]

Originally posted by: NuclearNed

Originally posted by: bignateyk
Awesome!

What mountain is that in the distance in #170?

I was out to Mt. Rainier about 2 years ago, but I didnt summit. I just climbed for half a day, then turned around.

I think the near mountain is Mt. Adams, then on the far horizon to the right of the pic is Mt. Hood. If someone knows for sure that I'm wrong, then please correct me.

Confirmed. I see that picture quite often, minus the nearby snow in the foreground

 

[Ragnarok2]

These are amazing pictures NuclearNed, congrats on reaching the summit!

 

[adlep]

Congrats,
This is definitely on my to do list as well...
Congrats

 

[montanafan]

Congratulations on your conquest! Nice photos too, thanks for posting them.

 

[iRONic]

Congrats, mang! Spectacular pics too.

 

[Kerouactivist]

wow man thats awesome....you'll remember that forever....

major props

 

[Jadow]

congrats, that is really cool

 

[cmv]

Awesome but in your victory picture there is some more mountain in the background .

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: NuclearNed

Originally posted by: mpitts
Any thread that can drop a "Better Off Dead" reference is worth five stars to me.



BTW, congrats. That is so freakin' cool.

Wow, someone else remembers that movie???

Was a paperboy on a bike waiting for you at the top asking for his $2?

 

[91TTZ]

Congratulations on a difficult hike. I climbed Mt. Saint Helens last year and that really beat me up. It was like walking up a sand dune because of all the ash. You take 3 steps up, but you slid 2 back in the process.

Mt. Rainier looked absolutely massive in the area. You can see it from everywhere in the region.

 

[Vic]

Rainier is massive. IIRC, it's the 2nd largest mountain by volume (after Shasta), and has the largest glacier volume, in the continental US. And its prominence (or independent rise above the surrounding land) is among the highest in the world. Long story short, it's bigger and taller than any mountain in Colorado.
My fav mountain is Hood, as I grew up in its shadow and love its craggy pyramidal shape, but I'll be the first to admit that it's almost tiny compared to Rainier.
It's a hell of a climb. Everest is next for the OP.

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: Vic
Rainier is massive. IIRC, it's the 2nd largest mountain by volume (after Shasta), and has the largest glacier volume, in the continental US. And its prominence (or independent rise above the surrounding land) is among the highest in the world. Long story short, it's bigger and taller than any mountain in Colorado.
My fav mountain is Hood, as I grew up in it shadow and love its craggy pyramidal shape, but I'll be the first to admit that it's almost tiny compared to Rainier.
It's a hell of a climb. Everest is next for the OP.

That's worth pointing out. I've been to a few different mountain ranges and it's hard to tell how big a mountain is based on its elevation. Pikes Peak is 14,110 feet high, but the elevation at the base is about 8,000 feet up, leaving about an 6,000 foot rise. The Cascades are very impressive because they rise almost from sea level. There is nothing obscuring their view because it's not a mountain range, it's a bunch of volcanos.

Mt. Everest has the highest elevation at the summit, but the base is at 16,000 feet, rising 13,000 feet more. Compare this to a 14,000 foot mountain that rises from a base of 2,000 feet, and you'll see that the apparent size of the mountain from the ground is nearly the same. Of course it would be much harder to breathe on Everest though.

 

[grrl]

Congratulations and nice photos.

 

[NuclearNed]

Originally posted by: Vic
Rainier is massive. IIRC, it's the 2nd largest mountain by volume (after Shasta), and has the largest glacier volume, in the continental US. And its prominence (or independent rise above the surrounding land) is among the highest in the world. Long story short, it's bigger and taller than any mountain in Colorado.
My fav mountain is Hood, as I grew up in its shadow and love its craggy pyramidal shape, but I'll be the first to admit that it's almost tiny compared to Rainier.
It's a hell of a climb. Everest is next for the OP.

I think my mountain climbing jones is satisfied for now. We had a climbing party back at base camp (beer & pizza all around) and someone asked if we would do it again. Almost everyone said that they would, but it would have to be a year or two before anyone wanted to repeat. There are other things on the list I would want to do first before doing Rainier again...

As far as it being higher than any mountain in Colorado... are you sure that is accurate? I think Rainier is the 5th tallest in the lower 48 states, but other than Mt. Whitney I'm not sure what the other taller mountains are.