I successfully summited Mt. Rainier

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: NuclearNed

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.

There are mountains that have a higher elevation, but many of them start out much higher, too.

If you have a 14,000 foot mountain that starts at 2,000 feet, and a 14,001 mountain that starts at 13,000 feet, one is going to look like a huge mountain, while the other will look like a small hill.

Or, for a better comparison, the top of Empire State Building has an elevation of about 1480 feet, while Mile High Stadium in Denver was about 5,400 feet in elevation. However. the Empire State Building rises 1472 feet above the ground, while Mile High Stadium only rose about 150 feet above the ground.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: 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.

I've been to the top of Pikes Peak (8 year old picture) and it isn't ANYWHERE close to as imposing or impressive as the pics that Ned has of Rainier. They are similar elevations but that mountain is like being on a different planet compared to Pike's Peak.

 

[NuclearNed]

Originally posted by: 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?

Yeah, but he rode off a cliff.

 

[NuclearNed]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ

Originally posted by: NuclearNed

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.

There are mountains that have a higher elevation, but many of them start out much higher, too.

If you have a 14,000 foot mountain that starts at 2,000 feet, and a 14,001 mountain that starts at 13,000 feet, one is going to look like a huge mountain, while the other will look like a small hill.

Got it. That makes perfect sense.

 

[Rabidwerewolf]

Awesome pics. :thumbsup:I've always wanted to hike and do some climbing in Washington. Congrats on your accomplishment.

 

[Sukhoi]

Great job! I can't believe it was that cold and snowy up there in the middle of June. :Q

 

[NuclearNed]

Originally posted by: Sukhoi
Great job! I can't believe it was that cold and snowy up there in the middle of June. :Q

There was snow 6-8 feet deep way down the mountain from the Paradise visitors center. This past November the mountain got over 18 inches of rain in a little over a day. It caused massive flooding in the park, and I'm assuming that a lot of it was snow on the upper slopes.

 

[skyking]

Originally posted by: Sukhoi
Great job! I can't believe it was that cold and snowy up there in the middle of June. :Q

On the hottest day down below in the puget sound area, it is still around the freezing mark at the top of that mountain. It never thaws out, and has large permanent glaciers.

 

[Ewat]

You should have skied down

 

[Jawo]

Awesome....thats amazing! What type of camera did you use?

 

[NuclearNed]

Originally posted by: Ewat
You should have skied down

Too many crevasses... I've grown accustomed to all my bones being intact.

 

[NuclearNed]

Originally posted by: Jawo
Awesome....thats amazing! What type of camera did you use?

Canon PowerShot G7 with all the settings on "auto". I'm not much of a photographer, but with a good camera and scenery where you literally can't take a bad pic, I manage.