Printed June 12, 2026 08:02AM
There are a variety of causes to climb Mt. Rainier. It’s difficult. It’s stunning. And it’s not daily you get to climb a 14,410-foot lively volcano. However the different motive is that it’s sort of enjoyable to look at individuals’s eyes bug out of their heads when you say you’ve performed it. Among the many mountaineering set, Mt. Rainier the mountain. After the Grand Teton, it’s arguably essentially the most well-known peak within the Decrease 48.
There are greater than 20 climbing routes up Mt. Rainier, however the primary commerce route—the Disappointment Cleaver (DC)—is taken into account a testpiece for aspiring mountaineers and a life-list goal for outdoorspeople of all stripes. Climbers use it as a stepping stone to Denali. Guides use it as prep for working Everest.
Once I did the DC just a few years in the past, I used to be admittedly a bit of intimidated. I had heard rumors of icy crevasses and harmful rockfall, and likewise of conga traces and smug guides. I rapidly realized that some features of Mt. Rainier’s larger-than-life fame are overblown—and others are proper on the cash.
Right here’s what I’d want I’d recognized beforehand, and what I’d do otherwise if I have been to climb it once more.
It’s attainable to get a walk-up allow, however don’t depend on it.
When my climbing associate and I began speaking about climbing Rainier, we knew it must be in a slender time window between different journeys. We didn’t have a adequate grip on our timing to order a climbing allow upfront. The workaround? Mt. Rainier Nationwide Park reserves 50 % of climbing permits for first-come, first-served walk-ups. We determined to depend on that.
Our aim was to climb on a weekday in late July, each to keep away from Seattle’s peak-season weekend warriors and to present ourselves a greater shot at a walk-in slot. Sadly, the climate had different plans: The one day of full solar and low wind in late July was a Saturday.
The excellent news: We have been in a position to snag a allow. The unhealthy information: The one one we have been in a position to get was for a single-day climb. Most individuals cut up the 9,000-vertical-foot ascent into two days with an evening at Camp Muir in between. We’d should do it in a single push.
That yr, we have been match sufficient to make it work. But when I have been to do it once more, I’d strive a lot tougher to get a reservation upfront.
An emergency shelter isn’t a foul thought.
My climbing associate and I began mountaineering round midnight and hit Camp Muir earlier than first gentle. There, within the lee of a pit rest room, we rested for 20 minutes whereas we waited for the sky to brighten—and that was simply sufficient time to get nicely and actually chilly.
At that time, a vicious wind had kicked up, and I’d began to shiver badly. We had each introduced down parkas and rain shells, which blocked a lot of the gusts. However the true morale-saver was a two-person emergency shelter my associate had introduced alongside on a whim. He unfurled it and tucked the glorified tarp round us, and we bundled ourselves into it for simply lengthy sufficient to heat up, settle down, and muster our braveness for the climb forward.
I might by no means have thought to deliver an emergency shelter on a route as well-traveled because the Disappointment Cleaver. But when I have been to do it once more, that is the very first thing I’d put in my pack.
The ascent isn’t technical, however you’ll want particular security abilities.
Earlier than our climb, I downloaded offline routes and pored over journey stories to ensure I had my instructions dialed. Whereas I’m glad I had some backup navigation in case of a shock storm, I didn’t find yourself utilizing it: Nearly the whole DC is well-marked with little flags. So, when you hit it in good circumstances (and after a good bit of visitors), you might end up following a transparent path the entire method.
It’s additionally unlikely that you simply’ll have to re-route round crevasses—one other side of the climb I used to be frightened about. Guiding outfits set up ladders throughout any open gashes within the ice, which makes it comparatively straightforward to cross them with none extra technical ability.
All that mentioned, I wouldn’t have tried Mt. Rainier with no excessive degree of expertise each at altitude and on glaciated terrain. My climbing associate and I had performed just a few Fourteeners in Colorado and had years of ice- and snow-climbing expertise. We’d additionally summited Mt. Hood—a barely extra beginner-friendly volcano—the week earlier than. Because of this, we discovered the climb a fairly easy walk-up. In case you’re unfamiliar with snow journey, glaciers, or publicity, you might need a distinct expertise.
The opposite consideration is that on Mt. Rainier, there’s little or no margin for error. The slopes are steep, and a misstep may ship you sliding 1000’s of toes. The danger worsens if you end up off-route. That is high-consequence terrain, and climate typically prevents helicopters from flying shut. If one thing unhealthy occurs, you would be hours if not days from rescue.
So, if you wish to do Mt. Rainier with no information, you’ll have to guage these dangers for your self. You’ll want to know when to rope up, the way to use crampons, and the way to self-arrest. You also needs to know the way to conduct a crevasse rescue in case of a fall.
Getting caught in a conga line isn’t truly that unhealthy.
Once I first began prepping for the DC, I learn numerous journey stories about impolite guides, lengthy traces, and a high-drama industrial guiding scene. However whereas my climbing associate and I did get caught behind guided events, it was much more nice than we anticipated. Guides allow us to cross as quickly because it was secure to take action, and the temper among the many purchasers was usually certainly one of stoke and awe. I felt extra certain of constructing mates in line than anyplace else on the mountain.
Apart from, it’s the guiding corporations who put together the routes and put the ladders in. Can a few of them be a bit of grouchy? Positive. However odds are good that none of us can be climbing this route with out their prep work, so ask politely earlier than you cross, and do your finest to be form.
The descent is the actual crux.
Climbing Mt. Rainier includes a whopping 9,000 toes of elevation acquire, which is why most individuals select to interrupt it up into two days or extra. And whereas my quads wobble on the mere reminiscence of the ascent, it’s the descent that’s nonetheless giving the poor little guys nightmares.
Ascending 9,000 toes in a day is tough, however doable. It comes right down to profitable acclimatization, good fueling, and environment friendly progress (learn: regular tempo, few breaks). It’s a activity most match hikers can accomplish given sufficient time and energy.
Descending 9,000 toes is a distinct story. It’s tougher to coach for taking place. On prime of that, publicity typically seems extra excessive whenever you’re staring down a steep hill than whenever you’re staring up it. Because of this, I spent extra time in crampons on the way in which down than on the way in which up—and spent much more time doing my calming respiration workout routines.
If I have been to climb Mt. Rainier once more, I’d do much more eccentric quad coaching (suppose: sluggish, managed lateral step-downs and ahead lunges) earlier than the journey. I’d additionally take extra breaks in the course of the descent—something to maintain my quads from turning to jelly earlier than Camp Muir.
It’s robust—however positively inside attain.
There’s no mincing phrases: Mt. Rainier is one huge mountain. Nevertheless it’s actually doable when you’re prepared to take the time to get match, acclimatize correctly, and get the assistance it’s worthwhile to do it safely.
If in case you have a number of years of expertise climbing at altitude, are snug and assured in snowy terrain, and have self-arrest and crevasse-rescue protocols seared into your muscle reminiscence, you may be capable to do the route unguided.
In case you’re not assured with publicity, haven’t performed a mountain of this measurement, haven’t frolicked on a glacier, and/or don’t have time to be taught the appropriate rescue abilities, a guided journey continues to be a superbly affordable method to go. There are just a few outfits that function within the park. In case you can, attempt to get a smaller group; amongst all the oldsters I noticed in line, these have been those who gave the impression to be having essentially the most enjoyable.
