8-Day Course Day-to-Day Itinerary
Day 1: Early Morning Gear check in our Seattle office, then drive to White River Camp Ground, 2.5 hours. From here we hike for 4 hours to glacier basin where we will set up Camp for the night. Topics covered include: Map and compass, knots, mountain safety, equipment overview and prussiking. Camp at Glacier Basin.
Day 2: This day is dedicated to snow school practice. We hike for an hour to the base of the Inner Glacier where we demonstrate and practice all positions of self arrest, proper ice axe and crampon use, snow anchors and rope techniques for glacier travel. Second night at Glacier Basin.
Day 3: Ascend the Inner glacier up and over a ridge to the Winthrop Glacier and establish camp. During this ascent instructions will be given on route finding through crevasse fields, mountain safety awareness and proper glacier travel. At camp we will introduce the technical systems for crevasse rescue. Camp on Winthrop Glacier.
Day 4: Crevasse Rescue day. Climbers will participate and perform all aspects of crevasse rescue. This is a full day spent training to make sure you have a good working knowledge of this safety skill.
Day 5: Ice climbing. This day we will practice on seracs (glacier ice walls) and learn the techniques necessary for ice climbing. Ice anchors and belays are demonstrated and practiced. Climbers will be able to challenge steep ice using two tools. Camp on Winthrop Glacier just below Camp Schurman. After instruction, additional guides will join us for the summit team.
Day 6: Advanced Glacier Work
Day 7: Summit Day! We depart around midnight to 1 AM. The entire climb is on glaciers until we hit the crater rim. This 4500 ft summit day is challenging as we move through large crevasse field often crossing deep crevasses and climbing up steep snow slopes. Snow and ice anchors will be placed when necessary for safety. We hope to reach the crater rim shortly after sunrise, where we will travel for another 30 minutes to Columbia Crest, the true summit of Mount Rainier. Several short rest brakes will be taken along the summit route as we ascent the mountain. After summiting we descend to our high camp to spend the night.
Day 8: We pack up our camp and descend down the Inner Glacier to Glacier Basin Camp site and then on to White River Camp where the Van is parked. After changing into our street shoes we dive back to Seattle for a evening of celebration and dinner.
This is an extremely rigorous seven days and being in strong physical condition is mandatory. One day of skills review is included in the climb. Please note, the guide retains the right, at any point, to determine whether a climber is sufficiently fit to continue the climb.