Cascades Conditions Report 9/18/24
Greetings fellow climbers,
Autumn is in full swing with cool nights in the mountains and a mixture of sunny and rainy days keeping us on our toes. Our summer climbing operations here in the PNW are slowly winding down for the summer climbing season. On Mount Rainier (Tahoma), our final trip of 2024 summited on Monday, September 16th. Since then, our guides have removed all the seasonal adjuncts off the mountain and broken down our fixed camps at both Ingraham Flats and Camp Muir. Our 2025 climbing dates are live on the website and we recommend booking sooner than later as the season fills up fast! In the North Cascades and Mt Baker (Kulshan) we have a few remaining trips in the field, with teams on Mt Shuksan, Ingalls Peak, and Mt Baker.
With this being our final update for the Cascade blog for 2024 we want to send a special thank you to all our guides for their hard work this season. Our guides worked tirelessly to make 2024 a memorable and safe climbing year. We would also like to thank our climbers for joining us and we hope to share the rope with you all soon.
Until next summer season, happy climbing!
Cascades Conditions Report 9/11/2024
Greetings fellow climbers!
Fall is in the air with a mixture of cooler temperatures and mountain snow. Over the past week our guides have reported new snow up high on the peaks of Mt Baker, Shuksan, and Mt Rainier. The long term forecast shows a cooler and more typically Cascade weather pattern with a mixture of sunny spells combined with intermittent storms. With the upcoming forecast, it is important that climbers are bringing all the proper equipment we note on our gear lists. If you have specific questions about gear please do not hesitate to reach out to one of our gear guru’s at [email protected].
Tahoma
On Mt Rainier, our team successfully summited yesterday on 9/10! This makes them the most recent of our successful September summit attempts. With just a few trips remaining, we have guide staff carefully maintaining the disappointment cleaver route. Over the week not much has changed on the upper mountain aside from the installation of another ladder. The route has a grand total of 5 ladders between high camp and the summit. Our last trip on Rainier will be making a summit attempt next week on 9/17. Thank you for following our summer Cascade blog and if you are interested in joining us on Mt Rainier next year we will be releasing our 2025 dates tomorrow (9/12) at 9am PT. Be sure to hop online and grab a spot – these dates go fast!
Happy climbing!
We provide a weekly conditions report. Stay tuned for more updates.
Cascades Conditions Report 9/4/2024
Greetings climbers,
Schools are starting up again and the mountains are quieting down as we approach the end of the busy season of Cascades climbing. We kicked off our final 6 Day course on Baker earlier this week, and we have teams of climbers spread across the state from Rainier, to Vesper Peak, to Shuksan, Washington Pass, and Twin Sisters.
Tahoma (Mount Rainier)
Guides on Tahoma report that the route up the DC remains in good shape and climbers are summitting daily. Our recent group summitted September 3rd with 100% client success – everyone on the team climbed to the summit of Tahoma! Climbers are in trail shoes up until the Muir Snowfield, where they’ll switch to mountain boots for the seasonal snow. The route on the upper mountain is direct above the cleaver, and features a double ladder at 13,100 feet and several switchbacks to the summit rim. Guides are generally choosing double boots at this time of the season, but as always adjustments may be made at gear check as conditions change.
As the end of the season approaches, be sure to keep an eye out for our 2025 season schedule! We’ll be sending an announcement with information on our release date to our mailing list – check in at the end of the month, or join our mailing list at the bottom of this page to be notified.
Happy climbing!
We provide a weekly conditions report. Stay tuned for more updates!
Cascades Conditions 8/26/24
Greetings follow climbers!
We are entering the final week of August and it sure feels like the seasons have shifted. We’ve seen all types of weather over the past week, from thunderstorms to sunny skies, to hail, to stellar conditions. Our teams have been climbing as the weather allows and others have had to pause their summit attempts due to the weather. We anticipate an unstable airmass with challenging forecasting ahead. With this weather pattern fluctuating between storms and sun, along with the shorter days of late summer, please make sure you bring all the required equipment on the gear list. Despite the cooler and wetter weather there are still wildfires burning in the Cascades and a section of Highway 20 is also currently closed, but climbers continue to access Washington Pass climbing via an alternate driving route up the eastern side of the state. In addition, the Cascade River Road used to access Forbidden Peak and Boston Basin is still closed.
Koma Kulshan (Mount Baker) & North Cascades
Guide teams continue to note excellent climbing conditions on the mountain. Keeping up with recent themes, our latest 3 day Baker team had 100% success, in tune with other courses on the mountain like our 6 day mountaineering school. On Mt Shuksan, our teams recently climbed both the Fisher Chimney route and the Sulfide route up the mountain. Guides notes that on the Fisher Chimney the route was in substantially better condition than it has been in previous years. This may be due to the cold wet spring we had and ample snowfall in May. We have also had a team recently climb the West Ridge of Mt Stuart. This rare gem in the heart of the Cascades is highly sought after and we are proud to have just completed guiding this route at a 1 climber to 1 guide ratio.
Tahoma (Rainier) Muir route
Not much has changed since our last post, and we’ve led another team to the summit of Rainier. Guides are reporting that the route remains in good climbing condition on the mountain. Attached here is our previous update, which continues to reflect the conditions we currently see: The Muir snowfield still has seasonal snow but is not icy. Once at Camp Muir, the route to high camp across the Cowlitz Glacier is straightforward, and all seasonal snow has melted from Cathedral Gap. Climbers are currently using the Disappointment Cleaver route to summit. Guides have noted that the route above the Cleaver is direct, with several adjuncts installed to assist climbers. A double ladder at 13,100 feet is providing an enjoyable climbing experience. Above the ladder, the route involves several switchbacks as it ascends the glacier to the summit rim. The route conditions can change periodically, and we have pre-scheduled route workers on the mountain to make necessary adjustments. For more information on factors affecting your ability to summit, please refer to our “Will I summit Rainier tab”.
Happy climbing!
We provide a weekly conditions report. Stay tuned for future updates.
Cascades Conditions Report 8/20/2024
Greeting fellow climbers!
The temperatures have shifted and it feels like we are finally past the hot summer days. Across the Cascades we are seeing temperatures and freezing levels on par with seasonal averages for this time of year. Over the recent week a few storms have impacted the state which has helped reduce wildfire smoke in the area. There are still several large fires burning in Washington and unfortunately the Cascade River Road and Washington Pass are still closed due to an active fire. Washington Pass and Mazama can be access by driving around the eastern side of the state.
Tahoma (Rainier) Muir route:
Our team successfully summited on August 16th, but the group that attempted to climb on August 18th impacted by a thunderstorm and inclement weather conditions that prevented a summit attempt. Current reports indicate that the climbing route is in good condition overall, with a direct path above high camp. On the first day of your climb we recommend wearing trail shoes until reaching the snow just above Pebble Creek. The Muir snowfield still has seasonal snow but is not icy. Once at Camp Muir, the route to high camp across the Cowlitz Glacier is straightforward, and all seasonal snow has melted from Cathedral Gap. Climbers are currently using the Disappointment Cleaver route to summit. Guides have noted that the route above the Cleaver is direct, with several adjuncts installed to assist climbers. A double ladder at 13,100 feet is providing an enjoyable climbing experience. Above the ladder, the route involves several switchbacks as it ascends the glacier to the summit rim. The route conditions can change periodically, and we have pre-scheduled route workers on the mountain to make necessary adjustments. For more information on factors affecting your ability to summit, please refer to our “Will I summit Rainier tab”.
Happy climbing!
We provide a weekly conditions report. Stay tuned for more updates!
The course was very high quality and covered a range of skills that would make me feel much more comfortable on future climbs. I felt like both our guides wanted the climbers to learn and they effectively conveyed the knowledge they had. They also took the time to patiently work with climbers that needed a […]
