Mount Rainier / Cascades

The weather pattern has shifted and summer has finally arrived in the Cascades. The last few days have seen sunny skies across the Cascade crest allowing for teams across the state to summit.

Mount Rainier
Tahoma (Mt Rainier) has had the best weather of the year so far with sunny skies and warm temperatures. The Paradise annual snow stake has lost 16” of snow in the past 7 days, and with the forecast we anticipate more snow lost in the upcoming week.  Teams this week switched from the winter route up to Camp Muir to the summer route, ascending via Pebble Creek. There is still ample snow at Paradise and mountain boots are being used straight from the parking lot. On the Muir route, teams are ascending the Ingraham Direct and guides are reporting the route to be in good condition with an average time to the summit around 4.5hrs from high camp. On the Emmons route, teams are encountering snow on the way to Glacier Basin within the first hour of travel. Glacier Basin up to Camp Schurman is fully snow covered with a well established path.  Above Camp Schurman, teams have found firm cramponing conditions and sections of the mountain to be icy.  We anticipate conditions to change with warmer temperatures forecasted.

Baker and North Cascades
Komo Kulshan (Mt Baker) – Over the past week teams have been reaching the summit of Kulshan via the Easton Glacier and Coleman Deming route. The mountain is in good climbing shape with ample snow coverage on the glaciers. On the approach up to Sandy Camp, teams are not ascending the summer trail route as seasonal snow below 5,000ft has been melting fast. The Schribers Meadow parking lot is still snow covered and we expect the parking lot to melt out quickly with the warmer weather.

Shuksan – Our team summited Mt Shuksan earlier this week and reported excellent climbing conditions to the summit.  Steep firm neve snow climbing up the south face provided a highlight for all the climbers.  The road accessing the trailhead is still blocked and climbers should be prepared for an additional short walk to access the summer trail.

Mount Rainier
Mt Rainier is still seeing winter-like conditions with over 10’ of snow at Paradise. The recent week’s teams have made summit attempts on the Muir and Emmons route. Current travel to camp Muir is still ascending the winter route up around the top of Pan Point. With the ample amount of snow, climbers are using double boots and gaiters from the parking on both the White River side and the Paradise side of the mountain. The recent strong winds and additional snowfall caused an avalanche concern on Mt Rainier over the past week. Next week the weather pattern is forecasted to shift to a more favorable climbing trend.

Baker and North Cascades
Baker – Over the past week teams have been reaching the summit of Mt Baker (Komo Kushan) via the Easton Glacier and Coleman Deming route. The mountain is in good climbing shape with ample snow coverage on the glaciers. Parking access on the southside is still blocked currently 1 mile away from the trailhead and melting slowly. Double boots and gaiters are needed from the parking lot. On SR 542 the WADOT is starting to clear the road to Artist Point which accesses climbing to the Fisher Chimney route on Shuksan. 10+’ of snow remains at 5,000ft on the mountain and there is currently not estimated time for when the road will be opened. Pictured below is the current progress of clearing the road to Artist Point- we have a ways to go until summer starts in the Cascades!

A brief pause in the onslaught of stormy weather over the past few days 6/6-6/8 has allowed several teams the reach the summit of Mt Rainier (Tahoma), Mt Baker (Komo Kulshan) and various peaks in the North Cascades. Today, 6/9 the Cascades are currently under an Atmospheric River weather event which is producing heavy rainfall across the Cascade Crest. Paradise, Washington is expected to receive 3” of water between 6/9-6/11. Some weather models are forecasting a return to high pressure middle of the next week. With all this stormy weather we have seen an unusually wet Spring. In fact, May was the wettest it has been since 1948.

Mount Rainier
Paradise still has close to 12’ of snow and is melting very slowly due the abnormally stormy and cold spring. Climbers accessing Camp Muir are ascending the Winter route up Pan Point. Guides mentioned the Muir snow field travel is currently similar to winter conditions. For current conditions on Mt Rainier, we recommend checking out the Mt Rainier National Park Muir Webcam and telemetry website for current weather at Camp Muir (please note at times these stations are in extreme locations and can experience service interruptions due to weather and other conditions. Previous to the today’s atmospheric river event the route up the Ingraham Direct was established and climbing teams reported the glacier was in good shape.
Over the week, our 4 days Emmons team made good progress on that side of the mountain. They were not able to reach the summit due to avalanche danger, the team managed to make it to 13,200ft and turned around. One big highlight for the team was they got to see a momma bear and it’s cub on the hike in.

Baker and North Cascades
Baker – Guides have been reporting excellent climbing conditions on the Easton glacier. The current route on the upper mountain is direct with little crevasse crossings at this time. The summer parking lot is still buried and snowy. Currently parking access is around 30mins below the summer trailhead. On the Northside (Coleman Deming route), climbers have been reaching the summit and mentioned finding excellent climbing conditions.
Shuksan via the Sulphide Glacier – Currently the road is blocked around 1 mile before the trailhead. The snowline is still very low on Shuksan, climbers can expect to encounter snow around 3,400ft.
WA Pass – Currently there is still an abundance of snow at Washington Pass. Guides recently climbed the South Early Winter Spire via the South Couloir. Overall there is still a lot of snow in Washington pass and the majority of summer alpine rock climbs are still covered in snow. Over the weekend there was a natural rockfall event that took place on South Early Winter Spire which was likely caused by the recent heavy rains.

Photos from 5/23 10-Day Course

Mount Rainier

Paradise still has close to 12’ of snow and is melting very slowly due the abnormally stormy and cold spring. Climbers accessing Camp Muir are ascending the Winter route up Pan Point. Guides mentioned the Muir snow field travel is currently similar to winter conditions. On June 1st our team was able to reach the summit of Mt Rainier via the Ingraham Direct. Guides reported the upper mountain to be in good condition with straightforward climbing on the glacier. Since June 2nd, the mountain has received several storms, guide teams are currently assessing mountain hazards daily. Our May 29-June 1st Kautz team was successful and able to reach the summit of Rainier via the Kautz glacier route. Guides reported the Kautz to be deep snow climbing and no ice in the Kautz Ice Chute. Lastly, we recently had a team on the Emmons glacier which turned around at 12k due to mountain weather and poor visibility. Climbers accessing the Emmons glacier can expect an abundance of snow in the Glacier Basin, the trail is fully snow-covered from the parking lot.

Baker and North Cascades

Baker – Guides have been reporting excellent climbing conditions on the Easton glacier. The current route on the upper mountain is direct with little crevasse crossings at this time. The summer parking lot is still buried and snowy. Currently parking access is around 30-40mins below the summer trailhead. On the Northside (Coleman Deming route), climbers have been reaching the summit and mentioned finding excellent climbing conditions.

Shuksan via the Sulphide Glacier – Currently the road is block around 1 mile before the trailhead. The snowline is still very low on Shuksan, climbers can expect to encounter snow around 3,400ft.

WA Pass – Currently there is still an abundance of snow at Washington Pass. Guides recently climbed the South Early Winter Spire via the South Couloir. Overall there is still a lot of snow in Washington pass and the majority of summer alpine rock climbs are still covered in snow.

Over the weekend the onslaught of stormy PNW weather stopped and normal spring like conditions have returned. Finally! With the return of sunnier skies and calm winds climbers and skiers around the Cascades rejoice!

Mount Rainier
On May 24, our team was able to summit Mt Rainier via the Ingraham Direct. This spring has been abnormally stormy which has prohibited teams from reaching the summit. Paradise is fully snow covered, teams are still using the “winter route” to access Camp Muir. With the current forecasted temperature trend we expect several more weeks until Paradise is snow free. From Camp Muir, travel across the Cowlitz glacier is easy and straightforward. From Cathedral Gap access to Ingraham Flats is full of snow. On the upper mountain teams are ascending the Ingraham Direct. Near 12,400ft the route traverses right towards the top of the Disappointment Cleaver. Above the Cleaver guides report good firm neve cramponing conditions and a direct path to the crater rim. With changing weather and mountain conditions the route will adjust during the season.
Mt Rainier National Park is scheduled to open access to White River on Memorial Day weekend. Providing access to the Emmons glacier route and Northside of the park.

Mount Baker & North Cascades
Mount Baker (Komo Kulsan) and the North Cascades saw many climbers and skiers enjoying the break in stormy weather. Our Baker Climber & Ski Descent had amazing weather and conditions as they skied off the summit and back down to camp on May 21st. Guides reported the Easton glacier is in excellent condition. They noted that all the campsites are fully snow covered, it will likely be many weeks until they melt out. At this time there is no running water at any of the camps- guides are melting snow for water.

Road Access to Baker – The road on the southside of Mount Baker is melting slowly, you can drive a vehicle to around 2 miles from the trailhead. We anticipate it will be a few weeks until the vehicles can drive to the trailhead proper. The road on the north side of Mount Baker is still closed around 6 miles from the trailhead due to a washout late last fall. The Forest Service does not anticipate that road opening in the near future.
In the North Cascades, reports show there is still ample snow above treeline and flotation is needed for travel. Highway SR20 opened as of last Tuesday (5/11). This allows access to Washington Pass and Rainy Pass –Get the Pass Report here. We had a team climb Silver Star peak over the weekend. The team reported good mountaineering conditions on Silver Star with an abnormal amount of snow for this time of year.
With the added snow in the Cascades we are all excited to see our glaciers reach above their average snowpack and hopefully keep the climbing in better shape throughout the season!