Greeting follow climbers!
Sunny skies dominated the PNW this Memorial Day, and climbers around the state took advantage of the weather. We have reports of climbers reaching the summits of peaks from the tip of the North Cascades all the way down to Mt Hood in Oregon. We continue to have teams scattered across the state and globe. Our Everest expedition recently summited over the weekend with all 5 climbers reaching the top of the world. In the northern frontier of Alaska, our first 3 Denali expeditions reached the summit and are back in Talkeenta, Alaska. You can follow our Denali expeditions with the Denali Cybercast page.
Koma Kulshan (Mount Baker) & North Cascades
Our recent mountaineering courses on Mt Baker just wrapped up 6 days on the side of Koma Kulshan (Mt Baker). The most recent team finished the course with a climb to the top of Mt Baker. Our Baker summit climb teams have also had recent success when the weather has allowed. On both sides of Mount Baker, climbers are still using double boots from the trailhead. Also on Mt Baker, we just wrapped up our ice climbing course on the Coleman glacier. Climbers spent 3 days ice climbing on seracs. In the heart of the North Cascades, the Cascade River Road to access Boston Basin is still closed due to snow. The National Park mentioned that the road might have seasonal damage and will need to be assessed and repaired before opening. The Cascade River Road is currently open to the Eldorado gate trailhead. In Washington Pass, there is still several feet of snow at the trailhead and in the mountains. Climbers will need to use mountain boots to access the peaks at this time.
Tahoma (Mount Rainier)
The Paradise snow stake is slow melting and currently it just dipped below 100” for the first time this spring. With all the snow at Paradise, climbers are wearing double boots from the parking lot on all Rainier climbs. We are climbing the winter route up Pan Point to access the Muir snowfield. As the seasonal snow melts out we will start to switch to the summer trail. On the Muir route, ample snow has fallen above Camp Muir and climbers can expect the to climb the Disappointment Cleaver – which is 95% snow covered. The route is direct from the top of the cleaver with a several switchbacks as it nears 13,000 ft. At 13,000 ft the route is direct to the summit and crater rim. Currently there are no ladders in place on the Muir route. Our first Emmons trip departed 3 days ago. The team attempted to climb last night (5/29) but got turned around due to inclement weather. The guide reported good climbing conditions to get up to Camp Schurman following the Inter Glacier. Our next Emmons and Kautz teams departure next week.
Thank you for following up our blog, and happy climbing!
We provide a weekly conditions report. Stay tuned for next week’s update.
