Greetings follow climbers!
The Pacific Northwest continues to have its classic weather pattern of sunny days coupled with stormy patches. With the summer solstice behind it is hard to imagine days are slowly getting shorter. Similar to last week, teams have taken advantage of the beautiful weather windows and have had success all over the Cascades including summits on Glacier Peak, Washington Pass, Mt Baker, Mt Adams, and Mt Rainier. Weather forecasts for the remainder of the week and weekend look to bring more of the same, a classic mixture of sunny spells and snow showers at the upper elevation terrain. For those climbing on Mt Rainier, we recommend using the University of Washington’s Rainier Recreational Forecast which comes out twice daily.
Koma Kushan (Mount Baker) & North Cascades
Teams on Mt Baker have continued to enjoy great climbing conditions on both sides of the mountain. Guides recommend using double boots on both sides of the mountain currently as the snow is saturated and wetting out single boots. Climbers will find a mixture of dirt trail and snow for the first 1.5-2hrs, then travel on snow for the rest of the climb to camp. Guides report that the glaciers are still filled in nicely and climbing well. Our first Glacier Peak trip just returned and with 100% success. Climbers spent 5 days on this remote volcano in the central Cascades. This week our first Mt. Olympus trip launched and will have an update for you when they return.
Tahoma (Mount Rainier)
On the Muir route, low elevation snow has melted, and climbers are now using the summer trail to access the Muir Snowfield. Once on the Muir Snowfield, climbers will find a well-traveled path up to Camp Muir. Above Camp Muir the route is in good condition and teams are reaching the summit daily when weather allows. The Disappointment Cleaver is slowly melting out and climbers will find around 60% of the Cleaver to be snow covered. Above the Cleaver, the route is direct and has 1 ladder crossing at 13,100. Once above the ladder the route makes a few switch backs as it heads up to Columbia Crest. Over on the Kautz route our recent trip had 100% success and guides reported the route in good condition with sections of “fun and moderate” ice climbing in the Kautz Ice Chute. On the north side of Mt Rainier the trail to Glacier Basin is melting quickly and guides are recommending climbers use approach shoes to access the Emmons route on day 1. The Emmons is in good condition overall and earlier this week 12 of 12 climbers stood on top of Mt Rainier via the Emmons Route. Our current Emmons team is moving up the mountain and will be making a summit attempt if weather allows.
Thank you for following up our blog, and happy climbing!
We provide a weekly conditions report. Stay tuned for next week’s update!
