Mostly sunny skies have dominated the Pacific Northwest this weekend. Over the last week, a few small impulses of weather with a snow storm on Rainier prevented a few teams from reaching the summit. The forecast continues to see high pressure over the Pacific Northwest with seasonal temperatures. The best place to find the Rainier weather forecast is the Rainier Recreational Forecast by National Weather Service in Seattle.
Mount Rainier
Tahoma (Mt Rainier) has continued to see more seasonal weather this past week. Today (July 9th) our 3 Day Muir team reached the summit and reported excellent climbing conditions. Currently climbers can still expect snow the whole way from Paradise to Camp Muir. While it is melting quickly we don’t anticipate the dirt trails to melt out for a few more weeks. Above Camp Muir teams are still climbing the Ingraham Direct. Two ladders have been installed around the 11,600ft elevation to aid climbers in crevasse crossings. Ladders are common practice on Rainier and often used to aid in the ascent. Above the second ladder, the route is well established as it’s makes it way out towards Camp Comfort (12,600ft). Above Comfort the route is direct to the crater rim and in excellent condition. On the Emmons and Kautz route, teams reported good climbing conditions with the glaciers filled in and direct routes to the summit.
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. Teams accessing Sandy Camp have now switched over to the summer hiking trail. The summer trail is a mix of snow and dirt patches until around 4,500 ft when it becomes fully snow covered. The Easton Glacier route is currently in great shape and very direct. There is a well established climbing path on the Roman Wall. On the North side of Komo Kulshan, our North Ridge trip just summited and reported excellent climbing conditions on the route. There is around 4m of 80 degree ice climbing getting over the ice bulge section. The upper part of the North Ridge is in good condition to the summit. Currently on the North side of Baker climbers can find running water at Hogback and Murkwood camps.
North Cascades – With the sunny weather, teams have been exploring the North Cascades- from Shuksan to Eldorado to Washington Pass. As the snow slowly melts, more and more technical alpine routes are becoming accessible and dry to climb. Over the past week, teams have made ascents of Eldorado, Shuksan, and other peaks in the Washington Pass and North Cascades. With the incredibly large snowfall this spring guides have reported creeks and rivers to be running at a higher than normal level for this time of year.
