I remember the first time I laid eyes on Mt Rainier. It was the year 2022 and I was on the I-5 driving southbound in Seattle with my friends when all of a sudden when I turned a small corner of the highway, there was a Goliath looming large and towering over everything in front of me. This Goliath was Mt Rainier and this is a common first-time story for most people who have just moved to Seattle. Rainier has a way of surprising everyone. This massive mountain is usually hidden behind clouds and sometimes buildings and bursts onto your view out of nowhere and leaves you short of breath. I could not believe my eyes. How could a mountain so massive, be hidden in plain sight on somedays and expose herself like this on others. I mean, I had driven past that road many times already and had not even known that the mountain was right there behind the clouds. But on that day, I was lucky, and the mountain decided to show herself to me.
There she was, like a giantess, majestic, gleaming gold from the tip from the setting sun, shining like the pyramid of ancient days, and standing tall like an impregnable fortress. I fell in love instantly. There was no two ways about it. In that instant, a spark was struck in my mind and an idea took root and began to consume me. Me being me, I let it consume me completely.
The idea was this: I wanted to summit Mt Rainier as soon as I could. I just could not spend another minute in this beautiful city, and look at the majestic mountain and not have attempted to summit it. But as luck would have it, there were no windows left for summit attempts in that time frame. And I was forced to tuck my tail between my legs and wait in patience. Of course! How arrogant of me, to even convince myself that I could summit this mountain as easily as I thought I could. No, the mountain would make me wait. I knew it. And I understood that good things came to people who wait.
And so here I am, in 2023. Just a year later, having booked an expedition with RMI guides and preparing for my first summit attempt of Mt Rainier in late August of this year. So fingers crossed!
So that was the context, but the main reason for me to write this blog is to document my preparation journey and experience as I lead up to the D-day (7 months away as of today).
RMI guides (Rainier Mountaineering, Inc.)
This well known mountaineering Institute was founded by the legendary mountaineer Lou Whittaker in 1969. As stated in the RMI website:
Lou, a legend on Mount Rainier, has over 250 summits while leading thousands of novice and experienced climbers to the 14,410′ summit of Mount Rainier. He has also climbed in Alaska, the Himalaya, and the Karakoram. In 1984, he led the first successful American summit of the North Col of Mount Everest.
https://www.rmiguides.com/about/guides/lou-whittaker
Naturally, I wanted to choose RMI guides as the expedition team of choice when I was going to attempt the summit although there are many other expedition guide services available in and around Rainier. Since RMI is so well known, I had check their website everyday for slots to open up.
When the slots opened up, I booked the earliest available one I could get: August 30- September 2, 2023. Ideally, I would have preferred to go in May-June season, this being the most popular season to attempt Rainier due to the weather conditions also was the reason why I could not get those slots as they were all booked out almost immediately. Late August is what I got, and I have made my peace with it even though some might consider it to be a little too late in the climbing season.
To confirm the booking I had to pay an advance of $450 and the remaining $1320 is to be paid by May 2023 as we get closer to the actual climbing date. The total cost of the expedition guide service from RMI: $1770. The expedition is going to be 4 days long and is considered to be one of the best beginner mountaineering expeditions in the lower 48 states. The first day is going to be spent in getting to know the teammates and going through the equipment/gear list needed for the climb. The second day is going to be a full day mountaineering training where “climbers are introduced to a number of skills, from the foundational techniques of efficient mountain travel (rest-stepping and pressure breathing) through cramponing, roped travel, and ice axe arrest practices”. The third day is the climb to Camp Muir at about ten thousand feet in altitude. The fourth day will be the actual summit day where we attempt to reach the top of Mt Rainier if weather and avalanche conditions permit.
Now, that the booking is confirmed and the paperwork completed, we can begin focusing on the actual preparation work needed to make myself fit for the summit attempt.
Mt Rainier stands at 14,410 feet and the climb is classified as a Level 2 difficulty by RMI. This means that the climb is going to involve glacier travel and requires carrying backpacks of upto 40lbs on elevation gains of 7-9 thousand feet per day. Good luck Arjun, good luck!
A high number of mountaineers are forced to turn back each year due to the rapidly changing weather conditions and the constant risk of avalanches that bound the slopes of this mountain. Unmindful of these risks, I need to prepare myself mentally as well as physically to be in the best shape for the attempt. I am going to give it my absolute best, and not worry about the results. This is in line with my 2023 resolution.
Equipment
When it comes to equipment, luckily for me I have been collecting good outdoor gear for over a year now and I have most of the essentials gears required for this summit attempt. In this blog post titled Millennial outdoor adventure gear check list I have created a list of the most essential equipment needed for any kind of adventure activity that involves survival in the wilderness or out on your own against the elements. Take a look!
But Rainier is a different ball game and requires more specialized equipments and understandably so. As I have already covered most of the equipment in my other post, I will be listing only the technical gears needed for Rainier here.
Source: https://www.rmiguides.com/mt-rainier/4-day-summit-climb/equipment (check the full list of guide picked equipment here)
Ice Axe
As a general thumb rule, if you hold the axe so that it hangs by your side, the spike of the axe should comfortably stay clear off the ground (2-3 inches off the ground).
Climbing Harness
Carabiner
Crampons
Helmet
Glacier glasses
Gloves
Boots
I will be renting boots as mountaineering boots are expensive investments. I do not yet own a mountaineering boot and it would be unwise to buy a boot for this expedition and find out later that it does not fit you well, or that you need a different kind of boot. Renting it would mean that I would get to experiment a mountaineering boot in the elements and based on my experience I can take a call on going ahead and investing in one for the future or not.
Food
I will update this section as I get closer to the summit date 🙂
Fitness regime
I will be updating this section as I get closer to the summit date. The general weekly schedule should look like this:
Monday
Aerobics
Tuesday
Strength Training
Wednesday
Aerobics
Thursday
Interval Training
Friday
Aerobics
Saturday
Strength Training
Sunday
Rest/light cardio
RECOMMENDED READING
source: http://www.rmiguides.com
The Challenge of Rainier, by Dee Molenaar
Mt. Rainier – A Climbing Guide, by Mike Gauthier
Mt. Rainier: The Story Behind the Scenery, by Ray Snow
National Geographic Trails Illustrated MRNP topo map
