Early, Morning Of July 4

This was the scene as we made our way to the summit. This photo was taken by Josh Tapp of International Mountain Guides.

Signing In

Signing the log book near Columbia Crest on Mt. Rainier – July 4, 2009

The Team

Our team on top of Mt. Rainier – Idependence Day 2009 – 6:09am

SUMMIT!

At 6:09 am on Independence Day, along with 7 fellow climbers and 3 IMG guides I summited Mt. Rainier – 14,410 feet.

More to come.

Met George Dunn this morning at breakfast. Not only is he one of the owners of IMG, he also holds the record for most ascents of Rainier – 495!

Met at IMG headquarters at 2pm for our orientation. Met the other climbers and two of our guides. Lead guide Mike Haugen is an 8th grade science teacher in Denver and guides at Rainier during the summer. Besides over 60 summits of Rainier, Mike summited Mt. Everest in 2007.

Needless to say, I’ll be away from the laptop for the next 3 days… Next post will be sometime late Saturday night.

The weather is looking good.

Talk to you in a few days.

Thought about going to Sunrise today. Sunrise is a great spot on around Rainier a bit with more awesome views etc. but the road is out – may not be open until August. If you work on a road crew in Rainier National Park you WILL stay busy. There is rockfall, tree fall, snow, ice, flooding… so rather than spend most of the day driving around the long way I went back up to Paradise for another hike – which is really what I wanted to do anyway. This time I went up past Pebble Creek to the Muir snowfield, probably somewhere around 8000 feet. I hope these acclimatisation hikes are helping… so far so good.

Tomorrow is rest, organization of my stuff and a meeting at 2pm at International Mountain Guides, my guide service. They are just down the road. I’ll meet my climbing partners, guides and get all geared up for the climb.

Saw one of America’s mountaineering legends at Rainier basecamp bar and grill this evening – Lou Whittaker.

Today I made my way out to Rainier National Park. With each curve in the road there was another photo opportunity. Finally got to Paradise, had a bite to eat, and then hiked up to Panorama Point (6909 ft). Took me about an hour and a half. From Panorama Point one can see Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens and just over in Oregan a distant Mt. Hood.

I’m debating about tomorrow… I’ll either go back and hike up a little higher to get more aclimitisation or drive around to an area called Sunrise – supposed to be great views of Emmons glacier. Rest or acclimatize?

That’s Mt. Adams in the distance.

Arrived in Seattle about 12:20 yesterday. Picked up rental car and headed over to REI to pick up a few things. Slowly made my way out to Ashford stopping along the way a couple of times – Wal Mart – something to eat. Got to Ashford about 6:00. Stunning views of Mt. Rainier on the way in – see below. I could see it all the way from Seattle. Room is fine – rustic. Click here to see where I’m staying.

Today I’ll explore the park -