April 13, 2014, Mt. Rainier, Gib Ledges
4/13/14
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
2599
1
My brother Jack and I had been waiting most of the winter for conditions, schedules and park gates to align for a trip up Rainier. Sunday was that day. We left Paradise parking lot a little after 1:00 a.m. and enjoyed a pleasant climb to Muir. The moon was so bright we didnt use headlamps.
Took break at Muir to melt snow, snack and watch the sun rise. The temperature wasnt particularly cold, but the wind was gusty out of the west. Leaving Muir, we climbed the Cowlitz Cleaver past Beehive and to the entrance of the Gib Ledges.
Ledges and Gib Chute were in great condition. No problems with rockfall or anything like that. Just fun climbing. We didnt rope up until we were at the saddle above Gib Rock. There we took another break, ate, and made more water.
The last two thousand feet went a little slower than expected. The early start was catching up to us. The temp never warmed up much. Or at least not that I could tell. A steady wind blew out of the east. We negotiated a few crevasses, but nothing tricky. Everything is well frozen.
Walked across to the Columbia Crest then walked right back and transitioned to skis near the crater rim. Initially wed planned to ski down via the Gib Chute, but we were running a little later than expected, so we decided to ski down the ID instead.
Conditions on down the summit cone were mostly sastrugi and ice, not particularly difficult but not exactly fun. In hindsight, wed have been better off to ski the Gib Chute. Getting down to Cadaver Gap involved re-roping and down climbing though some crevasses, which was a hassle.
Skied from Cadaver Gap all the way back down to Paradise without much stopping. Conditions were quite variable. Made it back to the car around 5 p.m. Parking lot was packed with families out enjoying the sunny Sunday afternoon.
Took break at Muir to melt snow, snack and watch the sun rise. The temperature wasnt particularly cold, but the wind was gusty out of the west. Leaving Muir, we climbed the Cowlitz Cleaver past Beehive and to the entrance of the Gib Ledges.
Ledges and Gib Chute were in great condition. No problems with rockfall or anything like that. Just fun climbing. We didnt rope up until we were at the saddle above Gib Rock. There we took another break, ate, and made more water.
The last two thousand feet went a little slower than expected. The early start was catching up to us. The temp never warmed up much. Or at least not that I could tell. A steady wind blew out of the east. We negotiated a few crevasses, but nothing tricky. Everything is well frozen.
Walked across to the Columbia Crest then walked right back and transitioned to skis near the crater rim. Initially wed planned to ski down via the Gib Chute, but we were running a little later than expected, so we decided to ski down the ID instead.
Conditions on down the summit cone were mostly sastrugi and ice, not particularly difficult but not exactly fun. In hindsight, wed have been better off to ski the Gib Chute. Getting down to Cadaver Gap involved re-roping and down climbing though some crevasses, which was a hassle.
Skied from Cadaver Gap all the way back down to Paradise without much stopping. Conditions were quite variable. Made it back to the car around 5 p.m. Parking lot was packed with families out enjoying the sunny Sunday afternoon.
Nice Job! I've had a few unsuccessful jaunts up the gib ledges ... Good to see people getting after it with skis.
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