So, it’s been quite a while, but here’s a little recap of the past 2 weeks for Jared…
On March 30th, Ming and I parted ways for a few days and I began my Ski Mountaineering class with Rainier Mountaineering Inc (RMI). I was originally invited by some friends to go heli-skiing, but ended up backing out a few days later (let’s just say cost wasn’t at the bottom of the list of reasons to bail).
So, instead, I signed up for this 5-day introductory course on the lower 48’s largest volcano, situated in the heart of the Cascades. The course planned to tackle the basics of ski-mountaineering (roped glacier travel, crevasse rescue, route finding, etc.) over the course of 4 days on the mountain. I was stoked!
On Saturday morning, I met the rest of the team. Solveig and Bryan were our guides, both with a ton of knowledge from the backcountry and time patrolling on the slopes. Then there was Jen, who was supposed to be accompanied by her friend Wendy (who had unfortunately broken her arm a week before the trip), and the “doctors” (two real-life doctors and one in-training). We spent the day in a classroom reviewing basic skills.
On Sunday, we reached the mountain in warm, but whiteout weather, and made our way to our camp just below Panorama Point. When the clouds cleared, the view was amazing…pictures don’t do it justice. We had to head back down the next day due to boot issues with one of the team members (seriously, who buys ski boots on the internet and wears them two days later, un-fitted, on a 4-day ski tour?!?!) and stick around the slopes by the Paradise parking lot while we learned the ropes of anchor building and crevasse rescue. All in all, a slow but great start to our trip. Jen and I even built an emergency snow cave, which was a surprisingly warm place to turn in for the night!
The next day, Jen, the guides and I milled around Paradise while the doctors woke up from their hotel beds and got hot breakfast in town. We all set out around 11 am with perfect conditions on the mountain. Our goal was Camp Muir, and the 5,000 foot climb proved quite a challenge with our 40 lb packs and relatively minimal experience ski-touring. We rolled in right around 6pm and eased in to the downright luxe bunkhouse, with hot water waiting for us in coffee carafes (thanks, RMI guides)!
The final day, we spent the morning on a little glacier tour, skiing down and skinning back up on-rope. Not sure how many of you have tried to downhill ski with a rope tied between your legs to the person in front of you, but it’s not quite the easiest thing to get the hang of. Redemption came on the final descent where we skied, unroped, down 5,000 ft of elevation to Paradise. What took us 6 hours to slog up the day before took about one hour to descend, and it was glorious!
So, for those of you considering a class with RMI, I highly, highly recommend it, not only for the quality of the climb itself and the great experiences, but for the amazing caliber of guides they offer. They were some of the most knowledgable people I’ve met, and open to answer any question or teach any skill. I hope I get the opportunity to return. Thanks guys!
8 Legs and a Trailer 