Mt Rainier Update

It's been far too long since I've posted... So what's going on at Mount Rainier? Lots of road repair, but very little climbing and hiking. I snapped this image of the Carbon River Road on Saturday, Jan. 13th. For the most part, hikers/skiers/climbers are limited to the main road corridors, unless they'd like to bushwack.

On Sunday, the 14th, I hiked to Camp Muir under calm, clear skies. Though the temps were well below freezing, I wore only light clothing the entire way. Camp Muir and most of the buildings were encrusted in ice and firm snow, however, and access to the Public Shelter was straightforward and easy.

The snow conditions (ski/board) below Pan Point were absolutely fantastic. Over the past week, there has been a prolonged cold snap throughout the Pacific NW, which left great backcountry skiing and climbing conditions around the region. Even in Seattle, there was snow on the ground for more than 72 hours. As for the route to Camp Muir, I needed snowshoes up Pan Point, but things firmed up nicely above 7K.

Speaking of snow, there is over 130 inches on the ground at Paradise (nearly 350 total inches this fall/winter). Not bad for an El Nino year (predicted by climatologists to be warmer and drier).

In the meantime, David Horsey of the Seattle PI decided that Mt. Rainier needed a cartoon.

Tacoma and Seattle public events

With so much interest in the flood and repairs, I've put together a set of stories and images from the event. Please join me for a presentation and Q and A session on Jan 19 in Tacoma, and Jan 26 in Seattle. I will show images and discuss the flood, its damage, the repairs, and the latests on projected road openings. I'll also address questions about:

• mountain conditions
• backpacking and hiking
• mountain climbing
• the new guide service operations

If you're a hiker, climber, skier, or Mount Rainier enthusiasts, there will be something in this for you.

Here are the details.

Tacoma
Where: Tacoma Mountaineers Clubhouse, 2302 N. 30th Street
When: 7:30 PM Janurary 19th

Seattle
Where: Seattle Mountaineers Clubhouse, 300 Third Ave West
When: 7:30 PM Janurary 26 th

Donations that benefit flood recovery effots around the region can be made to: the Student Conservation Association; the Washington Trails Association; and the Washington National Park Fund will be accepted. In addition, Mount Rainier: A Climbing Guide will be on sale. An equal portion of the proceeds from its sale will be donated to the above mentioned organizations.

Volunteering and the media

People have been hiking, biking and skiing into the park over the past few weeks. Last weekend, one ranger counted over one hundred souls trudging up the Nisqually road towards Paradise. Many inspected the flood damage near Sunshine Point and Kautz Creek; a few hiked up the Westside Road; some even made it to Longmire! As far as I can tell, no one made the summit.

Many of you have expressed a sincere desire to help with the flood recovery. There are a number of organizations mobilizing to accept donations and provide volunteer support. If you would like to donate money OR time, here are three possible ways:

Student Conservation Association: Through them, students pursue internships in resource management and protection. Many projects directly benefit trail restoration, campsites improvement, and bridge reconstruction. SCA has a web page dedicated to the Mount Rainier flood of 2006 here.

Washington Trails Association: This is one of the largest volunteer trail maintenance organizations in the country. As the name suggests, they specialize in making trails accessible to the public. Pretty cool eh?! If you hike in the Pacific Northwest, check them out.

Washington National Park Fund: "The Fund" is dedicated to preserving and protecting the national parks of Washington State. They directly support projects in the Olympic, North Cascade and Mount Rainier.

In other media, I found these tidbits: an editorial in the Seattle Times (scroll down) and the News Tribune poking some fun at me.