Guided Mount Rainier Climb - Kautz Route

John Race and Olivia Cussen have a combined 30 years experience guiding climbers to the summit of Washington's Mt. Rainier. Together they have guided more than 200 groups to the summit of Mt. Rainier. Mount Rainier is the highest peak in the State of Washington and is the 5th highest peak in the lower 48 States. In the fall of 2006 Mount Rainier National Park announced a new program, which allows AMGA certified alpine guides or IFMGA certified guides to apply for a "single climb" permit each season. Last year we led a small group up the Emmons Glacier and had very successful climb. We decided to mix things up a bit this year and will be offering a professionally led climb of the Kautz Glacier Route, which we have climbed a few dozen times between the two of us.

This ultra-private, five-day guided program will be take place on the south side of Mt. Rainier on the the less frequneted Kautz Glacier Route. As we are limited to 3 climbers and 2 guides, participants are in for a very customized climbing program on a mountain that is very special to us. Starting at 5,440 ft. in Paradise, we will climb over 9,000 vertical feet to reach Columbia Crest, the true summit of Mt. Rainier.

In addition to making a summit bid, this climb of Mt. Rainier is organized as a basic mountaineering seminar and involves training in use of the ice axe and crampons, crevasse rescue, ice climbing, and other basic skills needs for climbing big glaciated peaks. This program would serve as a very good component for climbers looking to train for a Denali Expedition or Aconcagua Expedition, both other mountains offered by the Northwest Mountain School.

Guided Mount Rainier Climb Itinerary

Day 1: We will meet outside the park for an equipment check before driving to the Longmire Ranger Station to check in for our climb. From Longmire we will drive to Paradise and begin our climb with a hike up and then down to the Nisqually Glacier. Once out on the massive Nisqually Glacier we will spend the afternoon practicing ice axe self-arrest, and becoming familiar with crampons, and the climbing rope. The evening will be spent reviewing climbing knots, and other basics needed for our upcoming ascent of Mt. Rainier.

Day 2: After an early start we will ascend either the Wilson Glacier or the ridge above a feature known as the Fan. Our goal for the day is to reach the Castle, an excellent camp at around 9,700 feet with a good water source. This camp has several nearby crevasses, which are perfect for crevasse rescue practice and doing some vertical ice climbing. The trip to the Castle is an opportunity to hone our crampon and rope travel skills, which will be essential on summit day.

Days 3 and 4: We generally like to put in a camp slightly above the Castle and will plan to climb the Turtle snowfield and set another camp above 10,500'. This will put us in position to scout the lower portions of the Kautz Ice chute the afternoon before our summit climb and to shave some time off our long summit day. On the morning of day 4 we will be up very early and will start the steep, but very fun climb up the Kautz Ice Chute and the broken glaciers of the upper mountain. Our summit day usually takes about 12 hours from Camp Sherman and is no easy task. Normal people who have the desire and have done their training will comfortably make it up and down, but nobody ever has what would be described as a casual trip. If all goes well we will summit Rainier early and then make the trip back down to our high camp while things are still solid on the glaciers along the way. We usually try to pull camp this afternoon and move closer to Paradise to shorten our descent on the last day.

Day 5: On our final day we will pack up camp and head back to the trailhead for a celebratory cheeseburger and a hard-earned cold drink.

Qualifications for Climbing Mt. Rainier

You need no previous climbing experience to do this climb, but you do need to be in very good condition and must be able to carry a backpack weighing as much as 40 lbs.

Logistics

If coming from outside of the Pacific Northwest you will want to fly into Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and rent a car to get to Ashford, WA, meeting point for our climb of Mt. Rainier. If you need to rent an ice axe, crampons, plastic boots, etc. you should contact Feathered Friends in Seattle (888-308-9365) to reserve any items that you need for the climb. You will want to arrive on the day before your climb starts and depart the day after your climb ends. Additional details will be mailed to you upon reserving your spot on this trip.

Training to Climb Mt. Rainier

It has often been said that you cannot over train for a climb of Mt. Rainier. Over the years we have taken hundreds of people to the summit and had many other people unable to make it to the top. Those that consistently succeed seem to have a good basic level of fitness and above all have the ability to keep moving uphill at about 1000' feet per hour for 7 to 8 consecutive hours. Your best training is going to be walking uphill with weight on your back. This can be accomplished by backpacking, AT skiing, or other mountaineering programs. If you do not live near hills or mountains, then we suggest a mixture of running, swimming, and biking all with an emphasis on going for several hours at a time. A guided climb of Mt. Rainier takes much of the pressure off with regards to decisions about route-finding, weather conditions, and other details related to the climb, but it does not lower the bar for the fitness required to make it safely up and down Rainier. Be sure to contact us directly before your climb for full details on training for your Rainier climb.