With less than a week before we fly into Seattle Tacoma Airport, Mount Rainier has claimed the life of an unknown foreign mountaineer. On Saturday June 5th a massive avalanche swept down the Ingraham Glacier around 12,500 feet. 11 Independent climbers on the Ingraham Direct route were hit by the slide, with only 10 being found. The recovery has been difficult due to high avalanche hazard and poor weather. Our thoughts are with those on the Mountain.
Obviously, along with the sobering news of the recent death comes the fact that conditions have took a turn for the worst. The Pacific Northwest has had an unusually high wet spring. The upper mountain has received foot upon foot of snowfall creating a very unstable snowpack.
Given the recent reports, we have decided at this time to change our plans to climb the Fuhrer Finger. The coulior has a tendency to collect massive amounts of windblown snow, creating extremely unstable slabs and pockets. Unless conditions change drastically, we will most likely be attempting one of the easier routes up the mountain, Such as the Disappointment Cleaver or the Ingraham Direct route which is the site of the recent accident. Obviously we will not be making a summit push if conditions do not improve.
We will also be making one or two smaller, yet more technically difficult climbs within Rainier National Park. Updates will continue as we get more information.
Cnn Link - http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/06/06/mount.rainier.avalanche/
Monday, June 7, 2010
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