Winter Climbing Stats on Mount Rainier

This comes from Mike Gauthier. Thanks Mike

What happened to all of the winter climbers?
This winter has delivered some rather amazing weather and snow conditions. As we've noted, Mount Rainier has seen its fair share of extended snowstorms and extreme avalanche conditions. But lately, that trend hasn’t been the case. Over the past few weeks, the mountain has largely been blessed with beautiful days and clear nights. Swarms of visitors have been making the most of these sunny skies, warmer temps and rather calm weather. Ski and snowshoe trails lace the Paradise area and virtually every prominent vista has a few down-hill tracks below them. Even the ski boots tracks has been pretty deep on recent weekends. But what’s noticeable is the lack of boot and ski tracks venturing beyond Camp Muir. With only a few weeks left in March and the remaining days of winter rapidly slipping away, we’re wondering "What happened to all of winter climbers?" During the last "normal" winter '05-'06 (loosely defined as Dec 1 March 31) 185 climbers attempted the summit on Mount Rainier. This winter ('07-'08) our climbing attendance has precipitously dropped to a lowly 42 attempts! One wonders, is this a trend? After reviewing the past six years (with the exception of last winter when the primary road was entirely closed), the next lowest attendance was '03-'04 when only 104 climbers attempted to summit. That number is more than double what we're seeing this year. So what gives?Of the 42 climbers this winter, only 6 have been successful (a 14.3% success rate). That success rate falls within the historic average during the same time range (Dec 1 – March 30). The winter high on Mount Rainier was 23.3% during the '06-'07 season (oddly enough when the road was closed) and the low was 1.6% in '05-'06. The big story, however, is the notable drop in the number of climbers attempting the summit. This data backs up the anecdotal observations of those who frequent the Park. They say that people are just not coming in as large numbers as they used to. With the exception of a few busy weekends this winter, the park has not seen the overall visitation that is normally expected. Taking into account this season’s well publicized avalanche concerns, this is somewhat understandable. Let’s face it, December 2007 and most of 2008 have been a tough year for positive Rainier press… The winter started with one avalanche fatality and was promptly followed by numerous road closures and other warnings of high avalanche danger. Certainly, the media picked up the tempo. There was plenty of coverage in every major newspaper including even the New York Times. At the main visitor centers, the most common questions received relate to the weather and avalanche conditions. Many people are calling to check if "the Mountain" is even ‘OPEN’. YES, "the Mountain" is "OPEN" and by all accounts "the Mountain" is looking pretty darn good on these recent clear days. So, here are those climbers stats for the past few winters. These cover December 1 - March 31. By the way, we normally consider winter attempts from Dec 21 to March 20 (or whatever the exact "winter" season is).
2007-2008 - 42 climbers - 6 summited
2006-2007 - 17 climbers - 4 summited
2005-2006 - 185 climbers - 3 summited
2004-2005 - 208 climbers - 32 summited
2003-2004 - 104 climbers - 4 summited
2002-2003 - 230 climbers - 36 summited
2001-2002 - 137 climbers - 14 summited

www.whittakermountaineering.com

Mount Tahoma Trail Update

Trail Report

March 15, 2008


Snow has returned to the trail and ski conditions are Great! Over the past three days the area around Copper Creek Hut has added 30 inches of new snow on top of an existing 7 foot base. Hut use drops off starting in April and if you have not yet stayed overnight at the Hut you may want to try and get a reservation. Ski conditions will be good well into May, but there is no public use after May 1.

Snow parking area is still located at the lower gate and will stay at that location for the next few weeks, maybe the rest of the season. The trails are being groomed, so come on out and enjoy the great snow conditions!

If you have any ideas on funding sources for the second new snow cat, please e-mail MTTA (mtta@skimtta.com).

One other item of interest is the Yurt is still standing after ½ dozen shoveling trips (see next newsletter), with a little luck it’s going to survive this winter because of a lot of very hard work from our volunteers.

Regards,
Bob Brown
Trail Operations Coordinator
Mount Tahoma Trails Association
mtta@skimtta.org
www.skimtta.org