Mount Tahoma Trail Update

Trail Report

January 30, 2008

We now have seven to ten feet of snow up at the huts, with another two or three feet forecast prior to this weekend. The heavy snow has resulted in the snow park being moved 1.2 miles back down the road from the normal snow park (outhouse parking area). There is just too much snow, with no place to push it!

Getting to the hut from the current snow park requires 5.5 miles and a 1600-foot vertical climb. The first 2.5 miles from the snow park is being snowmobile groomed, once you reach the section of trail being groomed by our new snow cat you can expect approximately 20 miles of professionally groomed trails.

There is a narrow section that keeps our snow cat from accessing the lower 2.5 miles of trail.

If you are planning a trip to Copper Creek Hut you should consider the extra 1.2 miles and additional 600 vertical feet.

Once you reach the snow cat grooming, ski conditions are great! Normal winter snow fall from this point forward is going to result in record snow fall for our system this year. We will have a good skiable base well into May this year.

Check out our High Hut web cam which has been working lately. Our web page is being updated and you should check it out from time to time for current information.

Make sure you have tire chains and allow some extra time for your trip!

See you out on the trail.

Trail and Road update

A Quick update for you.
The MTTA trails on the Northside are well groomed and in excellent shape right now. The plan is for DNR to plow to the upper snowpark on Friday Jan 18th, YEAH
Paradise is covered with over 140 inches of snow and 40 inches at Longmire. The sledding at Paradise has been great.

For you mountaineers, who are planning a Summer 08 trip, the snow pack is about normal and everything looks good so far.

Mount Tahoma Ski Trail Information

Whittaker Mountaineering just recieved information about the MTTA Trail Conditions here it is. For those who don't know the trail system is just above Whittaker Mountaineering.

Trail Report

November 29, 2007

Today there was 8” of snow at the 92 road snow park and 2 feet up at Copper Creek Hut. The trails should all be groomed tomorrow and the road to the snow park is scheduled to be plowed today. We are in great need of donations to pay for grooming fuel (currently almost $4 per gallon in Ashford)!!!! Our funds are very low because of the unexpected need to purchase a plow blade to keep the snow park access roads open.

You might want to check out the High Hut web cam after 6 pm today, with luck and some adjustments we may have a current picture of the snow conditions at High Hut. Also see the copper creek picture attached for a pic taken today.

Are your skis and snowshoe’s ready? Today we had three inches of snow at the 92 road snow park and the forecast calls for snow on and off the rest of the week. Copper Creek hut is ready for the winter, the solar panel is charging the batteries, the propane tank is full, and all the new renovations (laminated wood floors, new tables & chairs, etc.) are ready for your use. New trail post and signs have been installed! Most of the trails between the snow park and the hut have been brushed out. All we need is snow and we are ready for business.

The long lead forecast for the entire winter calls for an excellent snow pack, good skiing all winter.

All of MTTA’s grooming equipment is ready to go and our new snow cat will be out on the trail by January 1, 2008. We still have $10,500 in sales tax to pay on the new snow cat. This by its self is a good reason to mail a donation.

For our trail to be successful we need three components to come together. The Hut must be in good order to handle our visitors, the trails from the snow park to the hut need to be groomed, and the roads from the main highway to the snow parking area needs to be plowed. Because of your help and donations we have all the major components in place.

One surprise that came upon us late this fall was our road plow contractor going out of business. Many of you may not understand how the roads to the snow parks are kept plowed. You purchase a snow park permit and those funds are used to plow the roads. This plowing is accomplished by private contractors hired by the agencies receiving grant funds. The Dept. of Natural Resources has received grants to plow the MTTA access road for many years. When their contractor informed them he would not be plowing this season they had to put out a request for snow plow bids. They did this twice and received no bids. Without a private contractor to do the plowing we (MTTA & DNR) were faced with a major problem.

DNR and MTTA have developed a partnership which is able to adapt to problems. DNR didn’t have any money in their budget to purchase a plow blade, but they did have a truck available. MTTA purchased a blade and DNR installed the blade. This year a DNR employee will be plowing the road with their truck and the (yellow) plow blade which MTTA purchased. If you can’t get to the snow parking areas, you have no trail!
Because of you donations of cash and volunteer labor we have a new snow cat to groom the trails. With DNR’s help we have a solution to keep the access roads plowed.

MTTA had to spend $6000 to purchase the new plow blade and this has left us very short on cash. With fuel running almost $4 per gallon we need your help to keep things running. Please consider mailing a donation today, Make checks payable to: MTTA and mail to P O BOX 206, Ashford, WA 98304. You can also go to our web page and use PayPal to make a donation via your credit card.

See you on the trail!


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

Mount Rainier Snowshoe

Whittaker Mountaineering is pleased to see new snow arriving about 5000 ft. It is time to dust of the snowshoes and XC skis. Paradise will be open for snowshoeing this winter. We will update this blog with information frequently about conditions. Make sure to check out our weather page as well.

Mount Rainier Route Weather Update Whittaker Mountaineering

Rainier Update 08/22/2007
A persistent marine cloud layer and cooler temperatures have been the trend on Mount Rainier this summer. Though we have not experienced a significant snowfall (it can snow 3 to 4 feet on the upper mountain), we did pick up 5 to 6 inches of snow above 11,000’ several days ago. The winter snow pack on the Muir snowfield is rapidly melting and patches of firm snow and ice are emerging, particularly around Moon Rocks at 9,000’. While the ice is a bit challenging, our guided teams are navigating around these sections and are able to do so without crampons.
From Camp Muir at 10,000’, the route traverses the Cowlitz Glacier. Several small crevasses are crossed as the trail ascends Cathedral Gap and onto the Ingraham Flats at 11,000’. From here the route drops down under Disappointment Cleaver, descending about 400 vertical feet. Once under the Cleaver, a series of switchbacks ascend the Emmons Glacier, up to about 11,500’, and take climbers to a new section of the route that was put in last week. The new trail works it way north on an ascending traverse which gains the Emmons Shoulder at around 11,800’. After several more switchbacks this new trail connects with the old route at around 12,400’. Here, the trail switchbacks up the shoulder and begins to traverse south at approximately 13,000’. These switchbacks are well established as they cross the upper Ingraham glacier and finish at Columbia Crest.
All in all, the route offers very typical late season climbing, and we expect similar conditions through the end of the climbing season.

Rainier Mountain Festival

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact:
Jeremy Foust
Whittaker Mountaineering
PO BOX W
Ashford, Wash 98304
jeremy@whittakermountaineering.com
http://www.rainierfestival.com
PH (360) 569-2142
FAX (360) 569-2982

Sixth Annual Rainier Mountain Festival Features Top Climbers

Ashford, Wash., Wednesday, August 8, 2007

What: 2007 Rainier Mountain Festival
When: September 15 and 16, 2007
Where: Rainier Basecamp, 30027 SR 706 E, Ashford, Wash.
How Much: Admission is Free

For more info: www.rainierfestival.com

The Sixth Annual Rainier Mountain Festival will again feature a great gathering of American Mountaineers on September 15 and 16 in Ashford, Wash. Noted climbers will include Jim Whittaker (first American to summit Everest), Ed Viesturs (first American to climb all fourteen 8,000 meter peaks without oxygen), Lou Whittaker (American climbing legend and founder of Rainier Mountaineering Inc), and over 15 other climbers who have stood on top of Everest. The climbers will be hosting films and slide shows, signing books, and conducting equipment demonstrations.
Other activities at the festival will include a ‘Post-Monsoon’ equipment and clothing clearance sale, a 5-mile run, Alpine Games, climbing wall for all ages, BBQ and local brews, live entertainment, raffles, mountaineering travel displays, kids’ games. A raffle will be done throughout the event and proceeds will go towards trail restoration in Mount Rainier National Park. Admission is free for all events except for the 5-mile run.
The festival will take place at Rainier Basecamp in Ashford, Wash., just outside of Mount Rainier National Park.
Alpine Game events will include a head to head speed climbing event, timed tent erecting, sled pulls, and speed rope coiling, and winners will receive cash prizes.

Contact:
Jeremy Foust, Jeremy@whittakermountaineering.com
800-238-5756

Mount Rainier route conditions

Rainier Update 08/07/2007
August has arrived and conditions on Mount Rainier are typical for this time of year. The trails from Paradise (5,400') to Pebble Creek (7,200') are all melted out. From Pebble Creek to Camp Muir the snowfields are firm and beginning to get sun cupped making for ideal hiking conditions. Rock features such as The Bear ((8,200'), Top of Moon Rocks (9,200'), and Anvil Rock (9,500') on the snowfield are emerging as the winter snow pack has melted.
From Camp Muir the route crosses the Cowlitz Glacier with just several small crevasse to be stepped over. Cathedral Gap (10,500') is all rock and scree with a nice trail leading up to the Ingraham Glacier (10, 800'). Several large crevasses on top of Disappointment Cleaver have made access off of the Cleaver onto the Emmons Glacier challenging and due to this the route has been moved. The trail accesses the Emmons underneath the Cleaver and then ascends up the Emmons in a series of switchbacks hitting the Emmons shoulder at about 12,300'. From the shoulder, the route works its way up to 13,000' and then traverses south back to the Ingraham and on up to Columbia Crest.

Koflach Degre and Expe Boots Whittaker Mountaineering

Have you heard? Koflach is no longer going to be making plastic mountaineering boots. Whittaker Mountaineering first heard this in the spring and have tried to get our hands on as many as possible. We have used Koflach Degre boots in our rental fleet for years, and have had good luck with the Expe on Denali. We are now in the process of looking at what to do next. There are still several expeditions that using a plastic mountaineering boot makes sense, and in a rental situation it seems to always make the most sense. (because you don't have to break in double plastic boots) We have put Scarpa and Lowa boots in our rental fleet to see if they hold up well, and gather climbers feedback to see what direction to go in for 2008. We are meeting with Plastic Boot manufactures in a few weeks to see what will best work for those who are interested in purchasing plastic boots in the future. In the mean time we do have several sizes of the boots available so don't miss your chance. http://www.whittakermountaineering.com/categories.asp?d=Footwear&cat=3&root=undefined&rootid=undefined

Mount Rainier Weather Update

Yes, the strange wet July week of weather looks like it is over. From July 16-July 22, Mt Rainier and the whole state of Washington experienced some wet times. Summer seems to be back which is a good thing. Groups are summitting again, and the route looks to be okay. We will have a detailed route update soon.

Weatherwise Article about Whittaker Mountaineering Adviser

On the Job:Alex Van SteenAlex
Van Steen is a guide for Rainier Mountaineering, Inc., a mountaineering company based in Mount Rainier National Park, WA. Van Steen, who began climbing as a teenager, has more than 50 first ascents under his belt, and he’s made two attempts on Everest; the second time he reached 28,000 feet before turning back. Van Steen has summitted Mount Rainier more than 200 times, leading climbers past treacherous icefalls and crevasses on the mountain’s steep slopes.
What are the worst weather conditions that you’ve ever experienced on a mountain?

I think probably the worst weather I’ve experienced was when I was high up on a mountain trying to sleep in a tent. The tent was strapped down fairly well, but really strong winds made me concerned that the tent was going to tear apart. And so I put on—and this is a common strategy—all my clothing and my boots. Although I caught maybe a little bit of rest, I certainly didn’t sleep. But if the tent disintegrated around me, then at least I would have had my clothing on, like my suit, and my boots.

Is it possible for the tent to blow off a mountain with you in it?

You could be in it. We tie it down with three-millimeter cord, and then on some of these peaks where we’re very exposed, we have a net made of one-inch webbing, and we actually anchor the tent down underneath that net. It would really take a lot to tear a tent off the mountain, but on some places, like Mount McKinley and Mount Everest, they do get destroyed.

Do you find the extreme weather to be part of the appeal?

I enjoy the extreme weather very much. There’s a limit, obviously, if you’re in over your head or it’s ridiculously uncomfortable. That’s no fun for anybody, so you say, “let’s turn around.” But I enjoy being able to deal with that kind of weather and navigate in it and survive in it and play in it. I have a metabolism where I get warm very easily. I don’t get cold very easily, so I do really well in cold temperatures.
—MEGHAN JOYCE is the assistant editor for Weatherwise.

Denali Update

Denali has seen some interesting weather this season. Here is an update

West Buttress
May 2: Summited May 21

May 9: Summited May 23

May 16: Reached 19,600'

May 23: Summited June 12

May 30: Summited June 14

June 13: Summited June 29

June 20: Reached 17,200' June 27:

West RibJune 7: Reached 19,800'

If you are looking for to read dispatches from 2007 click here http://www.rmiguides.com/mckinley/mckinley_dispatches.html

Wanting to read a expedition journal by Seth Waterfall.

http://www.rmiguides.com/pdfs/Expedition-Journal_MountMcKinley_Waterfall2.pdf

Blinded in Iraq, he climbs Rainier.

TheNewsTribune.comSection: Local

Blinded in Iraq, he beats Rainier MELANTHIA MITCHELL; The Associated Press

Scott Smiley lives life a little differently since being blinded by shrapnel that ripped through his eyes in a suicide bombing in Iraq, but it’s a challenge he has embraced.
The 27-year-old Army captain reached the summit of Mount Rainier on Tuesday. And he’ll be honored Thursday as the Army Times’ Soldier of the Year.
Smiley, who lost his sight in a 2005 bombing in Mosul, reached the top of the 14,411-foot peak early in the day along with several other climbers, including a half dozen guides from Rainier Mountaineering Inc.
“The team did summit at 8 a.m. on the north side of the mountain,” said Peter Whittaker, an RMI co-owner who talked to the group by radio. He said the climbing party immediately began descending so that Smiley could catch a flight to Washington, D.C., for the Soldier of the Year ceremony. The award is presented by Army Times Publishing Co.
Mount Rainier is considered a technical, difficult climb, and to attempt it climbers must have a certain level of skill or be guided. Of 8,972 attempts made in 2005, the most recent data available, 4,604 reached the summit.
Smiley’s group was led by guides Art Rausch and Andy Kittleson. It set out Sunday, overnighting at about 7,500 feet, below Camp Muir – the most popular route to the top. The next day they stopped at Camp Muir before pushing toward the summit early Tuesday.
The group included retired 1st Lt. Ed Salau of New Bern, N.C., who lost a leg in a 2004 grenade attack in Iraq. Whittaker said Salau had stayed at Camp Muir while the party climbed the peak.
The climb was sponsored by Camp Patriot, a company in Libby, Mont., that provides outdoor recreational experiences for disabled veterans.
Weather, avalanche danger and overall physical health are huge challenges for anybody who climbs Mount Rainier.
For Smiley, the risks are even greater, said Whittaker, noting that throughout the climb, guides had to remain close, with one person in front and behind the soldier.
Whittaker spent about 10 minutes with Smiley’s group Sunday. “I was very impressed. They were moving very well,” he said.
The soldier from Pasco has wanted to climb Rainier since visiting Fort Lewis several years ago as a West Point cadet. He currently lives in Durham, N.C., with wife, Tiffany, and their 8-week-old son and is assigned to headquarters of the Army Accessions Command at Fort Monroe, Va.
“He loves it,” Tiffany Smiley said during an earlier telephone interview with The Associated Press. “It’s just who he is.”
She added that since being blinded, her husband has surfed off the coast of Hawaii, gone skydiving and skied Vail. He also climbed Mount Democrat, a 14,148-foot peak in Colorado.
Smiley was injured in Iraq in April 2005 while serving with the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division – a Stryker combat team formerly based at Fort Lewis.
His unit came upon a suspicious man sitting in a vehicle. When Smiley fired off a couple warning shots, the man raised his hands and the car exploded.
“Everything went black,” said Tiffany Smiley, recalling the attack as her husband had described it.
Shrapnel embedded in his eyes and brain, leaving him temporarily paralyzed and permanently blind. Doctors had to remove one eye. He was eventually fitted with a prosthetic blue eye.
“It was hard,” she said. “It took him awhile to realize what had happened.”
But after receiving a Purple Heart just weeks after his injury, Smiley realized he could still do things he’d done before, including stay in the Army. He learned to walk with a cane, read Braille and traveled the country to speak to other soldiers.
“He is still the same person, he just does things in a different way now,” his wife said.

Mount Rainier Route Conditions

Rainier Update 07/09/2007
Conditions on Mount Rainier are rapidly changing from spring to summer. Most of the snow is melting at Paradise (5,400’) and the meadows are beginning to emerge. The established trail up to Pebble Creek (7,200’) is turning from snow to dirt, and it will not be long before the permanent snowline is at Pebble Creek.
The Disappointment Cleaver route is in great shape for this time of year. A thick winter snow pack is covering most of the rock and scree on the Cleaver from 11,000’ to 12,300’. The snow not only reduces the amount of rock fall on the cleaver, but also makes ascending and descending much easier. Several hundred feet above the top of the cleaver the route crosses a small break up where the Emmons glacier pulls away from the rock. This is the start of a long (mostly level) traverse to the Emmons shoulder where the route then ascends in a series of switchbacks up to around 13,000’. From here the trail heads back to the south in an ascending long traverse crossing several crevasses at the top of the Ingraham glacier, and on up to Columbia Crest. Temperatures are forecasted to break records in the Seattle area this week pushing up into the mid 90’s. The heat will be felt on Rainier as freezing levels climb up to near 15,000’

Mountain Hardwears Mission Project

Announcing the Mission Project!

Go Big and Go Blog!
Mountain Hardwear's Mission Project: test both yourself and our gear, tell fellow adventurers about it, and enter to win great prizes, including the gear hog's Holy Grail, a guided trip up Mt. Rainier and $2,000 shopping spree.
Redpoint that pesky climb. Bag Colorado's 14ers in a single summer. Knock out 30,000 vert in 30 days at your climbing gym (hopefully not all to the same song). Nail your first triathlon. Escape on a point-to-point backpack trip. Clean Moab's Slickrock Trail. Whatever you do, take your Mountain Hardwear gear, put it through its paces, and tell our customers how it performed. That's how we got our start, and we want you to do the same.
Why on the blog? So you can share our passion for the outdoors -- and Mountain Hardwear's innovation, reliability, and quality -- with others, tell your stories, post photos and more. Blog visitors will be able to see first hand how our tents, sleeping bags, backpacks and other gear helped you reach your goal.
Best yet, your accomplishment isn't your only reward. We'll be awarding monthly Mountain Hardwear prizes for the top submissions, with those winners going into a pool for three first-place prizes (awarded in May, September and December) and one Grand Prize.
Prizes: Monthly: A piece of Mountain Hardwear gear (could be a jacket, pack, sleeping bag or tent) and a limited edition sweatshirt First-place: $1,000 Mountain Hardwear shopping spree at an authorized Mountain Hardwear outdoor retailer Grand Prize: Guided mountaineering trip up Mt. Rainier, plus $2,000 Mountain Hardwear shopping spree at RMI (complete with personal shopper guidance provided by Peter Whittaker). Winner announced during first week of January 2008
How It Works:
Simply set a goal and achieve it, and then post your entry on our blog (blog.mountainhardwear.com), explaining your accomplishment and role your Mountain Hardwear gear played (photos of gear in use strongly encouraged)
Winners will be based on the level of accomplishment and creativity of endeavor, judged by our esteemed Mountain Hardwear panel. Please use your best judgment in executing your mission, and always put safety first.
Important: No purchase necessary. Open to legal residents of the U.S. and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 or older. Contest runs from February 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007. For instructions and complete Official Rules, visit blog.mountainhardwear.com. Contest is sponsored by Mountain Hardwear, Inc. and is void in Quebec and where prohibited.

Updated Route Conditions for Mt Rainier

Rainier Update 07/03/2007
Conditions on Mount Rainier are rapidly changing from spring to summer. Most of the snow is melting at Paradise (5,400’) and the meadows are beginning to emerge. The established trail up to Pebble Creek (7,200’) is turning from snow to dirt, and it will not be long before the permanent snowline is at Pebble Creek.
Temperatures have been below average the last several weeks, with the snow level for the most part staying below 9,000’. This cooler trend will help keep the upper mountain frozen and in good shape as the summer climbing season progresses. Freezing levels are forecasted to rise to above 13,000 next week.
Snow conditions on the Muir snowfield are still good for boarding and skiing. In fact, several inches of fresh snow fell last night providing “fresh pow pow” for summer sliding. The ridge at Camp Muir (10,000’) is also emerging as the winter snow pack begins to recede. From Muir to the Ingraham Flats (11,000’), several small crevasses are beginning to open up on the Cowlitz Glacier. Cathedral gap is all rock and scree. The approach onto Disappointment Cleaver is in good shape, and the traverse to the Nose and climb up the Spine is all snow. From the top of the Cleaver, the route traverses north to the Emmons Shoulder and a series of switchbacks ascends the Emmons to approximately 13,000’. The trail then heads back on a long ascending traverse across the Ingraham and on up to Columbia Crest.

Rainier Route Conditions

Rainier Update 06/29/2007
Conditions on Mount Rainier are rapidly changing from spring to summer. Most of the snow is melting at Paradise (5,400’) and the meadows are beginning to emerge. The established trail up to Pebble Creek (7,200’) is turning from snow to dirt, and it will not be long before the permanent snowline is at Pebble Creek.
Temperatures have been below average the last several weeks, with the snow level for the most part staying below 9,000’. This cooler trend will help keep the upper mountain frozen and in good shape as the summer climbing season progresses. Freezing levels are forecasted to rise to above 13,000 next week.
Snow conditions on the Muir snowfield are still good for boarding and skiing. In fact, several inches of fresh snow fell last night providing “fresh pow pow” for summer sliding. The ridge at Camp Muir (10,000’) is also emerging as the winter snow pack begins to recede. From Muir to the Ingraham Flats (11,000’), several small crevasses are beginning to open up on the Cowlitz Glacier. Cathedral gap is all rock and scree. The approach onto Disappointment Cleaver is in good shape, and the traverse to the Nose and climb up the Spine is all snow. From the top of the Cleaver, the route traverses north to the Emmons Shoulder and a series of switchbacks ascends the Emmons to approximately 13,000’. The trail then heads back on a long ascending traverse across the Ingraham and on up to Columbia Crest.

Denali Season update

For those who have the desire to climb Denali in the upcoming years, check out a journal from Seth Waterfall, mount guide, who shares his 2007 Denali experience. http://www.rmiguides.com/pdfs/Expedition-Journal_MountMcKinley_Waterfall2.pdf

RMI latest update.

May 2: Summited May 21
May 9: Summited May 23
May 16: Reached 19,600'
May 23: Summited June 12
May 30: Summited June 14

Whittaker Mountaineering has recieved postive remarks about the gear we have sent out this year on Mac. The early season seemed to have some bad weather. We hope for a safe rest of the year in Alaska.

Guide Services on Mt Rainier

Guiding rights - Three services share Muir Route on Rainier for first time
CRAIG HILL; The News Tribune
Published: June 21st, 2007 01:00 AM
PHOTOS BY JANET JENSEN/THE NEWS TRIBUNE
Mountain Day School students, including, from left, Ashlie Angel and Erica Dohring, get into position at Mount Rainier to learn recovery and ice ax arrest techniques after a fall. Instructors from International Mountain Guides teach the class a day before the students attempt to climb the mountain.

Guides from Rainier Mountaineering Inc., which used to be the only guide service authorized to use the Muir Route up Mount Rainier, lead a group of climbers up the peak.

Eben Reckord, center, teaches students Luke Angel, left, from Colorado, and Lary Catt, right, from California, ice ax technique as part of a school offered by International Mountain Guides for those who wish to climb Mount Rainier.

History was quietly made on the upper slopes of Mount Rainier last month. In the predawn hours of May 13, climbing parties from different guide services passed each other on the popular Muir Route.
The lead guides from International Mountain Guides and Alpine Ascents International exchanged their observations about route and weather conditions, their clients chatted with each other and then they continued climbing.
AAI had decided to turn around because of blizzard conditions, and IMG would soon make the same decision.
“I think things went well,” said Todd Burleson, owner of AAI. “I think the arrangement is going to work well with three guide services on the route.”
May was the first month multiple guide services were allowed on Rainier’s Muir Route. Since 1969, Ashford-based Rainier Mountaineering Inc. was the only company allowed to guide on the route.
RMI is still king of the mountain with permission to climb with 24 guides and clients each day. IMG and AAI each get 12.
The Muir route, on the south side of the mountain, is by far the most popular for climbers. It is easily accessed from the Paradise parking lot, and Camp Muir, above 10,000 feet, offers a convenient overnight stop.
Of the 9,154 registered climbers in 2006, 71.4 percent used the Muir Route.
Alex Van Steen, a senior guide for RMI, expects the three companies to share the route smoothly this summer. However, he won’t be surprised if there is some congestion.
“It’s like putting three coffee shops on the same corner,” Van Steen said.
If you are expecting a heated competition between the companies, think again.
Eric Simonson, co-owner of IMG, says he, Burleson and RMI co-owner Peter Whittaker recently took a helicopter flight together to Camp Muir to map out how they’ll share the camp this year.
He said the men, who have known each other for years, worked together with ease.
“It might get competitive off the mountain,” Burleson said. “But not on the mountain.”
Most of the guides from the three companies have guided together on Rainier or other mountains. In fact, many, including IMG’s owners, once worked at RMI.
“We all know and respect each other,” Burleson said. “We will share information, and it will make things safer for everybody.
“I don’t think we will have companies trying to force their way to the summit when others are turning around. If anything, I think if one turns around the other will, too, because keeping our clients safe is the top priority for all of us.”
The new arrangement will change the face of Camp Muir a bit. RMI’s bunkhouse will be divided between the companies. IMG and AAI will alternate days in the smaller section of the boxy structure.
Additionally, RMI is adding solar panels to light its side of the bunkhouse, and the three companies will set up a temporary structure for the season.
IMG and AAI will never be at Muir at the same time. Instead, they will bring a new twist to climbing the Muir Route.
Instead of training clients the day before the climb, both companies will offer training en route by adding a day to what is a two-day climb with RMI.
After a day of training at Camp Muir, the party will climb 1,000 feet to camp in tents on the Ingraham Flats on the second night. Then, on the third day, they attempt the summit.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” Simonson said. “You don’t have to climb as far on the summit day, and you get more time to get acclimated, but you also have to carry your gear a little farther up the mountain.”
Climbers will likely have to take packs as large as 60 pounds to 11,000 feet. In the past, RMI’s clients carried much lighter packs because they stayed in the bunkhouse and did not have to pack a tent.
Van Steen says RMI isn’t offering a similar climb because its clients traditionally prefer two-day climbs. After a day of training, the clients have a night to tweak their gear and dry out at sea level before starting up the mountain. IMG is also offering a two-day climb with separate training.
“Having that chance to fine-tune things and get a good dinner before doing your marathon is huge,” Van Steen said. “It’s a little more difficult once you’ve already started.
“I think it can be the key to success.”
With one month under their belts, the guide services say things are off to a good start, but the busier summer season is just around the corner.
“I think it will continue to go smoothly,” Van Steen said. “I imagine it will take us the entire summer to figure out what we can do better next year.”
GUIDING THE MUIR ROUTE
Since 1969, Rainier Mountaineering Inc. has been the only guide service on Rainier’s Muir Route – the route used by more than 70 percent of climbers. That changed this month as two more companies were allowed on the route.

RAINIER MOUNTAINEERING INC.
Ashford
Owners: Lou Whittaker, Peter Whittaker, Joe Horiskey
Client-to-guide ratio: 3-to-1 (2-to-1 on other routes)
Price: $805 (two days plus climbing school), $1,109 (three days plus climbing school)
Highlights: The only company to guide the Muir Route before this season. RMI also offers climbs on the Emmons, Kautz and Liberty Ridge routes. RMI has numerous training clinics including a Mount McKinley preparation program. They have guided internationally for two years.
Notable guides
Dave Hahn: He holds the U.S. record with eight summits of Mount Everest; guides internationally for IMG.
Brent Okita: More than 200 Rainier summits.
Craig Van Hoy: More than 350 Rainier summits.
Alex Van Steen: More than 225 Rainier summits and co-author of the first Rainier climbing guide.
Ed Viesturs: The only American to climb the world’s 14 8,000-meter summits.
Peter Whittaker: He has done more than 200 Rainier ascents.
This year: Most climbs are full, and there is a waiting list. RMI will start taking reservations next month for 2008.
Information: 360-569-2227, rmiguides.com
Craig Hill: 253-597-8497
craig.hill@thenewstribune.com

Our Denali gear and Equipment is holding up

Two summits by RMI teams on Denali already in this early season. Whittaker Mountaineering provides retail and rental gear for a lot of those who are attempting to climb Denali. Looks like great reviews on the Purple Haze overboots, Grivel G12 Crampons and the Absolute Zero Parka. We will have a report on the climbs up shortly.

Friends of Whittaker Mountaineering Summit Everest

Congratulations goes out to Casy Grom for his first Mt Everest summit on May 20th. Super Congrats goes out to Dave Hahn for his 9th Mt Everest summit. We appreciate both guys testing and feedback of Whittaker Mountaineering products over the past few years.