​Rainier: The climb, Part 2

It was windy and the flapping of the tent kept me awake most of the night. It was a relief when Solveig woke us up at midnight. Finally, summit day has arrived and I could not be more excited, yet nervous at the same time. In 1 hour, we were all roped up, crampons on and ready to go. We started the same route we took the day prior, but this time it was in the middle of the night. Seeing all the headlamps forming a line on the Cowlitz Glacier was completely surreal. I had a big smile on my face since I knew the route was easy and that I could relax and enjoy the moment. After 1hr20’, we took our first break at the Flats. This is where several clients decided to stop their attempt. It’s never an easy decision but knowing your limits and making the best and safest choice for your own good is remarkable. Then, we resumed our climb on a direct route up the Ingraham Glacier. The usual route turns right to the Disappointment Cleaver but Brent told us that the risk of icefall or rocks was too great. A team of guides from RMI prepped our route the day before and told us that it was safer to go the more direct way. After Jess gave me a “warning” during this 2nd section, we arrived at the upper part of the Disappointment Cleaver at about 12,300 feet and we took our second break. It was around 3:30am. This section was very steep and I started to feel the altitude. I was last on my rope team and had to constantly monitor the distance between Barton, the teammate in front of me, and I. It was not a smooth walk and I was out of breath every time I had to increase the pace. However, I recovered quickly and was reassured. Out of the eight remaining clients, one decided to turn around. Before starting up again, Brent and Solveig told us that from now on, we had to be fully committed to summiting because it would be too complicated to turn around later on, as we did not have enough guides to babysit us on our way down. The 3rd section was not very steep and we were climbing very well. We started to see some crevasses along the way. At first, there were small but as we climbed up, they started to get bigger and bigger. At some point, I found myself crossing a crevasse on a small ladder. They weren’t like the big ladders on the Khumbu Icefall on Everest, but it was still pretty cool. The sun gradually rose and gave us a completely different view of our surroundings. A sunrise while climbing up a mountain glacier is a truly majestic experience. That single moment was one of the best of the entire climb, except for maybe the summit. Soon after, we stopped for our last break before the summit push. It was 5am and we were at the “High Break” at 13,500 feet. Brent and Solveig told us the day before that the last section would again be very steep but shorter than the previous ones. We were all psyched up about getting to the top. The sun was shining, the wind was minimal, and we were less than 900 vertical feet from the summit, all still going strong. Well, Mount Rainier had other plans for us.
 
As we were slowly ascending through a maze of crevasses and closing in on the crater of Rainier, I heard someone yell: “falling!” I saw one of the clients, just 3 spots ahead of me, being pulled forward very rapidly. He then stopped abruptly on the ground. Everyone just froze in place, anxious to hear from Solveig. After a few minutes, she told us that Brent, our lead guide, just broke through the snow over a crevasse and fell in about 10 feet. Eight climbers from another group had just crossed this snow bridge without any problems. He was apparently uninjured and Solveig has already started the process of rescuing him. It took her a good 30 to 45 minutes to get him out of the crevasse. During the rescue, the others and I were wondering if Brent was unhurt and what would happen next. “Was the climb over?” we all thought. We were amazed when, finally free from the crevasse, he told us with a big smile on his face to get ready for the summit. What a tough guide he is! We later learned that, in his 31 years of climbing, and after 518 summits of Mount Rainier, 2 Everest attempt (1 summit) and 23 Denali summits, among other climbs, he has never once fallen in a crevasse. We were all joking that if it had been us in the crevasse, we would have had to change our underwear, whereas for Brent it was like business as usual.
 
We resumed our climb, relieved that it would just be a good story to tell, and hoping that it would be our first and last problem on the mountain. However, during our forced stop, the clouds built up near the top and the temperature dropped. It was not completely whiteout conditions but it became more challenging and uncertain. We were only now 30 minutes from the crater so I was confident that we would all make it. We had to take a small detour to avoid the now open crevasse and we all managed it like seasoned pros despite being in the steepest section of the entire climb. Finally, at 7am we entered the summit crater of Mount Rainier! We all cheered, high-fived and bear-hugged each other to celebrate our summit as much as to release the stress accumulated over the last 6 hours. Personally, it was an incredible and emotional moment. I had a tracking GPS device with me during the climb, where I had set up a message that could be sent via satellite to my wife and children. As soon as we entered the crater, I hit the button and I knew that they would receive the “summit message” within minutes. Somehow, they were with me on the summit, and it made this moment even more special. After getting some snacks and drink, we got ourselves ready for the descent. All the guides told us throughout this journey that getting to the top is only the half of the climb. Most accidents happen during the descent and that we should never become complacent or relax until we’re done with this dangerous part of the climb. We had no idea how right they would be....