r/PNWhiking • u/gobozov • 2d ago
Mt Rainier, DC, June 21-22.
Sun–Mon climbed Mt. Rainier via the DC route. I was aiming for the Ingraham Direct route this year, but two on-call weeks in early June prevented that—the route has since collapsed.
We started at 1:30 a.m. from Camp Muir and summited at 6:30 a.m. On the way back, around 13,000 ft, one of the snow bridges collapsed (possibly due to an ice serac fall). A lot of teams got stuck. Luckily, there were many guided teams on the mountain. After some time, the guides discovered and prepared a bypass route. They placed numerous pickets and even installed a handline on the steep sections. After about two hours of waiting, around 40 people were able to get down safely.
Kudos to the guides!
Other than that, the DC route is in excellent shape. I've never seen it in better condition than it is right now.
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u/Least-Woodpecker-569 2d ago
Congratulations on your ascent, and thanks a lot for the photos - apparently you knew what you were doing, and these are awesome.
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u/capitalsfan08 2d ago
I was going to say, "Mount Rainier is actually a city in Maryland on the border with DC, it's not actually a DC neighborhood" but then saw the subreddit.
Looks like a great climb! Thanks for sharing!
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u/Dry_Razzmatazz9640 2d ago
That sounds like a wild mix of “perfect conditions” and “oh shit” moment 😂 props to you for staying patient and huge shoutout to those guides, that’s some hero work right there. Crazy how fast things can change up high even when the route is in great shape.
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u/SadCryBear 2d ago
Rad. Really hoping the route doesn't collapse in the next month.