Mount Rainier - June 2001
Steph, Matt, Mark, and James at the Paradise ranger station on June 29
At 4392 m, the summit of Mount Rainier is the highest point in Washington. Our team, Mark McCann, Matt Brown, James Grant, and I, visited Rainier for a climb June 28 - July 1, 2001. We reached the summit at 7:00 am on June 30. As you can see from the pictures, conditions were ideal: sunny, with a steady wind cooling things off above 4000 m. We followed the Disappointment Cleaver route and spent the night of June 29 at Ingraham Flats. Check out Matt's Rainier photos.
Matt, James, and Mark at Camp Muir
Location
Mount Rainier is located in Mount Rainier National Park, in the middle of Washington state, about 100 km southeast of Seattle. See the area map for directions. 

Paradise is the starting point for most routes on the south side. A ranger station is located there, as are showers and food.

Several campgrounds are located near Paradise permitting an early start on the approach. 

heading up from Camp Muir to Ingraham Flats camp at Ingraham Flats a room with a view
James, Matt, and Mark: summit push on D.C. early in the a.m.
June 28 - Drive from Vancouver to Mt. Rainier NP (500 km). Camp at Cour Rock campground.

June 29 - Obtain permit from Paradise Ranger Station (1647 m) at 8 am. Ascend to high camp at Ingraham Flats (3353 m) via Muir snowfield at 3:30 pm.

June 30 - Wake at 1 am. Climb Disappointment Cleaver route to summit (4393 m) at 7 am. Descend to high camp at 10:30 am. Descend to Paradise at 3:00 pm. Camp at Cour Rock campground.

July 1 - Drive to Vancouver.

sunrise - tada!
Climbing permits are required at $15 per person. Reservations are recommended for most overnight routes on the Muir snowfield; call (360) 569-HIKE. Climbing rangers in Paradise can be reached at (360) 569-2211 ext. 2314; climbing permits can be picked up here.

Vehicles require a $10 NPS entry permit obtainable at the park gate.

See NPS Mount Rainier website for details.

Mt. Adams as seen from 4000m
Selected Climbs in the Cascades. Jim Nelson and Peter Potterfield. Mountaineers Books, 1993. 

Mount Rainier: A Climbing Guide. Mike Gauthier. Mountaineers Books, 1999.

Mt. Rainier Climbing Guide SM10097. Stanley L. Friedman. Stanley Maps.

Mount Rainier climbing website. National Parks Service. 

SummitPost Peakware Ski Mountaineer

Steph on the summit
Mount Rainier National Park, National Parks Service (jpeg)

Ingraham Flats route map (jpeg)

compass bearings for Muir Snowfield (postscript)

entire route overview (gif)

Mount Rainier surrounding area (pdf)

Matt and Mark on the crater rim Mark, Matt, James, and Steph on the crater rim time to go home
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