Mt Rainier - Winter Expedition

Emmons/Winthrop Glacier Route

DAYS

8

DESCRIPTION

SUMMIT

DATES

May - July

PRICE

FROM

£3750pp

Mt Rainier - Winter Expedition
emmons/Winthrop Glacier Route

8 Days @ £3750pp ( £200pp Deposit)

Known as Tahoma — “The Big White One” — Mount Rainier is a source for climbers of all levels who wish to experience higher altitude mountaineering, train for bigger ascents abroad, or simply stand on the summit of Washington State’s most prominent icon overlooking the bright lights of Seattle in the distance. At 14,410 feet / 4392 meters, Mount Rainier is the highest peak in the Cascade Range and the most heavily glaciated. Rainier has big glaciers, plenty of elevation gain, and a just reward for summiting.

As an active Volcano, Mount Rainier has not produced a significant eruption in the past 500 years, it is potentially the most dangerous volcano in the Cascade Range because of its great height, frequent earthquakes, active hydrothermal system, and extensive glacier mantle. Mount Rainier has 25 major glaciers containing more than five times as much snow and ice as all the other Cascade volcanoes combined. If only a small part of this ice were melted by volcanic activity, it would yield enough water to trigger enormous lahars (debris flows and mudflows that originate on a volcano). Mount Rainier's potential for generating destructive mudflows is enhanced by its great height above surrounding valleys. It's some challenge for sure!

If Mt Everest, Machu Picchu or Kilimanjaro is on your hit-list, download the Rogue Sports Travel Base Camp Trekking guide to inform you of the detail behind the scenes.

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Itinerary

Exped Day 1

We meet at 7 am for a mandatory orientation meeting and equipment check. The drive from Seattle to the trailhead at White River Campground (4,350 ft / 1326 m) is approximately 3 hours. After finalizing our permitting with Mt. Rainier National Park and securing your annual climbing passes ($30/pp), we’ll hit the trail — this is a mellow 3 mile / 4.8 kilometer hike and the shorter day allows time to begin some skills review or just relax a bit. We’ll camp at the Glacier Basin group site at 5,900 feet / 17998 meters.

Exped Day 2

Today we’ll hike out of Glacier Basin and have an opportunity to continue with any skills review and assessment on the slopes above camp. We’ll then ascend steeply out of Glacier Basin up the Inter Glacier, traverse east, and then drop down onto the broken Emmons Glacier at 8,800 feet / 2682 meters, reaching Camp Schurman at 9,460 feet / 2883 meters at the upper apex of Steamboat Prow. This is all rope-team travel once on the Inter and Emmons Glaciers. A permanent NPS ranger hut is located at Schurman providing the latest on route and travel conditions

Exped Day 7

Wake up early in the morning with a hot cup of tea and witness an impressive sunrise view over Trango Tower. Today will be a short but strenuous trekking day as you walk up the undulating moraine while constantly gaining height. Most of the time, you will trek along the lateral moraine and sometimes on the surface of Baltoro. Pass the Nameless Towers to arrive at Urdukas camp by early afternoon. It is located around 100 meters above the Baltoro glacier.

Exped Day3

These are our summit days. Expect a departure between 2 and 3 am The lower section of the route can be quite broken by big crevasses until the feature call the “Corridor” is reached. This relatively unbroken section is between 10,300 feet / 3139 meters and 11,300 feet / 3444 meters. Above this point, the route changes year to year and is dictated by crevasses and slope angle. Usually a large Bergschrund 1,000 feet / 305 meters or so below the summit area demands some belaying as we cross snow bridges; or it requires a route change traversing around to the west. Columbia Crest, Rainier’s true summit, is located 15 minutes from the crater rim. Descent is made by retracing the route up. Expect times between 7 – 9 hours up and 4 – 5 down. After the summit climb, we’ll be able to spend one more night at Camp Schurman, leaving an entire day for our descent to the trailhead and drive back to Seattle.

Expedition Dates

11/05/23 18/05/23

Total £3750pp Deposit £200pp

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20/05/24 28/06/24

Total £3750pp Deposit £1000pp

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6/06/25 14/06/25

Total £3750pp Deposit £1000pp

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Overview

More Information

What's Included/What's Not

Price Includes

Guide services
Ground transportation
All meals while on the mountain
Tents
Group climbing equipment

Price Does Not Include

Airfare
Transportation within Seattle
$50 climber’s fee
Park entrance fee
Hotel accommodations
Restaurant meals
All personal equipment
Travel insurance with trip cancellation, medical and evacuation policy
Guide gratuities

Accommodation

HOTELS

Our offices are conveniently located within a short drive from the airport. For the sake of logistical ease, we highly recommend you stay at one of the nearby hotels listed below. If you’re looking for a more complete Seattle experience, we recommend you switch hotels after your climb to a hotel in closer proximity to the city. We also have some of those options listed below.

Near SeaTac Airport (only a 20 minute drive away):

Cedarbrook Lodge

Hampton Inn SeaTac

Double Tree Hotel SeaTac

Hilton Garden Inn SeaTac

Near Downtown Seattle:

Georgetown Inn

The Grove West Seattle Inn

International/Internal Flights

As you have realised by now we are not providing flights as part of the package. We rely on you to book your own flights and make your way to Seattle where our trek begins. As an In-Country trekking provider our remit has to begin at the country of your destination. International flights aren’t currently included in our trips & tour prices (although we are looking to address this issue by the end of 2023. As Tour operators we have a lot of information to make sure that booking your flights is as streamlined as possible.

'Day 1' is designed with arrivals in mind and so the itinerary is clear throughout the day with a welcoming group meal at the hotel or nearby restaurant in the evening.
Keep in mind that for most of our destinations, you will book your flight to leave the UK the day prior to your trip’s start date - they’re often long haul and will have early starts and in certain cases, multiple lay overs. This is all part of the adventure...

On return from our trek , we will look to build in some 'downtime' in Seattle to enjoy the nightlife and celebrate your achievements. Traditionally we look to depart the day after arrival back to Seattle. Most of our trekker's look to depart ton that day, however, we have some who would prefer to extend their time and explore the region further. You can book your arrival or departure flights for any date either side of a trip and we can still arrange airport transfers and any extra accommodation or secondary events that you require.

*The weather can be unpredictable in the Cascades, and it may cause delays or cancellations - we need to have a contingency day built in as some mitigation.

Seattle International Airport Details:

Seattle - Tacoma International Airport

You may also add a few extra days to your trip either side. We will arrange accommodation for you which means that you don't need to worry about finding & moving hotels. Plus by remaining within the Rogue group booking system, we're still able to provide transport from/to the airport no matter what date your flight is.

The cost of additional nights at our subsidiary hotels are generally a better rate than you'd get by booking elsewhere. Unless you tell us otherwise, we'll automatically arrange all your accommodation requirements in line with your flight details and you'll pay for additional nights directly to the hotel when you're there - so nothing to worry about in advance of your trip.

If you plan on arranging your own accommodation and transport from or to the airport, that's cool too, all we ask is that you make sure you let us know so we can co-ordinate in Seattle.

Experience

We climb the Emmons/Winthrop Glacier Route – the second-most popular route up the mountain – a more remote and less crowded route than the Disappointment Cleaver/Ingraham Glacier. Due to a low start of 4,350 feet / 1326 meters, extra trail mileage, and length of summit climb, our Emmons Glacier Summit climb runs on a 5‑day mountain itinerary. Approaching high camp over two days saves energy, allows time for a skills assessment and/or crevasse rescue refresher; as well gives climbers a chance to savour the approach and spend time on the upper mountain. Having an extra summit day as an option is invaluable for a big mountain like Mt Rainier.

The route starts at the White River Campground on the mountain’s northwest aspect (4,350 ft / 13226 m). We’ll take the Glacier Basin trail to a group campsite at 5,900 feet / 1798 meters and reached in 3 miles / 4.8 kms. This is a mellow day and allows time to begin some skills review or just relax a bit. Day 2 we continue up to high camp at Camp Schurman located at the upper apex of Steamboat Prow. We’ll ascend steeply out of Glacier Basin up the Inter Glacier, traverse east, and then drop down onto the broken Emmons Glacier at 8,800 feet / 2682 meters, reaching Camp Sherman at 9,460 feet / 2883 meters. Days 3 or 4 are our summit days. The lower section of the route can be quite broken by big crevasses until the feature, called the “Corridor,” is reached. This relatively unbroken section is between 3139 m and 3444 meters. Above this section, the route changes year to year and is dictated by crevasses and slope angle. Usually a large Bergschrund 1000 305 meters or so below the summit area demands some belaying as we cross snow bridges; or the need to traverse around to the west. Columbia Crest, Rainier’s true summit, is located 15 minutes from the crater rim.

Descent is made by retracing the route up. Expect times between 7 – 9 hours up and 4 – 5 down. After the summit climb, we’ll be able to spend one more night at Camp Shurman leaving an entire day for our descent to the trailhead and the drive back to Seattle.

On this climb we cover:

Selection and use of personal equipment, ropes, knots and harnesses
Crampon use and snow climbing techniques, ice axe positioning, and self-arrest techniques
Roped glacier travel, rope team management, route finding, and crevasse navigation
Hazard assessment including a discussion of objective vs. subjective hazards
Camp construction, camp management, and cold weather camping skills.
Discussions will include proper clothing and climbing gear for survival in the high mountains, mountain weather, alpine ecology, avalanche hazard assessment, and Leave No Trace ethic

If Mt Everest, Machu Picchu or Kilimanjaro is on your hit-list, download the Rogue Sports Travel Trekking guides to inform you of the detail behind the scenes.

Download

Want to Talk It through?.......Ask Away

If you have any questions or queries about the training school, the administration or the trek itself give us a quick call. Your call will be answered by the UK guiding team and you will have direct access to their experience in building up towards these treks. If the himalayas are not for you then please drop us a line to see if we can facilitate your requests - we go everywhere........

Call

+44(0)7398862181

Email

jn@roguesportstravel.com