Mount Rainier - Permits first-come, first-served

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bobalob
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Re: Mount Rainier - Permits first-come, first-served

Post by bobalob »

The take from the park rangers who we talked to this past Saturday was basically all systems normal, no big deal. They didn't think the system this year were would effect climbers at all. Backpackers looking to get permits could have trouble getting permits for their specific routes. If climbers come will at least a little flexibility on which campsites they wanted or even which route they want to climb the rangers don't think they will have any problem getting permits for their climb. This comes from very very early in the season but again they didn't seem to think there would be any problems except for maybe backpackers with specific agendas.
theuglybear
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Re: Mount Rainier - Permits first-come, first-served

Post by theuglybear »

Climbed the Kautz this past weekend. Had no problem getting a permit on Thursday, but on our descent down the DC an RMI guide told us the park had SOLD OUT of permits for the entire mountain that weekend, except for the very hardest routes like the Willis Wall. 190 permits had been issued for Camp Muir. I guess getting shut down is a possibility, so if you're planning a trip make sure you aren't trying to pick up a permit on Friday or Saturday.
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MyFeetHurt
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Re: Mount Rainier - Permits first-come, first-served

Post by MyFeetHurt »

theuglybear wrote:Climbed the Kautz this past weekend.
I'm headed there tomorrow to climb the Kautz, any input on conditions? Ice, snow, etc?
theuglybear
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Re: Mount Rainier - Permits first-come, first-served

Post by theuglybear »

MyFeetHurt wrote:
theuglybear wrote:Climbed the Kautz this past weekend.
I'm headed there tomorrow to climb the Kautz, any input on conditions? Ice, snow, etc?
Sure thing! When we climbed it (Fri-Sun) the mountain had just received a lot of new snow, so there was a lot of trail breaking and some evidence of slides. Things should have settled a lot by now. Also, if you follow our bootpack (which it appeared all the teams below us were doing), you won't exit the Nisqually via the fan down low, but rather just to the left of the Wilson icefall, which was fun, easy, and beautiful (visibility was super low the first day, so we missed the fan). We never found the rappel off the Turtle, but if you ascend a few hundred feet you can just walk off. The ice was mostly covered by snow. P1 was about 70' of WI1 and P2 was maybe 100' of WI2-3. It looked rotten from below but ended up having surprisingly solid ice a half inch below the crap. Super fun!

We carried over to the DC, which I totally recommend. 5 hours from the summit to paradise! Would've taken twice that reversing the Kautz, I think. Have you been up there before? We almost settled on switching to the DC due to crappy weather, but I'm SO glad we didn't. Kautz is amazing and lonely, but damn is the DC a overcrowded, manufactured, garbage route. Have fun!
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MyFeetHurt
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Re: Mount Rainier - Permits first-come, first-served

Post by MyFeetHurt »

theuglybear wrote:
MyFeetHurt wrote:
theuglybear wrote:Climbed the Kautz this past weekend.
I'm headed there tomorrow to climb the Kautz, any input on conditions? Ice, snow, etc?
Sure thing! When we climbed it (Fri-Sun) the mountain had just received a lot of new snow, so there was a lot of trail breaking and some evidence of slides. Things should have settled a lot by now. Also, if you follow our bootpack (which it appeared all the teams below us were doing), you won't exit the Nisqually via the fan down low, but rather just to the left of the Wilson icefall, which was fun, easy, and beautiful (visibility was super low the first day, so we missed the fan). We never found the rappel off the Turtle, but if you ascend a few hundred feet you can just walk off. The ice was mostly covered by snow. P1 was about 70' of WI1 and P2 was maybe 100' of WI2-3. It looked rotten from below but ended up having surprisingly solid ice a half inch below the crap. Super fun!

We carried over to the DC, which I totally recommend. 5 hours from the summit to paradise! Would've taken twice that reversing the Kautz, I think. Have you been up there before? We almost settled on switching to the DC due to crappy weather, but I'm SO glad we didn't. Kautz is amazing and lonely, but damn is the DC a overcrowded, manufactured, garbage route. Have fun!
I was debating about doing the carryover, but 5 hours back to paradise seems pretty darn fast. Probably brutal though. First time on the mountain for me, but my partner has been up before. The crux may be the permit, but we are flexible.
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