Mount
Rainier is a volcano located in the cascade range of Washington state.
At 14,411', it is one of the tallest and is the most glaciated peak in
the contiguous United States. Reaching the summit requires a vertical
elevation gain of more than 9000' over a distance of eight or more miles,
depending on the route. 10,919 people attempted to climb Mount Rainier
in 1999; 5255 summited. A large number of ascents are made by Pacific
Northwest locals who attempt the climb from sea level, with varying degrees
of success. Other attempts are made by Highpointers, as Rainier is
Washington's highest peak, and international climbers, training for something
bigger. To these non-locals, Rainier is just another peak.
Nothing particularly special, just long and unpredictable. But to
the "locals," Rainier is so much more. Bruce Barcott, in Measure
of a Mountain, Beauty and Terror on Mount Rainier, states it best:
The local vernacular admits only one "Mountain," and when Rainier rises we tell each other, "The Mountain is out." Mount Rainier is at once the most public symbol of the Pacific Northwest and its most sacred private icon. A friend once disclosed that she says a prayer whenever she sees it. A stranger I met on its high southern flank told me, "you must love this mountain as much as I do," but his reverent tone of voice told me I couldn't. Lou Whittaker, who has climbed Rainier more than one hundred fifty times, told me about returning home from a Himalayan expedition and catching sight of the mountain, and feeling it snap his breath clean away. ...We look at Rainier and regard the vastness of God; yet we look at it and claim it as our own.
These pages are dedicated to the
ISU outdoor program trip that attempted and succeeded in summitting Mount
Rainier in August of 2000.
Introduction Route Info Gallery 1 Gallery 2 Gallery 3 Gallery 4 Gallery5 Gallery 6 Last Page