Mount Rainer — Family Style

In late 2015 my brother Karl and I hatched a plan to do a “family” Rainer trip. We choose August (of 2016) because of the typically stable weather (which it was, we had only a light breeze on the top and had sunny weather throughout). We also selected the commonly-done Disappointment Clever route as it has a less vertical gain than other routes and typically has a boot track in place, increasing the probability of success.

We allowed three days on the mountain (an extra bad-weather day), but only used two. Our group of 12 included myself, Karl, Levi (son), Rosemary (daughter), Ryan, Mark, Todd (nephews), Jonny (Rose’s friend) and several other friends of Karl. It took us about 5.25 hours to go from the car to Camp Muir. We got a few hours of sleep (some of us anyway, my sleeping pad was flat, so I got none) and then headed out at  11:00 p.m. for the summit. We left in the middle of the night as the weather was very warm so we wanted to be down off the upper mountain before the snow warmed up too much, increasing the danger of someone dropping through a soft soft-bridge and into a crevasse. It took us eight hours to summit and then four hours to get back down to Muir — and then finally about three hours to return to the car. Total climbing was a little over 9,000 feet of elevation. Here is my Strava upload of this trip.

This was my fourth trip and fourth summit success on this mountain, all with my brother Karl.

Probably the most memorable family reunion I’ll ever participate in!

The approach on day one. What a beautiful mountain.
Early on day one.
Levi running up the mountain!
Snowfield just before Camp Muir,
With a group of 12 people we had three stores going constantly to melt snow for water, because there was no open water sources at Camp Muir.
Since we arrived on Thursday afternoon, the heart was basically employee so we had a pretty much to ourselves.
Crossing crevasses on ladders wearing crampons was always spooky.
Early on the summit day.
The boat track, which is very common on the so-called dogs route.
Sunrise on summit day, at about 13,000 feet.
On the summit with Rose and Levi.
Karl, Rose, Jonny and Levi. Descending off the mountain on a summit day.
More stunning views.
I could not find any traditional mountaineering boots that would work with my problem ankle, so I used running shoes (Altra Lone Peak Neo Shell) fitted with a cycling neoprene overboot. A very lightweight method that work good except for my toes got a little bit pinched due to the crampon and soft shoe.
Karl’s roped team approaching Camp Muir after a successful summit bid.
Are used lightweight aluminum crampons as they were the only kind that would fit over my running shoe combo.
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Author: Rando Richard

I’m an old guy (age 69 in 2023) who enjoys aerobic, endurance sports. I call myself a cardio-junkie. Perhaps the more appropriate term would be “ultra” endurance sports. Since I was a teenager I have always enjoyed “slow twitch” outdoor sports like backpacking, ice climbing, running, mountaineering, hiking, alpine skiing and randonnée skiing (alpine touring, backcountry skiing or skimo). In 2005 I starting running with more regularity — except this time it was not for the intent of getting ready for a mountaineering trip, but as an end to itself. From 2005 to 2007 I managed to eek out two seasons of ultramarathons — that is competitive trail runs up to 50 or 100 miles. Due to a nagging ankle injury from the 80s (an accident while ice climbing in the 1980s where my lower tib and fib were badly broken), I had to cease that grueling, but rewarding activity. I then migrated into ultra distance road cycling or randonneuring. The rides are called brevets (pronounced bruh-VAY, it’s French) and are minimally supported — they are similar to ultrarunning and backpacking where one must be self reliant. Although brevets are non-competitive, they do have have cut off times to qualify as a finisher. They are usually are done in groups, which can have a competitive slant to them. Today, I continue to participate in long distance cycling including some ultra-racing, randonnée skiing (a blend of cross country and downhill disciplines) and still get out on an occasional mountaineering trip. Since 1996 I have been designing, manufacturing and selling camera bags. That is Kinesis Photo Gear (kgear.com). In 2005 I started selling cycling bags under the Kinesis label and eventually expanded it to including other sports like SUP (stand-up paddle boarding and some skimo). Consequently, it become eoGEAR — the “eo” stands for endurance outdoor. My wife and I are empty-nesters now and we live and work out in the boondocks of central Utah, half way between Salt Lake City (great powder) and Moab (great red rocks). Well, I guess that is all for now. Safe travels mate! Perhaps I’ll see you on the road or trail. — Richard Stum

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