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Jerry Dodrill
climber
Bodega, CA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 23, 2006 - 05:56pm PT
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UPDATED WITH PHOTOS! (finally!)
Ramblings of a rock climber in the alpine realm...
Liberty Ridge Trip Report
Mount Rainier, Washington
By Jerry Dodrill
June 17-21, 2006
Team: Jerry Dodrill, Kendall Ermshar, Paul Vance
Mount Rainier (14,410’) is an enormous volcanic peak which rises up from the low rolling landscape just East of coastal Seattle Washington in the Cascades Mountain Range. It has been the training ground for generations of mountaineers and has produced some of the finest and most notorious American mountain guides. It’s a serious mountain. In the Sierra we can usually drive up to trail heads at seven or nine thousand feet, climb a ‘fourteener’ in a day or two, and be sitting in the hot springs with a cold drink at the end of a summit day. Sierra rock is generally solid granite; Rainier’s volcanic stone is akin to frozen kitty litter. Its glaciers are large and active, requiring much roped travel over potentially dangerous crevasse fields.
(not my photo)
When Kendall asked me to join him and Paul on Liberty Ridge I immediately said yes. I’d heard of its status as one of the “fifty classic climbs” in North America but didn’t really know what I was getting into until I did an online search and read trip reports. “Committing route…really long…hard to abort…big crevasses…bad weather…” you get the picture. The ridge splits the gigantic North Face in two, like a narrow islet in a mighty river of falling ice. The trailhead is at about four thousand feet, so there’s 10,000 vertical feet of gain/loss. As I read more, my palms started sweating, imagining the familiar death grip I get when swinging ice tools. It had been a while since I’d done an alpine route anything like this and I wondered if we’d have more fun in Yosemite. I pushed that aside and secretly hoped bad weather would spoil the fun, but spent the next two weeks training. A strong high-pressure system started pushing north and it looked like extraordinarily perfect climbing weather. Now the psyche was building.
It’s ten PM Friday night when Kendall and I pull out of St. Helena to meet Paul at I-5 in Williams. After an all night drive we pulled into Portland for breakfast, and to get a few last minute things at REI. Next stop, White River Ranger station, on the East side of Mt. Rainier National Park. Road construction gave us an unfortunately long detour to Yakima. Finally, we get signed in with the ranger and hike three miles in to Glacier Camp, where the clouds break enough to catch a glimpse of the mountain. Gulp. It’s big. This isn’t a California 14’er.
We packed light knowing we had to carry everything up over the mountain and down the easier Emmons-Winthrop Glacier route. But all these guys are in camp to do the Emmons, and have way more gear than us. Did we bring enough? Less is more, right?
Next morning we slept in, recovering from the all night drive. The packs felt heavy. At about 10:00 we strolled out of camp and crossed St. Elmo’s Pass entering a thick cloudbank.
Route finding across the Winthrop Glacier to Curtis Ridge meant following boot tracks through crevasse fields in fifty-foot visibility.
We roped up, and finally after endless blind walking made a comfortable camp above the Carbon Glacier. There was no running water for the rest of the way, so we melted snow, trying to stay hydrated.
The weather was improving -it cleared overnight. At sunrise the Liberty Ridge stood naked before us in all her glory. It was our first real look and boy was she something! She has an angular form, both seductive and foreboding. Open crevasse fields guard her lower flanks, keeping half-hearted suitors at bay.
As we packed camp, movement on the Carbon caught my eye. A lone wolf ran full speed down the ice, jumping over crevasses in the morning sun. Where was he going? Why was he here? Was it serendipitous or a bad omen? We were either receiving the strength of the wolf, or were the three little pigs. Soon we would know. (sorry, no big-bad-wolf photos)
Crampons squeaked in the nevé, stoned tumbled from high cliffs, water rushed beneath the ice.
Reflected light illuminated the thin veil of cloud in which we walked.
The mountain was silent, calm, accepting of our presence. We crossed under Liberty’s toe from left to right and climbed up onto her slopes. Paul was leading.
At fifty-three, he’s giving us a lesson in patience, that is, climbing at a speed that from experience he knows he can maintain all day. The oldest of our group, he is also the most experienced. He was active in Yosemite and Chamonix in the ‘70’s, having done the second ascents of the Heart Route, and Mescalito on El Capitan, and the first ascent of the Korean Pillar on Mont Blanc du Tacul. He introduced Kendall to climbing. Kendall and I went to college and climbed together. Together, the three of us had shared a rope on Yosemite’s walls and in the Bolivian Andes. This was our first time in the Cascades.
We swapped simul-climbing leads as we went. It might have been safer to unrope. Some exciting rock fall and a lot of steep step kicking led us to Thumb Rock (10,800’). Tent platforms were in place, so we set up camp at noon to relax and acclimatize, only coming out to pee and take pictures of the beautiful sunset.
The ‘approach’ was long over. We had now committed to the route. Kendall wasn’t feeling well. The altitude was getting him, and he had tweaked his knee on the approach. I had a slight headache and bruised knee from a falling rock. We all slept hard, but couldn’t seem to get enough rest.
In the early morning light, Paul led left, above camp to the top of the rocks on fifty degree angled snow and verglas.
I took the lead up the exposed ridge to the shoulder of the Pyramid.
By all accounts we had read the difficulties were just about to start. Kendall took over leading, front pointing up ice and verglas (thin layer of ice over snow or rock), placing an occasional ice screw or snow stake where ever conditions allowed, which wasn’t often.
I should note that we simul-climbed the entire route, on a single 9mm 60M rope using Petzl Ti-blocs (toothed devices which allow the rope to run one direction through a carabiner) to protect the leader from the catastrophe of a second person falling. We all felt solid enough for the conditions, and agreed that if anyone wanted an actual belay we would accommodate that without question or hesitation. Kendall shined off a 500-600’ pitch, only stopping when he ran out of gear, which seemed soon with our thin rack of four screws, two stakes, and a picket that we never used.
At this point the altitude and front pointing with a full pack had taken its toll. He was done leading. Paul was pretty tuckered out also. They looked at me like, “it’s your lead.” Ice is probably my weakest area of climbing experience, but I was really enjoying the climb, the rhythm of cruising up steep, fully exposed but generally solid terrain at altitude, and the urgency of summiting and getting down before dark. There was a lot of climbing ahead of us still and Kendall’s pounding headache meant it wouldn’t be wise to bivouac so high. The pressure was on. Tired, slightly nervous but psyched, I reached in my pack and broke the seal on the emergency safety kit. Once the Red Bull entered my system I was chatting like a schoolgirl and there was nothing stopping us from the summit. One ice bulge after the next kept appearing from nowhere, linked by long snowfields.
The general angle of the mountain had subsided but the steps were getting steeper and more technical. It looked like there was one more obstacle in front of us, a vertical looking bergshrund wall with old steps in it. I approached feeling real heavy and placed a snow stake for psychological protection. There was no ice here, just hard snow that didn’t take picks. Full horizontal axe handle thrusts were key. It was taxing to pound them in with the butt of my hand, but secure once placed. The wind had picked up and blew endless spindrift down into my face. After a mantle over the top I placed a good screw with a Ti-bloc and kept climbing up a snowfield toward what looked like an off-vertical water ice headwall. It was just that. Now I was exhausted, but had to keep climbing. I placed my last screw, equalized it with my two axes and belayed the others up for more gear. Reclaiming the rack at a collapsing, almost hanging stance, I climbed above them on dinner plating water ice, placing two screws in forty five feet before getting to good a good stake placement a hundred feet out. As Paul started climbing behind me I reached snow and kicked steps to the low angle summit ride above. We walked to the summit of Liberty Cap together, too tired to unrope.
It was 7:00 when we had a group hug and extremely short-lived summit celebration.
We had a late start, and were moving too slow. The sun would set in an hour and forty seven minutes. It was the summer Solstice.
We hustled down and over to the Emmons-Winthrop route, joining it at about 13,600’ and followed footsteps down for thousands of feet.
Legs were tired, knees sore. The mountain’s shadow crept off into the distance as the sun set. Lights appeared in distant valleys. It was beautiful, but there was nothing to say, just keep moving.
Camp Shurman, the Emmons route base camp and ranger station, seemed an eternity away. Somewhere around 10,500’ we found an old bivy spot, dug it out, set up the tent. Kendall was in bad shape with exhaustion and altitude sickness, and couldn’t get warm until Paul fired up the stove and handed him a hot water bottle. We passed out without dinner.
Wednesday morning we slept in and hiked down, arriving around 2:00. After burgers at the Mt. Rainier Bar and Grill in town we pulled another all night drive to get everyone to work on time on Thursday. This was a vain effort, as we were in no shape to work. Sore legs, burned skin, numb brains, cracked lips... life is good.
Jerry Dodrill Photography
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atchafalaya
Trad climber
California
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Jun 23, 2006 - 06:06pm PT
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great TR JD, I climbed Rainier a couple of summers ago, and can still relate to the marathon of up and down on that 14'er. Always wanted to do Liberty Ridge, congrats!
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bob d'antonio
Trad climber
boulder, co
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Jun 23, 2006 - 07:16pm PT
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Good job for a rock-rat. Looking forward to seeing some photos.
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dirtineye
Trad climber
the south
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Jun 23, 2006 - 07:19pm PT
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Yeah Jer, lessee them pics uv yurs!
Can't wait.
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Rhodo-Router
Gym climber
Otto, NC
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Jun 23, 2006 - 07:27pm PT
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Great trip report, thanks. This kind of thing makes this site truly worthwhile.
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Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Jun 23, 2006 - 07:38pm PT
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Allright Jerry,
Great climb and TR. No preasure or anything, but I want to see the pictures too.
Zander
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Jerry Dodrill
climber
Bodega, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 23, 2006 - 07:55pm PT
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Hey Zander, guys. Photos should be up in a couple days. I shot a bunch, trying to really get the whole experience, using a light film camera. (Gotta get a digital soon.) The route was in great shape. Crevasses weren't too bad as there was so much late snow and the bridges are still thick, freezing at night. I punched through a hidden crevasse on the walk across the summit plateau - wasn't paying attention - my fault - tired. If you ever wanted to go do this route, it's probably a good time right now. Plenty of tracks after we got done with it, and there was a party of Texans from Dallas behind us. Luckily we had great weather. Often it's a white out up high and, well, good luck finding the descent unless you wander upon some wands. The Emmons Route was just a long steep walk in the park. I suppose it would be fun if you'd never been in crampons before, but it was a trudge going down. Lots of skiers coming up in the early a.m. and skiing out on corn. Good times for all. Spend Independence Day on Liberty Ridge. Why not?
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Jun 23, 2006 - 08:53pm PT
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good show Jerry, been up there twice with no summit... and once to do the Liberty Ridge. It is awsome to look at it from the Carbon Glacier camp. Now you've made me want to go back for another try.
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Jerry Dodrill
climber
Bodega, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 23, 2006 - 09:28pm PT
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Do it Ed. Go right now. All those crevasses are melting out.
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David
Trad climber
San Rafael, CA
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Jun 23, 2006 - 09:34pm PT
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Great trip report. Looking forward to the photos.
fyi. I've been pretty happy with the D200 so far. I think you'd like it. Much lighter(and cheaper) than a D2X with almost the same performance I think. You've already got all the glass.
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Jerry Dodrill
climber
Bodega, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 23, 2006 - 09:36pm PT
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That's the one I'm eyeballin'. Any banding in the shadows? Highlights?
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David
Trad climber
San Rafael, CA
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Jun 23, 2006 - 09:42pm PT
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Hi Jerry,
Yes actually. In very specific conditions I can produce the banding you've read about. However, the problem was over stated(IMO) and from what I've heard it has already been resolved by Nikon. I bought one of the very first shipments and I get the sense I'm one of only 1% affected. Before one year is up I might ship it back to Nikon and have it repaired or replaced but I'm not really in a hurry because the issue seems to be so minor. It shouldn't be an issue for any new D200s.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jun 23, 2006 - 11:48pm PT
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Fun read Jerry,
Thanks.
I've been up the Edmonds Glacier headwall, down the Tahoma
Glacier.
'Long trudge up the summit dome was invigorating.
What a place eh?
We look forward to more.
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Jerry Dodrill
climber
Bodega, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 18, 2006 - 07:16pm PT
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Dirtineye asked for photos. I FINALLY loaded them in the original post.
so without further adooo... bumpity-bump-bump...Enjoy.
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dirtineye
Trad climber
the south
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Jul 18, 2006 - 07:31pm PT
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It
Was
WORTH IT!
I feel like I got a free and exclusive nat geo story with the pics, haha!
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handsome B
Gym climber
Saskatoon, Saskatchawan
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Jul 18, 2006 - 07:43pm PT
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Very nice work.
You may want to look at the Nikon P4 point-and-shoot for these sorts of adventures. 8mp allows you to crop a good bit and the image quality is excellent. Light cameras make you climb faster.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jul 18, 2006 - 08:10pm PT
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Very Nice.
Thanks for putting it together so well.
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Fluoride
Trad climber
California somewhere
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Jul 18, 2006 - 08:23pm PT
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Whoa crevasse fun!!
Great TR Jerry, with the photos now I think this is one of the best threads on ST. The photos along with the story you tell really bring it home.
I especially liked the way you describe the descent. Anyone who's ever done a big peak can really relate (your words hit home with me). Making the summit is so great but so short lived when you realize that getting off a big mountain is still half the battle:
"Legs were tired, knees sore. The mountain’s shadow crept off into the distance as the sun set. Lights appeared in distant valleys. It was beautiful, but there was nothing to say, just keep moving."
Yep, there's never anything to say but just keep moving.
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Jerry Dodrill
climber
Bodega, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 18, 2006 - 08:43pm PT
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"Yep, there's never anything to say but just keep moving."
It's a beautiful philosophy and often a simple reality -in climbing, business, love, and life- that is too often ignored.
Glad you like the TR :-)
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marky
climber
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Jul 18, 2006 - 11:27pm PT
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That was fun to read and view. Thanks for taking the time to cobble it together for the public domain.
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