Two beginners on Rainier unguided

Hello all,

Myself (19 Male) and my brother (21) are looking into attempting Rainier Sometime May- June (after college is out for both of us). We both have a fair bit experience backpacking, we did chilkoot trail a few years back, spent some time in the wind rivers, and kings peak, all with around 35-70 pound packs. We also have pretty extensive backcountry ski skills if that means anything, and we've lived our entire lives at around 4000ft above sea level. We are also both pretty fit, avid gym goers, and do good amounts of cardio work. We just dont have any real experience with this sort of climb(ropes, crevasse rescue etc.). The rough plan is to pack around  5 days worth of supplies, and go up D/C route, and practice all the rope/glacier work along the way, so we have plenty of time to 'learn the ropes' but still enough to hopefully summit. I guess the real question here is this feasible? What books/resources should we read up on to prepare? Is there a better way to go about this, or what would a more experienced climber recommend. We arent going for a guide, we just want to show up and climb together and see what we can do if that makes any sense.
Thank you all for your input

Edit:

Our dad did something similar to this in the 80's, took him 3 attempts to summit as he wasnt in good enough shape, so that is where the inspiration is from. We both can self arrest, but need to work on all the other skills. Of course we dont want to become a headline or statistic though. We cant go later in the season as I will be in Japan until the next semester of school starts (carona permitting). We live next to largest ski hill in the country, so we can  get up and practice all we can. We'll defiantly look into something more manageable like Hood Or Helens, and maybe Rainier next year. Dad made it seem like Rainier is doable purely by being in stellar shape and a little luck with the weather. As for gear, yes, we "don't know a crampon from a tampon" as the saying goes, which Is why I planned to pack for a few more days than necessary, just so we can go slow and get used to everything. Thank you all again for your input, and suggestions to learn from ,its really helped clear things up. Also Im sorry I dont write pretty enough for mountaineering forums Jeremy :)

Rainier is currently shut down- at least through May.  I expect longer, well into the season.

To answer your question- terrible idea. Hire a guide or find a friend with mountain experience.  May, especially, can be very wintry.  Your experience is far from what you need to be safe in a big mountain, glaciated environment.  Even on a technically easy route.

I'm all for trial by fire.  Certain circumstances though, you need to crawl before you can walk.  Understanding exposure and objective hazard, and reading glaciers are a few of those circumstances.  Books and Youtube will not help you here, there is no substitute for mentorship.

d rossber wrote: Hello all,

My brother (21) and I (19) are looking into attempting Rainier

See how much nicer that sounds?

Terrible idea.  Trust us from the comfort of your home instead of learning that while trying to haul your brother out of a crevasse while he is freezing to death.

Sorry, but I totally disagree with Chris.  You should totally do it.  My first trip up the DC was self-guided with two friends and we weren't nearly as prepared as you seem to be.  We spent a lot of time teaching ourselves glacier travel and rescue techniques before we left, then practiced them at Cp Muir before we took off for the summit.  There are many references where you can find the critical info for these types of skills. Our rule was to practice everything and make sure everyone knew what they were doing before we left.  Honestly, my first trip to Rainier was one of the best experiences I have had on the mountain.  By the way, the climbing rangers have published a route guide for the DC that will help immensely.  If you're team is in good shape, and you have good weather, you won't need 5 days.  My friends and I have done many routes on the mountain, mostly on skis.  Hit me up if you have any additional questions.  Good Luck,, and be safe!

Link to route guide:  https://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/climbing.htm

I would strongly discourage it.

Usually by May/June the guides have established a trail up the route, though who knows with COVID closing the park.

You'd have to make sure you know how to self arrest with a pack on a rope team, and crevasse rescue needs to be absolutely on point for a 2 man team (it's much harder and more physical on a 2 person team than with 3). Definitely need to practice with the full weight of someone on you - so you need to lower them into a crevasse, and be able to get them out again... Also you need to have the very basic knowledge of various knots, anchor building in snow especially, etc. Learning crevasse rescue system can be a decent introduction to these techniques (they were for me).

May/June there is a good chance for weather to turn on a dime, and if you are stuck up high in a white out, you can easily get lost, find yourself off the beaten path (assuming there even is one this year, which there may not be), and without good route finding and glacier travel skills, easily get into a lot of trouble. The crevasses on Rainier can get really massive, and have killed even experienced mountaineers even in the last few years.

It would be far more prudent to start with a smaller mountain to gather the requisite skills in a safer environment, and then try Rainier on your own. A lot of people go to Mount Baker (same skills needed, but shorter mountain, less red tape). Adams is another option. Lastly Rainier is a surprisingly large mountain. A lot of people go there and turn around with how daunting it is. Even if you are fit enough, it's a very different environment. It is worth spending time in a smaller objective to get a feel for that kind of environment before committing to Rainier on your own.

Freedom of the Hills is a classic manual with all the basic knowledge one needs to start serious climbing in the mountains. A lot of people get their start with that book and practicing on their own. If you have snowy slopes near your house, you can practice self arrest, and even crevasse rescue, before coming out to the mountains. I taught a friend a long time ago on ski slopes before we went to Rainier, Baker, etc. I've heard stories of people filling trash cans with weight and sending them down a hill, practice catching the "fall," and "rescuing" it as practice.

Just my 2 cents. Definitely not trying to discourage you from learning mountaineering; just to be prudent about how you approach it. I've seen a lot of people come to Rainier thinking its a cake walk, and either get into trouble or turn around before even really getting started. 

Gary, sounds like you got a get-out-of-jail-free card.  Very possible our friend here would too.  Have seen way too much effed-up stuff in the mountains to suggest someone who has never worn crampons, has zero experience with ropework, and complete inability to assess objective hazzard, to say go for it.  I'd further suggest promoting this tactic is reckless.

Rossber, I'll trade you a few days of instruction for dog sitting.  You might have to wait until next year though.  

I did it only one time car to car in a single push with my spouse. I have decent glacier experience and would say as long as you have good weather, the guides have been bringing enough people up so there's a bootpack, and you add a third person you trust... The third person makes for safer glacier travel; try to find someone with experience. A five day trip sounds fun. You can stop at the camp midway up for a couple days to hang out. I recommend Glacier Mountaineering by Andy Tyson and Mike Clelland. But you will be in over your heads and this is definitely unsafe. 

Preforming crevasse rescue with a party of 2 is much more difficult than performing it with a party of 3.  Is there a chance you slog up and down with no problems, of course.  If something were to happen though it would go from "everythings fine" to "holy shit i'm gonna die and i don't know how to get myself out of this situation" in a blink of an eye.  Learn crevass rescue techniques and go with more than a party of 2 if you are unexperianced.  

The problem with your idea is that you at this point you have no experience with rope work or travel on snow. So you are really starting from zero. When you check out for your permit the rangers will probably discourage but not prohibit you from going up high. Rainier is not really the place to go with zero skills to start learning on your own. Now if you have starting learning and practicing some of the skills before you might be okay. But short of a hiring a guide having a mentor is really the way to go. 

Depending on where you live it is quite possible to start learning and practicing some of the skills you will need. For instance, got a local ski hill? Go the steepest groomed run to figure out rope work. Put on your slickest gear and slide down the hill to learn self arrest skills. Find a small cliff (~30'), lower off it until 5' from the ground, then hang there with a pack on and figure out how to get back to the top. Learn a Z pulley system but understand with two people about the only thing a single person is going to pull up unassisted is a pack. Even with two people pulling a third out unassisted is not easy.

So before I say it is a terrible idea give more details on where you live and what you can do beforehand.And pick up a copy of Mtneering Freedom of the Hills. That tome is the bible.

3/10

Totally feasible.  Plan for the end of June/early July to hopefully give you a better weather window and then also allow as much time as possible for the nat'l parks to open up again.  Also check out the book "alpine climbing - techniques to take you higher".  Lots of good info in there on glacier travel & crevasse rescue.  

As long as you have a good weather window,/forecast you'll be able to follow the "trench" up the DC to the top. 

I support learning without a guide but you might consider a more stepwise approach. Lots of pretty summits in the Cascades that are a bit less ambitious. Odds are you'd be fine on Rainier but definitely more risky.

Resources:

​Freedom of the Hills​​​

​Petzl Tech Tips​​​

Search YouTube for videos of any concept that isn't clear.

Consider Adams to experiment with crampons, axes and altitude? Not much in the way of crevasses on the typical South route. SW slopes ski descent is pretty legendary if you feel like bringing your sticks.

Or Baker if you absolutely want to get on a glacier.

Overall I don't think you're totally crazy but I'm no Cascades expert and I bet the locals have seen some bad stuff happen out there.

Go up there with a good forecast. You won't be alone. 

have you ever walked in crampons before? know how to self arrest?

Provided Rainier will open, proceed with caution. A lot of people underestimate the DC because it is guided and gets a lot of traffic, but between crevasses, rock-fall, altitude and weather, there are a lot of objective hazards on the route, not to mention other climbers.

As jdejace suggested, a trip up TH 183 on Mt Adams is a good way to get some crampon mileage and practice building snow anchors and, crucially, self-arrest. Finding another person or two to share your rope with is also a good idea. If one of you finds a hole, the other needs to arrest the fall, build an anchor and (potentially) hauling system to get him out. It's not easy! Much safer with another person or two to help with this.

Don't need to get rescued!

Practice rope work, including ascending and rappelling, and building a hauling system loads. You can do this in your yard or in your house.

Check out: Glacier Mountaineering by Andy Tyson and Mike Clelland for more about these skills. 

Consider why Rainier? Why now? It probably makes more sense to climb a few other mountains (Adams, St Helens, Hood, if you wanna stay in Cascades) and get confident moving in this kind of terrain first. The mountain will always be there. At least until it erupts or Global warming takes the rest of the glaciers away.  

Koy wrote: 

As long as you have a good weather window,/forecast you'll be able to follow the "trench" up the DC to the top. 

NO!
This was similarly suggested upthread- depending on others for navigation.  A boot pack won't always be there.  Mountain goers need to be self reliant.  Weather can change, the goat path can disappear.  Then what?  

Due to Coronavirus, guiding companies will not be operating on Rainier in May, maybe longer. There will be no maintained route up the mountain as in past years. You better have your mountaineering skills hard-dialed to be traveling then. Sounds like a stupid idea myself.

David R wrote:... As for gear, yes, we "don't know a crampon from a tampon" as the saying goes, ...

Seriously? If that’s a saying, it really shouldn’t be. Take a look at a crampon and a tampon - you don’t need to have ever used or laid eyes on either one before to know immediately which one you’d rather put inside your VaJ. 

Everything else I would have to say about your post has already been well covered by others, but this seemed important to address.... somehow.

Rainer is a big mountain. It is an awesome goal and a really fun climb. Really hard too. Start smaller. The altitude, the dangers, the seriousness of the climb IS NOT THE PLACE TO START. get some smaller mountains under your belt. Get the skills you need closer to help should you need it and when you finally get to Rainier it will be a more fun summit than a wind sucking, death march. Be safe out there.

Go for it were all gonna die anyway......

No seriously there is something to say about knowing your shit before going up a big mountain like that, as long as everything is blue sky and lollipops piece of cake follow up behind guided clients.
Even before that tho is the discipline to have been packed the night before hydrated fed and alarm set for 1 am well then ur doomed....
But when things go to shit and you have no skills or experience and your in a white out in blowing snow and wind well the fun just ended..... 

If it's open by June, bring your skis and do the Emmons.  Read a glacier travel and crevasse rescue guide before your trip and then practice around camp Schurman for a day or two before you try to summit (on skis, with a pretty fun descent too).  Not much crevasse risk below there,  Alternatively, do the DC in late summer on foot, when crevasse rescue is not really much of a consideration.  By August the trail will be really packed in and the hidden snow bridges long gone.  Only climb it if you have a good forecast and never go for the summit if the weather is deteriorating.  It's a pretty simple recipe that would have avoided most of the historic misfortunes up there.