Dropping your pack and leaving it behind to go to the summit - common practice?

Just read the following article:

How ‘smart, tough’ climbers survive 2-day storm near top of Mount Rainier

thenewstribune.com/outdoors…

"Minutes later, the two men were in the summit crater, roped together to avoid losing each other in blizzard conditions as they searched for their packs and the gear they needed to save their lives."

"As most mountaineers do, Davidson and Duggin dropped their heavy packs on the eastern side of the crater rim, then hiked about a quarter-mile across the crater to ascend to the summit register and Columbia Crest, the highest point on the 14,410-foot mountain."

Curious to see what others opinions are on this issue. Would leaving your pack be described as common practice and smart?

Good question. I'd say it is a pretty common practice when folks feel they could get back to their big packs without trouble in whatever conditions. The top of Rainier is relatively mellow if one is on the beaten path.

I don't think I dropped big packs when on Rainier ... because there is not all that much elevation gain to get to the summit on the other side of the crater. But maybe I should have.

Their strategy for getting back to their packs was right on.

When to call? Gah! That's a tough call to make.

Some SAR folks will suggest that you call them even if you are making a self-rescue ... that it affords them an opportunity to give fore-warning to those who would be called. We once followed through with that (had good cell coverage), and had to endure a lot of pressure to call them in ... but we didn't and got out okay ... and kept them informed all the way. After the fact, we learned that they did indeed give individuals a heads up.

But with only a spot (I guess)? Maybe I'd have resisted calling in until at least the next day ... maybe not. At least one of the fellows came out with some frost bight (nip?) which is no small matter.

Your mileage (and physiological thresholds) may vary!

I use an Inreach. Two way texting, seems to maintain contact with the Sats better too.

Speed is safety in my opinion. When I did Whitney, Borah, and various 14ers in Colorado, I'm always looking for that neaest opportunity to ditch all but the essentials and go. A few times on other peaks though, timpanogas, Kings peak, Nebo, I kept everything with me due to weather, or the possibility there of. On longs peak it was a choice as we ascended the Kiener route but came down the cables....

Wow that's a crazy story. I haven't done too many big mountains in winter conditions but it seems that if your expecting any type of bad weather you would want to keep everything with you. But then again they were at the summit early. Glad they found their packs and made it out alive.

Personally my opinion is if you don't have the energy to drag your pack up to the summit then you should not be summitting.

Perhaps though I am being a little hard on them. They were thinking clearly and had a good plan to get back to their packs and they did know what to do when they got to their packs.

One thing that wasn't mentioned in the article (I know this because I had friends on the mountain at the time) is that when they did descend, they descended the wrong way and down toward the Kautz and not back towards Camp Muir. The article does mention their reliance on a GPS, whose batteries died and that they had a compass in their pack that they did not use. I think I probably would have pulled out the compass and took a quick bearing just to make sure.

It's always easier to be an armchair quarterback though...

My real objective in the whole post was just to determine if most people commonly leave their packs when summitting or not. Obviously I have my own opinion on that, just curious about what others thought.

I'm all with the poster who mentioned going as light as possible. I agree, leave all the unneeded gear at camp muir. However if it is in my summit pack, it's probably because it's important, therefore I wouldn't want to be seperated from it. I feel like if I could stand to be seperated from it, then I'd leave it at Camp Muir.

Stagg54 wrote:Just read the following article: How ‘smart, tough’ climbers survive 2-day storm near top of Mount Rainier thenewstribune.com/outdoors… "Minutes later, the two men were in the summit crater, roped together to avoid losing each other in blizzard conditions as they searched for their packs and the gear they needed to save their lives." "As most mountaineers do, Davidson and Duggin dropped their heavy packs on the eastern side of the crater rim, then hiked about a quarter-mile across the crater to ascend to the summit register and Columbia Crest, the highest point on the 14,410-foot mountain." Curious to see what others opinions are on this issue. Would leaving your pack be described as common practice and smart?

didn't that mountaineer from seattle write about this in his books? He used those long green garden stakes to avoid losing the markers in the snow...I can't remember

Leaving packs does seem to be common practice, I've personally observed it going from crater rim to summit on Rainier. I don't agree with the practice though for the above-mentioned reasons. It seems like I frequently hear or read stories of people who 'left their pack' and then found themselves without a key piece of equipment - ice axe, crampons, puffy, headlamp, etc. This makes sense when you need to leave an approach pack at the base of a rock route, but I'm not sure I see the appeal on a classic mountaineering route. Your pack should not be heavy going to the summit of Rainier - I doubt mine weighs more than 15lbs all told after leaving overnight gear at Muir. And like Stagg said, if I carried it to the summit, it's there because I don't think I can survive long without it. I'm not going to leave it behind.

Guys, Thanks for the comments. That was me in the Tribune article.

Two regretful decisions: 1) Dropping the packs and 2) not taking my ham radio.

The packs. This is the first time I've summited any alpine climb without a pack. After reaching the crater, we took off our packs, ate and drank, and prettied up my partner's kiwi coil. We participated in some groupthink because the guide and his team headed across the crater packless. In the debrief with the Rangers and park superintendent, they didn't fault us, and indicated that "no one carries their pack to the summit when in the DC". Nevertheless, the packs should have been with us, and this became slightly problematic.

The radio. Pressing the SOS button was a painfully tough decision, and I did so with a deliberate intention to be conservative. We had been digging for over 7 hours in the whiteout, and had a shelter that I thought was marginal with all the snow piling on top and coming in the cover on our hole (cut up BD winter bivy). We were eventually able to seal it up really well. But after being pelted with that storm for 9hrs and laying in a claustrophobic hole for a couple of hours, I wasn't interested in heroics and decided to make the call. Too soon? If you ask my ego, yes. But who cares about my ego? If I had my 2m ham radio with me, I could have tried to hit a repeater and relay our condition to the outside world (alive, in a crappy shelter, with touches of hypothermia) instead of pressing the button.

FWIW, alpine climbing isn't a new hobby for me. That said, I'm always learning and happy to learn. I've been on Rainier a few times, and know the mtn pretty well. It's a beautiful place. I led a group up Emmons-Winthrop in 2007, and then came back a few years later to climb Liberty Ridge and skied down the EW. The DC was crowded and relatively boring in comparison. There is a great view of Mt Adams, but If you have options go to the EW.

Kautz descent? This is the first I've heard of this. The helicopter nabbed us about 13,500ft surrounded by all the wands on the DC route, northwest of the cleaver. The current DC route heads pretty far north on the Emmons to end run a big crevasse instead of a westerly direction on the Ingraham. I'm sure this will change as the season matures. Regardless, it was a long way from the Kautz.

Take care y'all,
Brad

B-rad wrote:G Kautz descent? This is the first I've heard of this. The helicopter nabbed us about 13,500ft surrounded by all the wands on the DC route, northwest of the cleaver. The current DC route heads pretty far north on the Emmons to end run a big crevasse instead of a westerly direction on the Ingraham. I'm sure this will change as the season matures. Regardless, it was a long way from the Kautz. Take care y'all, Brad

Well nevermind that part then. Glad you guys made it down safe.

Glad you guys made it off. Sounds like you guys made a lot of right choices, it's not dumb luck that got you down safe.
I've summited Rainier twice. First time, by DC, we summited early in gorgeous weather and dropped packs/ropes at the summit rim. Second time, by Emmons, we crossed the summit rim in a cloud with <100 ft visibility. We'd planned to camp in the summit crater and carryover down the DC, so we set up camp and didn't move more than 10 ft from our packs until we went for Columbia Crest the next morning (with the same visibility, but a better mental state). I guess it all depends on your plan and conditions.
Edit - I carry a Delorme InReach, and have been very happy with it.

B-Rad,

I suspect your story AND your personal follow up will result in keeping others out of trouble and probably save a few lives. I find zero issues with what you did and how you survived. Never second guess "pushing the button". However, with all due respect, pushing the button, not pushing the button, leaving your pack, not leaving your pack is irrelevant. You survived because you made a decision to fight, the rest is just BS second guessing, and healthy critique. I'd like to ask you to do us a favor. Most folks have no idea how they will survive, they simply dont have fight in them and they fail. (when I was a young man I was on the county SAR team and recovered many bodies of those who failed). Can you talk about your decisions, what you talked about with your partner, the steps you took, why you did what you did(snow cave vs ?). Survival is in the details.
Thank you.

Great post, Mike T.

So glad things turned out the way they did Brad, could easily have been a completely different story. Wishing you the best in your recovery.

It's interesting that "noone carries packs to the summit when on the DC", and that you saw a guided group drop their packs at the rim before crossing the crater. I did the DC route with a guided group in 1979, and by myself in 1990, and it did not occur to me either time to drop my pack before crossing the crater. I'm quite positive that the guides with my group did not suggest dropping packs before crossing the crater, although they did encourage everyone to make the trek across the crater. Maybe the emphasis on traveling as light as possible has gone a little too far?

I've stashed snowshoes and trekking poles partway up on a summit push in the past, and I've been tempted to stash part of my gear partway up a summit on a few occasions. After reading your story, though, I will be less likely to separate myself from any of my gear on a summit push. If it's important enough to bring up from base camp, it's probably important enough to keep with me for the whole trip.

Thanks for sharing your story and your insights.

Interesting bit about dumping packs at the crater and walking over to the crest. I have never noticed that practice before but then again I was not looking. As such, for the climbers involved (and props for B-rad for chiming in) I would say they did just fine. Especially thinking to stay on the rim. Many do not take a sleeping bag on summit day. (I usually have one, and a tent, and stove - but that is because we are going up and over).

FWIW the last time I hit the summit, it went to pot. We crawled into one of the summit crater caves (steam vents). More than one climber has survived a storm in a vent on Rainier.

When I did Rainier via DC we dropped our packs at the crater and hiked to Columbia Crest. Most of the other guide services do it. On other trips, in smaller mountains here in the east, I normally don't drop my pack, unless its very short. On Mt. Washington and the Adirondacks in winter the only time I'm without my pack is if I'm taking a break. It stays with me at all times.

Dropping the pack is an extremely bad idea I think, especially if is likely to snow. That said, one could mark a waypoint on a GPS where the pack was stashed to ensure it is found again.

I know of several instances where leaving the pack at tree line and walking up to the summit coast people their lives, or some fingers and toes, including the one that muddy paws mentioned in the Catskills of New York. This is such a common practice in the Adirondacks. So much so that I would wager if people just took their packs with them there would be a marked decrease in emergency calls made.

Of course this is not Rainier. It's the wee bitty east coast mountains. What could possibly happen in the 15 minutes between tree line and summit, right? Hmm.

Take your freaking pack with you. You dragged that crap up the entire mountain. Will it really be that big of a deal to carry it for 15 more minutes?